Bear Hunting Dogs
Bear hunting is an adventurous activity carried out by only few. Bear hunting dogs are the inseparable part in hunting bears. It would be hard to imagine going for hunting bears without these tough dogs. These dogs fall under three breeds such as hounds (dogs that hunt by sight or scent), water dogs (also called gun dogs) and terriers. They are especially trained for years together to make them adept at hunting. Hunters rely heavily on their dogs as they help them run the house and family expenses.
Each breed of hunting dogs has its own set of skills and capabilities. It is interesting to know that these dogs are good natured and mild as against the popular belief of them being aggressive and dangerous. The animal’s stamina plays an important role in hunting activities. Bear hunting dogs have the strong sense of scent and can follow it till long distances. Moreover, they have very good eyesight which is a must for hunting bears.
Hounds suit well as bear hunting dogs since they possess all the qualities needed for hunting a bear. There are two kinds of hounds- sight hunting and scent hunting. The Rhodesian Ridgebacks or the African Lion Hound is used for hunting large animals like bear, deer, elk and moose. The Plott hounds and Walker hounds also serve as good hunting dogs.
The sight hounds hunt by making eye contact with the prey. They are very quick and smaller in size as compared to the scent hounds, leaving a few. Some of the sight hounds are Whippets, Greyhounds, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Saluki, Afghan hound, Basenji and the Irish wolfhound. Scent hounds are those bear hunting dogs that score over others in terms of stamina. They are a little heavier and have deep chests. Hunters find them very helpful as they can track these dogs due to their voices from far away. Bloodhounds, Bassets, Beagles, all types of Coonhounds, Foxhounds and the Scottish deerhound are some of the scent hounds.
It is nice to know that some hounds have both scent and sight capabilities. This is great for hunters as they can use one dog for several purposes. Bear hunting dogs need to be fed a nutritious diet and live an active life all through the year. This keeps them away from any minor illness and restores the stamina for hunting activities.