Gus will usually stay near me and browse around while I�m calling. He understands the drill and keeps an eye out for coyotes. When he sees a coyote, he will usually come and sit near me. This has proven to be just enough in the past because at that point, the coyote�s attention is solely on Gus and that is where it stays. I�ve had coyotes come in that have been so keyed on my dog that when I stood up to shotgun the coyote, they didn�t even notice me as he and Gus were locked in a death stare.

Just this past month, I was up camping with my family. In the predawn hours I slipped out of my tent, grabbed ol� Gus and my rifle and headed off. I found a nice clearing and settled into some brush and began to call. Gus was out in front of me looking for chipmunks when about 3 min into the stand, he came to full alert and stood on his back two feet. Just then I saw movement out ahead of me. Here came the coyote! By the time I saw him, he was already locked onto Gus. Gus did his little bark-growl routine and then came and sat right next too me. That coyote just kept coming. At about 15 feet, the coyote stopped and stared at Gus who was right at my left shoulder. I still had my rifle across my lap and couldn�t move as I was having way too much fun for this to end yet. The coyote began to walk and was now standing directly downwind of me when he started trotting away. At that moment, I released Gus who bolted in the coyote�s direction. As he did, the coyote did a couple short jumps and turned toward Gus and started after him. Both dogs disappeared behind me which gave me the opportunity to bring my gun to attention. I turned around to watch the game of cat and mouse. Gus kept looking at me with eyes that seemed to say, �Are you going to shoot yet?� I couldn�t get a shot so I came to my knees and brought the rifle up. Gus came running directly at me and sat down at my side with the coyote right behind him. Yup, that coyote died at 10 steps.

I love having a dog when calling tough coyotes. As many of you know, toward the end of the calling season, coyotes can be awfully call-shy and having a dog gives you something different to throw at them. Coyotes will often stop at a distance to reconnoiter the territory to look for danger. In my mind, seeing another canine there takes the fear of humans away. Last year in Nevada, we were calling in an area that gets hit pretty hard from callers. I�m convinced that by having �Gus� along with us on those trips, our success went up. On one stand, we had a coyote hang up on us and we couldn�t shake him loose. I sent Gus through the brush. The coyote lowered his head to the ground and started coming on the prowl. Because of the thick brush, Gus didn�t see the coyote for a while but when he did, he was right back in my lap. By that time, the coyote was well in shooting range and my good friend Dan made a great shot on him.

I get asked if I take a dog on every stand. My answer is �No but I wouldn�t be afraid to.� Good luck out there my fellow wolfers. The season is upon us. Happy Hunting.