The canine conundrum: Is a dog a help or hindrance in bear country?

Abstract

Many have recognized the potential dangers and benefits of bringing domestic dogs into bear habitat. To explore this issue, we analyzed 326 human–bear conflicts that involved domestic dogs (i.e., not dogs trained to aversively condition or haze bears) and North American bear species (black bear [ Ursus americanus ], grizzly bear [ U. arctos ], polar bear [ U. maritimus ]). Of these conflicts, dogs initiated the incident more than half the time (54%). One hundred and seventy people were injured, including 5 fatalities (2% of all dog owners). However, more than 10 times as many dogs died as people ( n  = 56). Most dog–bear conflicts occurred in wilderness areas when owners were hiking (45.1%). However, nearly as many conflicts occurred in front‐country locations (35.3%), underscoring the need for dog owners to be prepared for bear encounters in both areas. Off‐leash dogs often flushed bears out of the brush (8.3% of cases), initiating conflict that endangered the dog, their owners, and bears. In such instances, owners suffered a 70% injury rate. One hundred and two people with no bear deterrent sprang to the aid of dogs in distress ( n  = 132 dogs), and many people (44%; 45 of 102 persons) incurred injuries ranging from slight to severe. Only 9.2% of incidents reported that the dog warned the owners of the presence of a bear, and dogs did not often come to aid of their owners when being attacked (35.9% of all cases). Carrying a bear deterrent decreases the odds of injury and increases one's safety in bear country. We also found that the larger the group of people, the less likely a human–bear–dog incident will occur; however, the presence of a dog more than doubled the odds of a bear conflict when compared to the same‐sized groups without dogs. Incidents involving unleashed dogs outnumbered those involving leashed dogs nearly 6 to 1. While we did not know the ratio of leashed to unleashed dogs at large, we do know that only dogs off leash could bring bears back to their owners, an event that was reported in 27 cases (8.3%). Insights provided here are intended to help wildlife managers create effective guidelines regarding the presence of domestic dogs in bear habitat.