Q: Will a Caucasian Mountain Dog (Russian Bear dog) kill a Black Bear because I've just seen one in my woods?
We were picking berries and my friend told us to go inside because there's a Black Bear. Thanks to him we are ok.
Answers and Views:
Answer by tomiva
A Caucasian mountain dog bite is stronger than that of a lion and has the ability to learn the weakness of his opponent, the least it can do is to send the bear out, but if the owner or property is in danger then we are sure of a fight. But the advantage goes to the bear because of his body, fangs, etc.
Answer by OldFarmer
It can not kill a bear but a bear will NOT fight it nor test it and in a bear area they are great much better than the European type flock guards
Answer by tk
Honestly speaking because of the jaw-dropping aggression a Russian bear dog might show. I see the bear backing down. A bear doesn't show intense aggression as some breeds of dog would do, mind you this is a dog with amazing defense drive we are talking about. the purebred CO of old.
wild creatures are smart, a bear may back down from a fight if it feels its not worth it or risks too many injuries which is a reality. We see this in d wild when men who have animal savvy use words and waving of the hand to persuade or drive of wild animals(professionals tho) although I don't recommend that as many do not understand these creatures. So it could go either way but i perceive the bear would back down esp when the dog has a human company.
The intense barking and growl alone should ward off the bear. Never forget that the Caucasian Ovcharka has thick fur for fighting has speed and power the bear should have more power tho but i would go with lightning-fast attack reflexes, large size as well as devastating bites from the CO which is aware of and knows how to use it to advantage. It's not like the bear couldn't kill it but i doubt if it would be committed to such a dog that fights to the death and has a history of killing wolves. I see the bear thinking twice and backing off.
Answer by Rob
The ONLY chance that the dog would survive a confrontation with any bear is the fact that it is extremely aggressive and has a substantial voice/growl/bark, MIGHT cause the bear to run just out of confusion and uncertainty as to what type of threat it is facing. But, if the bear is cornered, has cubs, or just decides to stand and fight, the outcome would be very bleak for the dog, indeed.
Let's assume that it is one of the largest Caucasian dogs of all time and weighs 225 lbs., and the bear is just an AVERAGE black bear (which is one of the smaller bears in the world), and weighs in at only 450 to 500 lbs., the bear is going to have probably 300 lbs., 2-3 feet in height, at least 3 times the strength, equal agility and quickness, and able to run as fast as a horse over short distances, at around 35-40 mph, and you have a NIGHTMARE in store for your pup.
Black bears can have claws that approach 4-6" long so that they can rip tree trunks open in order to find grubs and other types of bugs to eat and the strength to decapitate a full-grown deer with one swing of their 26" arms. It would be best to take no chances and let the bear have all of the berries it wanted, and let the bear go his way and keep your dog alive and injury free!
Answer by kaekae
Can a Caucasian mountain dog kill a Black Bear? Very unlikely. But will it chase the bear off? Very likely. Unless its a female with cubs, that bear will not wanna stay and fight anything that vicious.
Know better? Give your own answer to this question!
Cheryl Haskins says
How should I handle the situation if my Caucasian Mountain Dog or Russian Bear dog encounters a black bear in the woods while we are out picking berries?
Michael David says
Sorry guys, i made some errors in my last comment, all i wanted to say was that it could go either way with a black bear of about 220 lbs
RussianDog says
It’s ok Michael. Thank you for your comment.
David Michael says
A caucasian shepherd that weighs around 220 pounds might be a match with an american black bear of the same size. Although, the bear has a stronger bite force of about 800 psi and a punch force of 560 lbs with 5 claws on each paw which can grow as long as 4 inches, whereas the dog has a biteforce of 650 psi, so it could in either way against a black bear but definitely not with a grizzly, kodiak or polar bear.
James Fair says
Last fall I bought a Karelian pup and have been trying very hard to train him. He is now almost 17 months old and weighs 75 pounds. We have an excess of black bear here, and I need the help, and help he does! When he sees a bear, or smells one, he stands right up on his hind legs and goes into a high-pitched song like a coon hound, kind of a yodel. And the bear crashes away through the brush. The last time that happened, the bear had been only fifty feet away. I didn’t see the bear, but my pup knew he was there, and sent it off with a song. I saw the bushes shaking and heard thrashing noises. Before I had this dog, one winter night I had two full-grown bears on my patio trying to break into the chicken hut. I opened the sliding door to see what that noise was, and there, eight feet away was a big black bear, with a second one right behind him. I made the loudest, nastiest dog noises I could, and they went up the Linden tree. I kept it up until they slid down and ran off through the snow. Bears do not like dog noises. Up in Alberta, at Fort MacMurray, they use Karelian bear dogs to chase the bears away from the petroleum operations. They bring in a pair, male and female to harass the bear, and it soon decides not to stick around.
