DCHP-1 Online
bear dog Northwest 
a breed of small dog weighing 15 to 20 pounds and piebald in black and white or brown, found among the Indians of northern British Columbia, the Yukon, and the Mackenzie country.
See also: crackie (def. 2) giddee Hare Indian dog Mackenzie River dog Tahltan (bear) dog
- 1824 (1955) [The Thecannies not being Nimrodians or mighty hunters . . . they have the art of teaching their small Indian Dogs with erect Ears to hunt alone & the little hairy beagles will sometimes go a great distance by themselves & teaze the animal . . . untill the Master come up. . . .]
- 1956 They were known locally as Bear Dogs because in the past they had been used extensively in the hunting of black bear, especially in the spring when a small dog could move quickly on the crust and hold a bear in deep snow until it was killed with a bow and arrow or muzzle loader.
- 1958 He reached down and grabbed an ancient bear dog.
- 1963 "Too bad, bear dog he nearly all gone now. Dog he no good to us any more. No one want bear skin any more. . . . Bear dog, he only get in the way. Kids, they like him for pet."
- 1824 (1955) [The Thecannies not being Nimrodians or mighty hunters . . . they have the art of teaching their small Indian Dogs with erect Ears to hunt alone & the little hairy beagles will sometimes go a great distance by themselves & teaze the animal . . . untill the Master come up. . . .]