Rowdy/Coyote Run-In

Rowdy is good 90% of the time. He's a great little dog. He's agility trained, and altho he doesn't compete, he could, if we spent time on refinement. He's got the skills down pat - the speed, agility, etc. It all came in handy this past August.
We live on a desert acre, surrounded by two arroyos, or washes, that border our property and join together in the back, like the letter 'Y'. We are on a regular coyote route. Their ancestors have probably been following it for hundreds of years.
To add to the problem, our neighbor has chickens, which attract the coyotes and an occasional bobcat. The man who lived in our house for 20 years before us, fed the coyotes (not a good idea, for them or for us). So they are very comfortable on our property.
Before the back yard was fenced, they would regularly traverse our yard, looking under rocks and cactus for rodents and lizards and such. We've even had one come up and look in our back window.
Trust me, I appreciate and respect that this is their territory first. They are beautiful creatures that live in a tough environment, and are part of God's creation. Never underestimate, however, that they are a vicious and cruel and very crafty predator. Hence, the cartoon character was appropriately named 'Wile E. Coyote'.
We recently had the back yard fenced, and Rowdy and Ziba can now run in and out safely. The fence routes the coyotes around the outside of our property, and R&Z go nuts when they go by. The coyotes regularly howl at night. I think from the sound of it there are 3 packs. Of course R&Z go nuts then, also. We are working on it.
In any case one afternoon in August, Dad is out in front with the two dogs, around 5 pm, hanging our exterior lights. He is standing on a ladder in flip flops. Ziba stays right near, practically underfoot.
Rowdy is 20 feet away, sniffing around, not wandering away, just hanging out. Until the coyote wanders by. Rowdy, the furry cute schnockerpom, goes into 'guard dog' mode, thinking he's going to show this coyote who's property he's on. The coyote takes off running, Rowdy right behind. Dad jumps off the ladder, shouting 'Rowdy! stop! come back!' and of course Rowdy is in chase mode, totally disregarding Dad.
They run across our dirt road out front, onto the neighbor's property across the street. Dad is 50' behind, running through the raw desert in his flip flops, shouting all the way. The dogs get 100' into the neighbors property. Rowdy's in the middle, with Dad catching up and now 20' behind, and the coyote 20' ahead of Rowdy.
Suddenly, Dad sees the coyote stop, turn around, and head back toward Rowdy. And then Dad sees the second coyote come out from behind a bush. This is they way they hunt, in packs, just like wolves and killer whales. One lures the prey, and they ambush him.
Dad sees a scuffle, and the two coyotes go down on Rowdy. Dad hears Rowdy yelp!
Dad is almost caught up, still running and yelling, with a huge lump in his throat and a sinking heart, when the coyotes suddenly turn and leave, and here comes Rowdy, shaken, walking back toward Dad! Don't know how he got away, but his ears are back, and he makes a beeline down the driveway to the house. Dad tries to pick Rowdy up, but he yelps again, (maybe out of fear?) and Dad lets him walk back on his own.
Dad, Ziba and Rowdy all go inside, and the shaken up little Rowdy won't let Dad near him. It takes 15 minutes before Dad can him to wag his tail a little. Dad checks Rowdy over, and so do I, when I get home 30 minutes later. No more yelping, and no injuries to be seen or felt.
We all thank God for our blessings, (I'm sure Rowdy would if he could) and have a somewhat normal evening.
On the third day later, we are all watching tv together. (Rowdy actually watches tv. Ziba just sleeps nearby.) As I rub my hand across the back of Rowdy's neck and down the side, I feel a large bump. Upon investigation, I find Rowdy has two puncture wounds, one on either side of his neck, which have scabbed up. The coyote actually grabbed him by the back of the neck, and pierced his skin. There are only two punctures, though, so we think Rowdy's little leather cowboy collar with sheriff stars on it, blocked the other two teeth. If the coyote had been able to get a good hold, he would have shaken Rowdy and broken his neck. It would have been all over. Apparently that - the missed grab due to the collar, allowing our quick little Rowdy to scramble out of his grip, and Dad following and shouting, caused the coyotes to move on.
As I said, we are counting our blessings. Obviously, we need to work on Rowdy's obedience skills, (as well as maybe Dad's). Did Rowdy's agility training make him a little more quick and agile and able to get away? Did the leather collar with metal studs block two of the coyotes teeth? Or was it their natural tendency to be wary of humans and leave when we show our presence that allowed Rowdy to get away safe? We'll never know, but we thank God daily for our little companions Rowdy and Ziba and the joy they bring into our lives.