Pink Kate

Wrong flares Kate. :^/

Hi Mike:

I always thought that pepper spray worked pretty well on bears, although thankfully I have NO personal experience. I have always carried Mace brand Pepper Guard, 10% pepper spray and I thought it would work well on bears (and humans.) See it here:

Now, after reading your "forget pepper spray" statement, I'm a little concerned.

Tom

I figure if the stuff won't stop a determined human who relies on eyesight to function, it isn't very likely to stop a pissed off or aggressive bear that can't see all that well to begin with. One reason bears stand up is to get a better smell of something because they are so nearsighted. A bear standing up isn't an aggressive move unless he is roaring....

Like Seahag mentions about her dog lapping up hot sauce and liking it, animals have a different sense when it comes to spicy stuff. One of my silly cats loves hot pickled banana peppers.... My old mutt used to love spaghetti sauce and chili. I sometimes make it sweating hot and he never appeared to either notice or mind. He would just spit out all the mushrooms. If I gave him something that was too physically hot, he would bitch and complain about that big time, but never about too spicy.

I saw a show on the Discovery channel about pepper spray. The sprayed it in certain areas on the ground and it actually attracted the bears to it....

Mike

mabar wrote:

I had a couple German Shepards that loved to chew on their house. The dog trainer suggested mixing a paste of Cayenne pepper and brushing it around the edges. While I was mixing it, the male came over to see what I was up to. I showed him the brush covered with the paste and he licked it clean... (I know, not the same as aerosol in the eyes and lungs...)

Now, you gotta see the scrunched up face my cat makes when she sniffs wasabi... lol.

You really have no idea just HOW lucky LOL It was a riot.

17 year old Californai girl, nothing but mini skirts, hot pants and platform shoes moves to ittsy bittsy Alaskan town. I got sent home from school on about the third day. Seems that my hot pants were disrupting class. The male part of it anyway.

My step mom promptly took me out and bought me some winter clothes, that covered my arse.

At the time I wasn't amused, but I did understand and was much warmer.

gawd... to be that young again.

a bear standing up gives you a much better target. :-)

The black bear (Ursus americanus) is not, I repeat, is not, the same as the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), the brown bear (Ursus horribilis), or the Kodiak bear (Ursus middendorffi). The last three are big, terrifying, and fairly closely related to each other. Here are some links.

Although the black bear is usually considered fairly timid in comparison with its brown cousins, they can get dangerous. In tourist areas, they can wander into town, develop a taste for dumpster contents, and completely lose their fear of humans. In suburban areas, they sometimes raid bird feeders. According to accounts that I have read, it is a completely different experience, when you make your morning coffee, open your Levelor blinds and glass doors, walk out on the patio in your bunny slippers, and surprise Ursus americanus licking up millet seed on your cedar deck.

Earle

We have my pregnant daughter and her husband living with us, for an indefinite period. I know, I know, I am a sucker. They have the two cats sitting on the dinner table every night at dinner. They very rarely try to get anything off our plates, and seem quite well behaved. They tell me that this is a "French tradition", having cats sit on the dinner table. I have not been to France, but I have my suspicions that it is not.

Earle

Cat or any animals on the dinner table for that matter, is just plain GROSS!

Sheezz!

Tom

The secret, is to pull the trigger between the heartbeats.

Spdloader

Well they don't sit on the plates or anything. Things get pretty boring up here in little Colorado mountain towns, so two more guests for dinner is always welcome, no matter what species. I am training the corgy to sit in a chair, and eat out of her bowl on the table. This is more of a challenge, but I have made some progress. She will take food off the edge of the table, but she seems to object to the whole "chair" concept on general principles. I have told her to think of it, as a different kind of couch, only with food presentation.

Future upgrades include getting her to eat slower. As you probably know, those of the canine persuasion prefer to inhale their food, rather than chewing it as we humans do. What the heck, it's an off topic thread anyway.

Earle

black bears dont bluff. if a grizzly bear charges you, there is about a 50% chance that its a "bluff charge" and if you stand your ground he will turn away. if a black bear charges you, hes gonna hit you.

If any bear charges you it would be best to have a .45-70 handy. Better yet two or three .45-70s or other full size rifles in calibers that begin with .4

Jack O'Connor killed many an elephant and rhino with a .270 but I wouldn't recommend you try..

Blacks can climb trees too.

Earle

Correction -- Animals at the dinner table should be COOKED...

Don't know about you, Nathan, but I don't really like those odds...