Bear attacks: How your dog might get you killed 

You know the old saying, "I don't need to outrun the bear. I just need to outrun you." Well, how many of us can outrun our dogs?

You are totally correct in this video. Every bit is correct. To those people who say the dog will alert them to a nearby bear. You are better off walking past a bear and not knowing it is there than being alerted and then having to deal with a bear enraged by your dog.

Dog owners often overestimate the capability of their dogs. Wild animals are called wild for a reason.

Dog owners who let their dogs roam off-leash are putting other people in danger as well.

I've been going around the internet dispelling myths about bear attacks for a while, but I NEVER thought to bring up dogs. If a bear is unaggressive and approaches you calmly, your survival hinges on how calm you can remain in response. Dogs complicate that heavily.

Great video! I just had this happen in Kodiak last month. My friend and I were photographing a very chill mother brown Bear and her two yearling cubs while they fished. Everything changed when a yellow lab came out of nowhere and decided to go after the mother brown Bear. She went from relaxed to aggressive in an instant and the dog then retreated to the closest humans he saw which happened to be us. This brought an agitated mother brown Bear within 50-feet of us. Luckily, this Bear family is well known and used to navigating people and she moved off after making her point to the dog. About a half hour later the owners showed up looking for their escaped pooch and said he dog had been pinned by another brown Bear before and clearly hadn’t learned it’s lesson. What was so interesting is how this Bear family’s demeanor changed so quickly from quite relaxed around people as they are roadside bears who get photographed nearly every day once the salmon run starts to highly agitated the instant they noticed the dog.

Thank you! I see dogs on the trails all the time and it concerns me. As a runner and biker, I've been threatened by vicious dogs many times. People overestimate their control over their dogs. Birdshot and a bear? Are you kidding me?!?!?

Just because he's a veteran doesn't mean he's above ridicule. Everybody needs to be called out for stupidity. Sometimes for their own safety.

Two people encounter an angry grizzly. The first starts putting on running shoes. The second tells him, "you can't outrun a bear". The first says, "I only have to outrun you". Of course a dog can easily outrun a human, which is probably a big part of why the bear turns from the dog to the human. The other part is that most dogs will not go toe-to-toe with something larger than they are. And if they do that with a bear, they will be quickly mortally wounded, and then the bear will be free to attack the dog's owner.

That is what happened a few weeks ago in Banff when a couple was killed by a bear. They had a dog who also was killed. 95% of attacks are defensive and having an agitated dog around doesn't help for sure. But I do not expect this case will make sense for most people. People don't learn and don't listen.

As someone married to a veteran, we don’t often believe a lot of what other veterans say, unless it has something to do with war. What most people don’t understand is that those who are brought into the military aren’t often the best and brightest, so it’s better to listen to subject matter experts instead.

I just re-looked at the grizzly attack which killed two hikers in Banff in Canada. Sure enough, they had a dog with them.

This is so correct. Whenever I have seen people with dogs hiking or camping with them, THAT DOG causes problems almost every time with the local wildlife. It's just a matter of time before they do it. They naturally irritate and harass animals in the environment, and they are hardwired to perform like that. My rule is to always stay FAR AWAY from any hiker or camper with a dog. Don't believe it when the owner says they can control their dog. They can't when another animal is involved.

A bear will sense a dog way before the dog senses the bear

I love when some ex marine acts like they know everything because they're a veteran.

Personal space is important to bears. In fact, this is common for a lot of animals out in the forest. Especially if you're around a mother bear with cubs. Some humans just don't have a sense of it. Because they've done it to other humans a lot. But bears don't follow the same laws we do.

For once... someone finally gets venomous vs poisonous right..

When I first watched that video (the cell phone video) I went back and watched it a few times and noted how HORRIBLE the dog was in that situation. The dog pissed off the bear and then sure didn't stand in between the bear and the owner afterwards.....that dog was GONE! Then you circled back and showed/said the exact same thing. And those are crazy odds - 93% of bear attacks have dogs involved. WOW.

As a Marine, thank you for the educating video. Safety before pride.

While walking in an abandoned coal mine in Pennsylvania 2 bear cubs ran across the trail right in front of me. My dog chased after the Cubs. I never did see the mother Bear. We got lucky and I learned a valuable lesson.

