I also live in a somewhat rural area and own about a dozen acres. About 20 years ago I had a couple of coyotes chase my Brittany to my porch. I needed let the dog run for daily excercise so I fenced off about a half acre off the back of my house. About a week later, I found my Brit and a coyote nose to nose, growling on each side of the fence! A couple of months later a neighbors dog got killed by a coyote. 30 years ago coyotes were a rarity in the Northeast.......and rabbits "were" plentiful. Coyotes run big up here (+45), supposedly a wolf hybrid that migrated from the North. They are so plentiful that it's the only game animal allowed to be taken with a centerfire Rifle in our state, as motivation for hunting them.