A brave Doberman took on a mountain lion and somehow lived to tell the tale.

There should be a follow up story so we can see how he's doing! And I'd like to know what part of CA this is. Was it up in the mountains or right in a neighborhood?
Agreed, although the story broke last March it actually happened over a year ago according to the article.
 
There should be a follow up story so we can see how he's doing! And I'd like to know what part of CA this is. Was it up in the mountains or right in a neighborhood?
Tujunga is an area north of Los Angeles,in the foothills.
It isn't uncommon for cats or bears to wander down the mountain for a snack or to swim in someone's pool.
 
Wow, I think someone must've showed up. You can see the lion glance the way it came then spooked as soon as it saw whatever it was. That dog is damn lucky. So unfortunate he's living outside most likely...

Something spooked the lion. That dog was doomed with the grip on its neck. I'm not sure if the chain played a part in this attack or not. The dobe was still unable to escape the walled yard and was clearly stalked and caught by surprise. It looked like the only thing that saved the dobe was its weight. If it had been a lighter dog, the chain might have saved its life in this situation. The lion tried to carry the dog off after being spooked, but the dog was too heavy to be carried up over the wall. A chain on a lighter dog would have prevented the lion from running off with it too.

It was the owner, like we thought. In this video you can see him approach in the top left of the screen...

 
He didn't seem like he was in any rush.. Kinda looked like he was finishing a smoke or something and watching in amusement for the first several seconds.
Probably more like shock and disbelief of what he was seeing,followed by caution and fear.
I wouldn't be in an all fire hurry to rush a mountain lion.
 
In this video, a female Giant Schnauzer that reportedly weighs a hefty 93 lbs. survived an attack from a mountain lion. The GS stood its ground for a second or so, then was like Nope and turned quickly away but was attacked immediately upon that move. Reportedly, the owner came out and shouted and that I guess distracted the big cat enough for the GS to get up, snap and get away.

Phew!

 
In this video, a female Giant Schnauzer that reportedly weighs a hefty 93 lbs. survived an attack from a mountain lion. The GS stood its ground for a second or so, then was like Nope and turned quickly away but was attacked immediately upon that move. Reportedly, the owner came out and shouted and that I guess distracted the big cat enough for the GS to get up, snap and get away.

Phew!

I pulled up the insta last night as has become my habit ever since I started conducting dog research, and this account I follow gave insight that I had't considered in my quick assessment of this case. This insta account guy is someone who keeps/works/breeds dogs do hog catching. He's a hardcore dog guy. Actually, could be a woman for all I know. Their assessment was that the GS turned away in that manner because it was trying to play. I can see that. I did think the GS's body motion there was unusual, but I chalked it up to the dog being totally unfamiliar with the type of creature with which it was being beset.

But yeah, as you might imagine, this person is very harsh on breeds of dogs and their breeders who have stripped dogs of their working abilities. That's what he chalked this up to.

They also, along with most commenters, posited that this must've been a young mountain lion, else it would've vanquished the dog.
 
They also, along with most commenters, posited that this must've been a young mountain lion, else it would've vanquished the dog.
I said that about the two coyotes that got ahold of Kali a while back. There was two of them and she's about 10, 11 lbs! And they were far enough away from me that they could have easily taken her. I remember seeing the two coyotes weeks before and thought they look like young coyotes.

So I did think that her escape was due to a couple of things. One, them being young and maybe even mostly playing with her. Two, she was fighting on sand so I wonder if that helped that she can move deeper into the sand as she fought. Rather than them being able to pin her on a solid surface. And three, me screaming might have scared them off.

But that dog still got a lot of stitches so I doubt that mountain lion was playing. They have huge teeth and you would think they'd just grab them at the neck, sink in teeth deep and not let go and it would be an easy kill.🤷‍♀️. He was lucky like Kali!
 
I would have had that mountain lion's pelt.
Yep.
I’m sure laws are a bit better in your state.
Here in Cali it’s illegal to kill one “unless” it’s actively trying to kill livestock or pets.
This would definitely qualify!!


I know a guy that found a dead cougar on the side of the road in Corona, river road, by the airport.
He being a Texan immigrant pulled over and tossed the body in the trunk of his car and was going to take it to a taxidermist.
Went home, grabbed his check book ( it was that long ago, paper checks, lol) and as he was going to go take it to the taxi guy, a game warden showed up at his house!!
We’re talking 20-25 minutes from picking it up off the road.
Was a hefty ticket!!!
 
Here in Cali it’s illegal to kill one “unless” it’s actively trying to kill livestock or pets.
Here in MN it's even illegal to shoot a wolf if it's going after your pets or livestock, so we have an unspoken "shoot and shut up" rule. I would never do that normally but you're damn straight I would if it was going after one of our animals.
 
