Leonberger Advice - Would like to hear your experiences? General Chat

Hi all!!

My partner and I are planning on getting a Leonberger puppy later on this year. We've joined this site hoping to hear about your personal experiences and hopefully gaining some valuable advise from you all.
Are there any Leonberger owners or large/hairy "bear like" dog owners out there that would be able to share some timeless advise/tips/experiences that would help us prepare for our new addition to the family!?

Many thanks - Look forward to hearing from you!!

Hi there.

I don't own one, but there are one or two Dogsey members who do, who hopefully will be along sometime soon to give you their experiences.

The one thing that did surprise me when I met them, not previously knowing the breed, was the difference in size between the dogs and the bitches. Which sex are you thinking of getting?

Hi, as Hali said there is a huge difference in size!!

My breeder recomended i got a female as my first leo even though i was set on a male. I know understand why, lol!! The female is a lot easier to train and also to gain experience with.

One important fact, you CANNOT be houseproud with leos, lol, and they love water or am i maybe just unlucky

Just make sure you get him/her from a good breeder - where abouts are situated? There are a few leo owners (maybe breeders) on here who will help if you are near them.

Have you ever met them? They are great

Aaaargh work calls - i'll be back but someone will be along soon. GREAT DOGS!!!!

Hi
I am owned by 2 leo's, 5 and 4 yrs old, 1 of each.
There are a few owners and a couple of breeders on here.
Not sure you can ever be fully prepared for a leo pup, what questions do you have?

Hi there,

I too have never owned one but experienced a little familiarity with both a male and female leo owned by a fellow member. Probably the most striking quality I observed was how agile they were for a giant breed, I like them, though the male in particular really knocked the socks off me for sheer presence, independance, and personality!

Your right magic, people tend to think because they are giants, they can't be agile, and beleive me they can move and turn as fast as the rest of them.
My lad just doesn't do it as long as a smaller dog.
I think thats why breeders advice a female, because the lads are more independant or stubborn.

Hi,
We have our hearts set on a male. We have found a breeder, who we have known for a few years. We've met her dogs a number of times. We have also attended a number of Leo events and watched them all in action. The breed is AMAZING!! We have researched the breed as much as we feel we can over the last few years, since being introduced to the breed. We have wanted one ever since. We know that our clean house will be no longer once pup is with us. . . but think that is a small price to pay for all the joy they can bring!!
Questions:-
1. We've already looked in to training classes, and found a great local class. . . we're going to be pretty hot on the training side of things. . can't afford not to be with such a beast of a dog!! But are now wondering how different it really is to train male compared to female leo??
2. How often do you recommend we groom him?
3. How often do you bathe Leo's? We were thinking probably as needed. . i.e. stinky/muddy doggy!?

Thanks all for you help. . sorry to ramble on for so long!!

My answers to your questions would be:

1 I don't think you can say 2 males are ever the same, they are all different like any other breed.
My lad wasn't too bad as a pup, but when he hit the teenage phase, all the training he had suddendly dissappeared.
When they get to that age and size they are no longer a small dog that is easy to control.
So i had to go back to basics with a stubborn dog, he wouldn't respond to the normal things like treats or a toy as a reward, it was getting his focus on you, and nothing else and keeping it so progress could be made.
I am not going to lie, it was hard work, a dog of over 60 kg, who didn't want to do what i wanted him to do.
After he got through this faze, and it does pass, for him at approx 23 months old, he was more compliable with my instructions etc, but by this time, i had already established i was still the boss, and he did what i expected through his rebel stage of growing up.
I did this by using a dogmatic head lead, so his power and sheer strength could not be used against me.
Other owners or breeders may have a different experience, but if they try it on it will be when they are 15 months upto 2 yrs, when they go through the teenage phase to adult hood.

2 grooming is a big thing with leos, I groom mine every few days, even if it is just a once over, when they blow their coats, you can groom and groom and stil get more, its never ending.
It doesn't take long for their undercoat to become knotted but it does depend of their coat type.
My lad has course fur, but my girl has very fine fur, so she tends to knot more on the whole.
Like all double coated breeds, grooming is a big must.

3 I tend to bath mine every 6 months, unless they need it in between.
You need a few bottles and plenty of water, i do mine on the drive when it is warm, then towel them down.
My girl just abouts fit in the bath, toby my lad is the length of the bath, so it is just not practical with him.

Word of advice get your pup insured, any treatments are not cheap because of size - drug ratio's, and get him used to you cleaning his teeth from day one.

Who's dogs have you met? Most of us are members of the leo club.

Hi Leo,
Thanks for all your advice. It's good to hear about your experiences.
We will definately be getting him insured, no questions there!!
I am aware of the adolesence stage, and have heard this is hard work, as you so rightly mention. It must be disheartening to have put so much effort in training when they are a pup for them to suddenly lose it overnight. . . but with a bit of effort as you say they do get back on track!!
We have read some training books already, such as Gwen Bailey Perfect Puppy, which has been a really interesting read. We've already learnt so much from this. Such as getting them used to having teeth clean, paws touched etc etc.
We have realised we'll need to use a head collar on him, so he doesn't pull me over!! The mikki halti head collar was the one we've looked at so far, but I will look into the the Dogmatic one you mention. I hear of so many dog owners using harness' to help stop their dogs pulling. . .!? Crazy!!
We've met various Leo owners from the Wiltshire Wet Leo's club. . not sure of everyone's names though. Check the site out you may recognise a few!!!

Thanks so much for all your advice. . . It's so helpful. The books can tell you alot. . .but to hear about it from someones' personal experience brings it home a bit more!!

