| The Karelean Bear Dog is a close cousin of the | | | | hunter and is therefore of moderate size and is |
| Russian Laika and there is a very strong similarity | | | | slightly longer than he is tall. The ears are upright. He |
| between the two. However the Karelean Bear Dog is | | | | has a keen sense of hearing and smell and is |
| a native of Finland. The Finnish name for the dog is | | | | considered a scenting dog rather than a sight |
| Karjalank Arhukoira. the earliest settlers of Finland had | | | | hound.The Karelean Bear Dog has today gained a |
| to survive in a rugged land and hunting rather than | | | | popular following in Canada where it is used as a dog |
| agriculture was their main source of food. They | | | | which does hunt and bring down the large game and |
| needed a dog that was strong and fearless to hunt | | | | especially bear, but this of course is only done during |
| and bring down the animals of the region, which | | | | "bear hunting season". However there is now another |
| included deer, elk, moose and bear. The Karelean | | | | use for the Bear dog. Today there are resort owners |
| Bear Dog has always been the hunting dog of Finland | | | | who keep two or three of these dogs and use them |
| and has changed very little from the earliest times. | | | | on a regular basis to patrol their resorts and keep the |
| Because it is of a limited genetic pool the lines are | | | | bears away as a protection for the summer tourists. |
| quite pure. It became a very popular hunting dog for | | | | There happens to be an extremely interesting |
| large game and there was a considerable number of | | | | experimental program in progress at a place called |
| these dogs at the turn of the century in northern | | | | the Wind River Institute in Canada which is utilizing |
| Europe and Scandinavia. However the two World | | | | the Bear Dog to "train" bears to stay away from |
| Wars decimated the population. It is now a rare dog | | | | populated areas. It is unknown at this time whether |
| and today all of the Karelean Bear Dogs can be | | | | this program is effective but to all appearances it |
| traced back to only forty dogs which were still in | | | | may very well be a new and quite useful application |
| existence after the war.The dog has exceptional | | | | of the Bear Dog. The dogs are trained to bark and |
| hunting ability although not exceptionally large. The | | | | chase away ( rather than chase down and kill) the |
| height at the withers is about 22-24 inches. It is | | | | problem bears which raid the garbage dumps and so |
| always black with white markings . The body is of a | | | | on...and correspondingly the bears are "trained" to |
| Spitz type (short backed and squared off with a tail | | | | stay away from the populated areas. This breed has |
| which curls over the back.) Some Bear Dogs are born | | | | a courageous and fierce natural hunting instinct, it will |
| with a bob tail. The coat is not profuse or long, but is | | | | follow its game to the end and is persistent and |
| quite dense and double in nature. He is a dog with | | | | unyielding. This is a breed which has never deviated |
| good "substance" but not the appearance of | | | | from its original purpose and should not be owned by |
| massiveness. He needs to be an agile and speedy | | | | the casual pet owner. |