http://ilbob.blogspot.com/2012/10/rock-cut-state-park-10-20-12-coyote-on.html

Never seen one just sit on the trail and invite me to come visit with him before. It has been suggested to me that he was trying to lure my dog into an ambush as they are known to do this.

I have seen them at this park before, even got some grainy pictures, but this is the first good picture. I got some shaky video as well. He was maybe 75-100 yards away.

Thats a healthy looking Coyote.

BIL had one run up his yard and snatch a chicken right at his feet. His singular PET chicken of all things. So he goes running after it but alas,coyote won.

Another group spent months setting up a smaller dog of mine,Woofer.He thought he was tough but in reality it was he wasnt too bright. They managed to study his habits for months and one night they got him,never to be seen again. His sister,however,never ventured more than 3 feet (seriously) from my Black German line male GSD,she died a natural death.A group of coyotes had no interest on taking on the GSD at all.

So to answer the question,yes,your dog was at risk IMO.An ambush is indeed what you may have seen,I know Woofer did.

Not sure how Coyotes are, but having had issues with feral dogs, I'd probably stay the heck away from them as much as possible.

As far as fearing them, not really, There's no closed season and no limits on them in PA, so if one or a few of them decide to be overly aggressive it's an easy fix.

I have seen them on my street early in the morning, before it got light. I was out loading the car for a trip and when I pulled onto the street there was a coyote running up the road.

I used to shop at a grocery store that was known for having coyotes in the parking lot and they'd occasionaly take a bag away from someone. They also frequent the park that is across the road from the market, as do javelina, wild peccary.

Coyotes in the deseert SW tend to be smaller and usually not too interactive with people. In some areas they have taken pets and livestock from people's yards and farms. Coyotes are all over the area.

I have never had a problem with them and never been worried about them, at all. Mountain lions are a different matter. They used to never be a problem but since we have had some drought years they seem to be roaming closer to civilization. Bears as well. We had our first bear caused death in the state this past year and that was lady walking her dog on her neigborhood streets. We also had a bear attack recently of a camper at a campground. Again, the drought seems to be a factor.

I will say one thing about the coyote, they are smart and adaptive and nothing seems to phase them. I would not want to deal with a hungry pack while out alone, although never worry about that around here. The coyotes are well fed with small game.

don't worry about them but i would rather not have them around.we had one,maybe more,shelter under my canoes that are under tarps next to the house.the scat was ID'ed by the folks at the local wolf research station.we live in South Minneapolis not far from the Mississippi river and that winter had heated bird baths so they had open water to drink and the mice and such that come around the bird feeders.
we have never seen any just walking around but there are local folks who say they have seen them in the very early AM going down alleys.things are very clean around here with the "wheeley" style trash cans and none seem to tipped over like they would eat out of them.
the canoe parks up north are not coyote country as the wolf would drive them out,wolf are not a worry on canoe trips.
by the way the people who run the wolf research station have a couple wolf-dog mixes that they have been given by owners who could not keep them as the animals got older and very aggressive.
they have every type of wolf and coyote at the station in large runs that the public can view close up but the two mixes are kept by themselves and very out of the way.
here is a link to the wolf study center,my Wife and i spent a lot of time there working on our Master Naturalist certification.
http://www.wildlifesciencecenter.org/about-us/

He certainly looks like he has been eating well. Plenty of game in the park for a few coyotes.

Coyotes don't lure animals into an ambush. They defend territory and thats about it. Probably just checking you out. Small pet attacks notwithstanding, I'm glad coyotes are around. They keep the rodent population in check which is a good thing. Like opossums, they're nature's trash collectors.

a friend has a 3600 acre cattle ranch in Highlands County (Fla) just above Lake Okeechobee...he has a serious problem with coyotes killing newborn... they grab the mothers tail to distract her... he even has 3 large bulls that have had their tails shortened...

Not at all. Then again, I'm not a rancher and live in suburbia. Plenty of deer here - never seen a coyote. Used to see them occasionally growing up in CA.

I rather enjoy the fairly common sightings here in town; even more interesting are the bobcat sightings within the city limits. At least in nearly all areas on the lower forty-eight, I am not concerned with attacks by wild animals. Some recent statistics about visitor fatalities in the National Park system - the big three causes of death were drowning, motor vehicle accidents, and falls. Wild animal attacks were 0.6 percent, even behind bicycle accidents at 1 percent. You might think wild critters would have been chowing down on unarmed, often clueless, visitors.

Coyotes have adapted well to the settling of the continent and have increased their range over the last two hundred years; they seem to be quite comfortable in suburban settings.