I am sure you cat lovers know about the world’s foremost Cat Behavior Consultant Jackson Galaxy. He has written a lot of very successful books on cat behavior including the best seller “Catification”, Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You). It is rumored that Jackson Galaxy is from outer space and that he got stranded on Earth without his photon blaster and therefore had to come up with a job to survive. Whatever the case is he is a beloved icon in the cat community.
Being an energetic and family-oriented giant breed, the right type of home may be an even more important feature for Leonbergers. Below I am listing ten important points to consider when preparing your home for a Leonberger.
- First of all, a small apartment is not a suitable home for a Leonberger. They need room and they need a backyard or similar for running and moving around.
- Leonbergers are family dogs, and they like to be with people so they should not be left outside for too long, and therefore your house needs to be able to accommodate a very large and hairy dog that sheds a lot.
- In addition to shedding a lot, Leonbergers love to dig and to be messy and muddy. Allowing a little bit of a mess will make your Leonberger a happy dog.
- You need a fence, preferably at least six or seven feet tall. The ground below the fence cannot be too soft since Leonbergers are expert diggers. A runaway Leonberger may be a happy Leonberger for a short time but bad things can happen to runaway Leonbergers. Check whether wild animals such as bobcats and coyotes can get in through your fence.
- Check your backyard and locate and get rid of sharp or dangerous objects such as metal rods sticking up from the grass.
- If you have a swimming pool, make sure the dog can easily get in and out of the pool on his own.
- Get rid of poisonous plants in your house. Click here to see a list of poisonous plants.
- While the Leonberger is still a puppy you need to enclose electrical cords with cord protectors for pets with strong jaws.
- Secure glass tables and vases that can easily tip and fall, the fireplace. Secure toilet-bowl additives, drain cleaners, bar soap, tampons, paint, antifreeze, pesticides, oil and gasoline, rat poison, carpet cleaner, fertilizer, bleach, detergent, hot iron, sharp objects, and glass jars.
- Leonbergers can reach all counters. They love to stand on their back legs, like bears, and they are intelligent enough to open easy access pantries, so it is important to secure food items dangerous to dogs such as; coffee beans, chocolate, onions, garlic, yeast, avocados, raisins, macadamia nuts, fruits pits and seeds, raw salmon and trout, raw eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, persimmons, rhubarb leaves, medicine, Tylenol, any food containing xylitol (sugar substitute), food left out, garbage. Click here for more information.
And Happy Belated St. Patricks’ Day from me, Thomas, the Leonberger Behavior Consultant.
Leonberger Life 
Hi Thomas, this is a lovely post. Leonberger’s are just like children, aren’t they?
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Thank you Roberta. Yes like children or little/big rambunctious bears.
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I didn’t know dogs couldn’t have raw salmon and trout. Then again, whenever fish was in the house, we’d cook it and eat it ourselves!
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Raw salmon and trout can contain the Neorickettsia helminthoeca parasite which is very dangerous , even fatal, to dogs. Humans are not as sensitive to this parasite, which is why we get away with it. Naturally not all raw salmon contain this parasite which is why you can get away with it until the day you don’t. Admittedly we gave our dogs raw salmon on a few occasions until we found out about this.
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I see. Good to know!
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A plethora of good, helpful hints for prospective Leonberger owners!
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Thank you Alex
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Any time, my friend and fellow writer.
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Great suggestions, Thomas. And all true! We have become comfortable with more mess and muddle as a trade-off for a happy 100-pound Labrador. I can only imagine how that ticks into the stratosphere as you accommodate a Leonberger!
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We had a slightly smaller Labrador, 70lbs, and he was a but messy, but Bronco was even messier with his big paws and love for digging. Our lawn had a few holes in it too.
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The comparison to bears tickled me. Great tips for anyone with a BIG dog. My friend’s labradoodles (about 75 lbs) can reach all the counters and learned how to open the cabinet where the kitchen trash bin is kept. They eat everything…wrappings and all.
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Yes you are so right, like bears. We had a Labrador who was an impressive counter surfer but the Leonberger could reach even further. But he was not as aggressive about stealing food, but he did.
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Ha! The impressive counter surfer made me smile. 😄
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To prevent food theft our German Shepherd lay in front of the kitchen entrance and she would not let the Labrador or our Leonberger in the kitchen. She was the kitchen police. However, we got a pet gate to stop the food thievery.
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You have such great pet stories!
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Thank you so much Avigail 😊
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