Karelian Bear Dogs
Being the proud owner of a KBD (before flaming I acknowledge the fact that he is an American Karelian, KBD with REL bred in at some point), and seeing that there are numerous people on here that are interested in the breed....Is anyone else on here an owner of this majestic creature? Please include pics if possible. We also own a Shiba Ken and a kitty cat.
Comments
I don't, but find the breed interesting.
I've never met one that I can recall of...
...but I'm a fancier of their appearance and from what I've read online about their temperments. They sound like a fascinating breed! I love hearing about them.
Beowulf and Swag
Swag and Francis
I love hunting spitz and they are a breed that I am totally interested in, but from what I've read they don't make good city dogs. I live in the city (although a SMALL city, and I have a half-acre fenced back yard adjacent to my house)--so I'm not sure if by "city" the websites mean "apartments"? I've also read they can be fairly dog aggressive- is that true?
I LOVE the markings on your KBD, so beautiful!
Jen
When our dogs first met (after a 8hr car ride for Swag) he was definitely a little aggressive for the first couple minutes or so...fortunately my wife and I made it clear that infighting would not be tolerated and soon the little buggers became best friends. Our Shiba is also very well socialized. There was also a quick incident when a friend of ours brought a boxer over (after he saw Beowulf acting nicely to the dog he calmed down). Swag does not like his "turf" encroached upon by strange dogs (or uninvited ppl for that matter) but he has never been uncontrollable. He loved the cat from day one.
We do live in downtown Memphis (Mud Island), have a fenced-in backyard and so far no problems. We can take him off the leash and control him pretty well with just verbal commands....the Shiba will never in her whole life be trusted off a leash
As for dog-sharpness from KBDs, in my opinion that's been overplayed. Our experience is that Tuula has a large comfort bubble and that she isn't the dog-friendliest dog on the planet; she takes some time to warm up to a new dog, but then she's gangbusters with her new friend typically. Pushy dogs wear on her nerves, though.
Watch out for the off-the-leash stuff. Tuula was amazing off leash and then she hit about 5 or 6 months old and SUCKED for a while after that. She is coming around and beginning to recall fairly reliably unless scent tracking. Unfortunately, she trails silently and that makes her very hard to find in a dark woods at night without tracking equipment.
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I was doing research on the kbd and love them.
That's a kbd/laika running along side a truck. Very impressive.
Speaking of which, why are there a lot of hunters mixing the kbd and laika?
Best of breed KBD(male)
Best of opposite sex