Leonberger
Breed at a glance
- Origin
- Germany
- Height
- Males
- Coat
- Long and coarse with mane on neck and chest and feathering on extremities
- Colour
- Yellow, red, reddish brown or sandy including all combinations in between, with a black mask
Coat
Both a necessity for work and a defining attribute of the breed, the Leonberger has a dense water-resistant long double coat on the body that is complemented by the shorter, fine hair on the muzzle and limbs. The long, profuse, outer coat is durable, relatively straight, lies flat, and fits close. A mature, masculine Leonberger exhibits a pronounced mane. Similarly, his tail is very well furnished from the tip to the base where it blends harmoniously with the breech's furnishings. Climate permitting, his undercoat is soft and dense. Apart from a neatening of the feet, the Leonberger is presented untrimmed. These dogs are ill-suited to hot climates. [ 20 ]
Head
The head is well balanced in proportion to the size of the dog and is deeper than broad with the length of muzzle and the length of skull roughly equal. With close-fitting eyelids, the eyes are set into the skull upon a slight oblique; the eyes are medium-sized, almond-shaped, and colored dark brown. The ears are fleshy, moderately sized, and pendant-shaped, with sufficient substance to hang close to the skull and drop the tip of the ears level with the inside corners of the mouth. The Leonberger's ears rise from halfway between the eye and the top of the skull to level with the top of the skull. Though level bites and slight anomalies not affecting the robustness of the lower jaw are common, the ideal Leonberger possesses a strong scissor bite with full dentition. [ 22 ]
intro
The Leonberger is a German breed of large dog. The breed name derives from that of the city of Leonberg , in Baden-Württemberg , where it was bred in the mid-nineteenth century.
Colour
Several coat colours are acceptable, including all combinations of lion-yellow, red, red-brown, and sand. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Nose leather, foot pads, and lips should always be black. Faulty colours include brown with brown nose leather, black and tan, black, white, or silver, and eyes without any brown. A small patch of white on the chest or toes is permitted. [ 24 ]
Health
A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 10 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds . [ 25 ] A 2015 French study found a life expectancy of 8.75 years. [ 26 ] A 2005 Swedish study of insurance data found 74% of Leonbergers died by the age of 10, higher than the overall rate of 35% of dogs dying by the age of 10. [ 27 ] An analysis of Leonberger pedigree found an inbreeding coefficient of 0.29 with just 22 founding dogs. From 1989 to 2004 the life expectancy dropped from 9.4 years to 7.7 years. Almost half suffered from at least one health condition and 21.5% suffered from neoplasia . The next most common group of conditions were orthopaedic and neurological at 15.8% and 14.8% respectively. The most common individual conditions were arthritis , polyneuropathy , hypothyroidism , gastric torsion , and dilated cardiomyopathy . [ 28 ]
History
In the 1830s, Heinrich Essig, a dog breeder and seller and mayor of the town of Leonberg near Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg , Germany, claimed to have created the Leonberger by crossing a female Landseer Newfoundland with a " barry " male from the Great St Bernard Hospice and Monastery (which would later create the Saint Bernard ). Later, according to Essig, a Pyrenean Mountain Dog was added, resulting in very large dogs with the long, white coats that were the fashion for the time, and a pleasant temperament. The first dogs registered as Leonbergers were born in 1846 and had many of the prized qualities of the breeds from which they were derived. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The legend is that the dogs were bred to be an homage of the lion in the town crest [ 1 ] and coat-of-arms animal of Leonberg, the lion. [ 3 ] The Leonberger dog became popular with several European royal households, including Napoleon II , Empress Elisabeth of Austria , the Prince of Wales , Otto Von Bismarck , [ 4 ] Emperor Napoleon III , and Umberto I of Italy . Essig's claim of breeding the dog as described is disputed. Records from as early as 1585 may indicate the existence of Leonberger-type dogs; documents dating from 1601 held by the Metternich family describe similar dogs used to deter the theft of livestock. [ 5 ] Either way, no doubt exists that Essig named and registered the breed first. A black-and-white engraving of the Leonberger was included in The Illustrated Book of the Dog by Vero Shaw (at p. 488) in 1881. [ 6 ] At the time, Essig's Leonbergers were denounced as an indifferent knockoff of a St. Bernard—not a stable and recognized breed—and a product of a popular fad or fashion for large and strong dogs, fomented in part by Essig's prodigious marketing skills (he gave dogs to the rich and famous). [ 1 ] [ 6 ] The modern look of the Leonberger, with darker coats and black masks, was developed during the latter part of the 20th century by reintroducing other breeds, such as the Newfoundland. [ 3 ] This was necessary because breeding stocks of the Leonberger were seriously affected by the two world wars. Only five Leonbergers survived World War I [ 7 ] and were bred until World War II when, again, almost all Leonbergers were lost. During the two world wars, Leonbergers were used to pull the ammunition carts, a service to the breed's country that resulted in the Leonbergers' near-destruction. [ 8 ] Karl Stadelmann and Otto Josenhans are credited as the breed's saviors, bringing them back from almost extinction. [ 4 ] Leonbergers today can have their ancestry traced to the eight dogs that survived World War II. [ 7 ] Traditionally, Leonbergers were kept as farm dogs and were much praised for their abilities in watchdog [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] and draft work. They were frequently seen pulling carts around the villages of Bavaria and surrounding districts. [ 2 ] : 4 Around the beginning of the 20th century, Leonbergers were imported by the government of Canada for use
Neoplasia
The Leonberger has a predisposition to hemangiosarcoma and osteosarcoma . [ 28 ] A study in the UK of more than 900,000 dogs looking at the annual prevalence of osteosarcoma found the Leonberger to have the second highest rate, at 1.48%, compared to 0.037% overall. [ 35 ]
Appearance
The Leonberger is a large, muscular, and elegant dog with balanced body type, medium temperament, and dramatic presence. [ 1 ] The head is adorned with a striking black mask . Remaining true to their early roots as a capable family and working dog and search-and-rescue dog (particularly water), the surprisingly agile Leonberger is sound and coordinated, with both strength in bearing and elegance in movement. A sexually dimorphic breed, the Leonberger possesses either a strongly masculine or elegantly feminine form, making gender immediately discernible. [ 2 ] : 5 The breed has webbed paws [ 20 ] and a thick, dense double coat . [ 21 ]