Grizzly Bear Defence rifle
- Thread starter nulll
- Start date
This is a question I have been asked many times when I turn my dog loose on a bear. If you send your dog or the dog goes into harms way on it's own and gets into trouble are you prepared to shoot the bear to save your dog? And just so you don't take offence my answer is always yes. This was not one of those times.
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I have three retrievers and they are the main reason I carry a rifle, one is a Princess, one is a lovable coward[he got chased by a beagle half his size last summer], and the one I take hunting with me [for Her nose and ears] thinks She is a Pit Bull [can't fight but will not quit]. The three together would be no match for a black bear let alone a grizzly and I am sure would bring the bear, grizzly or black, back to me to deal with if the situation got serious. They are leashed in thick country and always when hunting.
Sometimes a dog will chase off a bear and sometimes they don't....
About 20 years ago we had a beautiful big British bloodlines Labrador . His parents were trial dogs and he had enough drive for a half-dozen normal retrievers.
One day when he was about 2 we bumped a black bear while walking around a pond. He barked, the bear ran and climbed a tree. This was great fun for him and after that he would never pass up a chance to tree a bear.
When he was 5 or 6 however we were hunting Sharptails in a big old pine clear-cut up high on the Chilcotin Plateau. The big dog loved hunting these grouse and he would normally work in a windshield wiper patter 15-20 yards from me. At one point he dropped down into a dip out of my sight when I heard a "woof" that definitely wasn't the dog. Like a bat out of hell the damn dog came straight for me and went to heel just as a sow grizzly broke out of the underbrush. I yelled at her and she skidded to a stop about 25 feet from me.
Time stood still as I tried to calculate how close she would have to be before the 2 loads of #6 shot in my double could kill her. The answer that came to me was that I would have to stuff the barrels in her mouth to be effective.
I took of my hat and raised my arm over my head and tried to look bigger than my normal 6'-1" while I asked her to go about her day somewhere else. After a few seconds that felt like an hour the big girl whirled and went back on her trail. I heard a smack and then a cub bawling as she convinced her babies (thankfully weanlings not yearlings) to vacate the area.
At that point my knees went so weak I had to sit on the ground for 10 -15 minutes to calm down before we headed in an opposite direction.
So............. sometimes the dogs can chase trouble away but often they can bring it back to their owner.
About 20 years ago we had a beautiful big British bloodlines Labrador . His parents were trial dogs and he had enough drive for a half-dozen normal retrievers.
One day when he was about 2 we bumped a black bear while walking around a pond. He barked, the bear ran and climbed a tree. This was great fun for him and after that he would never pass up a chance to tree a bear.
When he was 5 or 6 however we were hunting Sharptails in a big old pine clear-cut up high on the Chilcotin Plateau. The big dog loved hunting these grouse and he would normally work in a windshield wiper patter 15-20 yards from me. At one point he dropped down into a dip out of my sight when I heard a "woof" that definitely wasn't the dog. Like a bat out of hell the damn dog came straight for me and went to heel just as a sow grizzly broke out of the underbrush. I yelled at her and she skidded to a stop about 25 feet from me.
Time stood still as I tried to calculate how close she would have to be before the 2 loads of #6 shot in my double could kill her. The answer that came to me was that I would have to stuff the barrels in her mouth to be effective.
I took of my hat and raised my arm over my head and tried to look bigger than my normal 6'-1" while I asked her to go about her day somewhere else. After a few seconds that felt like an hour the big girl whirled and went back on her trail. I heard a smack and then a cub bawling as she convinced her babies (thankfully weanlings not yearlings) to vacate the area.
At that point my knees went so weak I had to sit on the ground for 10 -15 minutes to calm down before we headed in an opposite direction.
So............. sometimes the dogs can chase trouble away but often they can bring it back to their owner.
Dogs dont protect you. They protect themselves.
Unless a dog is specifically bred for large mammal aggression (Kalerian Bear Dog, my next potential purchase) They will "protect you" as long as it helps them.
My dog is a husky shep. I know that she would bark her face off at a bear or other large mammals and turn tail and run when shes threatened. lol. Which is fine cause it would give me enough time to grab spray or the gun or whatever.
But yeah. Lots of times dogs can make things worse.
Unless a dog is specifically bred for large mammal aggression (Kalerian Bear Dog, my next potential purchase) They will "protect you" as long as it helps them.
My dog is a husky shep. I know that she would bark her face off at a bear or other large mammals and turn tail and run when shes threatened. lol. Which is fine cause it would give me enough time to grab spray or the gun or whatever.
But yeah. Lots of times dogs can make things worse.
As I have said before my experience is with PB they will only run so far and they don't really climb trees. When they do stop running the dog will run circles around the bear till it gets up and moves away. Once the bear is far enough away and it is safe to call the dog I will call or use hand signals to bring the dog back to me. The only time one of my dogs got hit was me not paying attention and called her to soon , she looked at me took her eyes off the bear and got a smack. the bear left the dog came back to be looking really pissed off at me.
