I think we’re all pretty familiar with the protocol for a bear attack, but what does the National Parks Service say about a grizzly that’s ready to play?
Based on how this German shepherd reacts, it appears that the guidelines are to ignore the bear and walk away. It usually isn’t good to flee from a grizzly because it can activate its “chase instinct.” Luckily for this dog, it did something to turn on the bear’s “play mode,” because the grizzly was having the time hopping around the German shepherd.
I wonder who initiated the interaction between the dog and the big bear. When the video starts, the dog is walking along a shoveled path, while the grizzly is standing in about three feet of snow. It looks like the bear had been posted up in the snow and the dog came by, and once he checked him out, the doggo was back on its way.
However, the grizzly bear was just getting started, jumping over the shoveled snow wall and onto the path so that it can literally tail its four-legged friend. The bear was highly intrigued by the dog’s fluffy, swinging tail, even letting out a growl as it walked by.
Good luck finding a more playful grizzly bear than this one. The bear jumps back and forth between the deep snow and the icy path, joyfully biting and swinging at the German shepherd’s tail. There’s really no concern about a violent attack between the two considering the bear is too busy being perplexed by the dog.
Whoever is filming the interaction isn’t the least bit worried about the bear, which usually isn’t a good thing. Videos like these often end in some sort of horrible attack, but this one makes the German shepherd and the grizzly look like the best of friends. At least from the bear’s perspective…
The grizzly keeps pawing and playfully chomping at the German shepherd’s tail, and at one point, the dog stops right in its tracks and just look back at the bear as if to say:
“Hey, buddy, this isn’t what you are supposed to be doing. You are an apex predator. Show yourself some respect.”
The grizzly would have stayed in that snowy area all day if it could, though it looked like the dog didn’t share the same enthusiasm. Hopefully the bear found a worthy counterpart for playtime at some point, but this German shepherd wasn’t the right dog for the job.
Take a look at the hilarious video below:
