I don't see coyotes as ANY kind of threat. Wolves are virtually no threat, either.

But bears scare me to death. Garbage can bears scare me the most. I have only been around two of them that I've seen, and suspected two more from the way my dog was acting (she was cutting in front of me and pressing against my shins to force me backwards). We backed off and retraced our steps, both of us with our chins on our shoulders.

Two mail carriers that I've known both have said that they knew of other carriers that were afraid of dogs, and had used pepper spray on them. Both had had previously-sprayed dogs come right over the fence at them, when they had only barked before.

So, I've wondered if using pepper spray is setting up the next person that comes along for a REALLY nasty surprise?

Sue