Talked with a bear hunter out training his dogs in a remote area of Western NC a couple of years ago. He had a six dogs with no two alike in breeding.
It was fascinating to hear him describe each dog’s trait and how that characteristic contributed to the hunt. I was most surprised by the little dogs whose job it was to nip at the bear’s rear-end.
I have a fond affection for Plott Hounds. Tried to make one an indoor pet once. Stupid move on my part. Fantastic hunting dog but was dumber than dirt on a human/pet level.
Oh yeah...When dogs catch up to a bear a few will bark and jump in front of the bear, then one will come from behind and nip it’s butt...The bear will jump around and it starts all over again from the other side...
Back in the ‘70’s when I hunted them, we’d film the dog and bear “fights” as we called them with 8mm cameras...We’d be right there 8-10 feet away...it was a blast!!!!