Zen Malek says
Usually dogs are no match for bears, on one on one fights. Even the largest and toughest ones, HOWEVER like these comments are stated , if you have 2-3 aggressive fearless breeds, then the bear would run. The best, I have heard is the karelian bear dogs, they are extremely fearless and chase bears, exhaust them. Nip at their butts one at a time, while the bear is super confused. This is the best defense, In my opinion, it is not a fight, but it is the best option.
Old Jarhead says
Per Wikipedia, the average size of an American Black Bear is about 250 pounds. I don’t know what the average size of a Caucasian Ovcharka is, I’m a Mastiff owner, but I know that the average size of a male Mastiff in good, lean fighting/running condition is about 180-200 pounds, with particularly large specimens as heavy as 250.
I’m an experienced hiker in the Catskills, Poconos, and Adirondacks and have been fortunate to never encounter a bear on any of my hikes. I have studied the subject extensively, however, and consensus is that black bears tend to be timid, and with a really large dog it’s first instinct is going to be to get up a good-sized tree and just wait the dog out. Over the eons of time in which canines and ursines have been competitors it is well burnished into the brain of a bear that where there is one canine it’s highly likely that there are two or three or four more somewhere nearby. As Kipling wrote, the law of the jungle is that the strength of the wolf is the pack. The bears that didn’t learn that truth were removed from the genetic chain by natural selection because the most common canine which they would encounter would be the gray wolf (canis lupus) wolfpack, and three or more wolves are an overmatch for almost any black bear. The same three-on-one rule probably holds true for canis lupis familiaris, too. According to historical accounts, the European nobility would fight three Mastiffs ( which were much smaller than the modern Mastiff) against a Brown Bear (same species as the Grizzly) on an even odds basis.
I love my dog, who is furry, lovable, and out-of-shape, and wouldn’t want him to attack a black bear for fear he might get badly injured. Pare(nthetically, I wouldn’t want him to fight any animal for the same reason) However, purely for the purposes of a “How many angels can sit on the head of a pin” online debate, he is a formidable creature: He is thirty-one inches high at the withers (shoulder), measures fifty-two inches around the chest, weighed 233 pounds on his last trip to the Veterinarian, can pick up an NBA basketball in his mouth, and is capable of biting off the big knuckle hip joint on a cow thigh bone and crushing the the bone in under a minute. Nonetheless, my guess is that even a dog that size would probably be at a disadvantage one on one against a black bear. On the other hand, two against one, and the bear would probably be killed with minimal damage to the dogs. The bear knows that from natural selection, and that’s why it would go up a tree rather than fight.
Anyway, getting back to the question, I’ve heard that the Caucasian Ovcharka is a typical flock guard personality, aggressively defensive, and I rather expect that the bear would react to that aggression by attempting to get to a safe place, which in the eastern United States is usually up the nearest fair-sized tree. If by some mischance the encounter occurred in a place where the bear would be forced to fight and defend itself, it seems to me that the encounter would not end well for the dog. It wold probably be outweighed by about 75-100 pounds, and would be at a disadvantage against the bear’s claws and better-articulated shoulder joints. As I said, I would not expect a larger dog like a Mastiff to fare much better. The bear is a creature which has evolved to lead a solitary, individual life, and is well-equipped to defend itself in almost any encounter with another singleton predator, whereas the dog is a pack animal which is evolved to act in cooperation with others, whether humans or other canines.
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tomiwa says
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OldFarmer says
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FidosCityGuide says
Most dogs will attack a bear if they feel it is a threat, the dog will lose every time. Be sure to keep your dog inside until the bear moves on.
MISS knowitall says
If it came to, the dog would loose, but The dog barking could scare the bear off.
Bridget says
It's possible, but a very bad idea. Caucasian Mountain Dogs are strong guardian breeds, but a black bear is a pretty good match for one. There's a high probability that the dog would be injured. I suggest you respect the bear's space and just wait for it to move on.
Keisha P. says
The Caucasian Mountain Dog would put up a fight, but I don't know if it could actually kill a black bear. Definitely a possibility though.
James Parkin says
No.
Serendipity xo. says
Why would you even want to risk your dogs life?
ɳōŕŧhëƦǹ says
No. Keep the dog safe in the house with you and call the Animal Control if the bear comes close enough to your property to be a threat.
Ashley says
your dog would be dead
Byrd D says
The bear would kill the dog I think