A lot of people report that their dogs have come under attack from crows, seemingly quite randomly. Is this something that really happens, or has something triggered that crow’s attack? Let’s explain.
The only time a crow is going to attack a dog is if the crow believes that it is under threat. If you see a crow attempting to attack your dog, then chances are that your dog was the instigator. There is also a strong chance that your dog wandered a little bit too close to a crow’s nest that has baby crows in it.
Let’s expand upon this a little bit.
When Does A Crow Attack A Dog?
While it isn’t unheard of, most crows are not going to attack a dog randomly. A crow will see a dog as a predator. (What all are crows predators?)
In their mind, it is going to be best to stay as far away from the predator as they possibly can.
If a crow is attacking a dog, then you know that the crow is trying to defend something of theirs. Typically, this is going to be a nest, their young, or their eggs.
In many cases, it won’t just be a single crow attacking a dog. Instead, it is going to be multiple crows attacking the dog at once. They may divebomb the dog.
Some people have speculated that dog attacking is a learned behavior. Even if your dog doesn’t look like a threat, the crows may still attack it.
This is because they have likely dealt with something threatening their young before and they really don’t want to take the risk.
This means that if you do stumble across a murder of crows that has never seen a dog before, they may not even act in an aggressive manner.
Is a dog in danger if a crow attacks it?
Not really. Although, it is going to be somewhat dependent on the number of crows that are attacking the dog, as well as the size of the dog.
The whole reason why the crows are attacking the dog is that they see it as a threat, even if the dog does not actually seem to be all that threatening.
Basically, the crows believe that the dog is going to be capable of some harm toward them. This is true. Even the smallest of dogs are likely to have the upper hand against a crow.
The crow isn’t really trying to hurt your dog when it attacks. Instead, it is trying to scare it away from the area.
Your dog is likely to get pecked a little bit, but that is it. The crow is just trying to act in a threatening way just to get your dog to say “alright, fine. I’ll move on”.
After the initial ‘attack’, the crow will fly away. If the dog doesn’t seem to be changing what it is doing, then it will probably divebomb the dog again.
The only time that your dog is really going to be in any sort of danger is if they have multiple crows attacking it at once.
However, even then, it is only going to be the smaller dogs that may run into problems here. They are going to get pecked a little bit, but we doubt that their life is really at risk.
Honestly, your main concern would be to ensure that the crows are healthy. If you are an avid birdwatcher, then it is your responsibility to ensure that bird populations in a particular area remain high.
If you are consistently walking your dog through an area, and your dog seems to be consistently posing a threat towards the crows (whether it is real or perceived), you have a responsibility to deal with the problem.
How can you prevent a crow from attacking a dog?
As we said, crows generally only attack dogs when their young are threatened. Once their young are a few weeks old and have started to fly, then the crows don’t really care too much about predators in the area. This is because they know that they can escape.
This means that you should have a rough idea about what the breeding is for the particular crow in your area.
Remember, crows will time their mating season based upon lack of predators and abundance of food. it is going to be different for each crow type.
Your best bet is to just avoid any areas with nesting crows during the mating season. There is no chance that the crows are going to actively seek out your dog.
If it does look like your dog could be attacked, then stick them on the leash and walk out of that area as quickly as possible.
Chances are that you probably won’t need to walk too far. As soon as a crow knows that you aren’t a threat, then they are going to back off.
If you absolutely must wander into areas where crows may have their young about, then we suggest that you bring a few treats along with you.
Many people have found that by dropping small seeds or nuts on the floor when a crow looks like it is becoming aggressive, the crow starts to calm down. This is because they are no longer seeing you or your dog as a threat.
The only problem with that solution is that you will be interfering with local bird populations. You are giving them food when they should be hunting it down themselves.
It isn’t something that you want to be doing too regularly. You don’t want the crows to become reliant on the food that you are handing them.
5 Tips To Prevent Crows from Attacking Dogs
Here are 5 effective tips to prevent your dogs from being attacked by crows.
- Identify the Crow Territory and Don’t let you dog go there.
- Distract Crows With Their Favorite Treats like unsalted peanuts and dried corn.
- Use Motion-activated sprinklers
- Use Owl Decoys to Divert Crows
- keep your dog indoors during crows breeding season
Final Words
It is very rare for a crow to attack a dog. This is because they know that the dog is much stronger than they are. If you spot a crow attacking a dog, then this would indicate that the crow is attempting to protect their nest or their young. Try to leave the area as soon as possible.
