Ava Williams
Shoulder height: 65 – 80 cm
Weight: 45 – 70 kg
Age: 10 – 11 years
Color: yellow, red, reddish brown sandy color with black mask
Use: Companion dog, guard dog
With a shoulder height of up to 80 cm, the Leonberger is one of the extremely large breeds. However, their peaceful and gentle nature and their proverbial friendliness to children make him an ideal family companion dog. However, it needs a lot of space, close family connections and consistent training, and a clear hierarchy from an early age.
Origin and history
The Leonberger was created around 1840 by Heinrich Essig from Leonberg, a well-known dog breeder, and dealer for wealthy customers. It crossed Saint Bernards, Great Pyrenees, Landseers, and other breeds to create a lion-like dog that resembled the heraldic animal of the city of Leonberg.
The Leonberger quickly became popular in aristocratic society – Empress Elisabeth of Austria also owned several dogs of this exclusive breed. After the death of the breeder and during the war years, the Leonberger population declined sharply. However, a few lovers were able to preserve them. There are now various Leonberger clubs around the world that take care of breeding.
Appearance
Due to its ancestors, the Leonberger is a very large, powerful dog with a shoulder height of up to 80 cm. Its fur is medium-soft to coarse, long, smooth to slightly wavy, and has plenty of undercoats. It forms a beautiful, lion-like mane on the neck and chest, especially in males. The color of the coat ranges from lion yellow to reddish brown to fawn, each with a dark mask. The ears are set high and hanging, the hairy tail is also hanging.
Nature
The Leonberger is a confident, alert dog with a medium temperament. It is balanced, good-natured, and calm and is characterized by its high stimulus threshold. In other words: You can’t upset a Leonberger that easily. Most of the time, its respect-inspiring appearance is enough to get rid of uninvited guests. Nevertheless, it is also territorial and knows how to defend its territory and its family in the first case.
The quiet giant needs consistent training and clear leadership from puppyhood onwards. Equally important is the close family connection. Its family is everything to it, and it gets along particularly well with children. The stately size of the Leonberger also requires a correspondingly large amount of living space. It needs enough space and likes to be outdoors. As a city dog in a small apartment, it is therefore unsuitable.
It loves long walks, likes to swim, and has a good nose for tracking. For dog sports activities such. B. Agility, the Leonberger is not created due to its height and weight of 70 kg and more.