I’m not really talking about legal dog hunting…..illegal dog hunting…..or what have you…….I’m simply talking about how a deer (and eventually the deer herd) will react to being pursued by a “predator”….human, coyote, dog, etc…….Its a natural response for them to decrease movement and decrease their range……Its simply a matter of them not exposing themselves as much when they feel threatened. Like I said in the other post…….What is and what isn’t a threat to them is a learned behavior. The frequency of them being threatened dictates to what degree you see it having an impact.

Its what we’re seeing happening right now with coyotes. Coyotes have learned to take down weak and wounded deer and they’re harassing the herd as a whole to pick out these weak and wounded ones. The more frequent this behavior becomes the more impact it has on the deer’s reaction to it and their behavioral changes. Some people may not being seeing a dramatic impact while other may. Places where yotes are grouping up in packs and harassing the deer will likely be the worst. Running dogs is no different except for the frequency is much less. You’re not out there 24/7 running them…..you’re turning loose for one or two runs every few weekends or something. Now, stray dogs roaming a property that’s more like the yotes….Like I was saying its not just black and white….it does or doesn’t…..all or nothing......It's situational