Karelian Bear Dog

The breed's foundation stock came from Karelia, the region straddling the Finnish and Russian border, and from the Komi dogs of the north-west Russian forests. Farmers and hunters across that region kept bear-baying dogs for centuries, using them to locate big game and hold it at bay in dense taiga where a hunter could otherwise never get close.

Organised breeding began in Finland in 1936, with the deliberate aim of fixing a hardy, weatherproof dog that would bark to hold large game. The Second World War almost ended the project, and the modern breed descends from a small number of dogs that survived it; the first official breed standard was approved in 1945.

The Karelian Bear Dog was recognised by the FCI in 1946 and has since become a fixture of Finnish hunting culture, consistently among the country's most numerous breeds. Its close relative, the Russo-European Laika, was developed from much of the same regional stock, and the two breeds remain similar in appearance and job.

In recent decades the breed has found a second career abroad. Wildlife agencies in the western United States, Canada and Japan have used Karelian Bear Dogs in bear conflict management, where the dogs are worked to move problem bears away from towns and campsites without harming them, teaching the bears to avoid people.

This is a strongly built, slightly rectangular spitz of medium to large size. Males stand about 21 to 24 inches at the withers and females about 19 to 22, with males typically weighing 55 to 62 pounds and females 37 to 44. The bone is heavy for the height, the chest deep, and the whole dog reads as durable rather than elegant.

The double coat is made for a Finnish winter: straight, stiff guard hairs standing off the body over a fine, soft, very dense undercoat, longer over the neck, back and thighs. The tail is carried in a curve over the back, and a naturally short or bobbed tail occurs in the breed. The eyes are small and brown, the ears erect and slightly rounded at the tips.

Colour is essentially fixed: black, often with a slightly matt or brownish cast, with clearly defined white markings on the head, neck, chest, belly and legs. A dog that is predominantly white or lacking the black is outside the standard. The face is expressive and intent, and the whole animal looks exactly like what it is, a forest hunting dog.

Towards people, the Karelian Bear Dog is balanced and steady. The breed standard is explicit that aggression towards humans is not acceptable, and a well-bred dog is confident, sensible and devoted to its handler, if reserved with strangers. It is not, however, an eager-to-please dog: it forms a partnership rather than a following.

Towards other animals it is a different proposition. The breed is bred to confront and hold dangerous game, and most Karelians are combative with strange dogs and predatory towards livestock, cats and wildlife. Many owners find that a single-dog household, or a carefully managed pair of opposite sexes, is the only workable arrangement.

Independence is central to the character. In the field the dog ranges widely, makes its own decisions and only signals its handler once the game is at bay, using a rapid, high-pitched bark to hold the animal in place. That same self-reliance at home means a dog that hears you, considers it, and reaches its own conclusion.

Karelians are alert and territorial and make serious watchdogs. They are usually good with the children of their own family when raised with them, but their size, drive and low tolerance for rough handling make close supervision sensible. A bored or under-exercised Karelian will bark, dig, escape and roam.

The classic job is big-game hunting on the Finnish model. The dog is cast off to search a large area, finds moose or bear by scent, and then bays the animal, circling and barking to keep it stationary and distracted while the hunter approaches. The best dogs are silent while searching, brave without being reckless, and able to disengage on command.

The modern conservation role uses the same skills without a kill. Trained Karelians work with wildlife officers to haze bears out of human settlements, an approach pioneered by the Wind River Bear Institute and adopted by agencies in several countries. Beyond that, the breed's stamina suits it to hiking, ski-joring, canicross, sledding and tracking, but it is not a natural fit for obedience-style sports.