The Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database

One amazing aspect of owning a Leonberger is that there is database where you can lookup information on your Leonberger including his siblings (and where they are) and pedigree/ancestry.

The Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database is a very large and nearly complete database that contains information about more than 160,000 Leonbergers who lived as far back as the late nineteenth century. Considering that there are thirty thousand living Leonbergers in the world, that is quite impressive. The database is updated weekly and free to use. It serves mostly as a tool for breeders and researchers, but it is quite interesting for anyone to browse. It was established in 2005 as a nonprofit organization and is managed and owned by Wilma and Ben Kroon, breeders who live in the Netherlands.

The database, which is still growing, can be found at http://www.leonberger-database.com

For each Leonberger, the database contains the following information.

• Full name
• A photograph if available
• Registration number
• Tattoo and/or microchip number
• DNA profile number
• Date and place of birth
• Kennel name
• Website of breeder
• Website of owner
• Export registration number
• Mean kinship (a measure of genetic diversity)
• Indicators of hip dysplasia (abbreviated as HD) and elbow dysplasia (abbreviated as ED)
• Eye test dates and results
• Indicators of hypothyroidism
• Results of DNA tests for the genes LPN1, LPN2, LPPN3, and LEMP
• Number of offspring
• Coefficient of inbreeding for ten generations and all generations

Like any database, it is fully searchable. Search criteria include the name (or portion of a name), registration number, date of birth, and chip number. You can search in English, German, and French. The website also features informative articles about the data that’s collected. Note that some of Bronco’s information is missing because he was not used for breeding.

With the help of the database, I was able to trace Bronco’s lineage all the way back to 1901, and I found photographs of and other information about several of his ancestors as far back as 1904.

I also found out that twenty-one Leonbergers were born on the same day as Bronco, five of them in Canada. Before I searched, I didn’t know the names of Bronco’s siblings, but now I do. And I found out that thirty-one Leonbergers out of the more than 160,000 in the database had or have the name Bronco. Three of them were born in North America.