Fisher vs Coon hounds?
 

I have not coon hunted in years,but,by the same token,when i did there were no Fishers that i heard of.
A cousin of mine,had told me that a Fisher,that a pair of Redbones had caught up with,killed both of the dogs.He said it had taken their throats out and they bleed to death.
Can this be true? I saw a guy with a trapped Fisher,on Face Book today,and it was pretty darn big.

They are a pretty good-sized mean, tough animal and I can easily see how one could kill a couple hounds if it felt it was backed into a corner and had no way out but to kill.

We have a pretty good population of Fishers in PA (they were reintroduced a while back) and the males will get to 20 lbs or so. Like mink, martens, weasels, wolverines etc, (mustelidae) family they all can be vicious when cornered and I have no doubt a full grown male can kill a dog. They kill and eat porcupines, they target them, one of the few animals that do. They attack the face and bite and bite until the porky bleeds to death. I have never heard of a dog being killed by one in PA but I have no doubt a Fisher can.

We have a lot of them here in Vt and I have seen several in the past few years right here on my Island. They are very capable of taking out any small animal. I haven't heard of them bothering dogs but many outdoor cats come up missing.

Even coons will really tear into a dog sometimes. So I can see a Fisher doing some damage if it decided too. I saw one two years ago, and another this year. I'm on a facebook hunting page in PA and have seen a few pictures of some big ones being trapped..
-Jake

You betcha they can! I remember one night back in the mid 50s when I was out with Dad and our black & tan and our bluetick. We knocked a big coon out of a tree and old Blue made a mistake and went up and nuzzled it in the side with his nose thinking it was dead. The coon had enough life left in it that it whirled around and grabbed old Blue right by the nose. He started bawling and when he lifted his head up and the coon hung on I can't believe it didn't tear his nose off. The coon let loose and Blue rolled that coon over like a good dog will usually do and grabbed him right in the chest and finished him off.

These are some of the toughest animals pound for pound in all of North America.

However, concerning dogs we all know the saying; "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog".

It all comes down to survival, and who wants it more !!!

Being "wild" they learn that early in life..........................

Fisher's a plenty here visiting bait sites. I don't believe they could kill a couple hounds that are working together. They'd most likely tree as soon as they heard the hounds coming. They like to jump tree to tree, and are fun to watch.

Now a wolverine would be another matter and any hound that closed with them would have a shortened career.

Good for Blue.

ATB

My cousin put a trail cam out by a dead deer a few years back, soon two coyotes found it, later a lone fisher came around and you could tell from the pics that he clearly drove the coyotes off, fishers are tuff. We had one kill our cat in our driveway, but i can't see a fisher killing one coon hound let a lone two? Freak things can happen though.

gjersey---If you would read up a little bit about the fisher you would find that it has been documented that they have killed bobcats and lynx. If they can take on and kill those nasty critters, they could easily kill a coon hound if the dog made a mistake and let them get on top of them or get them by the throat. Coons have even been known to get on the back of a coon hound in water and drown the dog and they are smaller than an adult fisher.

Going to have to call BS and bore you with an old story involving a BC and a Plott hound. Had a friend with a good male Plott and we were using him to drive coyotes to us. I was posted along what I figured would be an escape route when I heard the hound open up for just a second. Then nothing else. Awhile later I saw him coming down the trail carrying/dragging something. I thought a coyote at first but when the dog saw me he turned and went the other way. After we caught him up he had a dead bobcat, and a few marks and cuts along his abdomen, and sides. No staples required. We back tracked and it looked like either he stumbled on the BC while it was sleeping on the ground behind a dead fall. Or the BC laid in wait and bit off more than it could chew that day. Going by this, and having seen hounds dispatch countless raccoons and other vermin. Not likely a fisher could best a hound with even average fight.

I'd imagine if a fisher took out a Lynx there was something wrong with the Lynx.

Whatever, but we're not saying it would be an every day occurrence, but anything is possible. I ran enough coons in my day to know what they can do and a fisher is normally bigger and nastier than a coon. Also, you don't know that the cat you mentioned was in good shape to take on the hound and that may be why he got bested. All I can tell you is that any varmint like we're talking about can do a number on a dog in certain circumstances if things don't go just right for the dog.

I don't doubt a Plott could kill a bobcat, they used them to hunt bears. However, the question is could a Fisher kill a hunting hound and the answer is yes and I have no doubt they could kill a bobcat if they can get under them and if a coon can get a dog in water, they can and have drowned them.

I know of one walker hound that had some trouble in the water with a coon and survived. He never stepped in the water again no matter how hot it was. I guess it left a lasting impression. lol

Drowning has to be one of the worst ways to die. I inhaled a little water last night somehow and thought I was going to choke to death. Being under water has to be a terrible way to go. I was in the man cave and when I went out in to the front room I asked my retired RN wife if she had heard me. She answered affirmatively and said if she hadn't heard me keep coughing she'd have been in to help. It would be either that or start putting in the life insurance application for her money, LOL!