Yes, a coyote and especially a wolf could probably clear a 5 foot fence, with a running start. Especially if the fence had something to grip into, like a chain link fence or cross-boards on a wood privacy fence. I base that on the fact that my 40# husky Tatya can easily clear a 5 foot fence, 6 feet with something to grip.

That said, I wouldn't worry too much about the kids. They are too unpredictable and too much trouble for a coyote or wolf to bother with, especially with easy pickings such as bunnies and road kill available. Now if a coyote or wolf got *real* desperate and the kids looked kinda slow or sick or one kid was alone, that may be different. But for the most part, coyotes and wolves are more opportunistic than not, and just survive off the easy kills and carcasses. I'd worry more if a kid got loose and was wandering alone at night, when those critters are more likely to be actively hunting. Not nothing to worry about, but I'd be more worried about other people than wild animals in general.

I live in Arizona. Coyotes are able to clear a 6 foot wall without much issue. I have a friend who watched a coyote clear her six foot solid block wall to take her Pomeranian. Fortunatly, when she came running into the yard yelling the Coyote dropped her dog and scaled back over the wall.

Coyotes, as are most wild animals, fear humans and it is safe to expect that they would not enter your yard to harm your children.

It is common here for coyotes to jump walls/fences to take SMALL dogs for dinner. Yet, the coyote will be quick to back down to a large dog. In my area it is never recommended to leave your small pets outside without supervision, day or night. I even live in a suburban area. Although, of course the danger is more likely in rural areas.

We have coyotes, but they never come too close to us. If someone else says they can jump a 6'fence i beleive them. I just can't see them jumping my 6'cattle panel fence, though i'm not sure its cattle panel as it comes in a roll,because they can't get a running start at it. I did have a dog years ago who could have climbed it.
vickie

I have had lots of experiance with both Wolves and Coyotes as I was raised on a farm and my mother now has another huge farm. I always see the coyotes in packs, but the wolves have always been alone. When I was a kid I never seen either out during the day. At my mom's place I have seen packs of Coyotes running in her field during the day, I think that is kind of odd. I wouldn't worry about them jumping the fence during the day, plus if you have children out in the yard carrying on as they do (sometimes mine sound like they are killing one another when they are just playing) a coyote is probably going to stay as far away from your yard as they can get:) but as I myself am a mother I know where you are coming from, but I am more concerned with the 2 legged Coyotes then the 4 legged ones.

I've seen a coyote pass through my yard once and see them pretty regulary in the large open fields of Rocky Flats, etc. A lot of fences don't stop them. I think they can climb them like some dogs do. Compared to a large dog, such as a German Shepard, they are small. They are very very shy of people - unlike the foxes we have around here. I never worried about the kids playing in the yard when it came to coyotes.
Last night, the coyotes were making the most incredible noise. Something about it makes the hair near my neck stand on end.

A Coyote could clear the fence or climb over it, but I wouldn't worry about them going after your kids. That is not how they operate. They might take a dog or a cat, but doubt they would come into your fenced backyard to do it.

Joepyeweed, I have to disagree regarding your comment that it would be doubtful for a coyote to enter a fenced yard to take a small pet. As I mentioned above, one coyote tried to take my friends Pom, during daylight hours! She has a 6 foot solid block wall around her yard.

I do not know how the coyotes are in other areas, but here it is never recommended to leave your small dog outside (fence or no fence) without supervision. In fact, as noted in the article I link to below, while rare Coyotes have taken small dogs right off the leash while being walked!

The article below is from the AZ Game & Fish. It states the danger of coyotes and what to do to avoid having them enter your yard. One such thing is having a SEVEN FOOT fence with no clearance at the ground.

As far is children are concerned in the Phoenix area only 8 Coyote bites have been reported in the past 10 years!

BTW, Coyotes do not need a running start to clear a 5 foot fence, just a few good steps of momentum will do. As I stated above, when a Coyote tried to take my friends dog she scared the Coyote away. The coyote pretty much scaled her 6 foot wall. Solid block wall!

