This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
It is easy for me to answer the daily prompt “What are your favorite animals?”, it is Canis Lupus Familiaris, or dogs of course, especially Leonberger dogs.
ur Labrador Baylor and German Shepherd Baby. They were both rescues.
Dogs are very social and often quite intelligent. They are loving, loyal, fun, innocent, playful and they can provide protection whether it is physically or just via their barking, which alerts us to the presence of strangers. Dogs provide companionship and encourage physical activity since you need to take them for walks and play with them.
A black and white photo of our Leonberger Bronco at three months old.Our Leonberger Bronco is in the front yard.
Among dogs my favorite breed is the Leonberger. Leonbergers are confident and brave gentle giants. They are great with children, very social and good companions and they can also be guard dogs. They are not aggressive and were not bred for that purpose, but their size, strength, courage, protective nature and acute senses make it a natural role for them. Our Leonberger Bronco protected the entire neighborhood by chasing off a peeping Tom. Leonbergers are double-coated, and they have webbed paws, so they’re natural swimmers as well. They are sometimes used in water rescue operations. But be careful, they are big, full of energy, and can be rambunctious when they’re young.
Below are various photos of our dogs
Our Leonberger Bronco and our Pug DaisyOur Japanese Chin Ryu with our daughter who was 9 years old at the time.Our Japanese Chin Ryu.Our pug Daisy loved to sunbath even when it was hot. Here she is catching some rays while lying on our old backyard porch, which had gravel.Our daughter with our pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.A gray wolf on the left. Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo sitting in a stroller on the right. Whenever there was a sound that scared him, such as quacking ducks, or someone banging on something, he wanted to sit in Daisy’s stroller.Our Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.
All official dog breeds have a breed standard. If you want to show your dog your dog has to closely match the breed standard. Below is the breed standard for the Leonberger.
The physical breed standard for the Leonberger. There is also one for character/behavior. The AKC / the USA has its own breed standard for the Leonberger but it closely resembles the international one.
A little bit more than a week ago a photo of our Leonberger Bronco taken when he was three months old was stolen and used without attribution. The thief, Valerie, was the founder and administrator of a new Leonberger Facebook group. In addition, she changed his name and gender. Our breeder (well Bronco’s breeder) Julie Schaffert alerted me to the situation. I was unaware of the existence of this group. Julie knows this photo well since I’ve used it a lot on Facebook and Instagram as well as here. I think the worst part of it was that the thief manipulated the emotions of the members of the group by fabricating a story about the puppy being sick. What a dubious way to attract attention.
Photo of Bronco at three months old. This photo was copied without permission and Bronco’s name and gender were changed.His name was certainly not Gracie, and the story about being sick was fabricated. BTW this kind of emotional manipulation has become ubiquitous. Don’t believe these kinds of claims.This was Julie’s comment.
It is far from the only time I’ve had a dog photo stolen. I was (well still is) a member of a few pug groups and all of them except for one smaller group were photo theft groups. It seemed like the bigger the groups, the worse they were. The founders/administrators of the groups regularly stole the photos posted by the members and then used the Facebook approval feature to prevent the members from complaining about the situation. I had several photos of Daisy stolen.
The photo below was stolen dozens of times and passed around to several groups including groups I was not a member of. I accidentally discovered my photos in other pug groups that I was randomly browsing. Her name and gender were often changed, and it was perpetually her birthday for at least several months. She was congratulated thousands of times, which was a silver lining. At first, I played along and just said thank you to all the people congratulating her even though I was not the one who posted the photo. However, that became unsustainable as there were so many congratulations in so many places for so long and then one guy started accusing me of pretending it was my pug. Well, it was my pug. After a while I just gave up on the pug groups. It seemed to be the same problem everywhere.
Photo of Daisy’s 15th birthday. The photo was stolen dozens of times in various pug groups.
So why do people steal dog photos? It seems like in some cases it is for the purpose of selling stuff, but that is not always the case. It seems like some photo thieves just want to grow their groups and become “influencers”. I should say that one of my old on-line friends told me that he had a popular YouTube video downloaded and re-uploaded (stolen) several times. He was making money off that video so in that case it was a matter of theft of money. YouTube took down those videos when he reported them, but naturally he still lost some money.
This seems to be a problem that’s spreading like wildfire on social media. I did not use to see this, but now I see it all the time. Photo theft happens even in the beer groups I help administer. Apparently taking your own photo of a beer can is too much to ask for. Unfortunately, it seems like photo theft has become normalized behavior.
