I found about a breed called Great Pyrenees and they look kinda like polar bears due to their large and fluffy hair, so what are some other dogs that are maybe even larger and that have a similar shape? There are taller dogs, but I am asking only about those that look like bears.
GPs are actually rather tall and lean. Their hair makes them look a loot bulkier.
I believe Newfoundlands, St Bernards, and Bernese Mountain dogs are bulkier, but I have limited familiarity w/ giant breeds.
Newfies for sure.
I’ve seen bears in the wild on four occasions. Each time my first thought was, “look at that big, black dog!”
Tibetan Mastiff & Caucasian Ovcharka
These are not breeds for inexperienced owners. They are large, powerful, often stubborn and independent dogs, that have bred to be guardian dogs.
Similar to the Great Pyrenees are Maremma, Akbash and Kuvasz, which are all large, white livestock guardian breeds.
Add to the last two their cousin, the Anatolian Shepherd, although the coloring is unlikely to lead to someone mistaking them for a bear.
Anecdote time: When I was vacationing in Deadwood last October, I was walking along the Mickelson Trail to get back to my motel one night (the trail ran right behind the motel I was staying in) and saw a woman walking toward me with what looked like a bear on a leash. Turned out it was a really big hairy dog. I don’t know what kind though.
Look at this picture of a chow chow puppy:
I’ll throw in the Leonberger, which has been making the rounds in web advertising recently.
Yeah - that’s one I thought of from having seen on TV dog shows the past couple of years (tho I was too lazy to google the name.)
It’s been mentioned, by my Newfoundland gets called a bear all the time. I’m guessing these people have never seen an actual bear, but he is pretty dang big and I can see a slight resemblance to the casual observer.
I’ve got a brindle Mastiff and he’s been mistaken for a tiger from behind at least once a year. Maybe one of theblack bridles would look like a bear in low light, from behind.
Akita puppies have a remarkable similarity to bear cubs but when they grow up they lose the resemblance. But yeah, Newfies are the most bearlike dog that you can A) readily find that are B) relatively affordable and C) are not challenging and difficult companions. They will likely slobber you to death though, and they’re amazingly good swimmers.
I read a memoir once in which the family had a Newfoundland in the back seat. (This was in the 1950’s.) They stopped at a gas station. The attendant took one look, screamed, “You’ve got a bear in the car!” and fled.
The father filled the tank and they left the money where it could be found. This was in a rural area, and there wasn’t a manager to call.
Love Newfoundlands - never met one that wasn’t a sweetie. But beside the truly epic drooling, folks that get one should be aware that like all/most big breeds they don’t live very long. 8-10 years is the common figure and I knew one that died at 7. Which seems tragically short to me.
You’ll be lucky to get eight years out of most giant breeds. For some, a six year old is a longevity success story. There are a number of other physical issues endemic to giant breeds. There are always consequences to distorting the ‘optimized form’ – think coyote or small wolf, for the domestic dog.
Images for large bear-like dogs.
A few are shockingly large.
My wife used to have a rescue who we always thought was at least part Jin Do. He was a medium-sized dog and of course his coloration was different, but he had a really bearlike face.
Many are using simple camera “tricks” to help emphasize size.