Folks have worried about what might happen if their dog and a coyote were to confront each other: what would the outcome of a fight be? The question, “Who would win in a fight between a German Shepherd and a coyote?”, was posed on a forum on Quora, and answered by Charles Wood, who has given me permission to republish it here. His answer to the question:
There wouldn’t be a fight, generally speaking. Let me show you why I say so.
Here’s what is a stake for the coyote when a German Shepherd Dog gets interested in a coyote.
Here’s team Mom and Dad coyote. That’s Mom at the left of the frame. Big. Irritable, look at her ear, end stage otitis I believe.
Here’s Dad charging my dog and me. Yeah, its a bluff and we were on the other side of a chain link fence.
Now, the following photograph, I did not take, it was taken by a friend of mine, Janet Kessler in a San Francisco park.
[Edit: I want to emphasize that the dog pictured above was not injured. It returned to its owner, was put back on its leash, its owner talked to Janet, and then went home with a good education. Janet Kessler is all about education.]
Coyotes have skin in the game. That particular German Shepherd-ish Dog is someone’s pet. It lives in one world. Coyotes live in the real world and take care of real business every day. In the above photo, no real dirty work was required. The German Sheperd-ish Dog is a pet and totally out of its element. I’m talking typically. The above shot was part of a series. The other shots showed a chase and some maneuvers. The coyote danced its way into the position we see. The coyote has practiced all its life on this stuff. It isn’t like in a dog park.
Generally, although a German Shepherd Dog has the weight advantage, coyotes with their experience and situational intelligence have a considerable advantage over a German Shepherd Dog. The dog pictured has never seen real action. Nor has it really seen a very motivated opponent. The stuff dogs argue about? Who gets to keep the ball. Coyotes can puff up and make themselves look way bigger than their average of about 26 to 30 pounds out here in the West. There’s no hint of play in their demeanor when their family’s safety is at stake. I think it is safe to say that because of the size of a German Shepherd Dog, coyotes don’t want to eat it. They don’t rank it as prey, it’s an interloper. Coyotes deal with interlopers a lot. That pictured dog? He’s getting it in gear to run away at full speed. He’s a real chicken, and needs to be. He tried to pick on someone smaller, and he got told.
Coyotes intrude on each other’s territory all the time. They test one another looking for fun or for the chance of a gain. At stake is their food, their mate, and their children. I’ve read from studies that unlike wolves, coyotes have one coyote defend their territory. Wolves I’ve read just kill intruders. Coyotes? Their strategy is to give an intruder a thrashing. Enough so that an intruder won’t forget. With my coyotes, Mom was there as backup and Dad did the work.
Here’s a real contender. Note it looks like he had lost an eye, maybe in a fight. He’s in his prime, and he hooked up for life with one of Mom and Dad’s daughters. After he came on the scene, I didn’t see Mom and Dad again. They had grown old and had aches and pains. The last time I looked, a few years ago, it seemed that not much was known about coyote inter-generational transfers of territory. In this one observation of mine, it looked pretty ugly.
And in urban and suburban settings, coyotes don’t want a fight. They huff, puff, and bluff to warn an intruder away. And they will run away. That can be a rope a dope, a run for a better site for parrying, or to keep on distracting a dog until it gets worn out. They don’t want contact. They don’t want to be injured. But a dog? They tire sooner, or get called back by their owner. The dogs don’t know the territory as intimately as a coyote has to know its own territory. For a pet dog, they just don’t have game. The coyotes I’ve seen seem to have most dogs figured out. To a wild coyote, a dog in coyote territory acts untutored in the ways of the wild.
[Posting written by Charles Wood. Visit Charles Wood’s website for more coyote photos from LA: Charles Wood. His work is copyrighted and may only be used with his explicit permission.]
Coyote Yipps 
Jun 20, 2018 @ 21:51:27
I WAS attacked by a German Sheperd while walking my two golden retrievers. The GS was about 100 lbs and bit up my male GR and me as I tried to get him off. I would sooner meet a coyote anyday than someone’s loose dog. It has been my personal experience they ( coyotes) run off as soon as they see me…however I do not let my dogs off leash to harass wild animals.
