Tag: Leonberger database

Name Change Successful In the Amazing Leonberger Database

There is a World Wide Independent Leonberger Database (WILD) which features more than 166,000 Leonbergers. That is a lot considering that there are 30,000 Leonbergers in the world and if you go back in time there were many fewer. In fact, genetic research has shown that there are only 22 founder animals (the ancestors of all living Leonbergers) who lived soon after the Second World War. By selecting the search item from the menu and then typing in the name of your Leonberger you can most likely find your dog in the database. If your Leonberger’s entry does not have a photo you can email them a photo, which I did.

Home page for Cthe World Wide Independent Leonberger Database (WILD). It's blue with 12 menus. It is in three languages, Dutch, French and English.
Click on the image to visit the World Wide Independent Leonberger Database (WILD).

Another update I requested and had approved was an update to Bronco’s name. We wanted to name our Leonberger Bronco. It was our son’s choice. However, the Leonberger community and breeders have rules about how to name your dog. My wife Claudia was told that Bronco would not work because the litter Bronco was part of needed to have names beginning with an ‘L’. You can see the full sibling screenshot below. So, Claudia said “Let’s do Le Bronco”. Imagine our surprise when his birth certificate stated that his name was “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Well, “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” begins with an ‘L’. His birth certificate name including the unexpected preamble “Lets Do” made its way into the database. Fortunately, the World Wide Independent Leonberger Database recently updated his full name to “Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” upon my request.

The is the old data base entry for Bronco has his name miss spelled as "Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle"
This is the old data base entry for Bronco. Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.
This is a screenshot for the corrected data base entry for Bronco. The nameis correct "Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". There is also registration number, birthdate, birthplace, and health related information.
This is the corrected data base entry for Bronco. Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Click on the picture to visit Bronco’s database entry.

I should explain that the database entries feature not only name, birthdate and birthplace, kennel, etc. It also contains health related information including important tests, genetic defects and inbreeding coefficients (COI). Note that Bronco lived in Dallas, Texas, but he was born at Kennel Löwenhöhle outside Vancouver, Canada.

Right below Bronco's entry is his father and mother's name and a list of his full siblings (litter). Sire: Priamos von Dreiburgenland Dam: Justus Aria von Drevas Full siblings: Little Jonah von der Löwenhöhle, Love Ryan von der Löwenhöhle, LRV's Moose von der Löwenhöhle, Lakeisha Makita von der Löwenhöhle. Note, the database uses von der Lowenhohle instead of von der Löwenhöhle.
Bronco’s four full siblings (same litter). You don’t call it twins for dogs but that’s what they were. Notice that all their names start with an ‘L’.
The database entry for Bronco’s father Priamos von Dreiburgenland includes a photo. He had 54 offspring.
The database entry for Bronco’s father.
The database entry for Bronco’s mother Justus Aria von Drevas includes a photo. She had 35 pups.
The database entry for Bronco’s mother.
The database entry for Bronco’s grandfather Aquino-Zep Lowe von Vogtland included a photo. He had 201 offspring.
The database entry for Bronco’s grandfather. Notice that he had 201 offspring. This was a kennel in Germany.

I followed Bronco’s ancestors back on his father’s side 22 generations. The last one with a photo was 17 generations back, born in 1922. However, ancestry is not a straight line along the father’s and the grandfather’s line. It is an ever-growing ancestry tree involving 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, etc., ancestors, so Bronco has many ancestors with photos.

The entry for Bronco's great grandfather 17 generations back included a photo. He had 44 offspring and he was born in 1922.
This is Bronco’s great great great father etc., 17 generations back. Leo von der Sagamuhle. He was born February 20th 1922.
There is a big Leonberger in the middle of the photo and behind is his handler a man with a moustache and a hat.
Close up of Leo von der Sagamuhle, Bronco’s straight back ancestor on his father’s side, 17 generations (great great …. grandfather).
A screenshot of a database entry with a photo of a female Leonberger.
Alma von der Niederhaid, a female ancestor on Bronco’s mother’s side from 1957.
A screenshot of a database entry with a photo of a male Leonberger anno 1927.
Leo von Hailtingen born in 1927, another of Bronco’s ancestors.
A screenshot of a database entry with a photo of a male Leonberger anno 1904.
Pasha von der Haardt born 1904, the farthest back Bronco ancestor I found that had a photo.

What about you? Do you know your dog’s or cat’s ancestry tree? How about photos, illnesses, and inbreeding coefficients? How about your own lineage?

Bronco And the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database

One amazing aspect of owning a Leonberger is that there is a database where you can lookup information on your Leonberger including his siblings and ancestry. It is called the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database. It currently contains 166,000 entries that lived as far back as the 19th century. Considering there are around 30,000 Leonbergers in the world, that’s impressive.

Screenshot of the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database.
Click on the image to go to the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database.

The database is updated weekly and free to use. It serves mostly as a tool for breeders and researchers, but it is quite interesting for anyone to browse. It was established in 2005 as a nonprofit organization and is managed and owned by Wilma and Ben Kroon, breeders who live in the Netherlands. Like any database, it is fully searchable. Search criteria include the name (or portion of a name), registration number, date of birth, and chip number. You can search in English, German, and French. The website also features informative articles about the data that’s collected. Note that some of Bronco’s information is missing because he was not used for breeding.

