How do I get this fox to fuck off?!

[Donutbed]

This damn fox will not stop following me and my dog on our late night walk around the block. It's a total twat. If I take a right turn, it follows us. If I let the fox get ahead and it goes one way, I go another - and then it comes back and starts following us again!

My dog goes mad and barks and pulls at the lead when twat fox is about and it's becoming a nightly occurrence. How do I get it to piss off?! Obviously telling it to fuck off isn't working and I must look and sound like a lunatic. What can I do to shoo it away?! It's ruining our previous lovely late night walks.

I've lived in London all my life and never been harassed like this as a female lone walker or had to 'vary my route' before! Help

And for those suggesting the dog is picking up on the OPs feelings about the fox and that’s why it’s agitated- well possibly, but as the owner of a dog with some terrier heritage, I can vouch for the fact that some dogs will never not be excited/vexed about foxes, no matter how chilled out their owner is. When I let my dog out in the garden for his evening wee, he bursts out of the back door and runs Zoomies around the garden making loud exhalations (we call it the ‘power snort’) as well as growling and barking. If he can see, hear or smell a fox, he goes nuts and there’s no talking him out of it.

I have a terrier too and a fox has recently started hanging around my garden. I check the garden before I let the dog out but as soon as the dog is out I know if the fox has been there because the dog will track it's scent all over the garden. I like watching the fox but there is no doubt in my mind that it wouldn't end well if my dog and the fox were to meet and I have no idea which one would would come off worst. I'd like to discourage the fox because I really don't want to deal with a fox/dog fight. Reading the thread in case there are any suggestions.

aww that's a shame

My mum has (adult) foxes follow her while she's out with the dog and although they've never attacked she says they come across quite aggro. But these are Bradford foxes so probably not as classy as your London foxes.

Fox’s don’t like dogs so will maintain a safe distance and if the dog chased after the fox , it would usually run like the clappers !
A fox visits my deceased dad’s garden but his Newfoundland is usually waiting and goes after the fox which doesn’t stick around !
They do get into fights with cats .. my large old tabby has had a few altercations with fox’s which have involved a trip to the vets and the vet said he suspected the fox came off worse !

It’s really rare for fox’s to attack humans although it has been documented to happen .. there are way more dog attacks than there are fox attacks ..

They generally keep a distance from humans even if they come into your garden .. there’s no harm in putting food out for them but it’s generally not a good idea to try and “tame” them as this is when they start approaching strangers for food which sadly doesn’t always end well for the fox .. they need to keep a healthy “fear” of humans in a sense to keep themselves safe .
They don’t like citrus peel smells so you could always try carrying a bag of orange peelings or similiar and it may be put off by the smell and leave you alone

I love foxes, but I can understand why you don't want them near you if it upsets your dog! How about taking a handful of tiny biscuits eg cat kibble, with you and scattering them in a safe place such as a quiet pavement, when you see the fox? Then walk on. The fox will smell the biscuits and start eating them, but as there are lots of them, it will take some time, by which time you and your dog will be round the corner and out of sight, so the fox probably won't pursue you.

You do have to be careful that they don't get too tame and trusting of humans though, so move on quickly so he doesn't get too close to you.

What happens if you turn and face the fox and walk/run towards it? I bet it runs off.

Problem solved.

(It works: it is what my daughter used to do with off lead dogs on the road (the walkers here don't bother with leads or picking poo off peoples front lawns, since Covid, sadly.) When dogs chased and barked when riding her pony, she got the pony to turn and chase the dog, in the end the pony saw it as a game and would chase dogs out of his field by thundering after them at a gallop.

@LakeTiticaca say it louder 🙌🏻🙌🏻🦊🥰

Don't be so fucking stupid. Look at the hatred for foxes on here - do you think teaching them that humans are a source of food is a good idea?
People who feed wildlife (except birds in winter) are morons - they endanger the animals massively and cause a lot of problems for them. Do not teach and train wild animals to come to humans. Ever. it kills them.

Brilliant

WinterMorn · Yesterday 23:40
thinkfast · Yesterday 23:19

Have you tried shouting at it? Spraying water on it? They are fuckers. I hate them.

“They have as much right to be here as you.”

Absolutely this. Such hatred against a fellow living creature. No wonder humans start wars.
Feed the poor little thing. It’s probably lost its mum and is hungry.

@User1979289
don't be so fucking stupid - what's with the aggression?
And why are you saying you should only feed birds in the winter? That's bollocks - what harm is it doing to feed wee birds in your garden all year round?

I fed a little fox once. I think if wild animals approach us they might need help

Super soaker!

I worked for a wildlife rescue for 12 years and the stupidity of feeding wild animals and the suffering it causes is horrific. When you have seen 7 young foxes be destroyed as they are too malnourished to brought back to health, you angry about it.
Feeding birds in the summer stops them from learning foraging behaviour as part of the natural rearing process - they are parented - it is not all instinct. Then, if you move, or go away for a month, they can starve whilst surrounded by food in the hedgerows.
People giving them self 'feelzzz' by feeding wild animals is nit a benign act - it is harmful and dangerous to the animals.

And they are not 'wee birds' to be patronised and fed. They are wild animals, to be respected, observed and their environment protected. I have recently spent my life savings on a woodland which we are keeping for this purpose so, yes, I do have a lot of 'skin in the game'

We have loads of them near us. They run about in the school playground during the day and my garden is in bits. I hate them.

Do not feed it. Shout at it and clap your hands.

It is because the dog is barking at it. Did you not read that?

It's probably hoping you will feed it (so don't) and while I agree with others that it isn't doing any harm as such, I wouldn't want one following me either if it was stressing my dog out.

I'd try getting a bright torch with a flashing setting and shining it towards the fox or take a squirty bottle with some water and spray it if it comes too close. It won't hurt it but may put it off following you.

@MariaVT65
There have been incidents with cats smothering babies.
Too many incidents with dogs to comprehend.

And yet we share our houses with those as pets.

foxes make awesome pets. just take him home. he wants love and cuddles

It's a fox. Get over yourself. He has a right to life as much as you do.

It’s a government spy drone. Have you paid your TV Licence?

This is me 😭😭😭

We had a mouse problem in our kitchen. Left "humane" mouse traps out, caught two of them, then I insisted we make a little house for them out of a large plastic container with holes in, fed and watered them and then DP drove 10 miles to release them into the wild in an area we thought was a particularly nice place for mice to live😂

So yeah no advice really because I'd have fed the fox, let it follow me home and it would probably be sleeping in my bed as we speak 😐

Oh FFS. My dog barks at everything - the postman, cyclists, squirrels, anyone carrying one of those tennis ball flingers, people with walking sticks... I'm not sat trying to find a way to get rid of them all so my dog never barks again.

Cheese puffs. Do you carry them in your pocket? It maybe after those.
Dfox probably has intel to pass on and thinks you work at The Folly on Russel Square. Swing by ,knock on and ask for Abigail.
She'll look after him/her.
(Rivers of London fan)
.

Awww, just let him follow. 🙂