Tracks: coyote or dog??

[Frogman]

Hey guys,

I am still having difficulty distinguishing coyote tracks from dog tracks.  I posted these photos yesterday along with photos of my stands.  But I wanted to start another thread to get input from you more experienced hunters about the tracks.  I found these tracks in and area where there should not be many dogs.  I assumed they were coyote tracks, but I'm hoping some of you guys can help me verify that.  Here are the photos . . .The tracks were found along this road . . .





Here are some of the tracks with a quarter for size reference . . .


Photo #1


Photo #2


Photo #3


Photo #4


And the best ones . . .

Photo #5


Photo #6


Photo #7


Any help with how you distinguish between the two would be appreciated.  So, what do you guys think?  Coyotes, or dogs??

Jim

[KySongDog]

Here ya go, Jim.

http://finsandfur.net/forums/index.php?topic=821.0

[Bills Custom Calls]

My guess would be coyote,And the reason you are seeing so much toenail is the ground being so soft

[Coulter]

I disagree Bill...some of those tracks are awfully round...and large. Even with the soft ground those claw marks look like a dog that hasn't had the nails clipped since...well...ever. Also all of the nail marks are leaving roughly the same impression. Coyotes typically leave more of an impression with the two middle toes and a very light impression with the outer toes. Sometimes the outer nail marks don't show up at all. That link that Semp posted demonstrates exactly what I am trying to say. I'm going domestic on this one and saying dog. Probably a running dog judging by the splay of the toes.

Steve

[Jimmie in Ky]

4,5,and 7 look right. The others are definately dog. Pay close attention to the pads . You can see the diference.

2,3,AND 4 Are made the same day with the others made on diferent days. One to two days old.Jimmie

[Bills Custom Calls]

So I could be half right 

[possumal]

I'd say most, if not all, are dog tracks.  Too round to be coyotes.  The soft mud distorts them some, but the outer nails are turned inward on coyote tracks, not spayed out.

[RShaw]

A single track can sometimes be hard to determine whether it is a coyote or not. I can take some pictures of a few neat footed dog tracks that would fool most. Sometimes the only way to be for sure, is to see where the tracks are going, what things along the way that get investigated, and generally getting a feel for what the coyote or dog is actually doing there in the first place. Getting on a coyote track in the snow and following it, is a great way to learn.

Randy

[alscalls]

Generally when the nails are leaning like that I say dog and get on with my day......Two things for sure...It aint fresh
And there is .25 cents on the ground    Not half bad

[Okanagan]

Ditto to Randy.  I can't always tell them apart, especially with one or a few tracks.   I like Randy's "neat footed" description.  I hadn't heard that but it says it well:  generally coyote tracks show toes that are bunched tighter together, a more compact track with less splayed out toes.  Domestic dogs, like domestic cattle, tend to make a more sloppy track, with more splayed out toes.  But there are exceptions.  I killed a whopper old coyote that came in on a run and in the damp sandy soil his tracks were big and sloppy, toes splayed out and I'd have called it a domestic dog if I hadn't been back trailing a coyote I'd just killed.  And some dogs have "neat" tracks with toes tight together.

The tracks in your photos look more like dog than coyote to me, as others have said, but not having tracked coyotes in your area, I don't know enough of their local characteristics to say for sure.  Different average size of critters in different regions can make a difference in how a track prints, as can age, weight and health of the animal, not to mention how fast he is walking/running etc.

[Jimmie in Ky]

Pics two and four were made the same day in similar soil . What do you see? Jimmie

[HaMeR]

So what are the chances that a coyote splays it's toes in softer soil to avoid sinking in at all?? 

[alscalls]

The coyote that made this track was being shot at by me and Frogman at redbird at the time he made this track.....



I hope this helps..... I can only learn from what I know for sure....and this is one of many that I know for sure was made by a coyote

[canine]

I usually try and look at a set of tracks and determine if the pad sizes are different. Meaning, a coyote has larger front feet than rear feet. Also what Randy say's, a coyote will travel much different than a dog, they will investigate many things that a common dog will bypass.

Also there is the "x" theory, Rich (CCP) explains that one well!


JD

[Frogman]

We did find pieces of two box turtle shells along that road.  Appeared that the dog or coyote had killed and ate a box turtle or two.  One of the pieces of turtle shell actually had teeth mards on it.  I wish I had taken pictures of them.  Also found some rabbit fur along the road near some of the tracks.  Here is the rabbit fur . . .



Does the above info help???

Jim

[SCcoyotehunter]

Dog, defiantly dog

[Carolina Coyote]

I think K-9, the whole footprint is very round.cc