I too am baffled by this dog vs. bear and dog vs. wolf hoopla. I must wonder WHY?...Unless the goal is massive veterinary bills and a prolonged recovery period. Not all individuals of breeds designed for hunting big game make good bear dogs. As Wolf mentioned, they all don't have the mentality. Note key word here is 'hunting' - not killing, or wrestling, or gripping, or putting in a headlock. A bear dog's job description ends when they locate the bear and keeps it busy/cornered until the hunter arrives with a suitable weapon to dispatch it. A sow can and will suss out a dog that is not committed, and this quickly creates a very dangerous situation. The dog may run to the safest place it knows - the owner - with an angry bear in tow. A bear can destroy a dog's confidence. All this prattling on about the virtues of brain-dead "hard dogs" glorifies a canine characteristic that in excess, is a serious liability in the field. A decent, ethical hunter will not allow even his terriers to rag smaller quarry to death. It shows no respect to the dog or the quarry. He will want to be gentle on the dogs so they can problem-solve, gain confidence, and he can go hunt the following weekend! Not possible with a torn up dog! I would think the same is true of dogs working in livestock guarding capacities. The number one goal is alive sheep. NOT patching up my LGDs or replacing them continuously! The dogs should not use lethal force and engage with a big predator unless absolutely necessary.