The Courageous dogs of the Karelian hamlets

Around the turn of the century folklorists and bear hunters who travelled amongst the Karelian hamlets in the backwoods told of the local inhabitants' courageous dogs who had often saved their owners' lives, men with spears who wrestled with the bears.

(photo: Akseli Gallen-Kallela 1892: a shepherd boy from Paanajärvi with his quarry the bear and his Karelian Beardog)
Lauri Hannikainen, a Master of Arts, who travelled around Karelia, was speaking of these in Suomen Kennelklubin aikakausi- kirja 1917-18 when describing Harmia and Virkkua, the dogs belonging to his travelling companions the Arehkais brothers from Suojärvi: ‘They were both large, parti-coloured Karelian types of spitz, heavily built with reserved character and very different looking from the finnish spitz.'

A versatile game hunter

The Karelian hunters' dog was a versatile game hunter: ‘Whether the game was bear, lynx, elk, deer, hare, game bird or water fowl these dogs always responded to the owners wishes' Lauri Hannikainen said.

Although a black dog, which is larger than the finnish spitz has long been known in Karelia, its deepest roots come from elsewhere. In writings giving the opinion of the old cynologists both from the east and west the progenitor was the Komi or Zyrian dog. The photo. shows the Vornanen brothers, hunters from Toivajärvi and their dog, with which they hunted Lynx, amongst other things. Photo: I.K. Inha, 1930-1, Museum Archives.

Migrating with hunters 900 AD

How they ended up coming to an area of latitude 60 and 70 degrees is closely linked to the Finno-Ugric language group which includes the Komi or Permian people. It is known that their migration from the south to the Urals in the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into the west of the Arctic Ocean took place at the latest in the 10th Century.
It is said that on the banks of the Vienan River were the Komi people who traded with the Karelians after the year 1100. If this is so, then it was likely that their dogs could also have moved west. The long Finnish-Russian border area which runs through forested areas did not prevent dogs from coming to the Finnish side.
How far has Karelia's beardog moved westwards? In the light of recent information their migration seems clearly to have stopped at the Lake Lagoda area in Karelia. They have, however, been seen in the Karelian Isthmus and as far north as Kemijärvi as a longer coated dog. Its influence has also been seen in the dogs that were used for seal hunting in Suursaari and in the native spitz of the Kuopio district.

Establishing the breed

Soon after the establishment of the Finnish Kennel Club, steps were taken to conserve and develop the breed.
Deserving of special mention is Olof Z. Berg, an agrologist and manager of the Pitkäräntä Company's estates. He started breeding Bear Dogs, sent puppies and adult dogs to other parts of Finland,and got other people involved.
 The actual introduction of the Bear Dog of Karelia took place at the Finnish Kennel Club's first show on May 2nd and 3rd, 1936. Of the dogs entered Viljo Kivikko's dog Musti who won a first prize should be mentioned. Bear Dogs were also entered at a show in Sortavala on 16th August, 1936.

A model in appearance and a good elk and bear dog

A notable event in the history of the Karelian Bear Dog was the Sortavala dog show on May 29th, 1938 where as well as the previously mentioned Musti, Olof Z Berg and Antti Herrala's dogs were entered. These included the latter's star, the elk and bear hunter Töpö, a son of Jeppe, who is considered even to this day a model for the breed. So the beginning was good, and everything looked promising.

War destroyed the dog population almost completely

However, the Winter War, which broke out in 1939, destroyed the dog population almost completely, because most of the dogs were in the Lake Ladoga area in Karelia. Luckily despite this a small group of dogs had reached Western Finland and these survived the war. In the ‘Continuation War' which followed the Winter War Finland regained the land that had been lost in the previous war. From that war-torn region came quite a significant addition to the karelian bear dog stock.
In all 60 dogs were gathered from over the border in Karelia, of which 43 were used in the reforming of the breed. The most notable of these were the males Selki, Tuusik and Mokki and the bitch Saida.  

Named ‘Karjalankarhukoira'

1/3 of the stock was considered Finnish and 2/3 came from Eastern Karelia. In 1936 the dog was named Karjalankarhukoira, (Karelian Bear Dog) in which name it was intended to include the breed's most interesting and honourable quarry, ie the bear.
In 1939 the Finnish Kennel Club appointed a committee to set the standard for the breed and from observation of the original dogs Professor Antti Tanttu proposed a description in 1943 which was ratified on 14.12.1945 as the first breed standard and the breed adopted the name Karjalankarhukoira (Karelian Bear Dog).

Registrations exceed a hundred

The registration of the breed was finally ratified at the Finnish Kennel Club's AGM on 12.5.1946. The number of dogs registered in a single year exceeded 100 for the first time in 1951 when the number was 106, a rapid increase continued to the mid 1960s with a peak in 1963 of 1021 dogs. After this numbers fell quite rapidly to less than half, the lowest number being in the early 70s. They then began to rise again with 1992 seeing in excess of 1,000 dogs once again. In recent years 800 - 900 dogs have been registered per year.

Worth Cherishing

This breed, in all aspects, is so valuable in finnish cultural history, that cherishing it is a matter of honour for the club and Finnish hunters, because
‘It fed the family, watered the people and provided a living for our ancestors.' So goes the song in the ‘Kalevela' the old traditional Finnish national poem.

‘The Karelian bear dog's black and white colour, his dark eyes' burning gaze, his upright bearing and muscular suppleness captivate the hunter. He is like a piece of wild, untamed wilderness.'

Sources: 

Juho Perttola: Karjalaisesta karhukoirasta karjalankarhukoira,1989 (also in English)
SKL Publications

SPJ-FSK archives
Text: Matti Joenpolvi