It is not only with wild animals, most domestic cattle attacks are where people take dogs into a field on a lead.

This is the best video I have encountered about bears. It verifies my own experience when I was camping at Houston Mesa campgrounds in Payson Arizona a few weeks ago. I have a Jack Russell and we were returning to our camp after visiting with people across from us. I spotted something on the other side of our little camper -it was very dark colored and furry -it was rummaging through our chairs and knocking them over and my dog started barking-the bear was on the other side of the camper so I quickly opened the camper door and pushed my dog inside. I became aware that the window was open and he was barking in front of the screen. The bear or the dog could’ve gone through the screen easily. I pulled the dog out of the camper and rushed him into the truck. I also got into the truck where I quieted the dog down and we stayed there for several hours praying that the bear did not return. The dog aggravated the bear to the point that the bear was growling back at the dog. It wasn’t a case of the bear not finding what he was looking for and running off -he was ready to go after my dog and my dog was ready to kill the bear. Fat chance for the dog. The video is telling the truth. Other wildlife are afraid of dogs and will come after them. In Arizona we have lots of trouble with Javelina that become aggressive when there is a dog with you. It’s very dangerous.

I was walking my dog at a park last summer when an unleashed dog ran up to us and tried to attack my dog. Fortunately, I was able to keep my dog from getting bit, but it sent me into a blind rage, and I ended up chasing the dog and its owner away while loudly cursing at them. Our park has plenty of signs posted about keeping dogs leashed, but so many people just disregard them. A 500+ pound black bear was just killed by a car 2 counties over, so those idiots might have more to worry about!

Small note for 0:41, there are two things called "daddy long legs", the real ones pictured here and spiders that are actually called cellar spiders. They are also not venomous or poisonous

They won’t let you bring dogs into the Smoky Mountains National park because of black bears killing them

I hate when I’m hiking and people have their dogs running off leash. It’s so inconsiderate.

This is a great video! Very cogent, sober, well thought out, and great advice. I am a biologist as well as someone who used to train dogs and have worked with many for years. I would list breed exceptions to the rule and numeric exceptions that can aid in possibly dissuading bear attacks, but as the narrator rightly points out, most dogs are not only comparatively poorly equipped to deal with a bear, the likelihood of getting any meaningful aid or protection from a canine companion is extremely low. So traditionally, in Europe, the dog breed of choice used for bear hunting isn't a hound breed at all. It's the standard poodle. You heard that correctly. They are not only an intelligent breed, but the fastest side stepping and back jumping dog breed in the world for large dogs. That said, bear hunters using the breed will usually employ six or more dogs to mob the bear, similarly to the way that wolves mob bears. Numbers are important in such cases. It's why indigenous peoples in the polar regions keep large numbers of sled dogs to help dissuade the interest of polar bears. (Not always successfully, for that matter). Very large breeds such as Tibetan Mastiffs, Kuvas, Saint Bernards, Newfoundlands, Cane Corso, Old English Mastiffs, Akitas, Tosa Inu, Fila Brasileiro, or Anatoli Shepherds if in numbers of 3 or more might serve as a sufficient deterrent provided that they were to react in time and in concert. But again, you can not count on that being a successful strategy to hike through bear country. Unless you have a pet wolverine or two, I wouldn't count on an animal companion dissuading an attacking bear. An interesting footnote, I am a shark conservation advocate and have specialized in sharks for years. One thing about dogs that stands out is that domesticated dogs swim with an irregular gait that produces the same low frequency sounds as a wounded or struggling fish. Swimming in salt water with a dog is a great way to attract sharks. I have seen sharks prey on dogs in water and have studied the reports. Dogs in marine environments greatly increase the potential to draw in sharks that are in a feeding mindset. Most sharks are uninclined to prey on terrestrial species, other than turtles, pinnipeds, and birds. The majority of species are fish and crustacean hunters. That said, large sharks, especially great hammerheads, are very attracted to dogs. So this is something that they share with bears. Dogs can draw conflict.