Here is a link that might be useful: AZ Game & Fish Living with Urban Coyotes PDF

A 5 ft fence for a Coyote would be like me trying to hurdle a 1 foot fence. There may as well not even be a fence there. Absolutely no protection. And they will definately eat a small dog without thinking twice. A friend in Colorado had her dog eaten by a Coyote!

From: www.canismajor.com/dog/coyote.html

Recent reports indicate that, far from being complete loners, coyotes often hunt in family groups and cooperate to bring down both large and small prey. Coyotes may double team rodents; while one animal digs at the burrow, the other waits for the rodent to emerge from an escape hole. They have also been known to team up to kill deer: one observer reported that three coyotes chased a deer towards an ambush set by two others.

This is from Wikipedia:
Coyote predation on pets (especially cats and small dogs) in suburban areas has become common in recent decades and attacks on children and adults, once rare, appear to be on the increase. Timm et al. (2004) analyzed 89 verified coyote attacks on humans (55% on adults, 45% on children) in California from 1978-2003. One or more people were injured in 56 of these attacks. They found a clear pattern of behavioral changes in coyotes in the lead-up to attacks, including increased sightings around homes (an indication that the coyote has lost its fear of people) and predatory interactions (e.g. attacks on pets during daylight, chasing of joggers and bicyclists, and stalking of children's play areas - these behaviours have often been associated to people feeding them). The most serious attacks in the Timm et al. study (and other studies that they review) were on small children: when coyotes become habituated to people, they view children as potential prey and a running child is likely to elicit orientation and attack behaviors. Despite this, coyotes still pose very little threat to an adult human and, at an average of just 35 lbs in weight, are much less intimidating and dangerous than most domestic dogs.

There are lots of deer, rabbits, critters in general in the woods here so I probably don't need to worry so much. I really do hate hearing them go at it when they group up, very eerie. We heard it in the fall after midnight usually but the past couple of weeks they are feeding/gathering around 4-5 in the afternoon. Wow, clearing a five foot fence is impressive.

Coyotes certainly can and do go over or under fences to prey on small dogs and cats in backyard in suburban areas of the USA.

I have friends in Phoenix who have lost all of their chickens and even a pet turkey and these birds were in a chain link fence pen with a roof of chain link behind a 6 foot block wall.

Coyotes pose very little threat to children. There are tens of thousands more dog bites than will ever be coyote bites.

Wolves pose even less threat. They avoid humans like the plague.

Here is a link that might be useful: wolf attacks

There was a couple of coyotes (or foxes) fighting in our backyard over the weekend late at night. It sounded like all h**l was breaking loose with howling and snarling. Yikes, it was scary. I have to keep a good eye on my little dachsie when I let her out at night. I always go out with her and make sure she is safe.

We live adjacent to a forest preserve, and in these long cold winters, we have on occasion seen them in the neighborhood.

Coyotes were seen in my neighborhood yesterday and killed a cat or two. I've lived here for 2 yrs but this is the first I've heard of this happening. However I have heard people say there are coyotes that live in the wooded parks in my city (Seattle). So I am wondering whether to keep my 90lb male husky/shepherd (and maybe a small % wolf) mix inside at night. We have a fenced yard. There are tons of rabbits in the woods across the street and my dog actually caught one last week. I'm wondering if I'm worrying unnessessarily about my dog. Why would coyotes want to come into a fenced yard with a 90lb dog? I should also mention my dog has a tendency sometimes to challenge and get in a fight with other male dogs. So he isn't a timid or shy dog. He's 4 yrs old and very healthy. I have a doggie door and I prefer to let my dog come in & out 24/7. I really don't want to lock him in when he's so used to having his freedom. But nor do I want him to be injured or killed by coyotes.

A coyote is much to smart to tackle a 90# dog. But if you have a small dog or cat and the coyote is hungry it is mealtime.

Deborah C-"So I am wondering whether to keep my 90lb male husky/shepherd (and maybe a small % wolf) mix inside at night. We have a fenced yard."

