― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 9 January 2006 13:27 (eighteen years ago) link
Since it’s the breeding season the dog fox will shadow the every move of the vixen, she is only receptive for a period of about 3 days. From the dog fox's point of view he must ensure he is there when she is ready. Several attempts to mount the vixen will be rebuffed, sometimes quite aggressively. However, when she is ready she flirts around the dog fox. Caution at this stage is thrown to the wind, and many people will observe the foxes in the process of mating. When the vixen is ready the dog fox will grasp her from behind with his front two legs and start to mate. It is said that at this point the dog fox’s penis is not totally erect until he has actually entered the vagina, when it becomes completely erect and the base of it begins to swell. Also, the vixen's vagina will constrict. This swelling and constriction will cause the pair to lock together, commonly called the 'tie'. When the dog fox ejaculates he attempts to dismount, but as they are still locked together he brings one of his back legs over the vixen’s back and there they stand, back to back, for the duration of the tie, possible for hours.
No barbs anywhere, and appears to be more painful for the male fox than the female.
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 9 January 2006 13:31 (eighteen years ago) link
so really it should be called 'foxing' not 'dogging'
― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 9 January 2006 13:33 (eighteen years ago) link
The nearest I've been is when a friend of mine used to work at the driving range doing security at night. Over a couple of years he managed to befriend and eventually hand-feed a couple of young foxes.
I wonder what happened to the foxes after he died, not everyone likes to encourage them.
― Rumpie (lil drummer girl parumpumpumpu), Monday, 9 January 2006 13:40 (eighteen years ago) link
Hmmm, I don't see foxes as being particularly unhygenic creatures. So they apart the odd bin bag, but maybe people shouldn't leave their rubbish on street so much. And sure, there's the odd outbreak of mange every now and again, but most of the urban foxes you see seem to be in pretty good nick. I think that a lot of what they eat consists of mice and rats and pigeons, so they're probably doing quite a service.
Noise-wise, it sounds like it's just a seasonal thing (and all the posts here complaining about it are from late December/early January!), so if it's any consolation, it won't go on for very long.
Or maybe I could borrow your ears sometimes so as to not be annoyed by their hideous hyena-like shrieking ever again.
But Steve, it's the call of the wild!
― NickB (NickB), Monday, 9 January 2006 14:29 (eighteen years ago) link
― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 9 January 2006 14:35 (eighteen years ago) link
― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 9 January 2006 14:37 (eighteen years ago) link
I suppose there is an argument that says that it's the cats and dogs that shouldn't really be there, so I wouldn't totally blame the foxes for that. Anyhow - tried earplugs?
― NickB (NickB), Monday, 9 January 2006 14:42 (eighteen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 9 January 2006 18:19 (eighteen years ago) link
ooh good tip...
I suppose there is an argument that says that it's the cats and dogs that shouldn't really be there
you mean people should never have domesticated cats and dogs? but then they'd be running wild as well, or maybe extinct. from a territorial point of view they were there 'first'. my neighbours dogs are fucked up anyway though - they run out into the garden every morning at 6.30am and yap their heads off, seemingly for no reason at all - and again several times through the day. i think fox scent is a big factor in this but the other one is they are complete mentalists.
earplugs are uncomfortable and do not block the sound properly (as they seem to be designed more to block nearer, quieter sounds rather than more distant loud ones).
basically the two combined are making me quite tense at night and i lose sleep because of all the noise. it's no fun.
― Sororah T Massacre (blueski), Monday, 9 January 2006 18:31 (eighteen years ago) link
― koogs, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:04 (seventeen years ago) link
― Masonic Boom, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link
― blueski, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― koogs, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link
― Neil S, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― koogs, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link
― Neil S, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― That one guy that quit, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― braveclub, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:20 (seventeen years ago) link
― braveclub, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:22 (seventeen years ago) link
― Grandpont Genie, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:27 (seventeen years ago) link
― NickB, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:29 (seventeen years ago) link
― That one guy that quit, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― Neil S, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 15:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― Abbott, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 20:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― grimly fiendish, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 21:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― NickB, Thursday, 19 April 2007 08:10 (seventeen years ago) link
― Masonic Boom, Thursday, 19 April 2007 10:54 (seventeen years ago) link
― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 19 April 2007 10:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tom D., Thursday, 19 April 2007 10:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― Grandpont Genie, Thursday, 19 April 2007 10:58 (seventeen years ago) link
― chap, Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― Masonic Boom, Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:05 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tom D., Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:06 (seventeen years ago) link
― NickB, Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:16 (seventeen years ago) link
― blueski, Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:17 (seventeen years ago) link
― NickB, Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:19 (seventeen years ago) link
― Tom D., Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― That one guy that quit, Thursday, 19 April 2007 11:22 (seventeen years ago) link
i think i heard a coyote on the hill across the street! i'm not sure, it was too much of a pained yelp to be a dog bark.
― get bent, Monday, 28 May 2007 07:29 (sixteen years ago) link
jbr, you're in silverlake/echo park now - right? (non-crepey, i saw you're posting to the "your building" thread) there are many coyotes around, i have seen several in the area late at night. if you had a car and were driving around, you'd see more i think. urban wilderness is fun.
― gershy, Monday, 28 May 2007 09:45 (sixteen years ago) link
jbr, you're in silverlake/echo park now - right?
correct. but this is my first l.a. coyote spotting, although i've certainly heard tell of them being around at night. i know a few were roaming around town right after the griffith park fire.
― get bent, Monday, 28 May 2007 11:58 (sixteen years ago) link
feathers are scattered all over my garden!
― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 29 May 2007 04:31 (sixteen years ago) link
We've got one in our back yard now. I think it lives in the shed, which is full of the landlord's junk so impossible to get into. It was up on the shed roof earlier. Our cat was eyeing it disapprovingly from the back window.
I used to see it a lot over the road in the building site, I wonder if it used to have an earth there and has been displaced. Looks v mangy and sore, so my wife emailed a fox protection society to see if they'll send us some mange medicine. Apparently they like peanut butter and jam sandwiches!
― Colonel Poo, Sunday, 7 October 2007 15:43 (sixteen years ago) link
This one, a regular visitor to our garden, actually looks quite healthy. Joined by a playmate the other morning, jostling over one of Lulu's plush toys that we left out there after a BBQ (and kinda gave up on after it was rained on a few times)...
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1373/1463081820_586884def8.jpg
― Michael Jones, Sunday, 7 October 2007 19:09 (sixteen years ago) link
we had two of them doing an elaborate (and noisy!) mating ritual in the backcourt about two weeks ago. watched them for about 20 mins (feeling like total voyeurs) before they eventually decided to zoom off up the path somewhere else.
interesting mating ritual: lots of yelping, punctuated by running round in circles. reminds me of my student days.
― grimly fiendish, Sunday, 7 October 2007 20:09 (sixteen years ago) link
Great photo Michael, and a very handsome beast it is too.
― NickB, Monday, 8 October 2007 08:49 (sixteen years ago) link
Grimly, that's what they do. My housemate and I play a game called 'cat, fox or human' when we hear that BAAAAO noise and/or hissing and yelping coming from the back garden.
― suzy, Monday, 8 October 2007 08:56 (sixteen years ago) link