Meet "Rasta" our Karelian Bear Dog aka KBD

[YukonHunter]

Hey Foks

Just wanted to introduce you to "Rasta" our female
KBD who just turned 2yrs old a couple days ago. She is a "working" dog and extremely driven to do so 24/7. We do treat her as a "part of the family" but she does not get spoiled. She is a "tool" as much as my new Blaser R8 will be...

Coming from previous experiences with Labour Retreavers she is a completely different animal but that's what we wanted.

Going on 2 yrs now she is more mangeable and we have built a foundation of trust and understanding with her. You have to honour the breeds inherent nature while maintaining a level of pack respect. Honestly, it's my wife that is the "handler/ trainer" as we feel the dog needs one Alpha to submit too. (Wolf pack mind set). Not to say she won't lessen to me... she has too but I am usually "on point" with the gun (soon to be a Blaser R8 ) so my wife focuses on the dog while I focus on the target.

Any other KBD owners out there? Would love to hear of your experiences with this (our 1st) KBD.

YH

[Vaughan]

Nice looking dog! Just enough crazy in the eyes to keep you on your toes... Some interesting looking country too.

[Vaughan]

My friends young KBD bitch with her moose heifer. She is about 3 y.o. This was her first moose, I believe, so a good result after such good work. Not a good picture of the dog, I was more interested in the moose...

IMG_1309.jpg

[YukonHunter]

Nice Moose... There's some good meat for the freezer.

This must have been harvested in Europe where the can run dogs on Moose eh? Looking like a GPs or E-Collar to keep track of the KBD too. A good investment for this hunting application.

YH

Hey Vaughan

Yup, those eyes can get really "intense" at times. In one word I would discribe her as "intense". Time will tell how she does on bears. To date she has only seen/ barked at them from the truck but all indications are that she will do her job well.

Top image is from Carcross, Yukon. They claim the "worlds smallest desert" but ready its just a valley bottom. Not sure if glaciers had a hand in its topography? Great place to run the dog and Grizzlies frequently visit this location in summer.

[9.3x64]

Wow, beautiful dog.

[SPEEDY]

I had a friend that wanted one as a pet, I told her it's the wrong breed for her.
She would never walk one, just open the back and let it have a run when she's back from work. (works 4 day on, 4 days off)
A working dog needs a lot more exercise then even most hunting dogs need, but they are a great dog for people that understand their needs.

[Monty3006]

Great looking dog and it looks very well suited to the country.

How will you actually use her for bear hunting?

[Vaughan]

Nice Moose... There's some good meat for the freezer.

This must have been harvested in Europe where the can run dogs on Moose eh? Looking like a GPs or E-Collar to keep track of the KBD too. A good investment for this hunting application.

YH

Hey Vaughan

Yup, those eyes can get really "intense" at times. In one word I would discribe her as "intense". Time will tell how she does on bears. To date she has only seen/ barked at them from the truck but all indications are that she will do her job well.

Top image is from Carcross, Yukon. They claim the "worlds smallest desert" but ready its just a valley bottom. Not sure if glaciers had a hand in its topography? Great place to run the dog and Grizzlies frequently visit this location in summer.

Yes, harvested in northern Sweden (Garmin collar, range is a bit limiting). It is the norm to hunt then with dogs and the harvesting is heavily regulated for population control as part of forest management.

I was surprised by how dry that area looked. Looks a bit like the esker country up north here but drier. D you have willow grouse/ptarmigan up in that country?

[canalrifle]

Pretty dog. Thanks for sharing.

[YukonHunter]

Hey Vaughan

I'd love to visit Northern Sweden some day as I believe we share the same type of Borel Forest Biome.

Carcross Desert (technally only a sand dune b/c of the amount of rain it gets) is only 260 hectares or 642acres in size. It formed after the last glacial period when ice receded leaving behind sand and silt. High winds from the coast of Alaska help shift and move the dunes over time. A fun area to go walking or ATVing.

We have spruce and rough grouse just up from the dunes in the forests and the willow ptarmigian in the Alpine. I hunted these birds heavily as a kid with my trusty 22cal.

Lastly, Bennett Lake was one of the main travel routes used by gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.

A really diverse area to explore, with mountains all around surrounding the long lake system and river system leading all the way to the Alaskan coast.

Rasta in winter...
YH

[Joe338ST]

Wow. Nice dog and beautiful country.

[Vaughan]

Hey Vaughan

I'd love to visit Northern Sweden some day as I believe we share the same type of Borel Forest Biome.

Carcross Desert (technally only a sand dune b/c of the amount of rain it gets) is only 260 hectares or 642acres in size. It formed after the last glacial period when ice receded leaving behind sand and silt. High winds from the coast of Alaska help shift and move the dunes over time. A fun area to go walking or ATVing.

We have spruce and rough grouse just up from the dunes in the forests and the willow ptarmigian in the Alpine. I hunted these birds heavily as a kid with my trusty 22cal.

Lastly, Bennett Lake was one of the main travel routes used by gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.

A really diverse area to explore, with mountains all around surrounding the long lake system and river system leading all the way to the Alaskan coast.

Rasta in winter...
YH

Yes, very similar biome but your moose and your bears are way bigger Back in the mid ´80s I applied to UA in Fairbanks to do my graduate work but ended up in sw Ontario instead. Had a fantastic time in southern Canada but the north must be something else. The mountains and far north are beautiful here but all pretty domesticated. You are blessed to have wild country at your doorstep.

[YukonHunter]

Wow. Nice dog and beautiful country.

Thanks Joe338ST

[YukonHunter]

Hey Vaughan

I'd love to visit Northern Sweden some day as I believe we share the same type of Borel Forest Biome.

Carcross Desert (technally only a sand dune b/c of the amount of rain it gets) is only 260 hectares or 642acres in size. It formed after the last glacial period when ice receded leaving behind sand and silt. High winds from the coast of Alaska help shift and move the dunes over time. A fun area to go walking or ATVing.

We have spruce and rough grouse just up from the dunes in the forests and the willow ptarmigian in the Alpine. I hunted these birds heavily as a kid with my trusty 22cal.

Lastly, Bennett Lake was one of the main travel routes used by gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898.

A really diverse area to explore, with mountains all around surrounding the long lake system and river system leading all the way to the Alaskan coast.

Rasta in winter...
YH

Yes, very similar biome but your moose and your bears are way bigger Back in the mid ´80s I applied to UA in Fairbanks to do my graduate work but ended up in sw Ontario instead. Had a fantastic time in southern Canada but the north must be something else. The mountains and far north are beautiful here but all pretty domesticated. You are blessed to have wild country at your doorstep.

Thats cool you spent some time in southern Canada doing your studies. It's never too late to plan a trip north. Covid will pass...

Both Alaska and Yukon have alot of wild country offering wide open spaces but... the trade off is you have to be very self reliant. Help does not come quickly, if at all. But that's part of the attraction in a way.

We actually live in the southern lakes region on Teslin Lake a transboundry water with British Columbia. In two weeks the ice will be off the lake and it will be boating/ fishing season again.


YH

.

[Vaughan]

It's going to be a generational event, but yes, Covid will pass.....
First fishing trip is planned in 3 weeks, damn this winter has been long