In regard to the daily prompt “What is good about having a pet?” Pets can give you so many things, love, company, adventure, memorable moments, hilarious moments, protection, and playing with them or taking a dog for a walk is good for your health. We have dogs and have had dogs for decades. According to this article from the Mayo clinic dogs are good for your health. Dogs reduce work related stress, help manage stress, increase activity and help combat loneliness.
In addition, our late Leonberger dog Bronco protected us and our neighborhood from a trespasser and a peeping Tom who was terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood. A Leonberger is very large dog, like a St. Bernard. The police could not solve the problem. The private detectives I hired did not catch him, despite the fact they were hiding in our backyard at night. However, one time when the peeping Tom showed up, I sent Bronco after him and that took care of the problem. Bronco probably just wanted to say hello, but a big bear-looking dog dashing towards you in the darkness can be unnerving. That scared him off for good. Bronco saved the neighborhood.
Bronco also saved other dogs and pets on several occasions. He detected when our Labrador Baylor was about to have an insulin shock. He protected our pug Daisy from an attacking German Shepherd. He found our runaway hamsters on a number of occasions. Below are some photos and illustrations of our dogs.
Our Leonberger Dog Bronco at 3 months oldMe with our Leonberger Bronco. He was not yet fully grown.Our large but cuddly 167lb Leonberger Bronco is sitting nu my wife Claudia’s lap.The stalker / peeping Tom is sitting on a lawn chair and looking through our bedroom window at night. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.After the police and private detectives all failed our Leonberger Bronco is chasing off the intruder for good. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Our Leonberger Bronco is carrying two hamsters in his mouth. Don’t worry they were fine. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Our Labrador Baylor and German Shepherd Baby. They were both rescues.Our son with our pug Daisy when she was a puppy.Our Japanese Chin Ryu and our Pug Daisy are protesting our travel by sitting in our suitcase. They want to come with us.Our Leonberger Bronco with our new puppy Rollo, a mini-Australian Shepherd.Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd could be a pest. He loved biting Bronco’s tail and even swung in it as if it was a swing.Our Pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd barking at people passing by our house. Notice the joke.
Today’s writing prompt is “Describe a Family Member”. This family member is good looking, fun to be around, and he is a loving character. He loves to play ball, he is very curious, and he loves to eat. However, he is anxious and easily frightened and he can also be a bit of an a-hole, and he hates dogs and cats. Can you guess which family member he is?
Three family members, but there are more of us.The answer is Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd.
You may ask yourself, but he is a dog, how can he hate dogs and cats? Good question, but I don’t think he knows he is a dog. I think he thinks he is a little person. He prefers human company. He got along well with our late Leonberger Bronco and our pug Daisy, but he hates every other dog and all cats.
Rollo loves rolling and chasing balls.As I mentioned, he can be a bit of an a-hole.As mentioned, Rollo is anxious and easily frightened. Daisy’s stroller is a good thing to sit in for such occasions.Today and the last few days Rollo has been wearing a cone. He had to extract a tooth on Thursday.
Our Leonberger Bronco was born in British Columbia, Canada (nearby Vancouver), on July 3rd, 2007. That was 17 years ago today. His full name was Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. His father’s name was Priamos Vom Dreiburgenland and his mother’s name was Justus Aria Von Drevas. He had four full siblings, or twins, Little Jonah, Love Ryan, LRV’s Moose, and Lakeisha Makita. That was his litter. Notice that all names begin with an ‘L’. He had 83 siblings in total. The breeder’s name was Julie Schaffert, who is a Leonberger Club of America certified breeder (since 1992), and arguably North America’s most prominent breeder.
Bronco’s entry in the Leonberger Data Base. Click on the picture to visit the Leonberger Data Base.
About 8-9 weeks later he came to Dallas, Texas to be with his new family. That was us. 13 years later he passed away. The name we picked for him was Bronco. However, we were told that his name needed to begin with an ‘L’, so my wife said, “Let’s do Le Bronco”, intending it to be “Le Bronco”. It took us several years to change his name from “Lets Do Le Bronco”, which also begins with an ‘L’, to “Le Bronco”.
Bronco’s original birth certificate from LCA (Leonberger Club of America). His name at this time was “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”.Close up of his name, which incorrectly was “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”.Bronco at the age of three months and at the age of almost 13.
Bronco quickly grew to become a big dog. At one point he was 167lbs but his ideal weight was 135lbs. When he joined our family, we had two other dogs, a Labrador (or Labrador mix) called Baylor and a female German Shepherd called Baby. Baby was like a mother to Bronco, and she was fiercely protective of him. We would soon get two more dogs, a Japanese Chin called Ryu and a pug called Daisy. Once Bronco was older, we would get one more dog, a mini-Australian Shepherd called Rollo. Bronco loved all the other dogs, and he was very protective of them. He saved the life of our Labrador by sniffing out an oncoming insulin shock and he saved our pug Daisy from an attacking German Shepherd.
