CattNY

Where I live, I occassionally have black bears wander through my lawn. I recently received a 2 year old beagle (small 13" variety) and was wondering if I was to keep him in a pen in my backyard, would a bear attack him? I am making a point to not have dogfood lying around the pen. Please let me know if you know of anyone that had small pets killed by bears. Thanks.

livbucks

Generally, black bears are scared to death of any barking dog, no matter how small. I guess it all depends on the individual bear. I guess it depends on how much you like your dog, too. A little dog in a pen could be easy pickins for a bold hungry bear. Coyotes are more danger to it in my opinion.

bearklr

I agree with livbucks. All the bear that we have that come in the yard are scared to death of almost everything. My uncle actually had his beagle out one night when a bear came in and he chased it half way up the mountain. We didn't know he was off the leash and it took us forever to find him but the bear just ran away. I think the only issue would be if there was any dog food lying around.

adams

Two summers ago a neighbor of my inlaws had the Jack Russel Terrier tango with a good 200+ lb bruin. It ripped the little dog up pretty good but the vet was able to save it.

I don't think the bear will attack a dog unprovoked but that little Jack Russel had the attitude of a 150lb pitbull and thought it could baye the bear. The little thing just didn't realize he was out matched. If you dog is penned I don't anticipate any problems

BTBowhunter

I doubt very much that a bear will go anywhere near the pen. If anything,
bears are more likely to avoid your yard with any dog anywhere around.

Now coyotes are a different story.....

jbc

BS. Dogs get attacked all the time in NJ. Here's one from a few days ago. Your dog will be a nice little snack.

Bear kills dog in Vernon back yard Pet

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 BY JOE MOSZCZYNSKI Star-Ledger Staff A Vernon man's pet dog was killed by a mother bear when the bear bit the dog on the neck and carried it off to a neighbor's yard, police said yesterday.

Charles VonNostitz was out doing yard work at his home on Lakeside Drive West at 1:15 p.m. Sunday when the black bear, accompanied by a cub, killed his dog, police said.

The dog was on a leash attached to a stake in the ground when it was confronted by the bear, police said.

As the bear was carrying his dog away, VonNostitz, who lives in the Highland Lakes section of the township, yelled and threw pieces of firewood from his log pile at the bear in an attempt to get the bear to drop the dog, police said.

But the bear kept walking, snapping the leather leash that had been tied down to keep the dog in the yard, police said.

After she dropped the dog, the bear walked away with her cub. The dog was immediately checked and found to be dead with a severe neck wound. Police were unable to locate the bears.

Police said the dog was fed indoors and no food was found in the area.

The incident was one of more than 300 reported bear damage and/or nuisance reports made so far this year to the state Department of Environmental Protection Agency's Division of Fish & Wildlife.

There were 307 bear damage and/or nuisance reports and 180 bear sightings reported from Jan. 1 to May 9, according to division statistics confirmed yesterday by DEP spokeswoman Karen Hershey. For the same period last year, there were 172 damage and/or nuisance reports and 48 sightings.

Hershey said the division would be contacting police and VonNostitz to see if they want wildlife officials to set a trap in the area in an effort to catch the bear.

"We want to know more facts" about the incident before taking any action, she said.


Staff writer Brian Murray contributed to this report. Joe Moszczyn ski can be reached at jmoszczyn [email protected] or (973) 539-7910.

jbc

A bear killed a German Shepard puppy just a few houses away from the one above yesterday. It's out of control.

Bill Yox

I dont know...normally Id say the same thing as you guys, the bears would shy away from the dogs. But NJ has a unique situation, way too many bears in tight with humans, and theyre getting bold. Thats why a guy in Maine is shaking his head NO right now, wondering if some of you guys are nuts. But the NJ guys see whats going on lately. Those bears are really causing some trouble. Its the same thing with any highly intelligent animal. Coons, coyotes and now bears. Jersey better get their representatives out of eachothers pockets and get that bear season up and running before someone gets hurt for real!

Phade

I'll add to that Bill,

A mother with cubs is a totally different situation. Instincts are to protect the cubs. A dog can be a physical threat, no matter size, to a cub. If that dog gets anywhere near seeming to be aggressive, that bear will kill the dog.

I doubt it had as much to do with food, as it did with a mother protecting her cubs. But it is possible this mother bear has found easy food in the smaller dogs. That will make the moving/culling of that bear and the cub neccessary. They can and do learn and pass on traits.

JerseyJim

It's not just Mommas with cubs....A very large bear 500lbs or more killed and ate a small pony in NJ this year. Another dog besides the two that were killed was mauled but survived not far from my house. A full sized horse was swatted by a bear just this past weekend and a home was broken into on the same day but in a different area (which means 2 different problem bears). Another bear broke a store front window attacking it's own reflection 2 weeks ago in Union NJ...Bear complaints are way WAY up in NJ this year.... It is totally out of control and it's only going to get worse as last years cubs are pushed to find thier own territory!!!!
Come see how out of control it is at www.newjerseyhunter.com ... Check out all the bear threads.......