LoveMyLeos

My Leonbergers and I had a wonderful weekend at Sam and Garys Farm Stay! Its so quiet and relaxing, the dogs had a ball with so much space to run and they loved playing in all the Dams! Next time we will come for a week. I loved going for walks with the dogs though the Padocks and my camera got a real work out, I totaly fell in love with all your Huge Boulders.. WOW what a Back yard!! Thanks you both for making me and my dogs feel so welcome. I can't work out how to get photos on to this page so I've loaded just a few photos of our stay into a photobucket if anyone wants to see my dogs having fun on the farm http://photobucket.com/FarmStay

HI Kath Elsa and Chardy are doing great Chardy is as Cute and silly as ever, Elsa is doing well in Agility now she can weave quite well now (most days anyway) and loves it.. Its a lot of Fun.. We have little chance in winning due to her size but I don't care as long as we have fun and she can get passes with out beating others so its a good sport, Elsa is only small and fine for a Leo at only 40kg so she is perfect for Agility. My New Girl 'Zephyr' is 7 months old and I imported her from NZ from "Leonnz" I fell in love with the out standing Temperment of her Parents and after meeting Wynnie (Kerrie Ports in Tasmaina's New Girl with the same mother) I could not resist a new pup fromher following litter... so after a very long 3 month wait she few over to OZ at the age of 12 weeks... she is a real Delight, very sooky, but she is very desturctive when left along in the yard... But she is starting to settle down now. at 7 months Zephyr is a touch taller than my other 2 girls so she is going to be a big girl when she grows up. Photo is of Elsa (Left) and Zephyr at 6 months old With the Hair I would rather the long Leo hair than the short hair of the pointers coat when it comes to being in the house.. I used to own a X lab - Bull mastiff (black) and she hair got into everything it weaves into the lounge, clothes etc.. and you can't get it out... Where the long coat tents to stick on everything but you can wipe it off with a clothes brush or a moist hand.. having said that I don't wear black and most of my clothes and house furishings are bought with brown Leonberger fur in mind :D Also Male Leos are nice and impressive with the Mane, but remember they are bigger and also have much longer hair.. so if you not fussed on grooming but Love Leos best to with a Female. GROOMING - If you want a good Slicker brush for this type of coat try the "Les Poochs Pro Brush" Purple one.. 'Firm / Firm' wide.. they are very expencive at around $100 for a brush but you get a brush with 2 sides and they are magic through coats like this. The one that is cheeper and just 'Firm' only has one usable brush side the other side is a sort of Comb which I can't see it being of any use. I would rather 2 brushes.. at least when One side is full you can turn if over and keep brushing. Dont' bother with the regular(small) size as they are WAY to small with only about 1 inch square of brush The Mat-Zapper one (red) is great too but its more expencive and does the same job, just a touch firmer. I have both does not make a lot of Difference. here is a web site to the brushes if anyone is interested. http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au/d/LPPFBW.../f---wide-size/ Victorian Leonbergers - there are more Leonbergers in Victoria than any other state at the moment. photo of the puppys in the cart was taken on the weekend in Victoria when I visited 'Adlihtam Leonbergers' to see their 7 week old Leo pups... Soooo cute!!! If you contacted Lyndsay of Adlihtam Leo's she could put you in touch with other Leo people, its a fairly small world and most of us know each other. or you can go to the NSW Leo site www.nswleos.com and find a list of Breeders both in OZ and NZ. NSW Leo Assn. has Fundays and we have around 14 Leos join us these days which is very good as we only have around 30 in NSW.. Interested people are more than welcome to come along to these days to see all the different Leo as they can and get to know them. I find this one of the best ways people can see if Leos are a Dog for them. Beth.

