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Tahltan Indians raised this breed to hunt bear and lynx, quite a feat for so small a dog. Though a bold hunter, it was so gentle with humans that it was allowed to live in the family tent. Unfortunately, this breed is believed to be extinct.
Raised by the Tahltan Indians to hunt bear,, the Tahltan Bear Dog was a mighty power in a small package. Before a hunt, the dogs were ceremonially bled by stabbing them in the hindquarters with the fibula bone of a fox or wolf. The morning of the hunt, two dogs were carried in a sack over the Indian's shoulder until fresh bear tracks were sighted.
Upon release, these little dogs moved lightly over the crust of snow while the bear was slowed down by the deep drifts. Their foxlike staccato yaps harassed the bear into submission or confused him until the Indians could come close enough for a kill. To prepare for a foray against big cats, a claw from a dead lynx was used to ceremonially mark the dog's face.
The Tahltan Bear Dog had the courage to face a bear, but was friendly and gentle with smaller
animals and with humans. They lived in the tent with the family, sharing bed and board. A Jesuit of the 17th century described the Indians' communal houses in winter, saying he "could not decide which was worse—the smoke, the fleas or the dogs."
Descended from pariah-type dogs that had come with prehistoric migrations, the Tahltan Dogs were centralized in the remote mountainous areas of northwestern British Columbia and the southern Yukon. Their usual diet was small bits of birds, meat and fish, and they flourished in the bitter cold. Outside their native environment, they succumbed to distemper, heat prostration and problems due to dietary changes. As white explorers came into the territory, bringing a variety of other dogs, the Tahltan Dog became diluted.
Like others of their group, they had a peculiar yodel. Foxy in appearance, their main distinction among dogs is their novel tail. Shortjbushy and carried erect, it has been described variously as a shaving brush or a whisk broom.
The CKC has recognized the breed for many years, but it has been over 20 years since the last Tahltan Bear Dog was registered. In 1984, only two spayed bitches of this type were recorded as living in Canada. Sadly, it appears the breed may be doomed.
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