da bears...

**fawkese1** · 09-01-2010, 01:04 AM

ok, so i live in the woods, sorta, i mean i live in a town, in the woods, but the woods are like a block away from my house, so basically, i live in the woods... you know who else lives in the woods, bears, that's right bears! and boy are they pesky! i've had to re-build my trash-can holder a few times bc the stinking bears have ripped it open... i can't afford a fancy bear proof one, but luckily ( i mean, depending on how you look at it) mine are harder to get at then most peoples, so they aren't broken into as often as my neighbors'... this morning, on our walk (tuesday is trash day) every other house had their trash ripped into and strewn about...
anyway, i have dealt with bears quite a bit, and they don't really bother me too much, i've come face-to-face with them many times in fact... but i never had to worry about a dog before. much less a dog who seems to me, wants to kill them! i'm not joking! i heard something outside the other night, and without thinking much about it, i leashed clover and took him out to investigate... i thought it was just some rowdy vacationer, lol, it was late, i don't know why i didn't think bear right off

...
anyway, i walk out my front door, the side of my house is covered in plexi-glass, so i have to walk through that area, and out to the driveway to see anything, and wouldn't you know it, a bear is trying to pry my trash can out of the trash can holder, for some stupid reason i was surprised, and what do you think clover did? he wanted to kill that bear... i mean, i've gotten pretty good at recognizing his barks... this was definitely not an "i want to chase the scary thing away" bark, this was a really excited "let me at 'em" type bark...
now i'm a bit paranoid... not sure if anyone on here deals with bears regularly? not sure if i'm looking for advice necessarily, maybe just venting cuz i'm worried... anyway, thanks for reading...

Mischief · 09-01-2010, 01:36 AM

Clover is da MAN! maybe not a smart man but still....lol
I cant just picture him "Let me at him!" Winnie, Pattington, whatever your name is. Imma Muss you up !!!!

We don't have any problems with bears out here but I cant put my garbage out until just before the trash man comes. I did that once and spent hours picking it up. I have other critters that like to tear into the big stinkies...(like foxes, skunks, raccoons, Coyotes and even deer) but never had a problem with bears.
Wish I had some advice for ya
I keep my garbage in a locked shed until trash day; would that be an option for you?
As long as they didn't rip the doors off the shed to get to it

In which case, you didn't get that advice from me....haha

**kmes** · 09-01-2010, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mischief

Clover is da MAN! maybe not a smart man but still....lol
I cant just picture him "Let me at him!" Winnie, Pattington, whatever your name is. Imma Muss you up !!!!

We do have bears (and coyotes, deer, fox, skunks, opposums, raccoons, a bobcat,etc). The bears are not a really a huge problem. They did destroy one of my bird feeders this spring, but otherwise thats it so far.
We have yet to have any problems with animals getting into garbage. (I hope I don't jinx it!)

**fawkese1** · 09-01-2010, 10:15 AM

lol, oh yeah, he's the man all right

i mean that bear ran all the way across the street, and over a fence to get away... then he/she turned around and stood up on hind feet in total fear! i think that's what got me worried, the bear didn't seem too concerned with him...

it's not like i just let clover out to wander around or anything, but i always expected the bears to be a bit more afraid of him if there was any sort of run-in...

on my trash, it's in a little shed thing now, most everyone has one, and i've got some stuff to re-inforce it a bit, but i haven't had a chance to do it... guess i know what i'm working on this weekend! i would be willing to invest in something more if i actually owned my house, but since i rent, i don't want to buy something like that....

anyway,

thanks for the laughs and the support....

**TonkaTruckJK** · 09-01-2010, 10:52 AM

I would be very careful with clover and bears...there are dogs trained to bay bears, but their training is extensive and designed to teach the dog to keep distance while maintaining mental pressure on the bear while a hunter takes position. Untrained dogs who encounter bears will generally do one of two things: 1) give their lives to protect their human; or 2) get scared, returning to their human. Neither of these two things is good for the dog OR the human, as the result becomes a pissed-off, frustrated bear in most cases.

Might be a good idea to invest in some bear spray to keep on you in the event you do encounter a bear...

Be careful out there...don't want to scare anybody, but also don't want anyone to think that their dog is 'born' to keep a bear occupied or scare him off...
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pawzaddict · 09-01-2010, 11:40 AM

I would invest in bear spray as well. I know if you make yourself look big and hollar it helps. One thing game and fish departments are doing is shooting blanks at bears when they approach neighborhoods in hopes to scare the you know what out of them so they associate that with humans. I would contact your g&f department and ask what you are legally allowed to do and if they have done the shooting thing (again not using bullets)
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**Criosphynx** · 09-01-2010, 03:49 PM

firstly..

Quote:

da bears...

can you boooobie trap the cans?

The only bears I have seen are in zoos...across a big moat. Makes me jealous. I want a moat.

**fawkese1** · 09-01-2010, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonkaTruckJK

I would be very careful with clover and bears...there are dogs trained to bay bears, but their training is extensive and designed to teach the dog to keep distance while maintaining mental pressure on the bear while a hunter takes position. Untrained dogs who encounter bears will generally do one of two things: 1) give their lives to protect their human; or 2) get scared, returning to their human. Neither of these two things is good for the dog OR the human, as the result becomes a pissed-off, frustrated bear in most cases.

Might be a good idea to invest in some bear spray to keep on you in the event you do encounter a bear...

Be careful out there...don't want to scare anybody, but also don't want anyone to think that their dog is 'born' to keep a bear occupied or scare him off...
Posted via Mobile Device

this is what i am worried about... i had hoped that clover would be a sissy and turn tail if he encountered one... *sigh* not my clover, he is so brave

..idiot! thanks tho for the suggestions!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawzaddict

I would invest in bear spray as well. I know if you make yourself look big and hollar it helps. One thing game and fish departments are doing is shooting blanks at bears when they approach neighborhoods in hopes to scare the you know what out of them so they associate that with humans. I would contact your g&f department and ask what you are legally allowed to do and if they have done the shooting thing (again not using bullets)
Posted via Mobile Device

i think i'm gonna have to get some bear spray, and i know that some people use an air horn...

honestly, i've dealt with them A LOT... when i lived in yosemite it was rare for more than 2 days to go by with out some sort of encounter... i just never had to worry over my dog getting involved with one.... gah! i swear that dog.... *shakes fist in clover's general direction*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Criosphynx

firstly..

can you boooobie trap the cans?

The only bears I have seen are in zoos...across a big moat. Makes me jealous. I want a moat.

OMG! what a brilliant idea, i've always wanted a moat... now i just have to convince my rental agency and the trpa (tahoe regional planning agency) to give me the appropriate permits and i'll be set!

seriously tho, on boobie trapping, not sure how i would go about it, maybe one of those window alarms you can buy from a hardware store would work...

thanks again everyone...

**Criosphynx** · 09-01-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

seriously tho, on boobie trapping, not sure how i would go about it, maybe one of those window alarms you can buy from a hardware store would work...

ok, I just looked for a long time for a photo...google failed me...

there are these little 'things" that when you pull on the string, they pop loudly, like a firecracker...they are like the poor mans window alarms...they sell them at the dollar stores here. You would attach it to the can, and the string to the lid

**fawkese1** · 09-01-2010, 06:00 PM

hmm... i'll have to look for those too! cheaper would be better, since i'm not sure how much it will do... i think the more things i can do to convince them that my trash is unpleasant the better...

bears stink...