How These Little Dogs Help Keep Grizzlies On Their Toes

Living with grizzly bears is something people have to deal with on the Rocky Mountain Front. Grizzly bear populations across the state are growing, as is talk about how to minimize human-bear conflict. A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks report released in April showed wildlife officials in northwest Montana received about 150 calls related to grizzly conflicts last year...But the slender 70-year old has figured out how to deal with grizzlies, to an extent. When he’s out working, or in the house, he has a warning system, different from that in Choteau, that tells him when a bear is nearby. Swanson has four Airedale Terriers. When I pulled up to Swanson’s, one of these dogs, Wiliker, leaned against my legs as Swanson, in a cowboy hat, worn blue jeans, sunglasses and a kerchief around his neck, stepped out of a tractor. Another Airedale, just a puppy, sat in the tractor’s passenger seat. "They can be a hunting dog or a cow dog, and they can take care of the kids for you," Swanson says. These wire-haired black and copper-red dogs weigh about 60 to 70 pounds.

Despite their small size, these Airedales are able to take-on adult grizzly bears. And with little training. Swanson says he doesn’t teach his dogs much more than how to come and how to go after something. But the dogs have a special tactic. "I've had them get after them bear pretty serious. The one dog, he always goes to the head, and I've got another dog that goes for the heels. Whether they're after a bear or a cow they'll do the same thing. One of them getting the head and the other getting the heels. And that gets them — bears or cattle — when something goes really aggressively at both ends, they want to leave." That doesn’t mean they always get away unscathed. His dog Mordecai has a scar across his snout. And Swanson spoke of a couple incidents of dogs being attacked when a single one was left outside alone at night. But for the most part, Swanson’s Airedales are able to help him avoid conflict with bears. Their most important role is letting Swanson know when a grizzly is wandering near his house, along with his barn, other outbuildings and cattle pens. The same goes for when he’s out working on the ranch. "The major thing with these bears is the fact they're like a rattlesnake. It's the fear of stepping on top of one that bothers you. Once you know where they're at, you know what to do," Swanson says. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bear Management Specialist Mike Madel says a lot of ranchers have modified their operations to deal with growing bear populations that are expanding further from the mountains. Some have moved their calving operations away from creekbeds or have changed how they store feed. Others have installed electric fences. Madel, who’s based out of Choteau, says these changes are necessary in order to conserve the bears and get them removed from the endangered species list. But he says he’d like to see more ranchers have dogs as a way to deal grizzlies. ...Madel has known Gene Swanson’s family for years. He says Swanson lives in some of the best wildlife habitat in the state. And the way Swanson has dealt with his surroundings has given Madel a good impression of what an Airedale can do. "There’s not too many breeds that I think are really good dogs for moving bears away, but Airedales are just unafraid. So they run right at the bear.”...MORE