The Karelian Bear Dog

Tiina Alanen, Fall 2013 (US)

ENGA14 Finnish Institutions Research Paper (Hopkins)
English Translation and Interpreting (ETI) Curriculum
School of Language, Translation and Literary Studies, University of Tampere

The Karelian Bear Dog is a highly valued Finnish hunting dog, which is mainly used for bear
and moose hunting. It is one of only three Finnish hunting dog breeds, and the only one that
has been bred specifically for big game hunting. The other Finnish hunting dog breeds are the
Finnish Spitz and the Finnish Hound. The Karelian Bear Dog is famous for its persistency,
courageousness and excellent hunting skills. This paper reviews the basic information and
history of the breed. What are the breeds characteristics? What are its hunting abilities, and
how is it trained to hunt?

The Outward Appearance of the Karelian Bear Dog

The Karelian Bear Dog is a middle-sized, strong, and sturdily built dog. The height is only a bit
taller than the length of the dog (Mikkola and Korhonen 76). According to the breed standard,
the males height at the withers1 should be between 21.3 and 23.6 inches, or 54 and 60
centimeters. The females height at the withers should be between 19.3 and 21.6 inches, or 49
and 55 centimeters (Laaksonen 228). The eyes are relatively small, slightly oval, and usually
brown. The fur is thick and its color is black, or brownish black, usually with stark, white marks
on the head, neck, chest, belly, and legs.
Males weigh about 55 to 62 lbs., or 25 to 28 kilograms, while females weigh about 37 to 44
lbs., or 17 to 20 kilograms (Mikkola and Korhonen 78-80). The ears are erect, middle-sized,
and slightly round at the tip. The neck is sinewy and covered with thick fur (Finnish Kennel).
The tail is average length and is attached high on the back. When the dog stands or walks, the
tail arches on top of the back (Palukka 18). Some Karelian Bear Dogs are born with a bobtail,
but this is considered acceptable according to the breed standard. However, features such as
yellow eyes, loose skin around the neck, or dominantly white coloring are considered to be
faults. This means that a dog which has a fault is not as valuable as a more typical Karelian
Bear Dog (Finnish Spitz).

A male Karelian Bear Dog

Image source: http://personal.inet.fi/private/kalotti.kennel/html2/loti.html

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A Balanced and Courageous Nature

Karelian Bear Dogs are very balanced and independent dogs, although sometimes they can
also be stubborn. They are excellent in hunting large game because they have a great sense
of direction and smell. Furthermore, they are confident and extremely courageous and
persistent (Mikkola and Korhonen 76). A good Karelian Bear Dog is so fearless that it will even
bark at a wounded bear (Laaksonen 228). The dog becomes very attached to its owner, and is
never aggressive toward humans. However, it is very common that the Karelian Bear Dog
does not get along with other dogs, and especially males should be kept apart because they
have a tendency to fight with each other aggressively. The Karelian Bear Dog is not
recommended for someone who is not experienced with dogs, because they can be stubborn
and their training requires much time and patience. Furthermore, since Karelian Bear Dogs
were bred for hunting, they need much exercise and activities (Palukka 23).

The History of the Breed

It is estimated that the Karelian Bear Dog first arrived in Finland with a group of people who
made a living mostly out of hunting. This group arrived in Finland from the Northern Dvina
River in Russia about 900-1100 years ago. In 1936, the Karelian Bear Dog appeared in The
Finnish Kennel Clubs first dog show. There the breed also received its name (Laaksonen
228). The professional breeding of the dog also started in 1936. The objectives of the breeding
were to create a strong dog that would bark at large game (Finnish Kennel). The breed quickly
became very popular, but the Winter War (1939-1940) destroyed the Karelian Bear Dog
population almost completely because most of the dogs were in Karelia where the war took
place. Finland lost the war and had to cede most of Karelia to the Soviet Union. Because of
this, most Karelian Bear Dogs were lost. The dogs that were in the western parts of Finland
survived. Fortunately, the small population started increasing slowly. During the Continuation
War (19411944) about sixty excellent dogs were brought to Finland from eastern Karelia,
which helped greatly with maintaining the breed (Finnish Spitz).
In the year 1943, Antti Tanttu compiled the first official description of the breed. The first
Karelian Bear Dogs were registered in 1946 (Laaksonen 228). In 1963 the breed was
extremely popular 1021 Karelian Bear Dogs were registered. However, in the 1970s, the
popularity of the breed decreased. It was not until 1992 that over a thousand dogs were again
registered (Palukka 13-14). In the year 2009, exactly 783 Karelian Bear Dogs were registered.
The number of registered Karelian Bear Dogs has been steady during the 21st century (MTT).

