Kinda out-there question. I do a lot of my duck hunting on small waters and have recently been seeing a lot of otters and beavers around some of our hunting spots. My dog is a Boykin, about the same size and color as a lot of these critters and I’m sure he would be no match for one in the water.

No one may be able to answer this but I have to ask, if he crosses paths with an otter or beaver while making a retrieve, what are the odds of him being attacked? I couldn’t find any Google results pertaining to duck dogs being attacked by otters or beavers, just small family pets.

i dont know how aggressive one would be to start a fight with a dog. but i had a buddy turn his catch dog on a otter in a pond.i was not there but saw the dog after the vet trip and it was pretty bad.looked like the otter had a knife in both paws poor dog had stitches from a$$ hole to appetite

I had a 115 pound Lab that figured I had thrown something in the water for him to retriev, in reality it was a 60 lb beaver who slapped the water, the beaver had my lab chasing him all over this pond, lab wasn't fast enough to catch him but I doubt the beaver would attack but any animal would defend himself if they where attacked. I told a trapper about the big beaver and he took 4 out of the pond during trapping season
Now a river otter would be a different story they can get fairly big and are predators so I would not permit my dog to go after one

If I didn’t need the beavers there I’d go trap for them. But you have to cross one of their dams to get to the best hunting spot, and the dam on the other side of the swamp is what keeps it full of water.

either beaver or otter a lab isn't fast enough in water however on land it is a different story and both will defend themselves. personally I don't believ either would go after your dog

Have worked with labs and American water spaniels in beaver/otter occupied habitat in several northern Rocky Mountain states. The dogs were only interested in downed birds. The beavers weren't interested in downed birds, alive or dead. The otters were busy being otters, retreating from gun shots and coming back out when things cooled down. I don't think that you have anything to worry about.

Unless mom otter thought her kids were in trouble I think the dog would be fine, unless the dog tried to attack the otter. In a fight between a dog and otter in the water I don't think the dog would have a chance, I have trapped and skinned quite a few otter, you will have a hard time finding an animal with a higher muscle density than the otter.

Some states used to allow you to shoot otters in the trap, this is a rare rule for animals that only allow harvest by trapping as it is hard to tell whether an animal shot in the head was actually trapped. I heard from a number of old trappers that the reason for that rule variance was that more trappers had been killed trying to dispatch otters caught in a leghold without a gun than any other animal. Skin a few otters and then tell me you don't think that is possible. Maybe no one has been killed by otters but a few looks at the teeth and muscles of an otter made me give them a lot of respect.

Maybe fact, maybe fiction, I don't know,
wade

Otters tend to clear out once they realize people are around, at least around here. I do not recall having read nor hear of a problem between otters and dogs while hunting around water. If an otter is caught on land, that is a different matter. My dogs have faced off with otters out in the fields on two occasions but luckily it was a stand off until I could get leads on my dogs. An otter at 10' can sound pretty ferocious and a family of four is downright scary.

Beavers are a little different. They are territorial of their lodge so will defend it if they feel threatened. Every year there are reports in the paper of people being attacked by beavers while swimming. Even so, I don't think the problem is very serious as many of the stories involve late night and alcohol which is not typical while duck hunting. That said, I probably would not use an active lodge as a blind site as that might cause a reaction from the residents inside. I've done so with muskrat lodges and have had the owners come topside voice their displeasure. A three pound rodent cussing me out is not as attention getting as a fifty pounder.

My main concern if beavers are around would be my dog getting impaled, cut, or snagged on the various branches stuck into the bottom. Rationally, the risk is probably only a little greater than the same thing happening on land but my ability to aid my dog is less which increases my concern on the emotional side of the equation.

Otters, beavers,and dogs, oh my!!

Friend of mines Drahthaar got attacked by 3 otters. It survived but lost a front leg. I’d be very cautious around otters.

I'll be damned.

Survived because he ran out to the pond after hearing the noise and shot one of the otters. They are bad news. A grown drahthaar can kill coyotes, badgers and coons one on one. But these otters teamed up on the poor dog.

Putting that amount of hurting on a drahthaar would take some doing! Wow, wouldn't have thunk otters would be up to that.

I hunt beavers quite a bit, and use my Pudelpointer to retrieve sometimes. I wouldn't be concerned about a beaver attacking a dog unprovoked, I have not heard of such a thing. I am very cautious about sending them in to retrieve when the beaver is not quite dead. A wounded one will defend itself. We see otters on occasion, but don't have enough experience to comment.

Good looking dog. So cool he retrieves them.

Two otters next to my Jon boat today, Lab wanted in but I didn't let her leave the boat.
That is a crazy story about the drahthaar.

I have hunted heavily in both Beaver and Otter country and have never had a single issue.

Wouldn't worry at all about beavers. Otters, on the other hand can be some mean SOB's

They can but they aren't looking for a fight. Nor should a well trained retriever. So it is pretty much a mute point. I would worry about other things over either of the two mentioned.

Never thought we had otters in our area, but we've had a bunch of trout killed in the pond and I knew the damn Eagles weren't killing them all as fast as the numbers were going down. Looked out the window and caught one running across the ice and disappearing down through the ice, only to come up with a trout. Pretty damn cool to watch actually.

This

They're social within their group and will attack as a group.

99% of the time I would agree. Funny though there is a lake in the city that is an off leash dog park. The beavers have been biting dogs here for years, but mainly because they have a couple huts & always raise the young here in summer. I stopped going here years ago because if my dogs didn't kill it I would & then the libs would go off.

This year was the first year a dog got attached by an otter, go figure it was in a lake that a has a creek flowing into from the one mentioned about the beavers. However it was a group of otters like someone else here mentioned that got territorial when the ausssie was in the water.

To the op I would just be leary to make sure they don't have kits or multiple otters, if so I would put some 00 buck into the problem.

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/beavers-get-tough-defending-their-turf/2011/06/12/

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wil...ack-injure-family-dog-in-anchorage-park/

I’m in the do not underestimate the otters camp. I ran a trout farm for over a decade, and otters were a daily fact of life. The largest that was trapped out was 6’3” nose to tail.

My two dogs could easily deal with a young-ish otter on land, but a six footer in water? Forget it. Plus, I rarely saw just one otter, it was usually a family group. But, boy, if they ever did find one alone and out of the waiter, it was ON.

Well with the season over now, I can say that neither the otters nor beavers bothered my dog. Saw otters regularly in 2 of my best spots over the last few months and they would often come within 15’ of us and check us out but never tried to come on land and never showed up until I was picking up decoys. Thanks for all the input everyone.