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Meet Colter
In 1982, after becoming interested in using dogs to deter and repel bears, Carrie Hunt, Director of Wind River Bear Institute (WRBI), found a breed that seemed perfect for the task— the Karelian Bear Dog, (KBD). Unknown in most parts of the world, the KBD has been bred and used by grizzly bear and moose hunters and farmers in Finland and western Russia for centuries. Just as a Border Collie has an instinct for moving sheep, out of each litter some KBD's enter the world with an instinct for handling bears safely. KBDs weigh about 40-65 pounds when grown and are black and white with a raccoon-like black mask around their eyes. Their body is similar in shape to that of a Husky. The Karelian is highly intelligent, sensitive, independent, and purposeful, with an innate love for people and children. Since KBDs are intense, independent hunters. They do not make good pets, as in Russia and Finland they have been culled if they did NOT go off and leave their owners to hunt! Under Hunt’s direction, WRBI raises, selects and specially trains KBDs to serve as partners for bear-management specialists and people that live in bear country. Hunt has successfully trained and used KBDs for Bear Shepherding since 1990. For the purposes of Bear Shepherding, WRBI uses KBDs for deterrence, aversive conditioning, monitoring, tracking, patrolling, investigation of conflict scenarios, finding food attractants, capture, early warning, a safety net during conditioning of bears, added “volunteer man-power” and public education.
Colter was chosen by the Wind River Bear Institute for our agency, through a rigorous testing process to be sure that he will excel at working with bears and be a true “Partner in Life” and a solid “Bear Shepherding” dog. After Carrie Hunt interviewed Officer Nick Jorg to get a feel for his personality and home life and to see exactly what type of dog he needed, she expertly placed Colter with him.
Wind River Bear Institute places their Karelian Bear Dogs in the following roles:
- Bear Conflict Dogs (for Bear Managers, Biologists, Officers, Wardens, Rangers, Private)
- Bear Protection Dogs (for Biologists, Outfitters, Ranchers, Campground Managers, Private)
- Companion Dogs (for active people who enjoy outdoor activities and can provide the environment, activities and commitment needed for a healthy, happy partnership with our highly intelligent and activity-driven KareliansKa)
The primary purpose for WDFW acquiring Colter, our new KBD pup, is to help resolve the many bear-human conflicts that occur in our region and reduce the number of bears that have to be lethally removed. Many successes have been documented in retraining bears to avoid humans through the use of specialized dogs. We also hope to use him to conduct similar work with mountain lions and work as a wildlife enforcement detection dog.
Due to huge budget shortfalls within the agency, Colter is being funded completely through private outside sources handled and maintained by Martha Jordan, a biologist, wildlife advocate and a life-long contributor to WDFW. Martha established the “Tucker Memorial KBD Fund”, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the KBD program within WDFW. For more information about the organization and what you can do to help, visit: www.washingtonbeardogs.org. If enough funds are generated, we look forward to working with the Wind River Bear Institute to expand our KBD program throughout our Region and then the other Regions in our state.
Colter with his littermates at Wind River Bear Institute |
The Wind River Bear Institute uses a unique Socialization Program that has a time-proven success record with their KBD’s visiting with thousands of people and kids during hundreds of presentations at schools and other functions, without any problems with confidence or socialization. Pups are handled for a minimum of 1-2 hours daily during the first 7 weeks of their lives. This program has resulted in bold, confident, gentle KBD’s that function well in almost any type of situation.
Testing, Assessment and Puppy Field Programs begin during the pup’s 7th week, this continues until their 10th week. The pups are then matched with owner personalities and needs. This Program has nearly a 100% success rate for nearly 100 pups! The goal is to match owners with pups to create unusually communicative, intuitive, effective and rich, lifetime partnerships.
Officer Nicholas Jorg traveled to Wind River Bear Institute in Florence, Montana the second week of February to meet and bond with his new Karelian Bear Dog puppy, Colter. He spent 3 days at the Institute to do field training with Colter and WRBI Director Carrie Hunt, in order to learn the KBD training fundamentals that have a proven track record of success.
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is excited to introduce our newest Karelian Bear Dog team, Officer Nicholas Jorg and Colter. We look forward to them helping and serving both people and wildlife in the future.
Nicholas & Carrie working with Colter |
Colter’s first visit with Mishka |
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