Hi again!
Just looked up the Dogmatic head collar, same idea as the Mikki one, but looks bit more sturdy!! Perhaps a bit more suitable for a Leo!! thank you!!!

Once they get used to the head collar, he never bothered.
Once he got past the teenage phase and behaved again, he went back to a normal collar.

I have the rolled leather collars on mine, it doesn't cut or tangle their manes like flat collars.
Any one who trys to use a harness on a leo to combat pulling, well i would take my hat off to them if it worked.

I am only little myself, like you i understood the importance of training & control, you have to be realistic about your ability and strength, toby was 30-35kg at approx 5 months, 60 kg at a yr, and presently 75kg ish.
Where as holly is approx 45 kg in comparison.

Like all dogs leo need to be trained, but if your heart is set on a leo please be realistic regarding training and control & the effort you need to be prepared to make, cause if your boy is anything like mine, he wasn't the fastest of learners.

Although saying that they are worth it, my lad is a registered pat dog, and i still get the sense of achievement when i walk in him the hospital.

Oh no, I didn't mean I've heard of people using harness' on thier Leo's. . . that would be crazy!! Some smaller dog owners seem to think harness' would help them gain more control from a pulling dog, they don't realise the harness is on the dogs side!

Our heart is set on a Leo. We know it's a big jump. . No dog to a LEONBERGER!!!! I swear some people think we're mad, just because of the pure size of them!! But we love the breed, not just how they look, but what we've seen/read/heard about their characters and tempermant. It's hard to fully appreciate exactly how much work it'll be till we're there. . . and each is individual and may be easy/hard to train. . but we feel we do have the time and patience to hopefully make it work. At the same time we don't want to make a mistake for either us, or more importantly the pup. . . that's why our decision hasn't been as easy as YES lets get one. . . . ALOT of thought has gone in. But as you fairly pointed out earlier on . . you can't ever be fully prepared for a Leo pup. We are doing our best to try thou . . . .

Hi,

I'm jealous

even tho i have 1 mad,daft,stupid male.......i want more!!!!

mine is VERY energetic and a totally utter loon. so dont be fooled into thinking they are all laid back

H will walk miles and jump dry stone walls and some stiles.

the first few years( depending on when they mature) they are lunatics. once maturity is reached they do calm down but to say they are perfectly behaved, well, that never happens

i got mine from a Wiltshire breeder.

the very fact your trying to be as realistic as possible, and looking at the leo's with your eyes wide open is a good start.
My parents said the same to me, we had boxers before, i think most people say "why a leo", and most see the size and the problems that could come from it.
But like all dogs, what ever the breed, need to be socialised, trained, house broken etc.
it is just your doing it with a bigger than average pup, as long as you stay realistic and expect to go through all the usual things that pups do, and are ready to combat any issues your'll be fine.
The only real thing i would say is different, is the very fact you have a good size dog, in size and strength, but with a puppy brain, which can make things more difficult to handle.

Holly, my girl is 4 and still jumps about like a lun, i don't think she is ever going to grow up, but it is also what makes her mine.

Your'll be surprised, i have been out at local parks etc, and seen owners with leo pups of 5/6 months on harnesses.
They then spot you walking adults, like all owners stop and chat, and ask how you walk a leo on a normal collar.

Time, training and patience same as all breeds.

your'll aways get advice or help on here, what ever breed you do get leo or otherwise, if some one asked me if i would have another........yes but i can say i have learnt some valuable lessons from toby along the way.

Julie, i am surprised you haven't got another

Marie

i keep nagging......and looking. OH is getting in the way on this one.LOL!!!!

Leo, I am suprsied that you've seen people walking their leo's with a harness. . . what a workout that must be!
Thanks for all your advice.
Hectorsmum. . thanks too. It's great to hear about the different characters Leo's have. We've seen some VERY nutty ones and some VERY chilled ones. . . bit of pot luck maybe!? As much has having a crazy one must be hard work at times, it must be fab to have a dog with such a fun character. I don't blame you for wanting more . .it seems alot of leo owners can't stop at the one. I can see why!!
I have another question to throw out there to you all . . .
Whats your opinons/experiences regarding the best diet for a Leo, the Natural diet or a good quality complete dried food????

Your breeder will advice you on food...

They can probably also give you some 'pointers' to the Leo breed, since you've known them for a few years... As breeders they probably know more than most pet owners...

diet is 'whatever suits your dog'...........H is on raw now but i used to feed him kibble until he had digestive problems (thats another story)

your breeder should give you a diet sheet so you can continue with the pups diet when he/she comes home. this i strongly advise to continue.

as far as nutty ones go...you dont find out till their 5/6months old, then you just adjust as required.

on a really good point....you do build up a good muscle tone all over

Our breeder has advised us to feed the natural diet already. We hadn't originally planned to do this as my vet always advocates a good quality complete dried food. I can see benefits of both and so just wanted to find out what other people do. I'm very interested in finding out the pro's and con's of both. . It's a confusing world when it comes to the "best" food for your dog!! :?

The most important for thing for us, as I am sure it is for you all, is making the right decisions for our dog, from every angle. Diet is such a biggy thou. . . so we just want to get it right from day one. We'll be speaking to our breeder more, of course, but I think it's good to research things from as many resources as we can. . there's always going to be a difference of opinion, especially with diet, but if we can find out as much as possible, atleast we can then make a fully informed decision!!!

most vets dont like the raw or barf diets, except mine

i feed both mine raw and both are in great condition. Leo's can be VERY fussy with food. mine goes off his come spring/summer but then eats loads the rest of the year.

use your breeder as your bible. they do like to help and will talk Leo for hours if the're anything like mine