Karelian Bear Dog Names

Hearing of the Karelian Bear Dog probably brings visions of a well-muscled, massive looking dog. However, the Karelian Bear Dog is an agile, medium-sized black and white dog. They are not well-known in the United States but the breed is gaining notoriety in the northwest where these big game hunters are using their skills to aid the Fish and Wildlife Department in Washington State. The first Karelian Bear Dog to be commissioned as a canine officer with the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department (WDFW) is Freyja. Officer Nick Jorg works closely with the canine officers. Freyja began learning her job at just 15 weeks old and is showing great promise to become one of their best canine officers. She is a naturally athletic dog and will continue training for about two years before she is assigned to a field officer. The Karelian Bear Dogs used by the Fish and Wildlife Department are used to prevent the unnecessary deaths of bears and mountain lions in the state. These dogs are trained to herd bears, mountain lions, and other larger wildlife away from civilization and back into their natural wild habitat. These dogs are not being used to hunt and kill bears or other large game but rather to rescue and release these animals into the wild. Freyja is also being trained to track and help catch poachers. She will also assist in herding big horn sheep and other large animals away from highways. As a part of her job, Freyja is also an ambassador for the WDFW. She attends meet and greet events and participates in educational programs that the department has established. Freyja is training to replace Cash, another Karelian Bear Dog that succumbed to cancer. Cash is credited with saving over 500 bears over the course of his career.

The use of the Karelian Bear Dog as a canine officer with the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department was initiated in 2003 by Rocky Spencer, a biologist with the WDFW. Spencer died unexpectedly on the job while trying to net-gun big horn sheep from a helicopter in 2007. This left the Karelian Bear Dog program in jeopardy because Spencer was the champion of the program and there was nobody to take over the program. WDFW Enforcement Chief Bruce Bjork took up the gauntlet and initiated a one year Karelian Bear Dog pilot program. This program was implemented to evaluate the use of the Karelian Bear Dog in resolving conflicts between black bears and humans within Washington State. Mishka became the first official Karelian Bear Dog canine officer and the success of the program hinged on his success. The program had an 80% success rate and has since received state funding allowing the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Department to expand the number of Karelian Bear Dogs used including one of their newest recruits, Freyja.