It's funny you should say bears are afraid of dogs, I just posted the exact opposite....lol. The reason behind my comments is last year here in Minnesota, a women was walking with her dog, (large breed, can't remember what it was) on some abandon railroad tracks by her home and was attacked, unprovoked by a bear. The Fish and Game authorities said the bear was attracted to her because of the dog. I'll try to find more info on it. Cindy Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx wrote: In a message dated 9/12/2006 10:23:58 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, uwish@xxxxxxxxxx writes: I'd like to do the same thing with her pups probably some time in November when the tick season lays dormant, but will I be exchanging one danger (ticks) for another (bears)? When do they go in to hibernation? Is this something that I would have to worry about? Has anyone ever encountered a bear? Ever had your dogs with you? You saw a little black bear, lol and the black bear in PA and the NE are afraid of dogs (think wolf packs, a natural predator) and people. They would fear a toy dog, so you have nothing to worry about. NOW, you wouldn't want to bet between a momma and her cub(s), but that's about it. Oh, bear can't go down hill very well. If you ever have a reason to retreat, head downhill, never up. We saw them all the time when I had a vacation home in the Poconos. More of a nuisance than anything; they are adept at getting into most any kind of trash container and they will overturn a grill on a porch/deck if they smell food. Crash! Kathy member GSDCA, DVGSDC three generations of Dual Titled TC'd Champions live here! visit _Pine Hill German Shepherd Dogs_ (http://www.geocities.com/pinehillgsds/) ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues ============================================================================ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues ============================================================================