Here in MN it's even illegal to shoot a wolf if it's going after your pets or livestock, so we have an unspoken "shoot and shut up" rule. I would never do that normally but you're damn straight I would if it was going after one of our animals.
Wolves...
There’s a different animal.
But?
Same rules should? apply.
I’ll just leave it at that, although I know rules are different.
The structure is different.

They? Aren’t introducing lions back into the population.
Wolves. There’s an active program going.
I’ve seen rural bus stops in Nee Mexico.
School kids, sitting inside a cage. Because recently re-introduced wolf packs.

A cat? Or a pack of wolves.?

I think I’d rather deal with a single cat.

We do not have wolves in this area. We have Bobcats. We have mountain lions.
We have packs of coyote.
Maxie, our Corgie mix from tha days before Rocky, she chased Coyotes, plural.
One of our scrawny coyotes is 60lbs-70 max best, healthy and fed.
One wolf? Is the weight of close to 2 coyotes, and then there’s the mind behind it.
I’d rather face 3 Cali Coyotes vs one full grown, well fed wolf.🤷‍♂️😇
 
They're trying to get wolves off the endangered list since there are so many of them around here but you have the AR people screaming about even considering it.

We have cougars too but until all of the trail cams started catching them, the DNR denied it.
 
Yep.
I’m sure laws are a bit better in your state.
Here in Cali it’s illegal to kill one “unless” it’s actively trying to kill livestock or pets.
This would definitely qualify!!


I know a guy that found a dead cougar on the side of the road in Corona, river road, by the airport.
He being a Texan immigrant pulled over and tossed the body in the trunk of his car and was going to take it to a taxidermist.
Went home, grabbed his check book ( it was that long ago, paper checks, lol) and as he was going to go take it to the taxi guy, a game warden showed up at his house!!
We’re talking 20-25 minutes from picking it up off the road.
Was a hefty ticket!!!
I remember hiking the Laguna Mtns in San Diego Cty in 80's. There was a large (hundreds) herd of deer that grazed there. After outlawing hunting and trapping cougars, now there are no deer left, or in hiding. An adult pair will take ten a year.

All the wildfires pushed the cats closer to the coast. Now they feed on elderly hikers and mtn bikers...
 
I remember hiking the Laguna Mtns in San Diego Cty in 80's. There was a large (hundreds) herd of deer that grazed there. After outlawing hunting and trapping cougars, now there are no deer left, or in hiding. An adult pair will take ten a year.

All the wildfires pushed the cats closer to the coast. Now they feed on elderly hikers and mtn bikers...
This may not be Hott Topics, so I don't know if this is allowed (and it's got the requisite coarse language), but this vid is on topic with where this thread has steered. It''s not as political as the title pic suggests.

 
I remember hiking the Laguna Mtns in San Diego Cty in 80's. There was a large (hundreds) herd of deer that grazed there. After outlawing hunting and trapping cougars, now there are no deer left, or in hiding. An adult pair will take ten a year.

All the wildfires pushed the cats closer to the coast. Now they feed on elderly hikers and mtn bikers...
Actually Ronald Reagan (then Cali Governor) signed bills banning hunting lions in the 70s.

I lived in Elsinore in the late 80s, and in Orange earlier in the 80s. Both are along that same mountain range that extends from San Diego all the way to Anaheim.

There’s a small gap (a half to a mile-ish) and not very populated in Santa Ana river canyon/Prada basin.

I can assure you there are still many deer up there.
I’ve not seen herds of 100s but dozens to 25? 30? for sure.
At this point their only predators are coyotes and cars.

When they built highway 241 that runs from Santa Ana Canyon up over the mountain with legs down to Irvine, El Toro and Lake Forrest, many folks were surprised to see the deer crossing signs.
I wasn’t, I knew they were up there, lol.

Have seen them in the hills above Yorba Linda, too.
They are smaller and not sure of the species.
A little taller than a Great Dane.

The lion population is definitely on the rise here in So Cal.
Depredation permits are issued every year, usually 150-200 lions a year are taken by ranchers or State hunters acting on complaints by ranchers and home owners, and of course the elederly and mountain biking victims/families.
 
Gel, thanks for the local update.
I hunted the Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton a couple years. Recall the game warden conducting the mandatory hinter safety class saying they had thirteen (13) on radio collars within the 200 sq miles at one time, this during the wildfire years that pushed them down out of the Cuyamacas, like in Orange County.

Thats about the range of one male/breeding pair, normally. The deer population on the base has declined quite a bit, also due habitat loss by fire and drought. Multiple Dry years take a toll.
Last time I talked to the head biologist they were down to 2-4 collars tracked thru the base. So the cats died out or moved on. They are very mobile as you know.

In the end its about habitat loss due to encroachment and fragmentation of natural land by housing development.
 
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