There have been numerous sightings in my dad’s neighborhood of a black bear. He walks his dog early about 5:00 in the morning and is concerned about running into the bear. It seems as though he’s a gentle bear, but my concern is he runs into the bear as he’s going through the neighbors trash as that seems to be in with the bear is doing.
He usually carries mace in case of other dogs attacking which has happened in the past. Do you think mace would be good enough for a bear or should I look for some bear spray for him?
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I think they are essentially the same, just that mace sprays more of a cloud, while bear spray comes out rather like a beam of liquid? Not sure though.
We we have had bears coming through our neighborhood from the mountains, especially at night, and there was never a problem with them, even though people and dogs encountered them. The bears just ran away. With a road nearby, it was probably more dangerous for the bear than for anyone else. After about three weeks, the bears left again and went back up into the woods. One bear had to be trapped and was flown back with a helicopter.
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I'm not really a bear guy, but I have seen two Louisiana black bears while hunting over the years. I think I would go buy some actual bear spray just be on the safe side. I used to think black bears were nothing to worry about, but that isn't always true. There seems to be an increase in black bear attacks, although I still think they are rare. Someone got mauled to death by one in Alaska during a trail race. It was confirmed as a black bear, not a grizzly.
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This is from a pepper spray store site so there might be some bias, but sounds like you really need bear spray for bears. Reading into the article though, it sounds like it would not be good for use on dogs as it is quite a bit more potent than dog spray.
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Saw a veterinarian today, and he said make sure dog has a bell or something that makes noise when they walk.
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running under the BigSky
definitely bear spray, two sizes- the smaller will be fine
have him familiarize a little with, several videos online
also have him call the local fish & game, they may be unaware the bear is there- usually they will go through the neighborhood educating folks about keeping garbage, dog food and other attractants away from the bear
making some one noise on his walk is certainly a good idea
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