Hilldweller

Sounds like a good dog.

They train PD work dogs at Wolfbrook; the owners are in my Mini Cooper club. It's a fun place.
You can probably find a similar facility near you --- just ask a cop where their dogs are trained.

The Wonder Mutt in camp; no making fun of the sweater. She's all muscle and it was cold...

DavidEllzey

A fine looking pooch you got there! Does she get to do much time on the trails?

Dave

(see, I didn't make any comments about the silly sweater)

Hilldweller

Not compared to my more youthful days; I think her longest hike has been 5 miles or so.
My arthritic knees won't go much farther ---- hence the trailer.
But she'd be game for it. She'll play fetch until she literally drops. And she'll sit silent as a rock when she comes up on an elk.
But she chases bicycles like Zeus throws thunderbolts; gotta cure her of that...

DavidEllzey

Mine has issues with other dogs, definitely not a dog friendly dog. At least not yet. He is getting better and we have plans in the near future to address his dog aggressiveness.

Dave

Hilldweller

Yeah; that's important.
We worked with Jessi over the weekend with bicycles too. Finally got her to stop growling and chasing.
Need to follow up on it though.

RevyJKU08

I used my Kheeshond to come out working in the field with me everyday when I was laying out Roads and Cutblocks in the field for our Forestry Company. I started him out at 3 months. We would be travelling about 10km/day on foot through rugged backcountry terrain. He was a great companion to have along in the bush.

How is your dog with Wildlife encounters (Deer, Moose, Bear, Cougar)????? Especially bears???? I know from experience some dogs will bring back a bear to the owners if they never had an encounter with a bear as they will run back with thier tails between it's leg and hide under the owners legs creating a greater danger for you.

I worked with my dog by having a leash with me and when I encountered a bear (without cubs) I had him on a leash and trained him to stay between me and the bear and bark. It took a few bear encounters but he would start to pace back and forth about 15 feet in front of me and between the bear and I. Also, as he got older he would only bark at bears, cougars and wolves to let me know I needed to be extra alert in the area.

Also, I trained him to walk along logs to cross creek gullies or areas of windthrown trees to make travelling easier for both (did not have to pack him). Also, I trained and got after him for chasing deer & especially moose as a hoof from a moose would kill him.

However, about 5 years ago, I lost my best dog I had....but he did defend me from a rather large and aggressive Grizzly Boar bear. He gave me time to escape from an attack and he did make it back to the truck...but had to be put down from internal injuries. Not to scare you or anything....but you should be prepared for the worst should your dog encounter a Bear or other aggressive wild animals during your travels in the backcountry.

Hilldweller

That's sad.
Did you spray the bear?

So far Jessi hasn't seen any bears on the trail, just in the Jeep. I'm not sure how she'd react. She's cool with everything with a hoof and just sits and waits for me to tell her what to do. In our area the pigs are more of a threat than the little black bears; the pigs get BIG.

RevyJKU08

No, I did not spray the bear. My dog "BEAR" actually kept backing up as I called him....but keeping an eye on the Grizzly. The Grizzly faked charged and swipped at "Bear" but he stood his ground pretty good by jumping off to the side to avoid the swipe. Also, I was over 15 meters away from the bear to long of a shot for bear spray. However, I did shoot off 2 bear bangers....but this Grizzly was not going anywhere!!!

Then the Grizzly took charge after my dog and the last I saw was him going over a small ridge and I heard some scrapping and lots of barking. This was when I got my chance to high tail it out of there back to the truck. When I knew I was far enough away from the Grizzly..... I called for for a good 1/2 hour and BEAR finally hobbled out of the bush near the truck.

He had a few scratches and a chunk of hair missing at his right flank. He was having a hard time breathing. The bear severed his liver, kidney's and twisted his intestines so bad from the scrap that he only had so much time. It was sad to see him go....but he protected me to the end. My forest company was sad to see BEAR go and the forest area we developed where BEAR and I had the Grizzly encounter they named the main forestry road "Silver Bear road" after my dog. When I get home I will post a picture of the champ!

Even a few months before this incident he protected my daughter when she was 2 years old in our backyard. A Black bear came into the yard while my daughter was playing around her playhouse. BEAR went nuts barking and I came running out and there he was circling my daughter and barking to keep the black bear way. It took a bear banger to scare off the that black bear. However, it was great to see BEAR in action protecting my little girl.

DavidEllzey

Triple,

Zach is still too young to know for sure but his breed is supposed to hold their ground, described as "fearless and requires the handler to watch out for their safety". In other words, I expect him not to retreat but rather return on call. Remember we only have blacks down here.

He also seems to respect large game and treat it like they were horses. He becomes alert but only mildly interested unless they are close enough to be of possible danger. In regards to training I expect to have more difficulty with small game, I will be fighting instinct there as he will want to "hunt" squirrels, marmots and such. I'm working on that now.

The breed's durability and protectiveness was the reason we chose an ACD, my wife is still not comfortable around bears (even though we have had multiple uneventful encounters) and have Zach in our tent eases her fears.

Dave

DavidEllzey

In theory at least, the dog isn't supposed to actually engage the bear but rather bark at it and make quick passes at a safe distance. Ultimately though, a good dog will attack anything that is attempting to harm its owners. It sucks but its what they are wired to do. Personally I would honor my dog if he gave his life protecting my wife.

Dave