Screenshot of the search feature of the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database.
Click on the image to go to the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database.

For each Leonberger, the database contains the following information.

  • Full name
  • A photograph if available
  • Registration number
  • Tattoo and/or microchip number
  • DNA profile number
  • Date and place of birth
  • Kennel name
  • Website of breeder
  • Website of owner
  • Export registration number
  • Mean kinship (a measure of genetic diversity)
  • Indicators of hip dysplasia (abbreviated as HD) and elbow dysplasia (abbreviated as ED)
  • Eye test dates and results
  • Indicators of hypothyroidism
  • Results of DNA tests for the genes LPN1, LPN2, LPPN3, and LEMP
  • Number of offspring
  • Coefficient of inbreeding for ten generations and all generations
A screenshot of Bronco's database entry. He is named "Lets Do Le Bronco von der Lowenhohle". The "Lets Do" is not supposed to be there.
Database entry for “Lets do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. The “Lets Do” part was because someone interpreted my wife too literally. She meant it to be “Le Bronco” not “Lets Do Le Bronco”. Click on the image to go to Bronco’s entry.

About “Lets do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” that’s not his real name. His real name is “Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. What happened was that we named him “Bronco” and we were told that his name had to start with an ‘L’. So, my wife Claudia said, “Let’s do Le Bronco” intending his name to be “Le Bronco”. When we received his certificate, it said “Lets do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”, which also starts with an ‘L’ but not what we intended. I got this fixed in the database as you can see below. However, for whatever reason the “Lets Do” crept back in again.

Screenshot of the database entry after I got it corrected. Now the “Lets Do” is back again.
Database entry after I got it corrected. Now the “Lets Do” is back again.

I am going to contact the database administrators to take the “Lets Do” back out. Do you think I will be able to succeed?

With the help of the database, I was able to trace Bronco’s lineage all the way back to 1901, and I found photographs of and other information about several of his ancestors as far back as 1904. However, below  I am including screenshots showing the names of his immediate siblings (twins), his mother and father and a direct ancestor (grand-pa’s grand-pa etc.) 15 generations back.

Screenshot of Bronco's database entry including a list of his siblings.
Bronco’s four twin-siblings, the name of his mother and father.
Screenshot of Bronco's mother's database entry
Information on Bronco’s mother
Screenshot of Bronco’s father dataentry
Information on Bronco’s father
Screenshot of Bronco's father's offspring
I guess Bronco was the runt of his litter
Screenshot of the data entry of Bronco's ancestor 15 generations back.
Going back 15 generations. Bronco’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa’s father.
Old black and white photo of Bronco’s ancestor 15 generations back.
Close up of Bronco’s ancestor 15 generations back.

You can also read about the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database here.

The Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database

One amazing aspect of owning a Leonberger is that there is database where you can lookup information on your Leonberger including his siblings (and where they are) and pedigree/ancestry.

The Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database is a very large and nearly complete database that contains information about more than 160,000 Leonbergers who lived as far back as the late nineteenth century. Considering that there are thirty thousand living Leonbergers in the world, that is quite impressive. The database is updated weekly and free to use. It serves mostly as a tool for breeders and researchers, but it is quite interesting for anyone to browse. It was established in 2005 as a nonprofit organization and is managed and owned by Wilma and Ben Kroon, breeders who live in the Netherlands.

The database, which is still growing, can be found at http://www.leonberger-database.com

An excerpt from the World Wide Independent Leonberger Database. It shows the entry for our Leonberger Bronco. It contains more than 160,000 Leonbergers.
This screen shot shows the information about Bronco that appears in the WILD database above his full pedigree.

For each Leonberger, the database contains the following information.

  • Full name
  • A photograph if available
  • Registration number
  • Tattoo and/or microchip number
  • DNA profile number
  • Date and place of birth
  • Kennel name
  • Website of breeder
  • Website of owner
  • Export registration number
  • Mean kinship (a measure of genetic diversity)
  • Indicators of hip dysplasia (abbreviated as HD) and elbow dysplasia (abbreviated as ED)
  • Eye test dates and results
  • Indicators of hypothyroidism
  • Results of DNA tests for the genes LPN1, LPN2, LPPN3, and LEMP
  • Number of offspring
  • Coefficient of inbreeding for ten generations and all generations

Like any database, it is fully searchable. Search criteria include the name (or portion of a name), registration number, date of birth, and chip number. You can search in English, German, and French. The website also features informative articles about the data that’s collected. Note that some of Bronco’s information is missing because he was not used for breeding.

With the help of the database, I was able to trace Bronco’s lineage all the way back to 1901, and I found photographs of and other information about several of his ancestors as far back as 1904.

I also found out that twenty-one Leonbergers were born on the same day as Bronco, five of them in Canada. Before I searched, I didn’t know the names of Bronco’s siblings, but now I do. And I found out that thirty-one Leonbergers out of the more than 160,000 in the database had or have the name Bronco. Three of them were born in North America.