This is Bronco and me. He is about one year old. Not yet fully grown but still big.Bronco when he was 167lbs sitting in my wife’s lap. He went on a diet after this photo.Bronco with our pug Daisy and Japanese Chin Ryu.Bronco with our pug Daisy and Japanese Chin Ryu again.The portrait was drawn by Veniceme at Etsy (Natasha Dall’Ara) and it is based on one of our photos.
One thing that we are proud of is that Bronco lived very long for a Leonberger. The typical lifespan for a Leonberger is 8-10 years. Giant breeds tend to have a short lifespan. The Leonbergers who live at least 12 years are awarded the so-called Grey-Muzzle Award by the Leonberger Health Foundation International, and Bronco was a recipient. The Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI) is supporting research that aims to solve health issues in Leonbergers and other giant breeds. All proceeds from the sale of my book are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. I can add that when Bronco passed away, we sent his DNA to the University of Minnesota to be used in research. This was facilitated by the LHFI.
Bronco was a very special dog, and he also gave us many amusing stories. Some of the stories were great, like when he chased off a trespasser / peeping Tom who had been terrorizing my wife and the other women in the neighborhood, but that the police and the private detectives I hired could not catch. Or when he saved runaway hamsters or saved the lives of other dogs. He also gave us some embarrassing stories, such as when he put our neighbor’s head in his mouth, like the circus lion trick, or pushed our German Shepherd into a storm drain. After Bronco passed, I decided that the world needed to know about Bronco, so I wrote a book about him. It is a tribute to him as well as a collection of funny stories. I also added information about Leonbergers in the book, their origins, care, training, health, etc.
Bronco is chasing off a trespassing peeping Tom who had been terrorizing the women in the neighborhood at night. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Bronco with hamsters in his mouth. When he dropped them, they were unconscious, so my wife gave the hamsters CPR. They were fine. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Bronco acting wild pushing our German Shepherd into a storm drain. I am trying to get her up. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Finally, I would like to give an overview of my book about Bronco and Leonbergers. I intended to release the Book on July 3rd, 2022, on what would have been Bronco’s 15th birthday. However, Amazon was quicker than I expected. The Kindle version became available on the day I uploaded it July 1st, 2022, and the paperback version July 2nd, 2022, but I did not tell people about it until July 3rd. Well today it is July 3rd again. To read more about my book click here.
In July of 2022 my book was the number one new release on American Amazon in the category “dog breeds”This is a sample spread from my book (The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle). It is page 102 and 103. The other dog is our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the paperback version of the book.This is the back cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the kindle version of the book.These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to got to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.
If you haven’t already, please take a look at my book
For American Father’s Day (yesterday) I got a number of presents and cards including a portrait of our late pug Daisy. She passed April 5th. For my birthday in March, I got a portrait of our late Leonberger Bronco. With this post I just wanted to show these portraits. They are made by a company called Etsy and the portraits are based on our photos.
A painting of our late pug Daisy who passed two months ago. It is based on one of our photos and created by Etsy. I believe by the same woman who made Bronco’s portrait (have to verify this).The portrait was drawn by Veniceme at Etsy (Natasha Dall’Ara) and it is based on one of our photos.
In the past I’ve made a few posts featuring 25 photos of Leonbergers around a certain theme. This is one more of those posts. This time it is photos of Leonbergers in nature, whether it is in a park, in our yard, on top of a mountain, swimming in a lake, a forest, etc. The first half of the photos are of our Leonberger Bronco or Leonberger photos by a friend. The second half of the of the photos are shutter stock photos. Below are the previous 25 photos of Leonbergers posts.
