When a deer feels it is beingtargeted by any type of K-9 it's first instinct is to put some ground between them and the short legged adversary. Domestic dogs will continue to trail... making a day of "Cat & Mouse". I've watched deers hearts explode during an extensivedomestic K-9 chase. Numerous times. (We also raise whitetails in captivity) Coyotes quickly realize the target is healthy and back off... no need in burning any more energy on a deer wearing jet packs. It's just a matter of calorie intake versus energy output.However- if 10 deer take off and one hobbles on a broken leg, the chase may be on. Open ground means speed- ice means instability- both are advantages for a healthy whitetail.

Sorry alsagr, not a resident and hardly an expert. I just spend a little too much time studying and hunting coyotes and whitetailsto buy into certain theories. Most of the research papers I have obtained from the USDA and local colleges are based on coyote studies performed in the Northeast. The rest of the papers were developed in the SW, and I spend a couple hundred days a year chasing Midwest coyotes. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.