Aaron Jung
Jul 23, 2026, 3:00 PM
Quick one that's been nagging me. I walk our beagle on the Oso Creek Trail behind Pavion Park most mornings around 6, and the last two weeks there's been a coyote sitting up on the ridge just watching us go by. Doesn't approach, doesn't run — just watches. Honestly it's more unsettling than if it bolted. Our HOA (Aliso Villas) sent a "keep pets leashed" email and left it at that, which didn't tell me much. My kid walks to Del Cerro Elementary a little later, maybe 7:45, so I'd love to know from folks who've dealt with a regular like this: is a coyote that just sits and observes something to change my route over, or is that pretty normal behavior?
Vincent Delacruz
Jul 23, 2026, 3:00 PM
The sitting-and-watching thing rattled me too when we had one doing the same near Melinda Heights. What helped me feel less on edge was just knowing my exits — I started carrying a little pocket air horn, never had to use it, but having it changed how I walked. A 6am beagle on a leash is probably reading as "not worth it" to a coyote that's just clocking the neighborhood, for what it's worth.
Tuan Kang
Jul 23, 2026, 3:00 PM
Over here in Laguna we get the ridge-watchers on the canyon trails and it took me a while to stop bracing every time. One thing I'd gently push back on the HOA about: "keep pets leashed" is fine but ask them whether anyone's leaving cat food or fallen fruit out near the greenbelt, because that's usually why one starts hanging around a specific spot at a specific time.
Xavier Kim
Jul 23, 2026, 3:00 PM
I'll be the odd one out — a coyote that has learned your schedule and holds its ground while you pass isn't something I'd wait around to interpret. That's exactly the pattern that ends with somebody's small dog gone, and "wave your arms, it'll leave" has never once made me feel safer about my grandkids' walk to school. I'd change the route and I'd be calling the city about that ridge, not the HOA.
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