Jun 20, 2018 @ 23:46:09
I know! Me too, I don’t let my dog off leash either.
Jun 26, 2018 @ 21:14:35
Great story. Thank you!
Nov 03, 2018 @ 05:43:53
This is one instance or a couple, this does not reflect what would happen if a coyote would approach the territory of a FULL GROWN GSD, and a german shepherd-ish dog is not the same as a full blooded pure bred GSD. Let’s be honest GSD are bigger and have a stronger bite force of 238 lbs. Plenty of videos on YouTube if german shepherds protecting there flock from coyotes. They will charge right into battle to save their people or other dogs in the pack. I’m not saying a coyote doesnt have its advantages in the fields mentioned here, but most real GSd of guarding will probably scare the coyote away. Coyote wont risk an injury knowing it could cause death by starvation
Nov 03, 2018 @ 13:05:48
Hi Aaron — Yes, you are right. But even in this instance, there is unlikely to be “contact” or an actual “fight” between the GSD and the coyote because, as you say, the coyote would simply flee. I think that’s the point of the article.
Feb 13, 2019 @ 05:48:30
This is wrong. Dogs of the same breed are not equal and neither are men when it comes to raising dogs. The avg city person with any dog is no match for a coyote because of their fear and that fear produces a pet that is worthless against a coyote. When you truly raise a dog like a German Shepard as the breed is intended to be and you have no fear of coyotes your GS will kill a coyote with no issues. My GS, Rotts, and American bulldogs have killed stupid coyotes that didnt respect their territory on my land for over 20 years in Az. Coyotes in the area that are smart stay clear of their territory and don’t have any issues with my dogs. Feral dogs in the area also kill coyotes that get in their way. Large breed dogs that are breed and raised right will kill a coyote if the owner of the dog has showed or let that dog explore his more natural killers side. Dogs that hunt, guard, or protect and have not had their aggressive instincts muted coyotes will be killed easily. Most city dogs are not built for the kill but dogs in our neighborhood don’t have any issues with killing coyotes and protecting livestock from any predator including mountain lions.
Feb 13, 2019 @ 17:09:46
Michael — Please read this post a little more carefully. What this post says is that a coyote is mostly bluff and will not kill your German Shepherd: coyotes will do their best to avoid a fight. This posting is about urban pet dogs whose owners fear for their dogs, it’s not about trained killer dogs. I would expect any dog bigger than a coyote — 30 pounds — to be able to kill them, even an urban dog. That’s not what we want in urban areas where most residents respect the wildlife and don’t want to harm them. We are working towards a planet that includes all the wildlife. Peaceful coexistence is easy if you keep threatening dogs away from coyotes.
Apr 19, 2019 @ 11:47:18
This is 100% incorrect lol. An average sized, average drive, working line GSD would stand his ground and snap any coyotes neck. He could likely handle 2 at once but no more than that. You’re comparing what seems to be a low drive, house pet of a gsd to a wild animal. The average gsd is not a house pet.
Apr 19, 2019 @ 12:23:27
This posting is about your average house pet.
