The Origins of the Leonberger Dog

coat of arms of the town of Leonberg. A black lion like figure on a yellow background
The coat of arms of the town of Leonberg, Germany, was allegedly the inspiration for the first breeder of the Leonberger, Heinrich Essig.

The Leonberger breed was originally created by Heinrich Essig (1808–87) in the German town of Leonberg, in what was then the kingdom of Württemberg. According to legend, Essig bred the dog to resemble the lion in the town’s coat of arms. Indeed, as you can see in the image above, the lion in the coat of arms doesn’t look like a real lion, so you could say that the Leonberger looks the way it does because Germans were bad at drawing lions back then. All joking aside, though, Leonbergers do bear some resemblance to lions and maybe even bears. In any case, they are beautiful dogs.

A town square surrounded by buildings. There is a statue in the middle.
The town square in the city of Leonberg. Shutter Stock Photo ID: 1689829297 by Martin Dutkiewicz.

When people would stop me and ask me questions about the kind of dog Bronco was, I would say he was a Leonberger, a cross between a Saint Bernard, a Newfoundland, and a Great Pyrenees and that the breed was created by the mayor of the German town of Leonberg. But, as the economist Tyler Cowen said, “Be suspicious of simple stories.” As it turns out, the story I kept telling was a simplification and not entirely true. History is more complicated. I was unintentionally spreading misinformation about Leonbergers.

A Leonberger puppy wearing a red silk scarf.
Our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle at 3 months old.

Simple and interesting stories are easy to remember, easy to believe, and easy to propagate. But first, Heinrich Essig was never the mayor of Leonberg. He was a prominent citizen of the town, and he was a successful businessman, farmer, innkeeper, horse and dog trader, large dog enthusiast, dog breeder, and town councilman, but he was never the mayor.

A big Leonberger splayed across a big wide red leather sofa.
Our Leonberger Bronco sleeping on our big red leather sofa.

Essig claimed to have created the Leonberger in the 1830s by crossing a female Landseer Newfoundland with a male long-haired Saint Bernard from the Great Saint Bernard Hospice, a monastery in Switzerland. He continued crossing the Landseer Newfoundland and the Saint Bernard over four generations, then he crossed his Newfoundland Saint Bernard mix with a Pyrenean wolfhound not, as is often asserted, with a Great Pyrenees (called a Pyrenean Mountain dog in Europe). He then crossed that dog with the Saint Bernard again. In 1846, he was finally ready to announce and register his “lion of a dog.” A few years later, Leonbergers were officially introduced to the public at the Munich Oktoberfest.

Our Leonberger is standing on the large red leather sofa giving me a kiss.
Me and our Leonberger Bronco when he was young.

However, the story is more complicated than that. There’s no specific breed named Pyrenean wolfhound today, so Essig could have used a Great Pyrenees or a Pyrenean mastiff . In addition, later in the nineteenth century, Leonbergers were used to breed the long-haired Saint Bernard dog, and this likely saved the Saint Bernard dog from extinction. At one point, too, Leonbergers were deliberately mixed with Newfoundland dogs to strengthen the Newfoundland breed. In other words, breeding happened in both directions, and the characteristics of the large breeds were in constant flux. The dogs, including Leonbergers and Saint Bernards didn’t look like they do today, either. Essig’s Leonbergers were multicolored, mostly white, and lacked the black mask that is so important to the breed now. What has not changed is the essence of what Essig was aiming for: a large but moderately proportioned dog that is friendly and loving and a great companion.

Saint Bernard Dog wearing a cognac barrel. The Alps in the background.
A modern Saint Bernard Dog. Shutter Stock Photo ID: 1713912484 by fred12.

Ultimately, the origins of the Leonberger, as well as the Saint Bernard and the other large breeds from this region, are complex and shrouded in mystery. In addition, some of Essig’s claims have been disputed. Breed standards wouldn’t be codified until the end of the nineteenth century. It should also be noted that it was Essig’s niece Marie who to a large extent bred and cared for the dogs.

Black or dark brown New Foundland Dog with a colorful autumn forest in the background.
Modern New Foundland Dog. Shutter Stock Photo ID: 1925281937 by Marsan.

Essig was selling his Leonberger dogs as luxury items to the wealthy. He was also a marketing genius and was able to get the attention of European nobility and royalty. The czar of Russia, Emperor Napoleon II, Otto von Bismarck, the king of Belgium, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Emperor Maximilian I, the Prince of Wales, King Umberto of Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and the mikado of Japan were among those who owned Leonbergers. Not everyone was happy about this. Some people viewed the Leonberger as a fashionable knockoff of the Saint Bernard that could hinder that breed’s development.

Photo of a Leonberger standing in the snow. There is a wintry forest in the background.
Modern Leonberger. Shutter Stock Photo ID:705193912 by Anna Krivitskaya.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the discipline of cynology, or the scientific study of dogs, emerged. Cynologists pushed for breed classification and systematic breeding practices, and breed standards were created. But Essig and others viewed dog breeding as an art rather than a science, and this led to a conflict with the cynologists. Heinrich Schumacher, for example, was a breeder who strove to create a clearly identifiable Saint Bernard type. He was upheld by the cynologists as a paragon, in contrast to Heinrich Essig to the detriment of the Leonberger.