One huge problem is this one. When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s dog ownership was a part of our area but mostly the dogs were kept at home or on the farm etc. Hiking and exploring the outdoors was generally just people enjoying the outdoors. Dogs were not that common on the trail etc. Now we have no end to people that a dog is now a "fur child" and HAS to be part of the action for the family. I believe this has led to more and more dogs on trails and in outdoor spaces. So its bound to happen that the bear/dog/human scenario will be fulfilled. Sometimes in exasperation I almost feel that in our troubled rough world people need more people (even therapists) rather than a 4-legged psuedo therapist/child. I am not trying to be mean here just truthful and realistic.

And never forget that any mammal can contract rabies. That would mean all bets are off when it comes to 'normal' behavior.

Thanks for this very informative video and well-explained reasons (with scientific and statistical backup) for the aggressive change in bear attacks when dogs are around! Hope everyone listens.

That's why I only ever travel in bear country with a full wolfpack

A year ago I took my golden doodle on a trail that we used to use all the time, until one day we ran into a Mama bear and her cubs. Literally a few metres away from us. Luckily my dog was lagging behind me sniffing something, but 100% if she had saw them, she would have barked and alerted the bears to our prescence. So because that didn't happen and I immediately turned around with her, the bears didn't notice us. Boy, was that a terrifying experience though. Pure luck that we left unscathed

Unless you have dogs capable of scaring off the bear like 2 Malinos or 2 big akitas you have no business bringing your golden retriever to bear country

We live in black bear country. We walk our dog in the city and city parks in bc and we see bears semi-regularly. We avoid prime bear areas during the summer. We had a scare this summer and ended up very close to a bear. We did not see it but our dog was barking so I was working on calming him, I heard what I thought was a dog breathing heavy but it was a big bear. We walked away and the bear ignored us thankfully but we were very close. I would love more advice about avoiding black bear attacks. I don't see my dog as bear protection but rather I see him as a liabilty and myself as his protection. We leash him always if we think bears are around.

Great video and a super refreshing take. This subject has been on my mind for a while of what to do while I’m bird hunting in MT this time of year and gave me more to think about.

Hello and thanks for a great informative video. I agree 100% with its content. I am a dog person and strongly believe as you have attested to, that the great majority of dogs should remain out of the back country. There are very few dogs and I mean large dogs which will defend you from a bear attack. Some breeds with defensive training will take this defensive stance and may provide some help in a bad situation, but even in these situations there should be at least 3 dogs involved to keep the bear occupied. Bottom line as you have stated, leave you mutt at home and if it is a well trained large dog it should also be leashed and not free to roam. Your videos provide very good, accurate and informative content.

Thank you! Am living in rural Alaska (Lake Iliamna) and we have dogs of no specific breeds that help and often do deter bears from our property, especially during our subsistance fishing of sockeye salmon. Have seen many of our bear dogs chase bears off but not have the bears return back with the dog, although I do hope that is due to the dogs knowing their guard duties instead of that being relied upon sheer luck haha. I'm not saying this by any means to be defiant! More so I appreciate this being pointed out because almost everyone I know, especially the city folk, believe their dogs are the absolute best deterent to bears (and I was under this impression as well) and I commonly see them unleashed on the frequented trails. Often leads to dog scuffles and unsolicited sniffs -_- By far my favorite thing from the bear dogs, other than the protecting, is seeing the older ones teach the greenhorn pups on the guarding behaviors, it's cute!

I take my dogs hiking on leash & have had too many close calls with other peoples unleashed dogs then with bears…. I live in Alaska, I know the bears are out there! Leash your dog, I’ve seen/met very few dogs that can recall with such distractions as bears or especially other unleashed/untrained dogs.

I LOVE the clip, man! And you were just spot on! As a cyclist that used to frequent rural areas in Eastern Europe (I live here), I should know all too well this stupid harassing behavior of dogs. Things get even more interesting if you consider stray dogs (of which there are plenty around), which, kind of like wolves, form tighter and more aggressive packs after mid-fall. But even more annoying than the said packs are the folks that view every dog like an angel that will NEVER attack unprovoked. And yeah, as stated previously in the comment section, people will generally greatly overestimate the human side of dogs and their control of them. Even in cities, you can see numerous dogs walking their owners (pulling ahead on the leash and taking charge of the walk), instead of the other way around. So yes, it completely makes sense that getting out with a dog in the bear country, especially with one you have little or no control over, will put you in serious danger.

