What is this.......Bui

Black Coyote, Dog, Coydog..........?

Built like a Yote, moves like a Yote. I've seen some nearly black Coyotes before...but not with a white/light throat patch.

NEVER seen any of the neighbors dogs by themselves late at night.
What do you guys think? I simply don't know.



I know the video doesn't show it too well....or for very long.

Halloween's around the corner.

I say werewolf.

German Sheppard?

Never seen one on my property and no one has one within miles that I am aware of. Doesn't mean one couldn't have been dumped, but a GS would be WAY larger than this canine.

I've been looking at the video full screen on my computer.

The tail doesn't look right to me for a normal Coyote.

That’s a hard call

1st coyote I ever killed was that color. Tail does seem funny, but the rest is about right for yote.

Yep you don't see a curved tail like that on most yotes and they don't carry them up high like that. I think there's some dog in there someplace.

Just a dog.

Difficult for me to see.

Not sure

Seems like a dog to me.

Oh....I have pics and videos of plenty of Yotes carrying their tails high. Also yotes with curved, up-swept tails, but 'most' are not.

IDK....just something about this one that strikes me as a bit odd.

A Black dog with a White throat patch

I know....and I apologize for that.

The video is not very definitive. Doesn't show the Canine for very long and is at night.

I can enlarge the video some.....but it loses quality so badly....that pretty much only the 'gait' and general appearance are of any benefit.

I'm going to have to go with dog. May have been dumped in your area although it looks in good shape.

Possible. It's not that Coyotes don't have that marking normally (throat patch) it's just that I haven't seen a melanistic one show a 'noticeable' one.


Conversely, black dogs very often DO have that marking.

IF its a dog....it is out very late at night and I've never seen this one before on my property or recognize as a neighbors dog. But you could be right. That is why I am here asking for opinions.

^^^^^^

Could be. Just trying to reconcile why it would be out at 1:30 a.m. WAY back in the woods (nearest house is mine and that's about 1.5 miles away.

No other dogs with it. Just very strange.

I have cameras out in several spots and have not seen this animal before (first time for everything I guess).

I DO have pics and videos of other dark Coyotes (some possibly Coydogs) from that same area in the past. Not trying to labor the point or force it one way or the other, just not leaning towards dog at this juncture. But appreciate your submission as well as the others.

As members give their responses, if you would, please elaborate 'why' you feel it is whatever you submitted.

No coyote. Black dog.

Ears seem small for a coyote too

It looks too bouncy to me. Dog's heads are typically more bouncy than coyotes when they trot. Coming into a call, coyotes can get real bouncy especially in ground cover, but your critter looked like it was just travelling to me. That was why I said dog. Watch this coyote's eyes and nose, very little up and down. I could be wrong but that was my take on it.

I agree it is not displaying a 'normal' gait and that is part of what made me question its heritage.

There isn't enough 'Coyote' like features about it (appearance, gait, etc) for me to call it Coyote, but also not enough 'Dog' to convince me (yet).

We have really large Coyotes in Deep East Texas as compared to other parts of the State so 'size' doesn't sway me one way or the other.

And some Coyotes (just depends on what they are doing) will bounce along too....but they DO tend to keep the head fairly level.

Here is a large Yote in that same area.



And here a possible 'Coydog' but for certain NOT a dog. I had spotted this one several times in daylight running across my pasture. But has a larger/blockier head than your typical Coyote. Some would look at it and declare 'Dog' but it isn't. And we have all manner of dark coated yotes to further confuse things.

dog

And this one?

Could be either. We've got some long-legged yotes near here so it's possible, but looks more like a dog. Dogs that like to roam can cover several miles in a night, no problem. i usually catch more than one dog at a time on camera & I know they are miles from neighbors. Mild mannered by day, pack hunters by night.

These look nothing like the dog/yote in your video, just saying don't be surprised to see dogs miles from nowhere in the middle of the night.

X2

Yup.
Adios,
gary

X3. Moves just like mine. My GSD is a runner when he gets out. His personal best was 2.4 miles when we got the call from that someone had him. Took him about 20 minutes or so to get that far.

Fair Point.

I have videos of my neighbors dogs on occasion, but always in the daytime. We have hog-dogs come through (trespassing) fairly regular, but those are always in at least pairs and are Cur Dogs or Pits.

The consensus seems to be 'Dog' so we will go with that.

I'm thinking dog. My in-laws were ranchers & farmers in central Texas, and folks were always dumping dogs out in the country. That one seems healthy, and acts like it knows where it's going so I suspect it is not a very recent arrival, but it sure looks like a dog to me.

It's just someone's dog.

Why does everyone assume this animal is black? I am surprised that in all the answers, no one has mentioned the infrared. Game cameras. Night. Infrared. It really messes with light and dark. I have found when game cameras take pictures of me at night, light thinks sometimes look black. Things get really messed up.
In the video, I see the light from the camera illuminating the ground. But, for whatever reason, the camera does not illuminate the animal. No light reflecting off it. The animal is probably not black, it is just not reflecting light.
As for the other stuff on gait and tail etc: I dunno.

I see a german sheppard like others.

I am aware of the trickery that can occur with IR light on different colored objects. Particularly clothing, where light colored material appears dark. But I am intimately familiar with this camera (having used it for years, all year long). I can assure you the Canine is dark colored (not necessarily black).

It is true that the animal is not fully in the IR beam, you make a good point. But neither is the buck in the video below. It is about the same distance out, same camera, same location, just on the left side of the video. As you can see....it does not appear very dark (not like the canine). But IR can skew things depending upon what it is.



I have videos of Red Fox where the light colored tips appear black. I also have videos of myself in dark camo, that look I am the Michelin Man under the IR light, so your suggestion is not lost on me. It just didn't take place in this instance.

Agreed - we have a lab mix that looks just like that.

We will go with the collective wisdom offered. (Dog)

Thanks to all.... for your submissions.

Maybe I'll get a chance to see it in the daylight, who knows.

With Deer Season about to start I will be back in that area frequently. I already keep cameras out all the year 'round.

Can’t say for sure but it could be a mountain lion. Why do you ask?

Some folks would say 'Dog' based on coloration. But I have video of this one clearly showing Coyote. Not trying to 'bait' you.....just curious what you might have thought.

Well.....gentlemen, its settled.

Definitely a 'Dog'. All who said so were correct.

Have no idea where it came from.

Black...like I thought, can't really tell the breed (mixed perhaps). Doesn't appear to have a collar and in the daylight doesn't look to be in as good a shape as first thought.

I know one thing though....it needs to be gone before next weekend.