The Health of the Breed

The Karelian Bear dog is a fairly healthy breed. It is part of the Finnish Kennel Clubs PEVISA
(program for resisting hereditary flaws and diseases) program, which is designed to prevent
hereditary diseases. The dogs eyes and hips are checked before it is used for breeding. This
has resulted in a significant decrease in eye diseases and hip dysplasia (Finnish Kennel). Hip
dysplasia is an abnormal formation of the hip socket. A severe hip dysplasia can eventually
cause crippling lameness and painful arthritis of the joints (Workingdogs). The Karelian Bear
Dogs life expectancy is similar to other large dog breeds; they usually live 10-12 years, but
some have lived up to 15 years (Palukka 137).

Breeding
Anybody can start breeding Karelian Bear Dogs. If one wants to be a breeder, they should first
complete a course that is called the breeders basic course. These courses are approved by
the Finnish Kennel Club and are arranged in different parts of Finland by regional kennel clubs.
The cost for a breeders basic course is about 100 euros. One can also take part in advanced
courses. After successfully completing the breeders basic course, a breeder can apply for an
official kennel name. The application for a kennel name costs 200 euros. The breeder should
be a member of the Finnish Kennel Club and a relevant breed club before applying for a

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kennel name. The breeder should also sign a breeder commitment. The kennel name is then
attached to the name of every dog bred by that breeder (Finnish Kennel).
The Finnish Kennel Club has formed a general breeding strategy which is applicable to all
breeds. In addition to this, every dog breed has its own breeding program. The breeding
program for Karelian Bear Dogs has been formed by the Finnish Spitz Club. As with any dog
breed, the most important goals in the breeding program are to breed healthy dogs and also
dogs that are as close as possible to the attributes described in the breeding standard. Dogs
that are closely related to each other should not be bred. In addition to these, the Karelian Bear
Dogs that are used for breeding should have successfully completed some barking trials or
have otherwise proven to possess excellent hunting skills (Finnish Spitz).

Training Karelian Bear Dogs to Hunt

The training of the dog starts from a very early age. The game animals scent is introduced to
the puppy by letting it play with, for example, a piece of moose skin. Introducing the puppy to
water is also important. A good way to do this is to take the puppy to a beach often and let it
familiarize itself with water. A good hunting dog will follow its prey even by swimming across
big rivers if that is necessary.
The puppy also needs to spend much time in the woods. The sound of a gunshot will become
a positive experience for the puppy if it is combined with treats (Finnish Spitz). It is important
for the puppy to realize that it is a part of a pack, but not the leader of the pack. If the dog
thinks that it is the leader, it might want to keep the kill all to himself and defend it aggressively.
All the basic commands are also taught to the dog. Before the dog is ready to start hunting, it
needs to be strong and have a good stamina. When hunting moose, the dog should be at least
six months old, whereas the dog should be at least 1.5 years old before it can start hunting
bears. By then it will have gained the necessary skills (Suomen).
The proper hunting exercises begin at the beginning of the hunting season, so that the dog
gets results right away. The first kill is very important in training the dog. The hunter should
never kill a moving animal, because that teaches the dog to chase after the prey. The goal is to
keep the prey still, this way the dog learns that the prey is killed only after it becomes still. After
the first kill, the dog is taught that he should not give up if the prey runs away. This is
accomplished by not shooting the animal when the first opportunity arrives, but by scaring the
animal away and then killing it when the dog stops it again. Once the animal has been killed,
the dog is praised effusively and rewarded abundantly (Seikkarinteen).
It is much easier to train a dog to hunt moose than it is to train a dog to hunt bears. This is
simply due to the fact that moose is a prey animal, whereas a bear is a predator and much
more dangerous. There are two different methods for training a dog successfully to hunt bears.
One method is to first train the dog to be an excellent and over-persistent moose dog. An overpersistent moose dog will not give up if the moose keeps running away or swims across a
river. After this is successfully accomplished, the trainer can move on to train the dog for the
more demanding task of hunting a bear. The other method is to train the dog from the very
beginning to only be interested in bears (Karhunkaatajan).