I’d thought it was common knowledge not to take a dog into bear country. I’ve known it since, as a new immigrant from the UK, I went on my first extremely civilized camping trip in a full service campsite 35 years ago. Even at that campsite, you didn’t let your dog run around. I’m absolutely gobsmacked that people would take a dog, leashed or not, into the back country. I remember the Parks Canada pamphlet saying that a dog is either going to bark furiously at the bear, annoy it, and get killed, or it’s going to come running back to you for protection with the bear in hot pursuit, & get you killed. I’m astonished you’ve had to make this video. (Clearly you did have to, though.)

How would this go while horseback riding? At one point a person got lost in the woods near my house. Took the dog and rode a horse out there to try to help. The dog was so distracted and did nothing but tag along. The horse went "what Dat" and helped find the person. Other than some false alarms the horse was much better about noticing things than the dog. Wonder how that would go in bear country.

My dog's collar had all of his old licenses and tags so he always sounded like a jar of coins jingling, I think that might have kept a lot of animals away from us. We grew up in Canmore which is part of Banff National Park, so we were in bear country through and through.

Encountered a black sow and her cubs in the woods on guard training once. We saw here when one of the our group stopped for apparently no reason, then turned abound. We looked and saw a black bear about 10 feet away, and two cubs snuck out of the brush behind her. She made no sound we could hear and to this day we couldn't figure out how Sven (nickname for the guy who stopped and turned) knew something was there. There were 4 of us and we shouted and the bear, who just glanced at us and went back into the bush. We were on our way to chow, and later than night a bear ran into one of the cooks' tents, got tangled in camo netting with the cook, and animal control had to come sedate the bear and cut both out of the camo netting. They relocated the sow and her cubs noting that she had been hanging around chow tents where food is cooked. Bears in that area are a little used to people because soldiers on camp exercised are known to feed them in spite of being ordered not to.

I was shocked to learn that dogs are allowed in Canadian National Parks. I think this should be reevaluated on a park by park basis…

This is my story I was a cook on Deer creek near Cody wyoming for 12days We saw grizzlies every day. At night our 3 bear dogs chased a bear or bears around camp barking their heads off. The bears then took off. Did they stop then from snooping around all night? Or trying to enter tents? I don't know I do know the 3 bear dogs got into a cooler and ate 21 Tbone steaks.

I live in Southern Arizona, and the number of dogs I see on the trails, especially off leash, is frustrating and horrible for the local ecology. Don't get me started on wearing sunscreen into local water sources, or the number of people who let their cats run free in my neighborhood. People think it's "natural", but our pets exist outside the indigenous ecology. Even their poop is toxic.

I always knew that the dogs were the instigators in the bear attacks, but thanks for spelling out for people in the way you did. And from my readings, black bears are more peaceful than people.

Often, my family tells me i exercise too much caution taking my dog out with a leash on at all times and it frustrates me. I rather be safe than sorry

These videos are so important for the general public, especially those entertaining taking their dog with them into bear country. Love the videos friend, keep them up. 👍👍

Good stuff--use documented proof since some people do indeed survive bear attacks! Can't wait to see more of your videos!👍

There's a creek near me in the San Jacinto mountains called Hurkey Creek. It is named for a man who lived in the area who was killed by a bear in the late 1800s because his dogs provoked it.

Saying your dog alarmed you of a bear is like saying your Burglar Alarm works after leaving all your doors unlocked and letting the robber inside.

Thank you for this video. I am a huge backpacker and live on Vancouver island. Lots and lots of bears and cougars. I’ve seen 13 cougars and stalked by 4 and had my dog (golden retriever) with me during 3/4 stalking cougars. I hiked the Sunshine Coast Trail and we brought our dogs. The only time we’ve seen grizzly bear signs around this neck of the woods

Thank you for such a well researched and informative video. I’m sharing!

"Hey you're a guard dog now." Dog: "I didn't know."

