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Anyone know some one who hunts or breeds karelian bear dogs

There was a lady that used to live in Heber City, Utah that bred them. I sure can't remember her name. She has since moved to Montana somewhere I heard. They were nice looking dogs, and I couldn't believe how expensive they were. Seems like the pups were selling for a lot of money.

She showed us a short video of the dogs working, kept on leashes barking at the bears. I've seen heelers and collies do the same thing. Not much help, but a start perhaps. KattKrapp..

Just in case I am not the only on who has to Google these

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karelian_Bear_Dog

The Game Dept use them around here. My understanding is that they run a bear away. Chase it a few hundred yards and then quit. I am pretty sure they aren't what someone would be looking for to replace a pack of hounds. I have been in the woods with them a few times but I don't know that much about them. Used more for defending you or your property, not for catching bears. If you go to the WDFW website it shows them using them to chase bears away after the bear has been trapped and relocated. I don't know anybody that would use them for actual hunting.

I have a friend who's wife has one. I don't think they breed it. As far as hunting goes I think he only uses it on squirrels. I am not sure how well it hunts even on squirrels. I think I would think twice before I used one to pursue a bear.

Here is a video of karelian beardog doing what it is it's main way of hunt nowdays here in Finland.
http://www.videoita.fi/video.php?id=245

Main game is moose and if you want to watch more photos from here just write "karjalan karhukoira" to google and you find out more stuff from the homeland of that breed. There may not be much in english but i can translate something if you need to know more.

Goerge is right, Wa game dept. uses them to make the public happy. Everytime I hear the name everybody laughs.

Follow the link: http://www.sqdog.com/forums/index.php?showforum=40
provided it will give you some people that will know or can answer your questions. These are Laika people but some of them have a lot of knowledge about these type of dogs as well.

I sure wouldn't classify them as "Hunting Dogs" There is a few around here.

Not hunting dogs.

Guy54, I think I know that dog your talking about. It's a great squirrel dog, but it belongs to the guy's wife and she won't let him take it out after bears of other dangerous game. However, I've hunted with the dog and it is super aggressive on any small animal. It is also a very hard squirrel hunter and never wants to quit. It will tree squirrel after squirrel all day long.

From what I know about Karelian bear dogs and other other types of laikas as well, they usually hunt close to the hunter. They will not take off and run a long bear track or lion track like a hound will. But they will tree about anything you want them to if its close.

These dogs are an ancient breed that bear hunters in northeastern Europe used for thousand of years to hunt bears before the invention of the firearm. The hunters used long spears to kill the bears and the dogs were agile enough and aggressive enough to bite and keep the brown bear engaged so that the hunter could get close enough for a kill.

If I was hunting or hiking in grizzly country and I ran into grizzly that wanted to fight, the Karelian bear dog would be the dog that I would want to have with me. If I was wanted to run a bear track or a lion track, I'd want a long-eared hound.