Our Leonberger Bronco at a park close to our house. On his right front leg there is missing hair from a surgery he had (toe amputation).Our Leonberger Bronco on our front lawn.Our Leonberger Bronco in the bushes.Our Leonberger Bronco is swimming in White Rock Lake nearby Dallas, Texas.Our Leonberger Bronco is standing in White Rock Lake nearby Dallas, Texas.Our Leonberger Bronco in the backyard. He was a saint.Amie, a female Swedish Leonberger on top of Skuleberget (Skull Mountain) in northern Sweden.Amie, a female Swedish Leonberger on top of Skuleberget in northern Sweden (Norrland).Amie and her owner had climbed the mountain.The view that we and Amie had from the top of Skuleberget in northern Sweden. The area is referred to as the High Coast.The Leonberger Digory with friends at the beach some years ago. Photo Jen O’Keefe.This photo was provided by Jen O’Keefe, Urgent Animal Care of Arlington. From left to right; Obi, Delfi, Aslan, Gryphon, Digory.Caspian (Obi’s nephew), Austin (Obi’s son), Delfi (our 10 yr old, living with lung cancer), Obi (now 7 and a veteran), Digory, and Rilian (Obi’s son). They all wish everyone a Very Happy New Year!! Photo by Velvy TheLion.Shutterstock-ID: 959582 by Ingvald Kaldhussater.Leonberger standing in snow. Shutterstock-ID: 705193912 by Eric Isselee.Leonberger puppy. My guess is that he is around two months old. Shutterstock-ID: 629624396 by TOM KAROLA.A majestic Leonberger. Shutterstock-ID: 731020957 by Peter Josto.Leonberger on the beach. Stock Photo ID: 1110805445 by Lolostock.Two Leonbergers swimming. Stock Photo ID: 1989806678 by Taibomaus.Sitting Leonberger. Shutterstock-ID:1333669760 by Britta Paasch.Sitting Leonberger. Shutterstock-ID:1333669760 by Britta Paasch.Leonberger and pug running in the snow. Shutterstock- ID:1659034960 by AnetaZabranska.A Leonberger puppy running in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2056502327 by Nikky de Graaf.Two light colored Leonberger puppies playing. My guess is that they are three months old. Shutterstock-ID: 2141564415 by AnetaZabranska.A Leonberger puppy standing in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2390810457 by VeronArt16.Leonberger standing in river. Photo by Stephanie Lucero on Unsplash.
Note, I am going to a CCL conference this weekend and the beginning of next week, so I will not be posting or do anything related to blogs for a while.
I once apologized to our neighbor Sam because our Leonberger Bronco had been barking. To my surprise Sam told me not to worry, let him bark he said, it scares the bad guys away, and is good for the entire neighborhood. I think the story below, which is an excerpt from my book might explain his thinking.
Our Leonberger dog Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle when he was young. He is giving me a hug.
A quiet and spooky evening alone
It was a quiet evening, and I was home alone. My wife, Claudia, was visiting her parents a few blocks away with Rachel, our daughter. Our son Jacob was meeting with his debate team; our other son, David, was visiting a friend.
I was making myself a ham sandwich in the kitchen when I suddenly felt a hand on my right shoulder. I startled and turned my head to face what I feared was an intruder, and there he stood on his hind legs—our Leonberger, Bronco. His big paw on my shoulder felt for a moment exactly like a human hand.
Bronco looked at me with his kind, wise eyes, then he looked at the sandwich. Then he turned his head toward me again and held my gaze. At that moment I understood what he wanted. I cut the sandwich in two and gave him his half.
The night stalker
I should explain that we had a problem with a trespasser at that time, which was the reason I was startled. This trespasser would sit outside our bedroom window at night and make threats and shout obscene comments at Claudia when I was not present. At first, though, we didn’t know where the threats and comments were coming from. I doubted Claudia’s accounts of these incidents, especially because she thought the voice might be coming from within our bedroom, perhaps via an electronic speaker. I thought she was just having nightmares.
Then one night I heard it myself—a voice screaming, “I am going to burn your house down!” Just as Claudia had said, it sounded like it came from within our bedroom, almost as if it were right next to me.
After Claudia and I went through our “Oh, so now you believe me” routine, I started looking under our bed and inside the heating and air-conditioning vents for hidden speakers and/or microphones. It was hard to believe that someone had planted these things in our bedroom, but that seemed to be the case. Then it finally dawned on me. Next to the headboard of our bed, on Claudia’s side, just inches from her pillow, is a window. At night, when the blinds are lowered and the slats are partially open, you can see in, even if we have just a few lights on in the house. But of course under these conditions, you can’t see anything that might be outside.
The nightly stalker or voyeur looking through our bedroom window. Illustration by Naomi Roseblatt.
I ran out the front door and around the back of the house, and there, right in front of our bedroom window, was one of our lawn chairs. The trespasser had climbed our fence, taken the chair, sat down in front of the window, and spied on us. Whenever I left the room, he would shout obscenities and threats at Claudia. When his face was planted in front of our window, he was just two or three feet away. This was why the voice felt so close. This had been going on for two weeks. We were happy to have finally figured it out, but we realized we had a problem.
We talked to our neighbors about the situation, and they told us that the trespasser had terrorized them as well. He had been quite busy looking through bedroom windows at night. People in the neighborhood were scared. I called the police, who told us they could do nothing unless the man was caught in the act or he committed a crime other than trespassing.
