Is Leonberger the right breed for you????
In the right hands and the right family with the right training and with true expectations of the breed and it’s abilities, a Leonberger can be a dear friend and a loving pet, a dog to be proud of.
A properly trained mature Leonberger is a magnificent sight. A Calm beautiful giant who gets lot of admiration from passing people. It is easy to fall in love and think I want a dog just like that. If the dog is purchased on a whim, not enough knowledge obtained or you do not have true facts what is required of you or what a life with a Leonberger is like, your home might be blessed with a "walking catastrophe".
Little Leo puppies will steal your heart. The journey from a little cute puppy to a magnificent giant is a long one and requires commitment from the owner. Responsibility of the dogs growth, development and training can be surprisingly time consuming for the first few years of the puppy’s life. There are many things to consider when getting a puppy of any breed but especially when the puppy is a puppy of a giant breed.
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Leo’s are often referred as Gentle Giants.
A teenage Leonberger can be little less gentle but very much a giant!
A happy bouncy Leo can pile the grannies and knock down all the kids around! It is very important to realize the size and power a dog the size of a Leo has, youngsters do not always realise it themselves. This is why training from a puppy is so very important, setting down the rules and ground work on how the puppy needs to behave when fully grown.
Especially adolescent males can go through a period when they test the owners training ability and patience.
Have you met Leonbergers in real life?
I hope the answer is yes, I went to see them at a show - That is great and a good start but you will need to remember at a show the dogs are immaculate: washed, groomed and on their best behavior.
At home the situation is often very different! A Leo’s coat is lovely and soft but to keep it like that means regular brushing and grooming. By no means is the coat as demanding as that with many long coated breeds but never the less it will need your attention from once a week to every few weeks (depending on the coat texture of your Leo & what time of the year it is).
Few weeks a year you will REALLY need to love the coat as it is not only your dog that wears it – the thick under coat will be everywhere when your Leo is molting.
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Leos do not have loose lips and therefore do not drool & slobber everywhere like many other giant breeds.
They however love carrying the water from their bowls and dribble it on your lap, clothes & furniture. The amount of water that can be carried in a mouth of Leo and dribbled all over the place is impressive.
The lovely coat and the lovely big paws are also great on carrying in the mud, dirt and water from outside. Leo’s love water, any water! Don’t be fooled in to thinking a big dog like a Leo will only get dirty paws from that little puddle – They have amazing skill to dive in! the Waterbowl is also often viewed as an opportunity - of getting themselves wet and that opportunity is often taken by having a little paddle in the bowl or carrying the bowl in the middle of your lounge and tipping it over in order to be able to lay in the puddle!
You still feel a Leonberger might be the breed for you?
Might I give you a final warning, most people who have given their hearts to one Leonberger will come to realise
– One Leo is never enough!
Leonbergers since 1993
CLEON LEONBERGERS
Our Past, Our Future, Our Passion
Leonbergers since 1993
Our past, Our future, Our Passion
CLEON LEONBERGERS