Play - As Demonstrated By Polar Bear And Dog:

[Mitch Cronin]

http://nifplay.org/polar-husky.html

Terrific series of photos! ...and some wonderfully refreshing ideas.

[boestar]

Absolutely Beautiful to see Nature at work.

[nsbs]

I actually have video of this but of poor quality, on a side note I have from a good source that the reason the bear doesn't make a meal of the dog is that he is fed on a regular basis

[Guest ACSideStick]

Mitch, These are Canadian Eskimo Dogs. They were pretty much out of existence 40 years ago and brought back from the brink by a Churchill resident. They were bred to hunt polar bears by using a pack hunting technique (taking turns running the bear to exhaustion). These dog's owner are Brian Ledoon of Churchill, MB. He is most definitly a northern character. He looks like Buffolo Bill Cody with long gray hair, beard, etc. When he drives the dogs he wears a brilliant white suit made out of polar bear.

Anyhow, every fewdays Brian puts out a frozen fish mash for the dogs to eat. Before you get to carried away by the whole animal kumbaya moment, Brian comes under much heat for how the dogs are treated (which is how most dogs in the North are treated). They are kept year round on about a 12foot leash attached to a long cable anchored into the ground, and the cannot move more than the 24feet (or so) diameter. They are spaced far enough apart so that they won't try and eat each other. (Yep, they are a bit on the wild side with each other, though large humans they seem to be okay with). Their scat forms a neat little 12foot circle around themselves as they try to keep their area clean. The reason for keeping them chained like this is they require much less food if not exercised. This is not an exaggeration, during the summer, they do not move for 4 months period.

Brian takes them off the leash pretty much only to pull sleds, which they not only excel at, but he says are the best in the world (he is the breeder), one things for sure, they do not car about cold at all. I've been out to see them for fun at -45 in a blizzard, and they just seem snuggled in.

Now, about the cute pictures, this really does happen each year, but he also loses a least 1 dog per bear season as sometimes a bear will get entangled in the leash, and in the panic of trying to get free, the dog dies, and sometimes eaten, though the bears like the fish mash better. Keep in mind, that by the time the Males show up they haven't eaten a thing for several months.

It really is something to see, but their is another side to it that a dog lover such as yourself would leave feeling uneasy about.

[Moon The Loon]

Well written and accurate ACSideStick. I work in Iqaluit (again) for 6 months of the year. The summer dog farms are many and the howling from time to time is routine. No social interaction. Fed enough to stay strong; tethered so they don't kill each other or pose risks to residents.

Many years ago, when the Butler buildings were still the predominant housing in Frobisher Bay (now, Iqaluit), there was a Butler across from the Kamotiq restaurant that had a "pet" dog on a chain, 12 feet sounds about right. That dog never, ever came off the chain, winter or summer. The dog was fed seal once a day. During the winter, the "meal" would be served rather unceremoniously. The dog wouldn't move. The ravens would arrive, serve their pecking order on the meat then leave. Only then would the dog claim his meal, whatever was left. The dog knew the ravens would kill him if he staked his claim too early.

The north is not and never was a dog's world. The dog is a disposable tool that is used and, by today's southern standards, abused regularly and currently.

In short, the dog is no more a pet than the bear it hunts.

Hard to believe if you've never seen it or learned of the history behind it...

[Mitch Cronin]

Thanks ACS.. You're quite right about my uneasiness... Dogs have been put to work for ages, and I understand most of those dogs love their jobs and are treated reasonably well, since their owners need their services.... but I know there are owners I'd like to see "playing" with a polar bear themselves.

In any case, that sorta misses the point of that page.... If you look at what the animals are up to, just in those photos (not considering the context you clarified), and how/why... -as goes the accompanying text - It is quite remarkable.
I came to that page after seeing a TED Talks presenter (who used those photos in his presentation) explain how important play is to our (and all animals') development and continued health.

[boestar]

I suppose it all depends on the relationship. I know a dog that gets along famously with a pair of bunny rabbits and has for quite some time. They were introduced when he was a pup.

My dog would chase them until he caught them.

[conehead]

I suppose it all depends on the relationship. I know a dog that gets along famously with a pair of bunny rabbits and has for quite some time. They were introduced when he was a pup.

My dog would chase them until he caught them.

Made me think of Bugs Bunny and that dog on the chain...

[boestar]

wasnt that Foghorn Leghorn and the dog on the chain.

[deicer]

Examples of 'Play' in context.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dKfiIgZmKQ

[conehead]

I sit corrected.

[Moon The Loon]

Now HERE is a doggy good-news story:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/meet-isaac-the-blind-siberian-husky-with-his-own-seeing-eye-dog/article10163034/

Meet Isaac, the blind Siberian husky with his own 'Seeing Eye' dog

Amy Verner

The Globe and Mail

Published Friday, Mar. 22 2013, 9:13 AM EDT

Last updated Friday, Mar. 22 2013, 12:13 PM EDT