That Veteran got "If you ever see me fighting with a Grizzly Bear HELP THE BEAR!" energy 😂

Thank you for the video. I don’t hike and don’t want to ever be near a bear, but this is valuable information. My mother used to tell me to be careful around people who let their child walk a big dog because they cannot control it. She made a lot of sense. I wish dog owners would stop projecting their thoughts and feelings onto their pets.

I have encounter black bears a hand full of times in my life. Once I spotted a cub about 100 yards away sitting on the slope of the mountain side off to the side of the trail we were on. My head was on a swivel for the mama bear! Lucky for us we got away before anything happened.

Your videos are excellent. Great to see some intelligence, facts and logic firmly on real world solid ground being shared on RU-vid. Subscribed. Keep up the good work!

Years ago I was bitten by a harvestman. I felt slight pain at my little finger and looked to see a harvestman biting the thin web between the ring and little finger.

One very minor point, in UK, not sure about anywhere else, we also call a very spindly spider species daddy long legs. Still not dangerous but does have venom, though not able to bite a human, and no reason to think the venom is dangerous to us. This is what Ricky Gervais was referring to i think in that routine that drew a lot of attention to this false idea

Thank you for the video. It is a wealth of knowledge.

A lot of people who hike in the Adirondacks will put bells on themselves and their dogs so that animals like black bears will have advanced notice and leave the area. It seems to really help reduce dangerous encounters.

I liked the bit about harvestmen, order Opiliones. Most arachnid orders are not medically significant, only Aranae(spiders), Acariformes(mites), Parasitiformes(ticks and mites) and Scorpiones(scorpions) are. And among these it's a select few that cause us problems. Arachnid taxonomy is some sort of fun.

Well dang… this hit me like a humble sandwich straight to the face from a potatogun. Ouch! I am an avid outdoorsman, I grew up in the grizzly country of B.C., army veteran and a dog owner. What you have highlighted here, with supporting evidence/facts, is just simply something I never thought of. Totally overlooked, taken for granted. I always felt more comfortable with my dog with me than without. I have even consciously chosen to leave my Marlin 1895 at home, going with my trusty dog over a firearm, many times. That being said, bearstray is a must, even if you have a firearm: in my opinion. I really appreciate how you explained this, presented with supporting facts and added your own perspective/experiences. This just goes to show you, learning never ends. Cheers 🍻

Surely it’s common sense that a dog might provoke a bear.. and I was about to correct you about the daddy long legs, I heard that yarn 30+ years ago, and finally got around to looking into it with the advent of the internet. 😂

I've seen bears in the wild but only had two close encounters. One while a boy scout and we were following a a nice trail heading towards a ghost town we where hoping to find instead we found a bear walking the same trail. We backed out and left the area. The second encounter I was much older hiking alone, I crossed a creek and went around a large tree on the other side and surprise about 4 to 5 meters in front of me there was a black bear. The bear and I were both startled and the bear went off in one direction and I decided to to go back the way I came. I was LUCKY and hike armed from now on, not wanting to tempt fate a third time

It's like slapstick comedy. 😂 Dog finds bear. Dog makes bear mad. Dog runs back to owner. Bear chases dog. Charging angry bear comes to you.

I'm thinking that the only circumstance under which dogs might be of assistance is if you have at least three and they are of the right breed/temperament in that they won't attempt to hide behind you but will instead work together as a group to divert the bear's attention away from you and onto them and thus giving you an opportunity to escape.

There is a video on RU-vid 3 guys went walking with 5 small dogs They ignorantly cornered a mountain lion incessantly barking It was a horrendous scene to watch It grabbed one of them up in 2 seconds Unfortunately it's so heart breaking only 4 came back as the 3 grown 6 foot tall man watched 20 feet away with rifles it was just too fast Hearing it scream and cry was so disturbing And the most heart-wrenching thing ever

Harvestmen are one of three bugs known as daddy longlegs, and one of these isn't even an arachnid. The daddy longlegs that was rumored to be the most venomous spider in the world is a true spider, known also as a cellar spider, that like the brown recluse and black widow spins a disorganized web. It was thought to be more venomous than the black widow and brown recluse because it preys upon these spiders. Further study of cellar spiders revealed that their venom is so weak that, if it were successful at injecting you, the reaction would be no worse than a mosquito bite.

