Karelian Bear Dog

In an area located in northern Europe, once known as Karelia, there is a large population of large, big game hunting dogs. It is claimed that dogs similar to the Karelian Bear Dog followed the first settlers to Finland thousands of years ago. To these first settlers, the dogs were an important part of their survival since they were sustained by what they could hunt. Since they were strong enough to tackle and kill bear, lynx, and wolf, they were an asset to the settlers. They were also an excellent guardian dog for the settlers. The Karelian Bear Dog looks similar to the Russian Laika and some historians believe that they are related. The Russian Laika comes from a part of Finland that was claimed by the Soviet Union in the early 20th Century so it is possible that both breeds originated from the same dogs. They were first shown in a conformation dog show in 1936 in Helsinki and gained popularity. However, after World War II this courageous and eager to work canine almost became extinct. Because of this, all Karelian Bear Dogs born after the end of WWII can be traced back to just forty dogs that were saved after the war. Their popularity has been on the rise since the 1960s. There are breeders in many European countries as well as North America. They are still one of the most popular dog breeds in Finland. In 2005, they were admitted into the American Kennel Club’s Foundation Stock Service program. This is the first step towards becoming fully recognized as an American Kennel Club breed.