By Cindy,

Sometimes, as a Leonberger kennel owner, events happen that are not “on the books” or advertised. Some good and some not so good. Yes, it’s easy to tell everyone when you have a litter planned and then when it arrives, or when a new puppy comes from an outside source – you know – all the happy stuff! But sometimes, things happen that you do not plan for. And sometimes, you need to start all over again – from scratch.

Me – at our place on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast with Sunna (on left), Lexi (on right) and Summer (in the rear). Photo by Ulrike Koleszar

This past year has been one of those years for us. We lost 2 of our breeding girls in the space of a few months. Pica ‘left’ us last fall and then Summer we had to let ‘go’ just a few weeks ago. Here’s Pica on left……… and Summer on right. This second shot was taken a few weeks before she died.

Photo by Ulrike.

Summer and Cello in the fall of 2013

Summer had a breeding planned for the past fall/winter and all was ready in preparation for her last litter. But then she had an old, ( unknown to us) injury reoccur on her elbow. Instead of healing, it had manifested into a tumour. Over the weeks it got worse and even with pain med’s, we were unable to make her comfortable. So it was time……Then all of a sudden we were left with only one dog in the house, after years of breeding and raising leos. It was very strange indeed. That one dog is Cello – now only 7 months old and totally confused as to where her buddies went. Here is Cello…..

Cello 16 weeks

Our shared/co-owned leo Lexi, lives down the road and she is wonderful, but we had no other dog living at home here full time to share life with Cello.

Here is Lexi at one year old. She is co-owned by Ulrike Koleszar and myself.

So begun the search for a new puppy – not so much for me, but for Cello. Long story short, – after hours and hours of re-searching, phone calls, checking and re-checking sources, photographs and pedigrees, I had to let go. All the breedings that I was interested in, were many months away. Such a long time to wait. So wait we did……… Then from left field, on very short notice from Poland – comes “Kiwi”.

Kiwi came to us, not from all my hard work, but because my great Leonberger breeder friends were looking out for me. A few of them especially, helped me look at loads of planned breedings and litters and dogs from all over the world. This little girl came to us from a place we weren’t looking (of course) and she is a delight. Truly a gift  – Of course now she & Cello are inseparable and play away most of the day in sweet oblivion.

So yes, now we have very little left from the blood lines we had only a few short years ago, with the exception of a couple of excellent intact males here and there across the continent. This is just the way it turned out. I hope to see one or 2 of those beautiful boys father their own litters one day. This is something else we have no control over. Life is a funny mixed bag of sweet and sour but it’s all what we make of it though. Even though the last year has been very tough for us, we still choose to focus on the good things in life and know we are blessed in spite of our seemingly, & at times sad, circumstances.

So I say again – Cheers y’all, Life is still good!!  Cindy

By Fran

Well like many Leos Stella LOVES to climb up on things.  She loves to get to the highest spot so that she can oversee what is happening around her!  She will do this outside in the yard where she climbs up on a huge rock that overlooks the yard.  She loves to hang out up there!  The younger dogs will run around and she will perch herself up on the rock to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t get themselves into any trouble!

But really, Stella’s most favorite sleeping spot is up on our kitchen table!  She loves to climb up there to oversee what is going on!  Yes I know the kitchen table is no place for a dog to sleep – but she really does love it!  Leos are funny dogs and they truly like to do what they like to do!

Funny thing, I have heard of other Leos too that venture up on the kitchen table, some to look for scraps of food, some to just see what is up there, and some, like Stella, who what to take a little nap up high off the floor where they have the best view in the house!  Give her a doggie bed on the floor and she walks away!  Now the couch is another option too!  Leos love to be Leos and they are great at being just that!

