Bears aware... (and best dog ever)

[scaredychicken]

So 2012 was a bad year for bears on our property - they (4-5) started to arrive in late June and were hungry, small / scrawny but deadly to 17 of our heritage chickens. The chickens are secured - yet again. (so is the garbage etc.) Our 12 lb jack russell treed them several times last year... up to 5 hrs at a time.

Earlier this week (early May 2013) we discover bear scat on the driveway. On Wed night I come home to see a (guesstimated) 220 lb black bear wondering by the garage doors. Almost twice the size of our visitors last year. We have lived here for 12 years and know that they live in a den on the property, but only in the last 2 years have they been a nuisance. This one managed to get another chicken, before we knew the bears were roaming. Going to try to deter them with VERY HOT (spicy) SAUCE, as suggested to us by others.

Our 12 lb J R Quincy (aka "the Quincinator") is the best farm dog we've had. Fearless to a fault. Survived coyotes, eagles, bears, a vehicle injury, other dogs and a bear attack last year. Quincy is back at it protecting his property - I had to get up and let him out to warn the bear ... as I typed this note).

Conservation has been very busy, and have given us suggestions, but they rarely arrive in time to locate the wandering menace. They got one with the bear tank last year.

Posting mostly to share our experiences, and to brag about our dog. We want to get another larger outdoor dog, as a tag team partner for Quincy - and after some research, it is probably going to be an Anatolian Shepherd.

cheers, CK

 

[jerrybob]

Wow....Quincy sounds like a good dog. The Anatolian Shepard is a good dog. We have a Karelian bear dog/lab mix and a cattle dog. The KB was originally bread to hunt bears. He's a good hunter and good watch dog. He's a good family dog....very protective. We had a Aussie Shep. a few years ago.......another good dog. Good luck with the bears!

 

[joshuabardwell]

This seems like a very dangerous situation for you and your family. I'm surprised you're not taking more proactive steps to deal with the situation, but there are probably aspects of the situation I'm unaware of. At the very least, I hope you don't leave the house with a large-caliber revolver on your person! Bears can be serious business under the wrong circumstances.

 

[crazyal]

I have two beagles and a lab/ border collie mix. Between the three of them bears, coyote, fisher cats,etc stay far away. I'll often hear the coyotes crying after making a kill all around us but never closer than a mile. It always amazes me just how much fear a dog will put in other animals.

 

[dave1949]

Sounds like you have a good dog! Would a bigger dog be inclined to tangle with the bear more? Or, is its presence supposed to be a deterrent to the bear approaching?

What sorts of things train bears to avoid your home area? Electric fencing maybe? A trip wire that sets off a loud bang? Classical music?

Or you could set out a bait chicken--with plenty of hot sauce on it :laughing:--and shoot the bear with rubber bullets if you get the chance. They hurt supposedly.

Joking aside, it seems like you need to avoidance train the bears as much as possible. At some point they may get brazen enough to see Quincy as a nuisance and that won't end well is my thought. It may take Quincy some time to accept a newcomer dog too.

 

[scaredychicken]

Quincy's idea is everybody loves me. (no arguing with that).

My neighbour is ready and able to address any bear issues, if he is home - and conservation gave us the ok if we are having losses (yes). The neighbour has heard Q barking wildly and at full speed, a few times and come to check it out. Most years the bear(s) stay at the bottom of the property, by the creek and are invisible except the evidence they leave. Last year they developed a taste for chicken (someone elses birds initially), and this year we are ready. My wife is an apiarist (beekeeper) and the bee yard is fenced and charged.
The odd thing is that the bears have avoided 1) the hives & grub - they actually have no interest in the honey itself; 2) any hint of garbage (we're careful); 3) the chicken feed, dog feed, cat feed; - they have essentially taken door # 4 - straight for the chickens. Last year the bear climbed the trees and sat on the roof of the coop and or dropped into the run and helped himself. We have "studded" the vulnerable trees, to prevent climbing, and we will possibly charge up the chicken run fencing also.
Since leaning on the horn the other night, I have not seen the bear back. Scared it a bit. Country dogs are barking all over the place regularly.
So far, not too bad for us.

We have considered
- the Anatolian Shepherd "gentle giant" great watch dog - will constantly roam the entire property looking for unwelcomed guests - be they bears, coyotes, other dogs, and secondly
- the Rhodesian Ridgeback as possible options (they are great with cougars, large cats, coyotes etc.

Given that we have birds, bees (flowers & trees - LOL). Other big dogs Karelian Bear Dog (I really like), other Shepherds, Labs etc were ruled out as options mostly because they are not great with chickens (some are by nature bird-dogs - great for hunting companions, not so much for our needs. A Big dog would generally assist Q and help in outnumbering the problem beast.

I have a mobility challenge, and there is really no worry about me walking through the bush with a loaded gun. I want a pellet gun mostly for rodents, but that is about it. We have a country cat for general rodent patrol... very active at present.