Does it depend on what breed of dog or the amount of dogs. Ex. 2 pitbulls, 2 mastiffs' 2 Kangol etc...

The only time dogs are useful against bears is when you have a lot of them. More than 5 large dogs is the minimum you need to potentially chase a bear away from you. What this video says about dogs is exactly true and will just anger the bear and lure it closer to you.

There are some familiar looking dogs in that video! I do love the memories that I have of taking dogs camping and love the insight into how to enjoy nature with our hairy four legged friends.

When the mountain goat "attacks" were in the news, people couldn't understand why the dogs weren't being protected. Keeping them on the leash and away from cliffs and wildlife is what protects the dogs.

I have a friend who has a very well trained great Pyrenees. She walks with him all the time & he never leaves her side leash or no. She told me they came upon a young, lone black bear once. She stopped, the dog stopped. The bear walked tward them, head down, ears back meaning business. Her dog rolled his lips up, opened his mouth to show his arsenal, gave a low, deep growl but didn't move from her side. She said she never saw a bear turn & run so fast. Her dog is a protection dog that takes his job *very* seriously. That is the only type og dog I would take into the woods.

Looking forward to the second part of this video!

when I was a dog walker I was once out with 4 off leash dogs. I came around a bend in the trail and there was a cheeky lil black bear eating berries no more than 20 feet away. none of the dogs so much as noticed (fortunately the bear didn't notice us either, or it didn't care). I did the fastest 180 you ever saw and went "ok this way!" and the dogs just followed along like normal. if any of them smelled the bear they gave no indication at all. the whole "dogs will let you know if there's a bear around" myth is 100% false. fortunately it was a very peaceful encounter, I reckon that bear was pretty accustomed to humans since it was on a busy urban trail near a parking lot for a popular ski hill, but yikes it gave me a good startle.

I had a bear encounter. I was sleeping in a makeshift tent (only a sleeping pad and a poncho thrown over a low branch) when a bear walked right by, appearantly smelled me, and walked off. I was with a group of around 5 people (no dogs) who witnessed this happen, none of which dared alert me for fear of startling the bear. It worked.

Thanks for the update on that vid of the guy with the shotgun and his dog: I remember seeing it and wondering what had happened to him after he ran out of view.

Interesting point that many people haven't considered!

I have hiked in black bear country for almost 40 years. I have always been accompanied by two kuvasz livestock guardian dogs. I have never been attacked by a bear. I have encountered a bear twice. I make lots of noise to alert any bears that I am in the vicinity. My feeling is my dogs which are quite large are a deterrent. Bears are opportunists looking for an easy meal. They do not wish to risk injury. I keep my dogs near me by means of electric collars. I also carry bear spray. To expect dog owners to not take their dogs while hiking near their home is not realistic. I do not allow my dogs to harass wildlife.

2:14 Totally off subject but it's so refreshing to hear the "R" word used in its verbal, scientific form. I was going to use that very term in one of my videos but I was scared the algorithm would penalize me for it.

I mean the cellar spider is also considered "daddy long legs" and can but almost never bite humans, are venomous (but their bite is essentially as bad as a mosquito bite)

Let me say that I held that belief- that daddy long legs were supposedly venomous. THEN while camping in Minnesota, one actually BIT me! Right on the tip of my big toe! Naturally I called poison control. Turns out, no, they aren’t venomous (at least not in North America). BUT IT WAS VERY PAINFUL!!! Make no mistake about that! You do not want to get bit by one. It is comparable to a nasty bee sting and lasted for a few minutes.

Thank you. Great info and it just all seems like common sense!

My dog barked a warned me of a grizzly sow and two cubs 20 yards off in the bush. She charged the dog and not me because the dog was making the noise and movement. The dog led her off onto the forest. Each scenario is totally different and dynamic.

Excellent video, Ive been around black bears all my life here in Ontario CDN.and as kids and older we always picked raspberry's with bears also in the patch and never had any issues. Only once did I have a problem with a friend, his dog, and a boar, we manage to stay calm and all was well. I have never had a gun with me or even bear spray. Now on part of our farm here in souther Ontario there are bears often seen so I'm going to post at the begging of the trails through our forest, NO DOGS.