By Fran

I always get the question ‘do they shed?’ So thought it might be nice to show that YES they do shed especially when they ‘blow their coats’. No other breed is quite as good as a Leo when it comes to ‘blowing their coats’.  Sometimes they look like they have almost NO hair at all after it all comes out all over your house!  Like the story goes a picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few pictures of our Stella.  She is a four year old female Leo who has a beautiful medium length coat.  Well these pictures are of ONE brushing!  Just ONE!  So you can see Leos do shed!  Stella is very happy in her summer attire.  It is hot outside so she is much more comfortable with all that Leo undercoat gone.  The best way to get the undercoat out is to give them a nice bath with quality dog shampoo and then dry the coat with a blow dryer.  That loosens up all the fur and you can rake it out more easily.  Leos like to be brushed so that never is a problem. They like the attention:-).  Happy brushing!

By Lori

For me, I think Leonbergers are the perfect dog!  Leonbergers are fun, loving, and affectionate dogs.  They have a sense of humor and sometimes what they think is funny is not so funny to us though. If you like a dog who loves life, their family, and any sort of water or mud they can find, then maybe a Leo might suit you too.

Leonbergers love their people. They want to be wherever you are at all times.  Leaving the house and not taking your Leo with you will get you the saddest look that will make you feel guilty every time.  For this reason, even though a Leonberger is a big hairy dog, they are not suited for living outside. They just want to be with their people too much. They do much better living in the middle of the family whether it is just you and your Leo, or a busy family with lots of children and chaos.   When people come to my farm I tell them it is easy to find me, just look for the dogs, they will always be where I am.

Leonbergers shed. I am asked many times if they shed and yes they do, just look at the coats on these dogs.  The shedding is not too bad on a daily basis, but when they blow their coat, look out, the dust bunnies turn into dust puppies and we have litters of them rolling around! When we had carpeting, I used to think I had a new dog when one would get up and leave it’s silhouette on the ground.  I myself prefer hair as opposed to drool, which is another reason the Leos are perfect for me, they don’t drool.  Like all dogs, they can drool over wanting some yummy tidbit you are thinking of not sharing, it is the drool that is like glue that I dislike. Scraping drool off of walls is not for me, but sweeping up some dog hair no big deal.  Besides, all the birds on my farm make lovely soft nests for their babies from my Leo’s fur that I put outside.

Water!!  Yes, it can be everywhere. Leo puppies are adorable, but give them a water dish and they try and turn it into a swimming pool. Puddles they make and always when they have dirty feet.  Muddy wet Leo feet can turn a lovely clean floor into a work of art with all their paw prints.  Toilets are also great play toys for pups.  I have been sitting on the couch not paying attention to where a puppy is until it is to late. I hear splash and know they are playing in the toilet.  I had two same age pups and went upstairs to find the two of them running around my bathroom in inch deep water from splashing it out of the toilet.  They were having so much fun and were so pleased with themselves.

A small dog might chew up a shoe or two, a Leo might chew up a door frame, carpet, or whatever else strikes their fancy.  They have even been known to open closet doors and destroy whatever is inside.  I got that call from one of my puppy owners, I am including the pictures, her boy took it upon himself to open the sliding closet door and empty and destroy anything and everything that was inside.  So, glad she loves him.  I did offer to take him back, but she kept him anyway.  Leos are big and that means they can reach things others dogs cant.  They are also fairly easy to train, thank goodness.

Leonbergers are big powerful dogs and do need training.  People meet my dogs and ask me if they are always this calm  Any dog, small or large will not be a great companion if it does not have basic obedience.  First of all, you must start with a puppy with a good temperament.  A typical Leo temperament is an easy going dog that wants to please you.  A Leo is not meant to be shy or aggressive.  They are not typically a hyper dog either.  Leos do go through an adolescent stage, and as an owner, it is up to us to train them to behave in public and around other animals.   They do not do well with heavy handed training, if I raise my voice to one, the others also get upset hoping they are not in trouble. So, heavy handed training does not work with Leonbergers.

What can you do with a Leonberger?  Anything you want! They are great at water rescue, carting, obedience and agility (but not with the gusto other breeds do it with), and therapy (I think this is their main calling).  If you go into anything with your Leo, do it with an open mind and a sense of humor, because you will need it.  You could be in an obedience ring with your Leo, and they see someone they know or an interesting kid, they might just leave and decide to go and visit.  