Jul 11, 2019 @ 17:45:56
For the last 18 years, I’ve walked my dogs – unleashed away from people or cars – near home at the edge of a large urban area in Oregon. There are many coyotes here in a large public ‘wild’ area a half mile away and we’ve had many encounters with them. Previously, I had a 90-lb Lab and currently, a 96-lb GSD who does NOT like coyotes. Coyotes have often challenged us, most often at night when they’re particularly active – many times by what I’m guessing is a dominant male (?) that ‘zooms’ us, seemingly protesting our existence on their turf by running near and vocalizing. It does seem to be a canine turf issue. They’ll run past at half-speed as if to gauge our ability to respond. They seem to assume they can outrun the dog and can easily increase speed to get away. It’s definitely a challenge, though, and there’s a message – go away. I’ll send my dog after them. We do have fun. The Lab would chase them because they’d run, like he would chase cats. If they would ever stop, though, he’d be at a complete loss because he had nothing against anything – including cats and coyotes. He had many cat pals. He wasn’t a fighter and he never hurt anything. As long as the coyotes would run, there was no problem. They never stopped. The Shepherd, though, is different. He seems to understand the trash talk the coyotes spew and definitely wants to close with them. I let him go. It’s great exercise for him and there’s really no chance of a fight. Although he’s a long, tall fast dog, any coyote can easily outrun him. The coyotes won’t engage with him as any injury could be life-threatening. If injured so they couldn’t get away from him, that would be IT. They didn’t know my Lab was so mellow. For most of his life he was big, fast, healthy – why take a chance? When the GSD was 1, I sent him after 2 coyotes one night. We saw them coming, hunkered down to look small and get them in close – ‘got them in about 15 yds away and I sent him. They went about 100 yds and I called him back. The coyotes returned immediately to harass us again, not impressed by a young dog that was no real threat. We hunkered down again. Again, he chased them. 3 times that night. He was so gassed, it took a while to walk him home, coyotes behind us for part of the walk. A year and a half later, he’d changed. I sent him after 4 coyotes one night. He was furious about a zoom challenge from the biggest one. All 4 seemed to understand he would gladly consume one or more. They did NOT come back. Next day, I saw where he left a 15-yd slide on a muddy backwoods road where 2 split and he changed directions to go for what might’ve been a closer one. They won’t mess with that kind of power or intensity. I don’t delude myself about the opportunistic nature of these creatures. If my dogs were slow, small, old or I was unfirm or otherwise vulnerable, I have no doubt they could be dangerous. One night, with about 6 approaching (headlamps reveal them coming several hundred yards out), I got an uneasy feeling and we left. My Lab was 12 years old and it was time to get back to a housing area and safety. Over my 18 years here, their numbers have increased. Our home security cameras now show them in the street out front at night. I really don’t mind having coyotes learn to show a little deference to people/dogs here. As long as Nico’s in good shape, we’ll patrol our neighborhood. Our last encounter was last week when Nico educated 3 large coyotes 100 yds down the street.
Jul 11, 2019 @ 19:39:16
May I ask what you are trying to prove by encouraging your huge 96-pound German Shepherd (that’s bigger than I am) to go after a 30 pound coyote — an animal 1/3 his size? Coyotes are the size of Whippets, or Beagles, in weight. Maybe you are having fun. Maybe your dog is having fun. The coyotes are not: for them your activity is putting them into a life-and-death situation.
Their instincts are programmed to protect their territories — mostly from other coyotes. It keeps the population down in any particular area. You should appreciate this.
Why don’t you be the “bigger” guy by allowing them to be, rather than trying to engage with them to prove yourself “larger”, which you physically are. Basically you are proving to everyone who reads this that your ego is so fragile that you have to have it out with a little coyote. I mean, really?
Feb 11, 2023 @ 02:56:03
Oh wow aren’t you a hero! Why don’t you take that big boy dog to a real dog fight with a few pit bulls leave the coyotes alone true survivors who have a right to their god given piece of this planet.
Jul 24, 2019 @ 16:00:04
I live in Big Park, Arizona. We are in the mountains next to Coconino National Forest at 4250 feet elevation. My GSD is 2 and a half years old. I also have a Yorkie. We have coyotoes. When I walk the country road here my dogs are on leads, We see coyotes almost daily and have them around the house and in the yards (several acres) Tuesday morning I was unloading my Nissan after a visit to the market. I was unloading next to my house when my GSD spotted 2 coyotoes and charged after them. I quickly three down my bags and placed the yorkie in the house then went after my dog. He had the coyotes in the brush and I could hear the coyotoes yelping. My neighbors saw it after they heard the noise. My intention was not to have my dog go after the coyotoes but he did and was not harmed. With the exception of the driveway our area is surrounded by barb wire which makes no difference to deer, mountains lion, bobcats, javelinas or coyotes. My GSD can go under a fence also.
I do not have a problem with coywolfs or coyotes. I have never seen a wolf here but I have read reports that they exist here. Coyotes are a little faster the German Shepherds 40 mph vs 34 mph Coyotes are much lighter in weight having a different bone structure.
