Leonbergers and World War I

Today is Veterans Day, a day with roots in Armistice Day from World War I. Did you know that the Leonberger dog almost went extinct during World War I? Below is a short excerpt from my book.

World War I was tough on the breed. Some Leonbergers were used to pull ammunition carts and small cannons during the conflict, and others were left to wander unattended. Often, these dogs starved to death. But after the war, two Leonberg businessmen, Karl Stadelmann and Otto Josenhans, worked hard to save the breed. They scoured the countryside looking for Leonbergers who were still alive. They were able to find twenty-five of them whose owners were willing to cooperate in reestablishing the breed. Of these, only five were suitable for breeding. None of the Leonberger clubs had survived, so they founded a new one in 1922 called Deutsche Club für Leonberger Hunde (DCLH), and Stadelmann created an updated version of Albert Kull’s Leonberger breed standard from 1895. To find out what a breed standard is click here.

Note: I temporarily lowered the price of the Kindle version of my book to $4.99.

For your information the ASIN number for the e-book edition: B0B5NN32SR and the ISBN number for printed edition: 978-0998084954

Below are some Leonberger photos from World War I that I came across. Notice; Leonbergers looked a little bit different back then.

Photo of Leonberger with owner from the time of World War I
Leonberger pulling ammunition cart in World War 1
Photo of Leonberger with handlers from the time of World War I
Photo of Leonbergers with handlers from the time of World War I
Photo of Leonberger with handler from the time of World War I

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

19 thoughts on “Leonbergers and World War I”

      1. Working dogs seem to love their jobs. I like that, the satisfaction these Leonbergers probably felt being part of such important events. In your family, as I read your book, I can see Bronco did some amazing work (the hamster rescue comes to mind)!

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    2. You are right. Bronco really loved helping, the hamsters, protecting us, swimming and chasing ducks and egrets, well that wasn’t a job. Leonbergers love finding stuff and they love pulling carts. The Leonberger Club of America have competitions in pulling carts and searching for rodents. We never participated in those events, which we regret.

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  6. Something similar happed to the vizsla (our ❤️ breed, even though we are without one at the moment) between WWI and WWII and during the subsequent Soviet occupation of Hungary, when the dogs were targeted as symbols of the aristocracy. I’m happy both breeds made it through to the other side!

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