The cheeks are well developed. The bony arches over the eye are only slightly developed. When viewed from the side, the point where the muzzle joins the skull is relatively high and the top line of the muzzle is straight. The lower outline of the muzzle moves steadily upward toward the blunt end of the muzzle. Viewed from the front, the muzzle is well filled in under the eyes and there is little tapering toward the nose.
Lips are black and tightly closed.
The Karelian Bear Dog has a complete set of good-sized, evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite. Broken teeth resulting from field work are not to be penalized. The nose is large and solid black. In profile, the nose is on the same line as the top of the muzzle and extends just slightly beyond the forepart of the muzzle. The eyes are relatively small and oval in shape with an alert, sometimes fiery expression.