Jul 24, 2019 @ 16:38:56
Hi Dewayne — Thank you for your observations. Almost all dogs will chase coyotes if they can. The larger the dog, the more danger to the coyote, and vice-versa. Although I have not measured it, I’ve read where coyotes can actually attain a speed of 43 mph. And you are right, because of their lightness, bone structure, light and minimal musculature, and more sinewy tendons, coyotes are very lithe and quick. They often can tire out a heftier pursuer by running up and down steep inclines.
Sep 28, 2019 @ 17:42:27
Cool story. In real life though, it depends on the dog. I have a 95lb GSD that has his dominant tendencies encouraged, because I don’t want a dog that’s going to run from a threat. He would absolutely murder a coyote. The only advantage a coyote has is speed and it’ll undoubtedly use it to run away.
Sep 28, 2019 @ 18:07:23
Yes, Ben. But since a coyote is no real threat to your dominant GSD, maybe you could encourage peace by keeping your dog leashed and walking away from any coyotes?
Sep 28, 2019 @ 18:58:24
Janet I hear what you are saying but dogs and coyotes don’t have a peaceful relationship and never will. I have zero issues with coyotes especially since I live in the middle if the az desert surrounded by them. But man and dog has to let continue to remind the coyote that they are top predator. It is through that continue reinforcement that generation after generation of coyotes out here in the rural areas that we don’t have coyotes issues. In our urban areas of Az the mentality is like yours, coyotes lose fear of both human and their dogs and problems occur. We harass the coyote and they leave us alone. You take that peaceful attitude and you will have problems with most predators.
Sep 28, 2019 @ 19:19:46
I agree: coyotes and dogs don’t have a peaceful coexistence. Small dogs need to be leashed and protected. Larger dogs need to be kept away from coyotes — it’s the larger dogs that continually go after them and create the problem in the first place. Keeping coyotes and dogs apart is easy: you have to leash the dog and walk away. Those coyotes who are respected in this manner do not come after dogs. But a coyote who is harassed continually by a dog will attempt to stop that harassment. You can prevent this antagonism by keeping dogs away from them: leashing.
Sep 28, 2019 @ 19:22:40
Note: I was walking on my sons college campus located in the middle of Tucson and watch a coyote nip at a group of students in the middle of the quad area. I went over there and told the kids to run the coyote off otherwise the issue would get worst and that coyote would be destroyed. The coyote came back and I ran him off and even kicked the hell out of him when he stood his ground. That same coyote was put down 2 weeks later because he lost his fear of humans because humans refused to reinforce their dominance.
Sep 28, 2019 @ 19:29:38
Charles, please use your logic. Coyotes don’t walk up to humans and bite them for no reason. What would be the purpose of that? What coyotes do is respond to feeders who willingly throw food at them. Soon the coyote begins demanding food. This is what you were seeing on campus. Humans killed that coyote by feeding it long before it was “put down” by authorities.
Oct 28, 2019 @ 16:06:59
If you are going to write about a German ShepHERD. One should learn how to spell it.
Oct 28, 2019 @ 16:19:43
The posting used both spellings. I have corrected the misspelled ones. Thank you, Deborah.
Jan 24, 2020 @ 18:56:12
I just haven’t heard of so many incounters B/4 I’ve never had a fear or problem with any coyote’s, especially one alone. Now I’m crippled, had 3 stroks,& on Dialysis. I’m not going to stop going outside to watch the stars, or even a nice day. I live in an urban area, where there is wildlife. But if this is getting worse, I worry about my Grandchildren. 5 &6 yrs. old.
Jan 24, 2020 @ 20:51:45
Hi Joseph —
Almost all “encounters” are simply uneventful ‘sightings’. Right now, youngster coyotes are out benignly exploring their environments, which might explain people noticing them more, but these will disperse fairly soon and family size will shrink again on each territory. How to handle them? Just go the other way when you see one. And teach small kids to always walk away from them — they should not run. Hope this helps! I’m sorry about your health problems — being out in nature can help focus your attention on so much that is going on in the environment: keep watching the stars — and reaching for them!
