# Racoon dog encounters ( also raccoon )



## David Berraco (Dec 19, 2007)

I had an incident a couple of months ago involving a raccoon. This happened in the evening but it was still daylight. I took the dog out just beside my house. There's a grassy area belonging to shopping strip and a hedge there. I was surprised to see a racoon there for the first time. The dog cued on him and stood erect. The racoon saw us too. I saw quite a few racoons up north and they always run away. On a couple of occasions I had a dog with me and they also run away. On one of the occasions it was a big fat racoon and it walked away slowly towards a tree. I was under the general impressions that these animals would rather not stick around where people are and even more so when there's a big dog. I was surprised when this particular racoon, a small but healthy looking animal made no sign of wanting to leave but rather casually continued on his way along the hedge.

My curiosity got the better of me and I followed with my dog parallel to the racoons path about 30ft away. This continued for about 60ft to almost the end of the hedge. I was on the road with the dog and between us and the racoon there was the low hedge and the sidewalk. The racoon stopped and so did we. The dog was stretching the leash so I let him take a step forward. At this point we were maybe 20 ft away from the racoon. As we stood there the racoon started making chirping noises. The noises did not sound aggressive, I've seen racoons hiss before. The racoon crossed the hedge and while continuing to make whining chirping noises slowly but deliberately walked straight towards the dog. I think I was frozen in disbelief because I didn't do anything until the racoon reached the dog. He walked right into his face and I think the dog was as surprised as me because he sort backed up a step and then the melee started. At that point I got hold of my senses and pulled him away from the racoon. I walked away from the racoon pulling the dog along and the animal actually followed us so I walked away even faster.

I stood there not believing what just happened and then the thought entered my mind, rabies. I felt like such a fool, especially because at that instant I remembered reading about a rabies warning specifically for my area (Fort Lauderdale). I've only had the dog a few days at that point and really liked him. He was with me on trial though and I had no idea of his vaccination history and neither did his current owner. I was very distraught and thought I might lose the dog. I couldn't think of another reason why a racoon would behave this way.

I vaccinate my dogs myself but since the rabies is required by law I was putting it off for when I actually buy the dog. Regardless the next day first thing in the morning I went and got him vaccinated with the 3 year vaccine. I know that it was irrelevant to the incident but it was the least I could do. There is no way to accurately test for rabies other than to euthanize the dog and there was no way I was going to do that.

It's been two months so we're in the clear but the week that followed the incident I couldn't get it off my mind. I did what I could to find out about racoon behavior hoping that what happened wasn't that rare. Although I don't have much faith in them the person from animal control that I talked to said it's not unusual for racoons to behave aggressively. Apparently people feed them so they are attracted to people never mind garbage. I think dogs may also be an indication to a racoon that dog food is around. Animal control also asked me if the racoon appeared gangly and unbalanced in his movements, this was not the case.

From internet research I gathered that racoon attacks on dogs do happen. Racoons have even killed dogs. All this made me feel more at ease although none of the situations described matched what happened to me. I was especially concerned because I read that rabies cause animals to reverse their hours of activity. Racoons are active at night so if seen during the day it can be an indication of rabies. I also read about how rabies can be transmitted. I checked the dog very carefully for puncture wounds and there were none. Just saliva though can transmit rabies. I washed the dog carefully about two hours after the incident when I read that this can help.

If anyone has stories about dog racoon encounters please share.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

We met one racoon clearly sick as it was in the trail, dazed and wobbly and I was able to call my dog back before contact was made. There is also a lot of distemper in racoons.

They are, in my mind, most dangerous as they carry rabies and distemper and can have rabies for a very long incubation period and we have a good bit of rabid animals in our area. When I lived in Florida and the humane society got a racoon rabiles suspect it was killed ASAP and its head sent off. 

