Wesley Ahmed
Jul 22, 2026, 3:00 PM
Small win I wanted to share. We've been walking our beagle, Biscuit, on the Jeffrey Open Space Trail near Portola Springs right at sunup, and for weeks there was one coyote that would sit up on the ridge and just watch us go by. I started doing the thing everyone here talks about — stopping, making myself big, a firm "go on" — and after a few mornings it stopped bothering to get up. Now it barely glances over. I think the trick was being boring and predictable rather than surprised. Keeping Biscuit on a short six-foot leash the whole stretch, no retractable. Our HOA also just moved trash pickup earlier, which probably helped more than anything I did.
Soo Nguyen
Jul 22, 2026, 3:00 PM
That ridge-sitting behavior is interesting to me — I see the same thing on the trails behind Rancho Santa Margarita and I could never tell if it was a bad sign or just a coyote being a coyote. Sounds like the answer is mostly the latter as long as they keep their distance? Good to file away.
Thao Wright
Jul 22, 2026, 3:00 PM
Okay, the short-leash detail is the part I keep forgetting — I've got a retractable I use for our little terrier on the Trabuco trails and after reading this I'm swapping it out today. Did you ever feel like you needed anything beyond the voice and standing tall, or was that genuinely enough with a dog that small next to you?
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