Hunting with Karelian Bear Dogs

Karelian Bear Dogs have a strong hunt drive and can thus be used for hunting almost
anything. However, they were bred for hunting large game, and therefore they are nowadays
mainly used for hunting moose and bear. A bear is an extremely wise animal that would be
almost impossible to hunt without a trained barking dog. There are not many breeds that are
suitable for hunting bears, because the breed needs to be very courageous, persistent and it
needs to have a strong hunt drive. The most common dog breeds that are used to hunt bears
are the Karelian Bear Dog, the East Siberian Laika, the West Siberian Laika, the RussoEuropean Laika, the Swedish Elkhound, and the Norwegian Elkhound. All these breeds are
also used for hunting moose (Finnish Spitz).

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The key to training a successful hunting dog is choosing a puppy with a good lineage. If both of
the puppys parents have proven to be good hunters, then most likely their puppies will also be
good hunters. There are different tests and trials for hunting dogs, both on the national and
regional levels. If the puppys parents have fared well in these tests, then it is safe to buy the
puppy (Seikkarinteen). Karelian Bear Dogs can take part in so-called moose barking and
bear barking trials, the purpose of which is to find out each individual dogs hunting abilities
for breeding purposes. Dogs that succeed in bear barking trials can also help officials when
they are tracking bears that have been injured in the traffic (Finnish Spitz).
A moose barking trial begins by the dog searching for a moose in an area where there are
known to be moose. Once the dog finds a moose, the judges observe for five hours how the
dog works. They judge how fast the dog finds the moose, how often and how loud it barks
once it has located the moose, how well the dog can keep the moose still and also how
obedient the dog is (Taivalkosken). A bear barking trial is very similar to a moose barking trial,
but the judges pay special attention to how the dog behaves once it scents the bear. The dog
should be very excited. Sometimes the dog cannot find the bear on its own. If this is the case,
the dog can be taken to the bear. Once the Dog has located the bear, it would have to work
exceptionally well in order to compensate for not finding the bear on its own (Finnish Kennel).
The hunt usually begins by searching for tracks with a leashed dog or sometimes even two
dogs. However, when hunting bears, traditionally only one dog is used. This is simply because
training two dogs to work to together is very difficult (Karhunkaatajan). Once the tracks are
found, the dog is released. With bear hunting, it is important for the hunter to study bears and
track them with the dog all year round. This way the hunter gains an understanding about the
bears habits and most common routes (Finnish Spitz). It is important to get as close to the
bear as possible before releasing the dog. This way the dog will not get distracted by any other
animals tracks. Bears are experts in covering their tracks. However, a skilled dog will
eventually find the bear and start barking and circling around it, thus keeping it in one place.
This will enable the hunter to move close enough to the bear to shoot it.
Some hunters put GPS-collars on their dogs. This makes it easier to find the dog, because if
the dog is too far away, the hunter may not hear its barking. Especially when hunting moose,
the dog can potentially run very far away because it is much more difficult to keep a moose
still. This is simply due to the fact that prey animals have a strong tendency to try to run away
(Karhunkaatajan). GPS-collars are quite expensive, but they are very handy and make hunting
much easier. The prices of GPS-collars range between 500 and 700 euros (Erkala). In
addition to the GPS-collar, the hunter needs to have certain software on his or her mobile
phone which shows the dog on a map. This software can be used for free for a limited amount
of time, but after that, it costs 59 euros per year (Trackerhunter).