The detectives
Therefore, I decided to hire private investigators. I found them in the phone book. Phone books still existed back then.
The investigators told me that they typically spy on people suspected of cheating on their spouses, so this would be a more interesting job for them. The plan was for them to hide behind the bushes in our backyard and in a dark car parked on our street. When the man appeared, they would record him on video. They had a lot of fancy equipment and instruments, including big microphones, cameras, and metal detectors. They reminded us of Ghostbusters with all their technology and enthusiasm. They clearly loved their job. Unfortunately, though, the trespasser didn’t show up, so after a couple of days I decided to let the investigators go.
However, I soon figured out who the trespasser was. I started paying attention to what was going on in the neighborhood, and one evening, I noticed a strange-looking but relatively young man, apparently homeless, who seemed to be stealthily roaming our neighborhood. I did not confront him, because I had no proof.
Bronco saves the neighborhood.
But a few days later, I heard shuffling noises outside our bedroom window. The trespasser was finally back. This time I sent Bronco out to chase him, and he did. Like the detectives, Bronco was enthusiastic but didn’t catch him. Still, he chased the man off. Having a big bearlike dog rushing toward you at night is probably a bit unnerving, even if the dog just wants to lick you. We never experienced or heard about the problem after this event, so Bronco may have helped the entire neighborhood.
Bronco chasing off the intruder who would not return. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
A couple of weeks later, while walking Bronco on a neighboring block, I saw the homeless man across the street, at a bit of a distance. He stared at us in fright. Bronco just calmly looked at him without barking. The man was clearly terrified of Bronco, and he ran away. But despite the nightmare the homeless man had inflicted on us, I felt sorry for him. My guess is that he was suffering from mental illness and that he had had a very tough and lonely life.
This is another post featuring 25 photos. This time it is photos of Leonbergers in the company of other dogs. Most of the photos are of our late Leonberger Bronco and the dogs he grew up with (our Labrador Baylor, German Shepherd Baby, Japanese Chin Ryu, Pug Daisy, and mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo). However, I have also included photos of other Leonbergers. A few photos from friends and two stock photos. I hope you will like them.
Baby (German Shepherd) is playing with our four months old Leonberger Bronco.Our Leonberger Bronco at the dog park at five/six months old. He is wearing a bandage on his knee because he got a condition from growing too fast. The two ladies are the owners of the little dog.Our five/six months old Leonberger is sniffing a dog at the dog park.Our not yet one year old Leonberger Bronco at the dog park. Bronco has not yet finished growing, he has not yet filled out and he is gangly. Not quite the Leonberger look yet. Our beige-brown Labrador Baylor can be seen in the background.Again our not yet one year old Leonberger Bronco at the dog park. Baylor in the background.Our not yet one year old Leonberger Bronco at the dog park with our German Shepherd Baby.Our Labrador Baylor behind our Leonberger Bronco at a dog park.Our old Labrador Baylor running behind our Japanese Chin Ryu at a dog park. Bronco is not in this photo, but he was there.Bronco our Leonberger once sniffed out an oncoming insulin shock in Baylor and alerted us. Bronco was a hero.Once when Bronco was not so well behaved. He pushed our German Shepherd into a storm drain and I had to get her out while holding onto an agitated Bronco. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Ten Leonberger puppies. My guess is that they are about two months old. Shutterstock-ID:561107710 by Akbudak Rimma.A Leonberger and a Pug running through the snow. Shutterstock-ID:1659034960 AnetaZabranska.Digory and Obi, two Leonbergers. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.Digory and Obi, two Leonbergers. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.Six Leonbergers from left to right: Caspian (Obi’s nephew), Austin (Obi’s son), Delfi, Obi, Digory, and Rilian (Obi’s son). Photo by Velvy TheLion.Our Leonberger Bronco with our Japanese Chin Ryu and our pug Daisy.Our Leonberger Bronco stole and smashed a gingerbread house. He shared some with his little pug sister Daisy.Our Leonberger Bronco with our Japanese Chin Ryu and our pug Daisy.Our Leonberger Bronco with our Japanese Chin Ryu and our pug Daisy.Our pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo in the little bed and Bronco our Leonberger is lying on the floor.Our pug Daisy and our Leonberger Bronco is sharing the big red leather sofa, but Daisy decided Bronco took up too much room.Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo.Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.Our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo is playing with Bronco’s tail. Bronco did not like it but tolerated it. Well, when Rollo was swinging in the tail it was a bit much.One day Bronco left us, leaving Rollo and Daisy behind. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Leonberger Life 