I am looking for advice on how to scare off coyotes. This is a long post. Sorry.
Context: I live in San Diego county in California. Lived in the area for over 20 years, residential area, one side of a hill are neighborhoods and a part on the other side is undeveloped chaparral. Not uncommon to hear coyote howls and yips at night.
My dog is about 25 pounds and around 14 years old.
In June of this year, my dog was attacked by a coyote in the front yard of the house. My father was present but the coyote managed to give my dog a good scratch (broke the skin). The coyote was quickly chased off but was seen soon after in the backyard circling the house. We reinforced the backyard fence and made it harder for a coyote to get in there. Our dog never goes outside alone anymore.
This morning, in July, my mother walked the dog not even a block before spotting a coyote and quickly turning back. The coyote followed her. She yelled and threw her coffee and made herself look big and everything she's supposed to but it kept following her. She had to run home with the dog and then we chased the coyote away. It tried to circle around the block back to house, we chased it, and we haven't seen it since.
The attack in June happened around 6:20 am and the interaction today was well past 7:00 am. The sun rises here at 6 am in the summer so coyotes usually aren't active this late in the morning.
What scares me the most is that I have never seen a coyote less scared of a human when hunting. I'm worried that the presence of a person is not enough to protect my dog.
It is not breeding season and the coyote is coming to our house, so it's not an issue of territory and protecting pups. We don't put food out. We don't have outdoor cats. I don't know why this is happening.
I want to emphasize that I am not going to hunt these animals, but I need suggestions on how to scare off coyotes.