Karelian Bear Dog

Bred in Finnish Karelia since the early 1800's to hunt large game, including elk, wolf and bear, the original Karelian Laika was a truly magnificient dog, prized for its stamina, intelligence and temperament. The Karelian Bear Dog is directly descended from this old breed and carries a fair amount of blood of Russian and Asian ovcharkas and spitz-type breeds, inheriting much of their personality traits, such as high protection drive, confrontational attitude towards strange dogs and devotion to a single master.

It should be noted that the Karelian Bear Dog is not the same breed as its Russian cousin known as the Russo-European Laika, as well as being a very different dog from a small red-coated spitz named Karelo-Finnish Laika, which is the Russian variety of the original Finnish Spitz breed. When a number of Russian hunters wanted to distinguish their Karelian Bear Laika from the Finnish Karelian Bear Dog breed and improve its already fearless and tenacious characteristics, as well as its health and resilience, they introduced other strains of their native Laikas into its bloodline, but they didn't use the so-called Russian Utchak Sheepdog", which is commonly listed as one of the parent breeds to the Russo-European Laika, but is most certainly a product of imagination and obvious ignorance of some western authors, when in fact it never existed.

Fanciers of the original Karelian Bear Dog continued to breed it true to type and this superb worker was standardized and made its first appearance in 1936 at a Helsinki Dog Show. Although official International recognition came in 1945, the breed has already suffered greatly during the 2nd World War and only a small number of pure examples survived. Dedicated breeders managed to revive the Karelian Bear Dog in the 1960's, reportedly using some Russo-European Laikas in the programme and this lovely Finnish breed is again popular in its homeland today, but also commonly found outside Finland, in particular the neighbouring Scandinavian countries and North America. Many fanciers believe that the modern incarnation of the breed differs greatly than its ancestors, due to it being bred for the Show rings and as a pet, losing its hunting qualities over the years, although those strains which are believed to contain blood of Russian dogs are still capable workers. Reasonably easy to train, devoted and energetic, it makes an amenable companion for experienced owners. Some specimens can be stubborn and dog-aggressive, needing early and broad socialization. Wide-chested, squarely built and very strong, this is a healthy and athletic breed. The ears are erect and the tail is curled over the back, although some working examples can have their tails docked.

The medium-length coat is dense and rich, preferably black with large white markings, but other colourings can be encountered, such as uniform black, grey with white patches or white with black, brown or grey markings, but they're not as valued, since they are seen as remnants of the Russian breed's influence. Average height is around 23 inches.