The Karelian Bear Dog ( Karjalankarhukoira) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

. In its home country, it is seen by many as a national treasure. Karelian Bear Dogs will hunt a variety of animals. Its quick reflexes and fearless nature have made it very popular for hunting large game including brown

bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

, and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

. It was the breed's ability to hunt bears that earned the breed its name. The Karelian Bear Dog is among the top 10 most common dog breeds in Finland.

History

The Karelian Bear Dog originated from the Komi dog. Basic stock dogs originated from the

Ladoga Karelia Ladoga Karelia ( fi, Laatokan Karjala, russian: Ладожская Карелия, Ladožskaja Karelija, Карельское Приладожье, ''Karelskoje Priladožje'' or Северное Приладожье, ''Severnoje Priladožje'') is a ...

, Olonets Karelia, and

East Karelia East Karelia ( fi, Itä-Karjala, Karelian: ''Idä-Karjala''), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy ...

where they were used for hunting. The breeding was started in 1936 to create a sturdy dog which would bark at big game, and named the Karelian Bear Dog. The first standard was established in 1945 and the first dogs were registered in 1946. The Karelian Bear Dog was used mainly for hunting small fur-bearing animals, such as squirrels and marten. Like the

Norwegian Elkhound The Norwegian Elkhound is one of the Northern Spitz-type breeds of dog and is the National Dog of Norway. The Elkhound has served as a hunter, guardian, herder, and defender. It is known for its courage in tracking and hunting elk and othe ...

, the Karelian Bear Dog was also used in hunting moose, lynx, wolf and, as its name would suggest, hunting the

Eurasian brown bear The Eurasian brown bear (''Ursus arctos arctos'') is one of the most common subspecies of the brown bear, and is found in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European brown bear, common brown bear, common bear, and colloquially by many othe ...

. In hunting bear, at least a pair of Bear Dogs would be used to harry the animal, barking loudly, in order to distract the bear while the human hunter came in for the kill. Karelian Bear Dogs have been used to reduce human-bear conflicts in the U.S., Canada and Japan, through dogs bred by and programs developed and introduced by the Wind River Bear Institute and its Founder Carrie L. Hunt. Larger scale programs have been run by the Institute in coordination with Alberta Parks,

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

and

Glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

national parks, with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Karelian Bear Dogs were introduced in 2004 in

Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Karuizawa is one of the oldest and most ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, a popular resort town 170 km northwest of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, where they reduced the number of bear incidents from 255 in 2006 to four in 2017.The Japan Times - Bear dogs help resort town coexist with nature
Retrieved 2018-06-10.

Description

The breed standard for Karelian Bear Dogs and Laikas today calls for a black-and-white marked dog, but originally the breed included individuals with coats of wolf gray of various shades, red coats like the standard spitz, and black-and-tan specimens as well.

Appearance

Males stand at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

; females are shorter, at . Both sexes weigh about 20–30 kg (44.1–66 lbs). The breed has a coat of straight, stiff guard hairs and a fine, soft, thick undercoat.

Temperament

Karelian Bear Dogs are naturally aggressive towards other animals. They typically require deliberate socialization or acculturation with anything the owner is around often. They are very affectionate with their owners, but can be aggressive towards strangers. Proper socialization and training is necessary due to their aggressive disposition. Karelian Bear Dogs are very territorial and will alert their handler to the presence of any strangers or other animals nearby that they do not know. They are silent but tenacious hunters and alert their handler only when they have the prey at bay. They will keep prey cornered there by barking in a very high, fast bark and running back and forth or around the animal until their handler comes and dispatches it. Karelian Bear Dogs have been known to hold an animal at bay for a very long time. If a bear tries to leave, the dog will nip at it on the backside and otherwise aggravate it to keep it from running away. They do not always have to hunt with their master, as they can be trained to work with other people. However, they are prone to separation anxiety due to their very social nature. It is very rare for a Karelian Bear Dog to bite a human, but it may kill another animal if it feels threatened or hungry. They are very social hunting dogs that prefer an outdoor environment, and need plenty of space to run free and get sufficient exercise. In addition, they need a lot of mental and physical stimulation, as this working breed is used to having a job to do. These traits tend to prevent the breed from becoming popular companion dogs.

Related breeds

Finnish Spitz The Finnish Spitz (Finnish language, Finnish: ''suomenpystykorva'') is a dog breed, breed of dog originating in Finland. The breed was originally trained to hunt all types of game from squirrels and other rodents to bears.Morris, p.316. It i ...

Norrbottenspets The Norrbottenspets, also known as the Norrbottenspitz, the Nordic Spitz and the Pohjanpystykorva, is a breed of spitz type dog from Sweden. A small- to medium-sized breed with typical spitz-like features, the Norrbottenspets has traditionally been ...

* Russo-European Laika

Notes

External links

Karelian Bear Dog non-lethal bear control, Washington USAViking Dog BreedsProtection from BearsKarelian Bear Dog Information by Finnish Spitz Club
{{Finnish dogs Dog breeds originating in Finland FCI breeds Hunting dogs Spitz breeds