I agree with @ayk, neither dog looks all that driven. I'm sure they aren't stupid, they know the bear is caged. But still, I'd expect a bit more drive.
I agree, they don't appear to have much interest... However, I dunno that I'd want to see them biting at the bear and acting very aggressive either.
I dunno how much this type of test really shows - let's say the dog was very aggressive toward the bear in the cage, does that really mean he/she will make a good bear hunter? There is a lot more these dogs do than just act aggressive toward a bear while on hunt. Only way to really know if they can hunt bear is to hunt over them on bear, and it's a shame that is a pastime that is going the way of the Dodo in Japan...
There is some interesting stuff written by Aleksander V. Popov regarding Russian-style bear (hunt) tests done with Laiki. His feeling is that the tests do more damage to the dog's natural bear-aggression and baying instincts than good. I wonder what he would think about these tests down on the Hokka?
Not too long ago, the bears during these tests in Hokkaido used to be done with a tethered bear instead of a caged bear. The dogs were much more aggressive in their approach in barking and circling the bear. It just seems that many of the dogs today either scare away or have no interest in the bear at all.
@brada1878 - I don't think aggressiveness is the issue. In my mind, what these dogs lacked was desire and intensity. The first dog has some desire, but lacked intensity and lost interest very quickly. The dog doesn't have to be very forward to do a good job baying. But they do have to keep their eye on the prey, and stay focused. The second dog didn't even have the desire. It clearly wanted to be somewhere else.
Yeah, now that you guys point it out, the first Hokkaido doesn't seem all that into it either. But more than the second one for sure.
Here are a few more videos.
Just curious, but is a smaller bear used for younger dogs? Or does it not matter?
And then I found this video clip. The brindle(?) Hokkaido at the beginning looks way more into it, is that how you guys would interpret it? It also looks like the bear at the beginning is tethered instead of in a cage, so maybe that is part of it?
I just witnessed the bear testing in Hokkaido and to be honest most the dogs don't do much around the bear. I was told that since the bear is in a cage the dogs just don't react like they did when the bear was tethered. From what I could see the dogs were more interested in the scent from all the other dogs marking near the cage than the bear. One guy told me his best hunting dog would be all over a bear in the wild but isn't so interested when it sees a caged one.
As a side note, when Meitou heard the Hokkaido in this video barking, he stopped playing with his jolly ball and stood there listening at attention. And as soon as the barking stopped he went back to playing, lol.
Love it! The bear seems pretty chill and laid back, like "Come on bro, what're you going to do? You can't get in here" and that last Hokka "gets it" half way through. I wonder how Genko, Yezo, and Meitou would do!
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None the less, nice find!
I dunno how much this type of test really shows - let's say the dog was very aggressive toward the bear in the cage, does that really mean he/she will make a good bear hunter? There is a lot more these dogs do than just act aggressive toward a bear while on hunt. Only way to really know if they can hunt bear is to hunt over them on bear, and it's a shame that is a pastime that is going the way of the Dodo in Japan...
There is some interesting stuff written by Aleksander V. Popov regarding Russian-style bear (hunt) tests done with Laiki. His feeling is that the tests do more damage to the dog's natural bear-aggression and baying instincts than good. I wonder what he would think about these tests down on the Hokka?
I posted his article here, if you want to read it: http://www.laikaforum.org/forum/discussion/117/pads-journal-31-hunting-laikas-by-aleksander-v.-popov
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Here are a few more videos.
Just curious, but is a smaller bear used for younger dogs? Or does it not matter?
And then I found this video clip. The brindle(?) Hokkaido at the beginning looks way more into it, is that how you guys would interpret it? It also looks like the bear at the beginning is tethered instead of in a cage, so maybe that is part of it?
Sad.
As a side note, when Meitou heard the Hokkaido in this video barking, he stopped playing with his jolly ball and stood there listening at attention. And as soon as the barking stopped he went back to playing, lol.
I kind of wish Meitou could try this...