I live in Southern California and everyone here thinks coyotes are these nice creatures that just eat the bunnies. I've lived in the country with huge packs of coyotes and don't think your bigger dogs are safe. My sister had a full grown yellow lab and when she was giving off pheromones that she was ready to mate, the coyotes came by. One of them tricked her into leaving the safety of the house and into the pasture. There the pack surrounded her and ate her. My sister's boyfriend at the time, had to watch. He didn't have a gun at the time so he couldn't do anything. Coyotes are mean, smaller versions of wolves and should be treated as such.