Face of a Leonberger looking into the camera.
Face of modern Leonberger. Shutter Stock Photo ID: 193024763 by Csanad Kiss.

After Essig’s death, in 1887, other people more willing to please the cynologists continued breeding Leonbergers. By that time, the dogs looked for the most part like Leonbergers do today. Then, in 1895, Albert Kull created the Leonberger’s first breed standard. It would go through several revisions in 1901, 1926, 1938, 1951, 1955, and 1972—until finally, in 1996, the FCI approved version was established. The Kennel Club in the UK and the American Kennel Club also have their own breed standards. However, most of them are similar to Albert Kull’s 1895 version. The first Leonberger club was formed 1891 in Berlin: two more were created in 1895, then two more were formed in 1901. The most prominent was the Internationaler Klub für Leonberger Hunde, of which Albert Kull was the first president.

For additional information see :

The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger by Thomas Wikman.

Madeline Lusby, Leonberger: A Comprehensive Owner’s Guide (Allenhurst, NJ: Kennel Club Books, 2005).

Caroline Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger: A Comprehensive Guide to the Lion King of Breeds (Sea Cliff , NY: Revodana Publishing, 2017), 23, 41, 45, 48–49.

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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.

34 thoughts on “The Origins of the Leonberger Dog”

  4. Thank you for this detailed account regarding the origins of the Leonberger dogs. I enjoyed this and all the photos, too.

    Even at just 3 months, Bronco had an “old soul” look about him. Such intelligence in those eyes. I love how he slept sprawled out like that on your couch, too. LOL Such a darling.

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    1. Thank you so much Pooja. I find it fascinating too. One thing that amazed me when I started researching this was how late in history cynology and dog breed standards came into existence. Before that there weren’t really any specific dog breeds. Breeding was unspecific and more of an art. Now a day some people question whether it really was good to define specific dog breeds since there is a problem with inbreeding. We’ll see where that debate goes.

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    2. Yes mutts tend to live longer. The dogs with the shortest lives are giant breeds that are pure bred, Saint Bernards, Great Danes, New Foundland, Leonbergers, and especially Bernese dogs. Bernese dogs only have an average lifepan of 7 years. Leonbergers are 8-10 years, maybe a bit longer recently. The typical inbreeding coefficient for Leonbergers is around 29%. This increases the risk for inherited diseases, something the Leonberger Health Foundation International has been working hard to solve, and they have been successful. However, to go further, to improve the breed health even further and get them to live as a long as small breeds some people are suggesting to introduce a completely different breed into the gene pool, without changing the look too much. But this is a hot potato subject I should stay away from.

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    1. Thank you Damyanti. Yes in fact , there is Leonberger data base which feature most Leonbergers in history back to the beginning of the 20th century and even the end of the 19th century. I was able to trace Bronco’s heritage back to 1904. 20+ generations.

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    1. Thank you Jacqui. Just like Ump is noble. I joined shutterstock and have 10 images to download per month. You have to download them or you lose them. I realized it was the last day for the next batch so I downloaded a few Leonberger / dog pictures and black holes and Quasars. I figure out a way to use the black holes / Quasars.

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  9. This is a fascinating post, Thomas. Thank you for showing us the breeds that created the Leonberger breed. Such a gentle, intelligent dog. I love the photos of Bronco. 😊

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    1. Thank you so much Gwen. You are right. Leonbergers are gentle and intelligent and so family friendly. Our Rollo, the mini-Australian Shepherd was terrible to him. He walked on him, sat on him, bit his tail, dangled in his tail but the only time Bronco lashed out at Rollo was when Rollo stole his toy right out of his mouth.

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  10. Loved reading about the History Thomas.. and wow to that Town.. Lovely buildings in Leonberg.  . But then so many German Towns are so well preserved.. I have visited a few over the years to Christmas markers, but do not ask me their names lol.. They were near the Rhine..

    Those photos, just gorgeous.. Thank you Thomas… This post was an education in itself x

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    1. Thank you so much Sue for your kind words. I’ve visited Germany a few times, and I’ve worked in southern Germany close to Switzerland, but I have never visited the town of Leonberg. All that was before we got our Bronco. I would like to visit Leonberg one day.

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  14. That’s an interesting mix of breeds within the Leonberger! I’ve never encountered one, nor a St. Bernard in person, but used to look after a Newf and a Great Pyrenees. They were gentle giants, just like Bronco. 🙂 Leonberg looks similar to my birthplace of Soest, in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Those lovely old houses are everywhere!

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    1. Thank you Debbie. I worked in Konstanz in southern Germany for a summer and I’ve skied in Garmisch-Partenkirchen but I have not seen much else of Germany. I certainly would like to visit Leonberg. They are all great dogs. I am surprised you have not met a Saint Bernard. They are not that uncommon. Leonbergers are less common though.

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