I ran into someone in a big box store who has a german shepherd and a pitt bull. One night after he let the dogs out, a pair of coyotes lured the german shepherd out to the perimeter of the yard and attacked. The neighbor heard the pitt barking and came out and saw what he thought were two dogs hunched over a carcass. It turned out to be coyotes chewing up the shepherd. The pitt was too scared to help. The owner was able to save it but the vet bills were astronomical.

I would not let any dog(s) out unsupervised no matter how large they are.

I know this is a old thread, but coyotes will attack children.They have here in Rye NY. One jumped a fence and attacked a girl in her own backyard. 4 times kids where attacked please be carefull.

I saw the post heading but did not look at the date. We too live in Canada - Toronto - and last Friday received a 4 page flyer from Animal Control re the increasing population of Coyotes in Toronto - and near our house - a few blocks away there is a big park, but the coyotes are becoming increasing brave and venturing further afield in search of food - and people have been feeding the coyote "puppies". They are competing with raccoons and skunks - they are of course a nuisance but a far cry from a raccoon. Re the OP's question re a Coyote jumping a 6 ft. fence - most definitely. Heck our 22 lb. dog can jump a 5 ft. from a standing position. I called Animal Control and was told to be careful, particularly in the early a.m. and evening - of course it is dark - and to never put our dog in the yard alone - we don't do this anyway. And to always have him on a leash - which he is. But dogs are being attacked by Coyotes while on leash, including a Chocolate Lab, not that far from here. His Mom beat off the 2 Coyotes who were biting him and then they came back for more - Mom and dog got away thankfully. In one area not far from us, Coyotes have been seen looking in windows checking for dogs and cats. Suggested deterrents are coins in a can (useless - they don't even scare my dog) - or small air horns - I got the last one at Sport Chek much to the dismay of other shoppers. I know the noise will hurt our guy's ears, but better that than the alternative. People are being told to take down bird feeders since Coyotes will search them out - I feel sorry for the birds who will return each year for food, but.... The Coyotes of course are looking for food since so much of their native habitat is now covered with houses. This problem will get worse - and a child has been bitten by a Coyote in the GTA. I for one would be eaten I guess by a Coyote while trying to save our dog. My friend owns a store in Toronto and was written up in the local area newspaper. On the adjoining page there was an article about the increase of Coyotes in Toronto and how to deal with the problem. Quite a large write-up. I did a Coyote search on our dog's specific breed forum and many people in the U.S. are facing the same issue but many states allow people to protect themselves in ways that Canadian laws do not - so an air horn it is - as well as having a fit during the early morning and night walks when we hear a noise or rustling in the bushes! Animal Control suggested speaking with neighbours to best devise ways to deal with garbage and keep pets safe - so far - zip. Cats are still being let out to run loose - and some people feel that since the major park isn't right across the street (well there is a park across the street - just a different one) that they need not worry. The usual case of "it couldn't happen to me". There are a couple of people though who are worried, thankfully.

I am seeing them more and more lately. Fortunately it isn't everyday but probably once a month. This one is beside our house on the TransCanada Trail (it brought down a deer a couple of days earlier). It was pretty big compared to the coyotes I see around here, easily 70 lbs. I have to say this one is particularly attractive as most of the coyotes I have seen looked much rattier.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuE_gmc6DBA

We live in eastern Montana and we have lots of Coyotes. They can be alone at times .but most of the time they travel in packs. the only way to keep them out of your yard is put your fence about foot to foot half in the ground, (taking about the wire) had hot wire to the top of it and the bottom. And if that dont work Shot them.

with smaller pets and even larger pets they will call them out. they will act like a dog and get your pets to follow them. once they have them away from the house or yard the whole pack will take them out. This also go's for
wolfs. But I would say dont let your kids out at night alone. They (coyotes ) do most of thier hunting at night.

because we live on a working ranch any coyote we see ends up with a 45 round in them. We don't play around with them. We had a cow down the other day and in hours the coyotes killed her.