Dogs and bear safety

Dogs, dogs and even some cats
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sarahhaubert
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Dogs and bear safety

Post by sarahhaubert »

Hi friends- I couldn't find a post like this on the forum yet, so I hope it's not redundant. I couldn't find much via google either.

My mountain dog and I were trail running on the Mesa trail SW of Boulder today, she was off leash (it's allowed); she stays on the trail, she has amazing recall. She was on the edge of the trail and there was a rustling in the overgrowth, and a bear appeared. It charged us, reared up at me, growled, returned to four legs, turned to Luna and they both took off. Fortunately, she outran it, and it gave up less than a half mile down the trail and headed back up the hill. It was most likely that it was feeding near the trail and we snuck up and surprised it; it was probably bluffing when it charged us and maybe while it was chasing her. I realized in that moment I didn't know what to do, I ran after them but didn't yell (because I didn't want Lu to slow down or stop).

Obviously, we should've been making more noise because surprising the bear was our really big mistake. It was noon on a populated trail...I wasn't taking any precautions, and I'll never be so careless again.

But, bears and dogs: it seems that her being off leash was a big advantage because although I couldn't have out-run the bear, she could. If the bear had caught her, what kind of involvement on my part would work? Yelling? Throwing things at it or nearby to distract it? Fight it myself? There were some girls a bit further down the trail heading in our direction, and it occurred to me after that had the bear not given up and headed back into the woods, it could've gone after them too. I've read that if a black bear attacks you, you fight back and hope it decides it's not worth it because it's probably not being predatory anyway. What about when a bear is attacking someone or somedog, what's the best way to intervene?
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the toninator
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Re: Dogs and bear safety

Post by the toninator »

bear spray?
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polar
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Re: Dogs and bear safety

Post by polar »

It must have been a very scary experience. It sounds like it ended in the best way possible. I really can't think of a good way to deal with the situation. Bear spray like sugguested above may be useful, but honestly, I don't have a bear spray. I have not seen a bear since I moved to Colorado in 2012, but maybe it's time to invest in one.
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bob863
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Re: Dogs and bear safety

Post by bob863 »

it may be just me; but maybe, just maybe your unleashed dog surprised the bear which made it aggressive....I'm sure it was a very scary situation...
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cheeseburglar
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Re: Dogs and bear safety

Post by cheeseburglar »

It is bear season for the next couple weeks but they are nothing to worry about if you have a dog with you and aren't carrying a bucket of fried chicken in your pack. If you don't have a dog and have fried chicken you should carry bear spray.
I've also never run into a bear in Colorado that didn't walk away as soon as I pulled out my camera.
I have never heard of a black bear killing a dog in the backcountry. Has this ever happened?
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