Feb 01, 2020 @ 15:44:22
Janet I am considering adding an older nice German Shepherd to my family so that I can once again let my littles have a little freedom in my smallish fenced yard. Do you think a coyote will avoid jumping over if there is a shepherd there? Not wanting a fight, just a deterrent.
Feb 01, 2020 @ 18:49:28
For sure your little dogs would be safer with this new situation, but I don’t know if this would be foolproof. Is the yard small enough so that the “pack” would be required to stay close together? IF coyotes are looking to take a small dog, they’d probably do so when the small dog had wandered off some distance alone. If the German Shepherd actually takes on the job of protector this would help. Best, always, would be to add a top roller-bar to a six-foot fence.
Feb 21, 2020 @ 14:46:35
We have a house in rural southern Utah, where houses are on 10 acres of land and we are at the base of Boulder Mountain, with undeveloped juniper and pine tree forests. Coyotes live all around us. We have a miniature pinscher, 16 pounds, who had a very close encounter with a coyote on a spring morning. The coyote pinned him to the ground and tried to bite his neck. He escaped, and he now wears a Kevlar coyote vest whenever he is outside off leash, We keep him on leash from dusk until well past dawn. We were told his coyote encounter was likely with a female who was hunting to feed her pups. We just want to co-exist, without letting our pet get eaten. We worry less about our sons’ dogs when they visit, as they are all over 50 pounds. I also have sympathy for a female animal trying to feed her pups.
Feb 21, 2020 @ 20:07:46
Hi Lydia — Your best strategy for protecting your little dog is to continue walking him on a leash. Whenever you see a coyote, shorten the leash and walk the other way. Please don’t allow your little dog to roam free — he needs to be supervised always when out-of-doors, as you would a small child with a life-vest in a swimming pool. The life-vest in itself is not enough.
Feb 21, 2020 @ 14:51:34
Do you know if Kevlar coyote vests do anything to protect a small dog from coyotes? Our miniature pinscher wears one now, after being pinned to the ground and attacked on his neck by a coyote in rural Utah. We keep our min pin on leash from dusk until well after dawn, but he wears his vest and roams freely during the day.
Feb 21, 2020 @ 20:04:46
Hi Tom —
If coyotes are in your area, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to allow your little dog to roam free. I’ve seen coyote protective vests and the spikes indeed look like they might work, but I’ve not actually SEEN that they work, and until I do, I would not endorse them. Janet
Jan 15, 2021 @ 22:51:43
Poor German Shepherds. I never knew they were trained to resolve issues of dominance in human beings. Terrible job.
Jan 15, 2021 @ 22:55:46
Thank you. Yes, almost surrogates, it seems.
May 27, 2021 @ 22:04:08
Yet one can easily find a news video from Vista,CA showing a coyote running and jumping a fence to attack a Pit Bull that was larger than the coyote.
May 27, 2021 @ 22:21:39
This is incorrect. Coyotes will not do this.
Nov 01, 2021 @ 21:24:14
Dr. Timm speaking at a symposium. http://lecture.ucanr.edu/Mediasite/Play/17a4cc47c2ab47ccb2078f01a77d2fef1d
Nov 02, 2021 @ 20:45:48
Although the above 11/1/21 comment by Ole, with Timm’s talk, has nothing to do with this posting (which is about German Shepherds and dogs), I approved it in order to comment back. Note that Timm is a retired pest manager, which tells you how he approaches the issue. I wrote to him asking for the scientific study behind his statements in this video talk. It turns out he did not conduct a scientific study at all, but instead relied on a questionnaire sent to a fearful general public — the questions themselves provoked certain responses. There was nothing scientific about it. It’s on the same level as Trump claiming the election was stolen: some people want to believe it, but there’s no basis behind it. Yet, look at the number of people who WANT to believe it.
The question asked during the talk was, “can we predict when there is a clear and present danger to people from having coyotes in the neighborhood”. His own answer is, “Probably not very precisely”, but he comes up with a “progression” anyway. I’ve watched coyotes carefully for 14 years: I can vouchsafe that there is no such “progression of danger”. Timm and Rex’s “progression of danger” is nonsense.
