Tag: Leonberger behavior

Fort Leonberg Designing Your Home To Make Your Leonberger Happy

Meme photo of Jackson Galaxy Cat Behavior Consultant. The meme states "When you get stranded on Earth without your photon weapons so you just have to come up with a job & survive"
Jackson Galaxy the world’s foremost Cat Behavior Consultant

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.

Me, Thomas Wikman, in a St. Patricks' Day Card with a green beer

Are Leonbergers like bears, lions or wolves? Ask the Boy Who Cried Wolf!

Canis Lupus left, Canis Lupus Familiaris right, the Leonberger kind. Both are very brave. Canis Lupus is brave hunter. This specimen of Canis Lupus Familiaris is a brave protector.
Leonbergers are big dogs and little boys may think they are wolves, but Leonbergers are very friendly.
Canis Lupus left, Canis Lupus Familiaris right, the mini-Australian Shepherd kind. Canis Lupus is brave hunter. However, this specimen of Canis Lupus Familiaris is not so brave and wants to sit in a stroller if he hears scary sounds like quacking ducks.
Mini Australian Shepherds like our dog Rollo may look like wolves but are rarely mistaken for wolves. A quacking duck can be very scary to little mini–Australian Shepherds.

Bronco was a big dog. Once when I was walking Bronco around the neighborhood, a neighbor who always let his black Labs run loose saw us. He shouted to his wife, “Honey, get the dogs inside! Someone is walking a bear out here.” I guess letting your large dogs run loose isn’t a problem until someone walks a dog much bigger than yours.

On a number of occasions, we’ve met people who said to us that Bronco is the biggest dog they’ve ever seen. However, there are bigger dogs. We’ve met bigger English bullmastiffs and bigger Great Danes.

One day I took Bronco into PetSmart, and after I did my shopping, he and I were standing in the checkout line. Bronco was very quiet and well behaved, but a boy ahead of us in line became quite alarmed when he saw us. He shouted, “Look! A wolf, a wolf, a wolf!” He pointed his finger at Bronco. His mom tried to calm the boy, but he would not stop shouting. He didn’t seem to be afraid of Bronco, but he was really concerned that there was a big wolf in the pet store. I tried to explain to the boy that Bronco was not a wolf. He was just a big dog.