I have hard that racoons will drown a dog by holding their head underwater. Not sure if that is true or not. But I don't want to mess with them.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

I bought my first car (yes it had an electric starter) with the money I recieved for selling '**** and muskrat hides. We hunted '**** at least 5 nights a week during the season. '***** can certainly get aggressive. Although my experience has always been, when they were cornered. Usually, a **** will tree on the firs signs of dogs. Of course this was rural, and people didn't not feed '***** unless it was a **** raiding the trash or something. A dog that happened to get a hold of a **** on the ground, which was not all that often, certainly had it's hands full, or paws as the case may be. I never saw it, but I've heard stories of '***** getting a dog into water and drowning them. None-the-less, they can be quite mean if the notion hits them.

DFrost


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Hearing a pack of coonhounds hunting at night is a sweet melody .


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

I learned **** hunting and trained my first dog with a 70+ year old man. He taught me how to roll Bugler cigarettes. ha ha. We'd turn the dogs loose, sit on a log and wait for them to tree. A cold, clear night, the smell of that Bugler cigarette, brings back a lot of memories. A skill, I might add, that came in handy in the 60's. ha ha. 

DFrost


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I've dug to many, many racoon underground with my terriers. Even under ground, if the dog doesn't make contact, the critter often time rolls up into a ball while the dog bays them. They may be only inches apart.
Most wild animals will avoid physical contact with a dog. Even a mild wound can become life threatening for any wild critter. When the do decide to defend themselves with aggression, I've seen even the lowley possum back a dog out of the ground.


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## Jerry Lyda (Apr 4, 2006)

Fact: ***** will drawn a dog in water. What they do is hunt for higher ground, top of dogs head. While he's there he will give the dog total hell.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I have met a family of them in my yard, and I live almost downtown (3 blocks from downtwn) in a small CITY. The father (or whoever is the biggest) was incredibly big. Conservatively, 35 or 40 pounds. And tall.

And when I went outside (kinda; I opened the door and looked at them), they were maybe ten feet away and never turned and ran at all. They just looked at me. The whole family!


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

QUOTE: Adult raccoons can be savage fighters if cornered. Few dogs can kill an adult raccoon without suffering great damage from ripping teeth and claws. If the raccoon is attacked in water, it will try to hold the dog's head underwater until it drowns. END
http://www.terrierman.com/lifehabitatraccoon.htm

And
Raccoons are excellent swimmers and clever enough to use water to escape a trailing hound or to drown it. END
http://www.wisconsinhunter.com/Pages/raccoon.html


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I have met a family of them in my yard, and I live almost downtown (3 blocks from downtwn) in a small CITY. The father (or whoever is the biggest) was incredibly big. Conservatively, 35 or 40 pounds. And tall.
> 
> And when I went outside (kinda; I opened the door and looked at them), they were maybe ten feet away and never turned and ran at all. They just looked at me. The whole family!


They are not fast runners and wont turn their back on possible threat when out in the open like that. 
In the cities they often use the sewer systems for travel.
It could also be that they don't perceive humans as a threat when they live so close. Humans = handout or handy trash containers.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Bob Scott said:


> They are not fast runners and wont turn their back on possible threat when out in the open like that.
> In the cities they often use the sewer systems for travel.
> It could also be that they don't perceive humans as a threat when they live so close. Humans = handout or handy trash containers.


I think they just walk around on the sidewalks. I wouldn't reprimand them.


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## David Berraco (Dec 19, 2007)

So what does one need to do to get banned from this joke forum?

Connie, you’re a freakin’ schitzo, I understand this usually happens after menopause.

Bob Scott, you’re a whiny girlie man.

David Frost, Tim Martens, you remind me of that scene in Men in black where J gets selected out of a group state produced automatons.

Mike Schoonbrood, did you start this forum? I guess you did it to learn something, keep going baby!

What all of you have in common that you know shit about dogs, yet you don’t let anyone’s voice but your own be heard.

To the silent majority.. you should speak up. These clowns are nobodies without the stage you provide for them.

BTW Berraco is the Cuban name for triggerfish, one that I like to hunt.

http://aycu30.webshots.com/image/39189/2001532974285302167_rs.jpg

Ciao sapingos.


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