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A very common scenario. Dog chases bear, bear turns it around and chases dog, dog runs back to owner, bear chases dog and must confront owner.
I was speaking about the dogs I have now, when I lived up north I had a couple of Husky/Shepherds, they were familiar with black bears, some friends borrowed one dog when they were doing some silviculture work, they had a black bear in the middle of the night rip a tent open and start tugging on an occupied sleeping bag, Kali sprang into action and chased the bear out of camp, She came home with an award for bravery made from a disposable plate that stayed on our fridge for a long time. So depends on the dog and maybe the day.
Shotzee I would disagree about the dog not protecting me. The dogs that I have had would not quit on a bear until they are told to. This one harassed this little bear until I felt sorry for him. Again when it was safe for the dog to look away from the bear I called him back. Not all dogs make good bear dogs some are ok some are exceptional. Training starts at a very young age. It takes quite a long time up to 2 years . The hardest and most stressful time is the first time you turn them loose on a bear. I find Huskys and Sheppard's or a cross of the two at least for me have been the best.
When my daughter was born my wife and I had a big old Siberian husky with some wolf in her recent ancestry. Like a lot of Siberians she was quite aloof with everyone but when we brought the baby home that dog made it her mission to protect the child at all costs.
She would follow our kid around the yard like she had a 20 foot rope on her. If the kid appeared to be getting too close to the road the dog would herd her back in the yard. If a black bear came to close to the yard she would station herself between the kid and the bear and do her best wolf snarl. If a stranger came in the driveway the dog wouldn't let them out of their vehicle. The only time the dog would relax and sleep was if the kid was in the house.
Around 1972-74ish while family camping in and around the Banff, Jasper, Mount Robson area many of the Park Rangers had Bouviers des Flandres dogs that they used to deter bears. I saw them in action a few times chasing bears out of camping areas. If the bear ended up in a tree they would just back off the dog or dogs allowing the bear enough time and space to eventually climb down and leave. To us kids the Bouvier dog was like a giant super hero dog, brave and strong enough to chase bears away and yet they were such gentle and sweet dogs that loved to get petted and hugged by all the kids. I wonder if the Bouvier is still used for bear deterrence anywhere today?
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A husky or husky shepherd mix is not a normal dog, they would probably fight a bear just for fun. I miss hanging out with my neighbours cross on my patio, all the fun of dog ownership without any of the responsibility. She was a good rabbit flusher too but it got annoying come deer season when I would try to sit in front of the house and she would radiate around me trying to flush rabbits and wondering why I wasn’t into it that day.
I have no doubt if the chips were down that dog would give its life for me and I was just some guy who pet it sometimes. As I mentioned before it did lead a bear to me once but it seemed to have the intention of protecting me from it not heading for the hills. Only time I ever heard it bark was that day, so I knew something was up.
A ####zu could tree your average black bear. But as we have established; it’s the exceptions that make life interesting.
I had a roommate with a Karelian bear dog that he brought to work sometimes. They have a lot of game and a very strong baying instinct. When they aren’t running off after everything they smell they are jumping around your feet and barking. This one seemed especially stupid compared to malamutes and huskies
Met some tree planters with a medium sized black dog named bear last summer; they had never considered why this might be a bad idea. You better believe he had #### recall and they called his name constantly.
I have no doubt if the chips were down that dog would give its life for me and I was just some guy who pet it sometimes. As I mentioned before it did lead a bear to me once but it seemed to have the intention of protecting me from it not heading for the hills. Only time I ever heard it bark was that day, so I knew something was up.
A ####zu could tree your average black bear. But as we have established; it’s the exceptions that make life interesting.
I had a roommate with a Karelian bear dog that he brought to work sometimes. They have a lot of game and a very strong baying instinct. When they aren’t running off after everything they smell they are jumping around your feet and barking. This one seemed especially stupid compared to malamutes and huskies
Met some tree planters with a medium sized black dog named bear last summer; they had never considered why this might be a bad idea. You better believe he had #### recall and they called his name constantly.
bouvier des flandres is not that much used anymore close to extinction and was more a sheperd dog for beef : bouvier so the warden trained them, primitive dog like husky malamute or carelian or swedish moose dog or norskelghoud are way above for taking care of bear like some sheperds tornjak or charplaninatz but dog are like humane there is not one similar ...some will attract bear some will deter them ... and there is only one way to find out and its not on the couch ...
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I reckon this thread has "Gone to the dogs" so to speak.
A couple years ago a grizzly killed a woman neighbour. A day afterward that bear broke into our camp kitchen and mauled up a can of coffee. It was an eerie week working out at the back of the property and I kept my .500 Jeffery at the ready. My brother had a Mossberg 510 with a combo of slugs and buck. They trapped the old sow and destroyed it a 1/4 mile away.
Now we just keep the shotgun handy.
Now we just keep the shotgun handy.
I reckon this thread has "Gone to the dogs" so to speak.
from grizzly to polar as well lol ...if someone is asking a question about dog why not answer? seems im lost here ...