Hi Pointee Leonbergers love attention and being around people and other animals, but having said that they are not anouying about it.. they are happy to just sit this you. they will be happy to attach to the whole family but if you do more with the dogs then you will find you will be the one they want to be with most of the time. Leos tend to want to befriend the person that really is not interested in them... spending extra time trying to make friends this goes for other animals as well ;o) I'm sure that Leos would love to live with pointers.. they maybe a little rough with the pointers at first till they learn but then again my girls can't keep up with the pointers we meet down the park. the pointers have a lot of fun getting the Leos to chase them but Leos don't usualy have great speed for long so they soon slow down and get smart - they then start storking and hinding behind a bush or chair and then jumping out when they come by... just like a Lion its very funny to watch ;o) If the Pointers don't like them it won't take long before the Leos win them over Only problem you may have is if you leave home one day your Leo is going to be upset about the family being split up... they are a very sensitive dog Prices - Here is Oz... around $2000 - $2500 in NZ $2000 - $3000 + aprox $1000 for shiping etc. Desexing age - Best to wait till they are Mature and have finished growing.. so 2 + years old would be best

HI Kath How is Mia Going? I have Elsa, Mia's her litter sister. Happy 6th birthday 'today' to them both!!! what a small world it is I Own 3 Leonbergers 8 years, 6 years and 7 months Breed as a Companion Dog in Leonberg, German - Aim was to develop a Lion like dog that would resemble the town Crest of Leonberg. only around 200 in Australia they are quite Rare here What is the average lifespan? 8 - 10 year is average but they can live in to there early teens. general temperament/personality? As a General Rule they are a social, friendly, family dog that is not dog aggressive, although 2 intact males may get a bit growly if they don't like each other... We often have 14 Leonbergers running loose on our fundays at the beach with other dogs and we have very few problems most get along really well. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? Not that much.. they like to be out with the family and a good run in an off leash area with other dogs to play with is Idea. Lead walking is fine but its the Socialing and play that they crave. Young Leonbergers should not be exercised too much as it puts too much stress on there growing joins and bones.. They should be allowed to play as much as they want where they can stop and rest when THEY want to.... on a Lead they feel they have to follow even if they want to stop. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? They are quite easy going dogs but if they feel you don't know what you are doing they will push the boundrys and you could end up with an 60+ kg dog that does what it likes.. But then I've seen Maltese Terriers do this to owners as well.. Basicly they need Training, they are very smart and learn quickly but they are not a robot dog they do stuff because they want too or because it pleases the owner, I have CCD titles with 2 of my girls and By 6 year old is just starting Agility we have a pass in Jumping so far. They do not handle Rough handling.. I find they do very well with Clicker Training. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? NO not really, they are family dogs and want to be part of the family, if left along too long they will get board and Lonely and soon will start to redecorate the yard. How much grooming is required? I'm a dog groomer and I find the coat quiet easy to groom... I do the pants, behind ears, tail neck every day, then about once a week I brush over the body.. I find that a good wash and blow dry loosens the coat and helps get more out. Once they are Desexed the coats gets longer and thicker.... Leonbergers Moult a LOT but the nature of this breed is worth puting up with a bit more vaccuming... Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? Leos can be sill when young and need training, but as long as they are trained they are usualy very good around kids and many Leos work in Nursing homes due there very gentle and sencible nature as Adults Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? They are fairly healthy due to carefull breeding but breeding dog must be tested for Hips, Elbow and have clear eyes GO through a Club to find good breeders, Beware Of unregistered pups as most of these are from untested parents. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be) Elbows 0-0 is good and most are. Hips 8 - 8 or lower is what is Recomnded by the clubs Eyes should be clear - My 3 Leonberger live with a Giant Schnauzer, Airedale Terrier and a Mini Schnauzer with out any problem.. my young 7 month old loves to play with the Giant Schnauzer (6 years old) and they play really rough but she can also play very gently with the mini Schnauzer (2 Year intact male) she knows if she gets rough he will go inside... so she picks up toys to play tug of war with him and she will pull him very gently and then let him win for a little bit The Leonberger is a very special Breed and more of a good Friend than a Dog. Beth