Bear protection breed

[jessbennett]

my purebred apbt is one hell of a bear dog.... he doesnt like them much at all.....

[IronNoggin]

... and while lacking no courage they react very instinctively when dealing with wildlife, and by that I mean they have no intention of being walloped by an animal many times their size . Wolves deal with bears in the same matter of fact ,respectful way when harrassing them off a carcass.

aYup! Exactly Chilko. And one of the reasons I choose to get into Wolf Hybrids oh so many years ago!

Amaruq at 7.5 months



95 pounds on the scale last Thursday at 8 months. Training coming along better than expected. Gonna be by my side through pretty well all of the seasons in both provinces. Game ON!

Cheers,
Nog

[BCBRAD]

For both alerting and engaging a bear you want at least two dogs . Even a good bear dog can get injured or killed in a flash. A pair of Airedale terriers will be hell on everything - once keyed up they will not quit. Loyal and tough they are. Raise them with other animals otherwise they can be dangerous to other dogs and domestic critters.

we have a male and female, lots of heart and fearless...especially the female.

[chilko]

Amaruq at 7.5 months

Great looking dog. Here's a picture of my original and favorite karelian. By the way, you gotta love the way the combination of black and white shows up in the bush regardless of conditions

[ytlogger]

Hello all...

Any advice or thoughts on which breed is most likely to have the disposition and senses (smell, sight, hearing) to make a good backcountry companion while providing protection and early warning for bears (and other critters)...

Mike

One you can outrun

[digger dogger]

the am bull dog chased bears with my hounds, till cancer got him him at 4 yrs. the rotty(pedro) is a pup i kept from breeding my female to the son of my first dog ever. pedro's grandfather lived to 13 and his dad(boomer) is 9 and still in great shape. the rotties don't put up with bears around the house.
pedro is about 1 yr in the pic! if his body catches up to his head he's gonna be a monster.

[northof49]

expensive but there is a breed called the Karelien bear dog, it has been bread in scandanavia for hundreds of years for the sole purpose of bear hunting / the alberta Co's use them for bear controll.if I had a spare grand lying around I would get one

I looked at these pretty seriosly for a bush dog (while working in the bush) and the breeder said unless I was deliberately looking for bears or tracking them probably not good. They would find the bears all right but may bring them back too. Also if they start tracking a bear - then what. If you want assistance hunting bears good choice, if not might have to keep on a leash.

[northof49]

Great looking dog. Here's a picture of my original and favorite karelian. By the way, you gotta love the way the combination of black and white shows up in the bush regardless of conditions

Hey Chilko - see my previous post. Is this true what I was told or would this be a good breed while working in the bush. Wouldn't want it to go find/bring bears back.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

This is what you need, a good old fashion mutt. Buffy has been my wifes trail riding dog for 4 years now. In that time has chased away / treed well over a hundred bears, both black and grizz, and she has the scars to prove it. She has not once brought a bear back and seems to know when the bear has gone a comfortable distance and comes back to my wifes horse. 1/2 border collie 1/4 golden lab and 1/4 german shepard.

[Phreddy]

Agree'd

My 3 are freakin midgets at 25lbs each but fearless and use to being in the bush. Alert and watchful. They will make excellent bear bait in a pinch while I vacate the area!

Actually, when my dad was a kid in Wardner (just southeast of Cranbrook) during the 1920s' he had a couple of terriers, fox terriers if I recall, and they were hell on griz. They moved so fast and were so small that the poor griz just gave up in frustration and took off. I used to laugh, as a kid, when dad recounted some of the experiences with those mutts and other occurences in the Wardner area back then.
My wife and I have 2 rat terriers to keep the ground hogs and marmots at bay in our yard, and watching them work as a team always reminds me of dads' stories.