People taking their dog into bear country as a safety feature are basically saying they’re willing to sacrifice their dog for their own safety.To me that’s obsurd

I absolutely agree. We were in Jasper Provincial park Last month. We were hiking up a trail where we had observed both wolf tracks and really fresh grizzly tracks the day before. We were going around a switch back when three young adults ran into us on the trail. Their Shih tzu gave us a little growl as we passed them on the trail. I told them about the tracks on the trail and reminded them about the sign posted at the trail head stating absolutely no pets allowed on trail. In Canmore, Banff and Jasper this is a common sight. There are so few bears and wolves left up there that their very existence is threatened. Then there are the hikers starting up trails in the dark or actually jogging at night up mountain trails. I love Canada, but they need to get their shit together and protect the animals or there wont be any left. Great video. When people post videos backpacking and hiking in bear country with their dogs they should be called out. Its just plain irresponsible!

Was the one exception of footage that wasn’t yours in this video the clip of the Grizzly on top he Elk(?) cache? Lol Just wondering because that particular clip looked extremely familiar to me, pretty sure I’ve seen it before somewhere.

Ya hear that, Ed? Bears. Now, you're putting the WHOLE station in danger!

Makes s lot of sense. I watched a video where a woman was out in the wild with her dogs who had no clue of a grizzly when she stumbled upon it and got mauled. To their credit they heard the commotion and came to her rescue and distracted the bear long enough for her to escape to her car. Fortunately she survived with serious face wounds that required reconstruction. The dogs were alive and well I don't remember what happened to the grizzly. Most likely he was triggered by her dogs in the first place.

I grew up having this preached to me.None of the old-timers would ever think about taking a dog into the woods.

I have 2 lap dogs who barks & lunges at unfamiliar dogs which prevents me from taking them most places. Additionally I like to watch bear videos routinely which causes a frantic reaction from my dogs every time. Immediately I realized that a dog barking at a bear could cause a very bad reaction. I would never take a dog anywhere near a bear- unless I didn’t care if they were eaten.

If you have a bear that keeps visiting your property, just call the conservation dept.

A dog is a hindrance in bear country because increases the chances of an attack. Some dogs are small or medium size and are not trained to fight. To keep a bear in check you need 4-5 big trained dogs. Similar to a wolf pack. That way the bear will not reach you and eventually will be repelled by the dogs But nobody has 4-5 big dogs when hiking. So when hiking with one dog be prepared for defending you and the dog and be armed to the teeth

It is rare that my comments get seen on RU-vid videos, so I hope you see this one as I'd love your perspective. As a very experienced dog walker, I also blame this phenomenon you're discussing not just on the presence of dogs, but on the COMPLETE LACK of control I see so many people having over their dogs, regardless of on-leash or off. When I finally own a new dog of my own (my first and only dog, may she rest in peace, could've been better trained), I plan to employ this idea that I came up with: You must learn to achieve 100% control over your dog because you can never hope to possess even 2% control over anything else. So my question for you: is it possible to safely hike with a dog in bear country as long as the dog is well trained for any situation and the owner recognizes that bear safety is THEIR responsibility, not the dog's? Like the dog is trained to not wander two damn miles away, the dog is trained for not escalating situations, and of course you hike whilst making noise and carrying bear spray? EDIT/UPDATE I have rewatched this video since finally getting a new puppy of my own and I now have this perspective: I will 1000% take my beloved Rottweiler hiking with me in grizzly country at some point, but when I do, it will be so he and I can go on an adventure together, not so I can stupidly use him as an alarm system for bears. It will be MY sole responsibility to make noise to deter bears while keeping my head on a swivel. And if in spite of my efforts we still encounter a bear at close range, I certainly don't expect Spike (my rottie) to spring into action. I expect him to stay behind me and keep his mouth shut like the well-trained dog I intend to raise him as, while I aim my bear spray while still hoping the bear just moves on

I don’t hike but I kinda figured taking any pet out would be a bad idea cause of not only alerting bears but also enraging them when you can simple walk by one without knowing it.

Don't even have to watch it. Obvious. They go _____ with the bear, get scared, and come running back to Alpha, "Master, save me!"