So, if you think owning a smart dog, with a sense of humor, that loves to play in water, rolls around in the mud, come into the house and shares all this with you is wonderful, then a Leo might be the perfect dog for you too.

By Lori

We go boating with our Leos and they sleep on the boat as well. We have slept on our boat with 5 Leonbergers at the same time. Ok, we are very crowded, but they are happy even if t0hey are a little squished together. Why are they so happy? Because they are with us. They don’t try and jump off the boat, are not scared of noises, and love going through the locks in the Trent/Severn water canal system. They know there is always the reward of swimming afterwards.Bogie, one of our males, knew how to open the camper top zipper on the boat and was leaving during the night to check out the marina. I would wake up in the morning and wonder how the zipper was opened. Bogie would be innocently sleeping soundly. I did hear him one night though, I heard the zipper open and him trotting off. I got up and called out to him and he sheepishly came back on board. Ya, just upset he was caught!! So, needless to say, we had to secure the zippers. Bogie could also open just about any door and would let all the other dogs out. He would never close it though, particularly in the middle of winter, not fun to come home with a family room full of snow and freezing temperatures. We had to get special locks on our patio doors as well, they were no challenge to unlock!! Smart, smart dogs. 

We live on a farm and we raise other animals. Leo’s can learn and adapt to live and get along with any animal. One of the animals we raise are Alpacas. Alpacas are known to be afraid of dogs. Well, that changed and I guess the Leos won them over. My Alpacas will even lay down beside a Leo without fear. 

My Leo’s meet every Alpaca born here within an hour of it being born. They sniff it and lick it, the moms allow this, I find that amazing. We also have donkeys and donkeys do not like dogs. Well, they like mine. They do not chase them, ok they do in fun at times, that’s because the donkeys and dogs actually play together. Even my ducks will be seen laying down by the dogs. They are just big gentle oafs.

By Heather
At almost age 6 Ms. Nells decided to conquer new feats. A lot of her friends are agility and sport dogs! Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, and many mixes and rescues. Nells and I thought we would give agility a try just for fun! Another opportunity to bond together and socialize.
This is Ms. Nells and her tunnel success!!! I am so proud of her and we have so much fun together! I love how versatile our Leos are!

By Nancy

About 8 years ago I wanted a dog. Not just any dog, I had my heart set on a Newf. When I was growing up one lived in my neighborhood and I had fallen in love. Now that I was older, I decided that I would go to a couple of dog shows to see if I thought that breed was still for me. At the show I saw a Leonberger for the first time. They looked magnificent, but what type of dog (personality, demeanor, health etc) were they. After some research I decided this was the breed for me. About a year later my not so little furball arrived.

This was my first dog. I went through all the new owner excitement and traumas. Tango loved to eat anything wooden. My kitchen chairs to this day have his teeth marks. Baseboards have the same marks. My garden did not survive; bushes were torn apart and ripped up by the roots. He outgrew that stage – thankfully I thought. Over the years Tango has developed into a wonderful dog (my opinion). He no longer is interested in gardening or sticks or anything else wooden. He has discovered something wonderful – Swans.

I walk Tango down by a beach every day. Our first experience with swans went like this. We were walking along the beach with a friend who has a Newf named Piper. This was in the dead of winter; the shoreline was frozen but only extending out about 15 feet. Around the same time both dogs noticed swans swimming beyond the ice. They took off down to the shore. My friend and I at first were amused, but when they did not come back when called (they both did turn their heads and acknowledge us), then proceeded to launch themselves off the ice into the water and swim after those strange white things. I can only imagine what was going through the swans minds – what the heck are these creatures doing, coming after us in icy waters. Thankfully Tango and Piper gave up. They came back to shore only to find they could not jump up onto the ice, they were either too water logged and tired or just didn’t care if they came out of the water. My friend and I helped them out, much to the amusement of the onlookers. That first experience was three years ago. Tango is now 7 years old. We still walk with Piper, but now she just stands on shore and barks at the swans (smart girl), Tango still goes for them winter, spring, summer and fall.