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September 16, 2011, By Rebecca Edwards, ARTICLE, LIFESTYLE Hiking with your dog is one of the joys of dog ownership – but unclipping the leash at the edge of town could put you and your dog at risk. Every year, dogs are hurt or killed by bears, cougars and coyotes – often after the dog has chased or confronted the wild animal, whose instinct is to defend its young, food or territory. Dog owners can also get caught up in the fray – typically when the frightened dog comes running back to its owner, angry bear following close behind. Cougars and coyotes can stalk and attack offleash pets, but are less likely to attack if the dog is by a person’s side.
THE WILD CITY Such incidents are not limited to the backcountry wilds – urban sprawl is taking cities further and further into wildlife territory. Bears can be attracted to residential communities by easy food sources like garbage, fruit trees and even an uneaten bowl of kibble left out on the deck. “Dog owners always say to me, ‘I have control over my dog, he has great recall,’” says Kim Titchener of Bow Valley Wildsmart education program in Alberta. “That’s great, but you don’t have any control over wild animals’ perception of your dog, and even the perfect dog may not respond to you in the heat of the moment, or may not understand that a grizzly with cubs isn’t something to walk up to. “I understand because I have a Labrador and I love having a dog with me on a hike, but keep them on leash and keep them close – if we are going to go out there with pets we have to do it with respect for nature. Otherwise, if your dog chases a bear, you risk getting injured and the bear risks getting shot, just because you took your dog into that area.”
STAY SAFE “Most times when dogs chase a bear, the bear will run away,” says Glenn Naylor, District Conservation Officer with Alberta Parks in Canmore, Alberta. “But if the bear has cubs it probably won’t run – it will stand and fight to protect them.” Naylor says at least one or two dogs are killed every year by cougars in the Bow Valley area, which includes Canmore and Banff National Park. “When it comes to cougars, your dog is much more at risk of being killed than with bears – no dog is a match for a cougar, it doesn’t matter how big or aggressive the dog is. If you have your dog off leash, it becomes a food source for a cougar. If you have it on leash alongside you, there is a better chance of the cougar leaving it alone. “I recommend that people always carry bear spray for bears and cougars, make plenty of noise and carry a good walking stick so that if you do get into a threatening situation, you can defend yourself.”
RECENT DOG VERSUS WILDLIFE INCIDENTS In June 2011, a North Vancouver woman had to shut the door on an angry black bear as it attacked her Labrador ‘Boo’ and tried to enter her home. The Labrador was left with bites and cuts to his chest and back. In July 2011, a woman received injuries to her head and torso after being attacked by a bear in Topley Landing, British Columbia. It’s thought that her off-leash dog had been chasing the bear and returned to its owner with the angry bear running behind. A man walking his dog in Anmore, British Columbia, startled a mother bear feeding on garbage, and was knocked down by her in August 2011. The bear was shot and her three cubs have been relocated to a rehabilitation centre. A hiker in Kamloops, British Columbia, filmed a bear being chased by two off-leash dogs, then turning on the dogs. A coyote snatched a Pomeranian puppy being walked in a residential neighbourhood near the Rouge River ravine in the Greater Toronto Area in March 2010. A cougar was shot after it attacked a dog in Canmore, Alberta, in July 2011. The dog was off leash with a group of mountain bikers who threw rocks at the cougar to try to stop the attack. A Winnipeg woman saved her baby from an aggressive deer that then trampled her dog in Lakewood, Manitoba, in June 2011.
RELATED READING Coyote attacks Spiders and snakes dogs should avoid Rebecca Edwards is a freelance journalist based in Fernie, British Columbia, and a volunteer with the Elk Valley Bear Aware program. Rebecca decided to write this article when her offleash Labrador Retriever narrowly escaped injury after seeking out a black bear and cub in bushes while on a mountain bike ride near Fernie. Photo: 123rf This article is exclusive to dogsincanada.com. Click here to learn more about our print edition.
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