A primitive breed

Unlike many modern breeds of dogs created by man to meet show standards, the Karelian Bear Dog (or KBD) is a rare and primitive breed with ancient aboriginal roots.

The KBD is an extremely attractive middle size dog that is popular throughout European Russia as well as Finland. The word primitive is used to describe those breeds that may have been tamed but are, according to the available evidence, still close in morphology and behavior to the aboriginal dogs of 15,000 years ago. We can speak of primitive traits that refer to appearance, temperament, and hunting style.

The Karelian Bear Dog has always been a wilderness dog, fearless by nature, unyielding of an oncoming threat. Believed to have survived to the present day from descendants of Viking Age spitz-type hunting dogs, the abilities that are necessary for survival in the wilderness have been passed on to the present generation. The dog is known for its ability to work independently in difficult conditions. The ability to quickly find game in wide areas is one of the characteristics of this breed. Using its sharp sense of smell, it is able to find a scent of game from a great distance.

Karelian Bear Dogs invoke colorful descriptions from people when they first observe them: "What pretty dogs", "They're fast, really fast", "What attitude, look at those dogs", "They're so affectionate with children", "They look so handsome and so strong", "Look at that tail; what kind of dog is that?"

In appearance, Karelian Bear Dogs exhibit traits of the native dogs of Karelia, Komi, Archangelsk Province, Udmurtia, and other parts of European Russia. Karelia, the region in which the breed developed, is the land of the Karelian people, that vast inhabited area in Northern Europe, of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden.

The Karelian People and Their Dogs

Centuries and centuries ago, aboriginal dogs of similar type were originally distributed over a vast area in the forest zone of Northeastern Europe, from Finland eastward, including Karelia and northeastern provinces of the European part of Russia. The Karelian Bear Dog originated in the Northern European area known as Karelia, a territory that straddles the present-day border between Finland and Russia. To understand the origins of the Karelian Bear Dog, and their relationship to their close relative, the Laika, one needs to understand how the peoples of Karelia became divided as ownership of this border area fluctuated back and forth between two neighbors, Finland and Russia.

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