Beautiful larch trees! Pets won't usually attract bigger animals when they are around people. Most bears avoid people, but always wise to have that bear spray ready. I know a fellow who was hunting and had a bear sneak up on him to make him dinner, he didn't have bear spray. He did have a .45 which saved his life!
Any which way, the fewer the encounters the better. Did he put the bear down or just scared it away with a bang?
Put a bullet in it's head at five feet away. Fortunately it did the job. I have heard stories of bullets bouncing off on a bears thick skull!
Wow, crazy close. Glad it did the trick.