Leonberg dog

Standard CI N: 145

Name : Leonberg Lion Dog, Essig's Dog

Origin : Germany

Group 2 :
Pinsher and Schnauzer type - Molossoid breed.
Swiss mountain and cattle dog.

elevage leonberg Saone et Loire
 

History

About 170 years ago, H Essig, a mayor of the German city of Leonberg near Stuttgart, crossbreeded a black and white Landseer-Newfoundland bitch and Barry, a St Bernard male from St Bernard hospice.
After several generations, he added a Great Pyrenees to the mix. He came up with large dogs with predominantly long, white coats.
Essig wanted to create a dog with leonine appearance as a tribute to his city and its heraldic emblem.
In 1846, the perfect puppies were born. They (en français ilS) combine the best qualities of the breeds from which they stemmed.
Soon after, a great numbers of the dogs were exported worldwide.

By the end of the 19th century, in Bade-Würtemberg, the Leonberg dog was generally employed as a farm dog thanks to its qualities as a guard and draught dog.
The World War I, the World War II and the harsh post-war conditions almost exterminated the breed.
Nowadays, the Leonberg dog is an excellent family dog.

General aspect

The Leonberger is a large, strong, muscular yet elegant dog. He is distinguished by his balanced build and confident calmness, yet with quite lively temperament.
Males, in particular, are powerful and strong.

Imposing proportions

The ration between length of body and height at the withers should be 9 to 10.
The length of the chest corresponds to 50% of the height at the withers.

Behavior and temperament

As a family dog, he is a pleasant companion well adapted to our current way of living. He is gentle with strangers and he loves children. He is never fearful or aggressive.
As a pet, he's a pleasant companion, docile and calm in any situation.
The Leonberg dog is very well-balanced: he's serious-minded and secure, he's got willingness to learn and a good memory, he is playful and noise does not disturb him.

Head and skull

  • Head: fairly narrow, longer than wide.
  • Proportion between the lengths of the bridge and the skull: 1/1.
  • Skin: close fitting to body, no wrinkles on the forehead.
  • Skull: moderately domed, powerful (to respect the proportions of his body and limbs) but not heavy.
  • Stop: marked but not too accentuated.

Facial region

  • Muzzle: rather long, never pointed. Nose bridge: constant width, never concave but slightly aquiline.
  • Nose: always black.
  • Lips: black and tight with no open corners.
  • Jaws and teeth: strong and complete scissors bite i.e. upper incisors closely overlapping the lower incisors. The axis of the tooth is parallel to the jaw. Teeth formula: 42 healthy teeth. Absence of M3 and pincer bite is tolerated.
  • Mandible does not narrow at canine level.
  • Cheeks: cheekbones not too strong.
  • Eyes: light to as dark as possible brown color, medium size, oval and neither to deep nor protruding. Lids fitting close to eyeballs, without visible haw. The conjunctiva of the eyeball is white.
  • Ears: medium-sized drop ears set on high but not too far back, well feathered and falling flat against the head.

Neck

Slightly curve and getting harmoniously toward the chest. Moderately long without dewlap.

Body

  • General: belly line slightly tucked up.
  • Withers: marked, especially in males.
  • Back: straight, strong, broad.
  • Loins: broad, powerful, well muscular.
  • Croup: broad and rather long with moderate slope that continues into the line of the tail.
  • Chest: broad, deep, reaching at least the elbows, more oval than barrel-shaped.

Tail

Very well furnished, it should be carried at half mast; and never too high or curled over the back while dog's moving.

Forequarters

  • General: legs straight, parallel and not too closed.
  • Elbows: close fitting
  • Shoulders: long, sloping, slightly angulated (obtuse angle) and well muscled.
  • Feet: strong, straight when viewed from the front and almost vertical when viewed from profile.

Hindquarters

  • General: legs are parallel and not too tight when viewed from rear.
  • Thighs: rather long, sloping and well muscled.
  • Upper thigh and lower thigh should form a fixed angle.
  • Hock: solid, angle marked between the leg and the metatarsal.
  • Hocks and feet must not turn in or out.
  • Dewclaws have to be removed.

Gait/movement

  • Long step and regular movement at every gait.
  • Solid forequarters with strong thrust from the hindquarters.
  • Viewed from the front and rear, limbs move straight while trotting or walking.

Coat

  • Color: lion-colored (golden yellow), red to red-brown or even sable (pale yellow, cream color) and all the range of tints between these colors. Black mask. Black tips of the hair are allowed but black color must not predominate.

The coat on the underside of the tail, the mane, the trousers of both fore- and hind legs and the culottes may be lighter but should blend with the main color.
A small white patch or a small and narrow white line on the chest as well as white hair between toes is accepted.

Hair

Medium-soft to coarse texture. It must be long and lying close without parting. Despite a good undercoat, it follows the outline of the body. It should be straight, although light waviness is allowed.
Male have a beautiful mane on breast and neck, thick fringe on forelegs and well feathered culottes on hindquarters.

Height and weight

Height at withers Male: 72 to 80cm (preferred: 76cm) Bitch: 65 to 75cm (preferred: 70cm)

Fault

Any divergence from the foregoing points should be considered as a fault and it will be regarded according to its seriousness and consequences on the dog's health and well-being.
Serious anatomical faults: marked cow hock, too arched back (i.e. carp back) as well as too concave back (hollow-backed).
Fore feet strongly turned out. Shoulder, elbow and hock angles too closed.
Brown nose, lack of lips pigmentation, absence of teeth (except M3), upper or lower prognathism, uncorrect bite, any eye color except brown tints, entropion, ectropion, tail curled over the back or carried too high, brown pads, curly hair, inappropriate color: brown with brown nose and pads, black and fire, silver sand (very pale grey-silver tint), stag color, lack of black mask, excess white (white hair on toes extending up to the carpe or tarsus, white mark on the chest bigger than a hand, white spotted on other body parts)and aggressive or fearful dogs.