Sep 27, 2021 @ 20:38:53
Coyotes are cowards who prey on the weak. They will even attack a small child left unattended. GSDS are dogs that if properly trained will take care of those cowards and save your small animals. We have dominance over the dog, the dog dominates the Coyotes and foxes.
Sep 27, 2021 @ 21:31:06
Thank you for your comment. Yes, you are correct that dogs and humans can easily dominate whoever they wish: those bigger and stronger win. Another term for that is bullying. German Shepherds weight about 70 pounds and can easily reach 100 pounds; humans weigh 100 to 200 pounds (generally), and coyotes weight a mere 30 pounds.
Sheer force is how brutal conquering has taken place throughout history — one species dominating another; one individual within a species dominating others, always for his/her own benefit. But we lose something in the process.
This site is about learning how to coexist. Try learning about these critters. You might become impressed with how cool they really are: they are smart, resourceful, caring, family minded, individualistic, communicative, playful, protective, adventurous, independent, self-reliant, self-sufficient, and imbued with a frontier spirit. Hey, aren’t these the same rugged characteristics in which we ourselves take pride?
Pets need to be protected from many elements in our society: thousands are killed each year by cars and by bigger dogs. Children need to be protected from many dangers, including bites from German Shepherds of which there have been manyfold more than bites from coyotes which account for only about 17 a year for all of North America. Know that 1000 dogs bites, every single day of the year send people to emergency rooms. Maybe a little perspective would help?
Good luck!
Feb 11, 2023 @ 03:05:51
Please post a verifiable link proving this, I live in Calgary tons if coyotes here rarely ! Has one nipped a kid. Compared to the many domestic dog savagings.
Sep 28, 2021 @ 13:01:40
Any dog that hasn’t been properly trained and socialized has a tendency to bite strangers. My dogs are professionally trained for protection of family and livestock. My dogs will lay down their lives for the herd. That is more amazing to me than a predatory animal who prey on small animals. I live in a rural area, so my dogs aren’t just house pets they are working dogs and Coyotes aren’t just scavenging they are killing lambs, kids, and chickens. They are also diminishing white tail deer populations in Eastern US by killing fawns.
Sep 29, 2021 @ 00:28:39
Hi Scott — I don’t think you are thinking this through. The biggest predator is mankind. All of those farm animals are going to the slaughterhouse. Have you ever watched them kill the animals there? It’s far more gruesome than wildlife killings. And I suppose you want to save the deer for your own hunting bullets? And the biggest predator on children, by far, is men. Coyotes usually grab the sick and weak animals who are going to die anyway, saving them from suffering.
Oct 30, 2021 @ 23:36:59
Went from a cool story to a bunch of know-it-all people. Thank for ruining it
Mar 25, 2023 @ 11:14:40
You made an article about what would happen in an altercation between a GSD and a coyote and pretty much said the coyote would win lol. Are you surprised by the comments you are getting? Here’s the truth. A coyote would flee 99% of the time and the 1% of the time the coyote stood its ground the GSD would destroy it. Even if it was a pampered house pet and not trained at all no GSD is just going to lay down and die for a little 25 lb coyote. There are many accounts of livestock dogs killing 6-12 coyotes by itself then coming back to the farm with barely a scratch.
Mar 25, 2023 @ 17:15:08
Hi Nolan — You are correct. Note that this article is about encounters between city dogs and coyotes. Although an actual engagement could result in the coyotes death — never the GSD’s — a coyote can put on a fairly tough bluffing game that has worked here, more to scare the owner than the dog. I have seen GSDs nipped when they followed a coyote into the brambles where the coyote has an advantage. The ultimate lesson is, please keep your dogs away from the coyotes. Thanks! Janet
May 05, 2023 @ 04:27:23
So much love for the coyotes here for some reason. They are an invasive species in my state and can be shot on sight here.
May 05, 2023 @ 04:58:18
No, in fact, coyotes are native: they are native only to the Americas. It’s WE who are the invasive species: we like to dominate and kill — we love our power — just pull a trigger and end a life, a life that had meaning for the holder of that life. Read some stuff on this blog so that you can expand your vision of them. And Google them: THEY ARE NATIVE to every state except Hawaii.