Different types of GPS-collars

Image source: Erkala

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The Future of the Breed

The Karelian Bear Dog is highly valued as a hunting dog, and has been that way for many
decades. The breed has had a significant impact on Finnish hunting culture. Hunters have
used Karelian Bear Dogs for such a long time that it would be difficult to imagine moose and
bear hunting without it. Some even consider the breed to be a national treasure. Due to this, it
is likely that the breed will continue to thrive in Finland for a long time. As long as there are
responsible breeders, the Karelian Bear Dog will maintain its excellent hunting abilities and
therefore its status as a valuable Finnish dog breed.

Note
1. The highest point of a dogs body, behind the neck.

Works Cited
Erkala http://www.erakala.fi/tuotteet/elektroniikka/koiratutkat/4060/ Viewed 20 November
2013
Finnish Kennel Club http://www.kennelliitto.fi/FI/koira/rotumaaritelmat/FCI5/ Viewed 6
September 2013
Finnish Spitz Club. http://www.spj.fi/fi/etusivu/ Viewed 28 August 2013
Karhunkaatajan Kennel. http://www.karhunkaatajan.com/press_karhun_jaljitys.php Viewed 3
September 2013
Laaksonen, Maarit. Koirarodut Suomessa. Keuruu: Otava, 2004.
Mikkola, Marko, and Anni Korhonen. Suomen Metsstyskoirat. Helsinki:
Kustannusosakeyhti Perhemediat Oy, 2005.
MTT Agrifood Research Finland
https://portal.mtt.fi/portal/page/portal/www/Tietopaketit/Elaingeenivarat/sailytysohjelmat/suomal
aisetkoirarodut Viewed 14 September 2013
Palukka, Petra, et al. Karjalankarhukoira. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhti Perhemediat Oy,
2006.
Seikkarinteen Proku. http://koti.mbnet.fi/proku/index.html Viewed 30 August 2013
Suomen Riistakeskus. http://www.riista.fi/data/yhteiset/attachments/koirat.pdf Viewed 2
September 2013
Taivalkosken kennelkerho ry
http://taivalkoskenkennelkerho.nettisivu.org/files/2010/08/hirvenhaukkukoe.pdfViewed 16
September 2013
Trackerhunter https://www.trackerhunter.com Viewed 20 November 2013
Workingdogs. http://www.workingdogs.com/vchipdysplasia.htm Viewed 28 August 2013

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Followup Report
The topic of my paper is the Karelian Bear Dog, which is the only Finnish dog breed
that has specifically been bred for big game hunting. The reason why I chose this topic
is that I am a big fan of dogs and I think that the Karelian Bear Dog is the most
interesting of the Finnish Dog breeds. I like the breeds outward appearance. My own
dog actually looks very much like the Karelian Bear Dog, even though he is only partly
Karelian Bear Dog. Finlands national dog is the Finnish Spitz, but since the Karelian
Bear Dog is such a beautiful dog and has such a courageous nature, I thought that it
deserves to be a topic of a paper, perhaps especially since the breed is not very known
outside Northern Europe.
The objective of my paper was to give an encompassing account of the breeds
characteristics. I also discussed the history and breeding of the dog. However, the
main focus of my paper was on the breeds hunting abilities; I covered how the
Karelian Bear Dog is trained to hunt and also how the actual hunting takes place.
If I had to write the paper again, I would not change much because I am quite happy
with the result. I would probably try to find more information about the breed so that I
could expand the paper. I think that the hunting aspect could be a great topic for
original research. It would be interesting to find out what kind of experiences hunters
have had with Karelian Bear Dogs.
Other Finnish Institutions topics which emerged during the research of my paper that I
think would be interesting to write about are the other Finnish dog breeds that havent yet
been researched for this course. Those are the Finnish Lapphund, the Norrbottenspitz,
the Finnish Hound, and the Lapponian Herder. All of these dog breeds deserve to be
researched. They are all unique and fairly unknown outside Northern Europe. All of the
Finnish dog breeds are working dogs, therefore the main focus of the paper about each of
these breeds should be the way in which humans work with the dogs.
The hunting culture in North America is very different from the Finnish hunting culture.
While in Finland bears are always hunted with dogs such as Karelian Bear Dogs, In
North America bears are mostly hunted by baiting, which is illegal in Finland. It would
be an interesting topic for a research paper to compare Finnish and North American
hunting traditions.