Leonberger Facts You Should Know (with Pictures).

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Leonberger Breed Overview

The Leonberger is a giant-sized dog.

The adult Leonberger stands 25 to 31 inches tall at the shoulder.

The Leonberger belongs to the Working Dogs group.

Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Leonberger, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.

Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.

Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.

The fact that Leonbergers belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Leonbergers have the personality and temperament that they have.

The temperament of the Leonberger is generally described as:

  • Adaptable
  • Companionable
  • Fearless
  • Loving
  • Loyal
  • Obedient

History of the Leonberger Breed. Where Leonbergers came from

Heinrich Essig, a German, developed the Leonberger breed in the mid-nineteenth century.

Essig was both a businessman and a politician in the southern German town of Leonberg.

Despite his sloppy record keeping, he claimed that the Pyrenean Mountain Dog, Long-haired St.

Bernard, and Newfoundland were his favorites.

After Essig`s death in 1889, his nephew took over the breeding and developed the tawny coat color and black mask that most Leonbergers wear today.

This gave them a lion-like appearance, connecting them to Leonberg`s town crest, a lion rearing up on its hind legs.

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What the Leonberger Looks Like

The Leonberger is a large, well-muscled animal with strong bones that can weigh more than a hundred pounds.

They have powerfully built straight legs that end in rounded, tight feet with arched toes.

The animal`s head is deep rather than broad and somewhat rectangular; the male`s head should be clearly strong and masculine, whereas the female`s profile is more feminine.

Dark brown eyes are the most common, though light brown is seen on occasion, and the facial expression should be soft, good-natured, and intelligent.

The ears are medium-sized triangular ears that hang flat and close to the head, and the tail hangs straight down and reaches all the way to the hock when relaxed.

Their undercoat is soft and dense.

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How Much is the Leonberger Puppy?

How Much Leonbergers Cost

The average price of a Leonberger puppy is $300. The price of a Leonberger puppy ranges from $300 to $300.

A lot of factors determine the price of the Leonberger. These factors include what health records the Leonberger puppy has, the lineage of the Leonberger puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.

To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Leonberger based on the many factors that determine the price of the Leonberger puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Leonberger puppy based on what you want in the puppy.

When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Leonberger breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.

You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.

Best Leonberger Breeders

Leonberger Breeders in the United States

We have researched reputable Leonberger breeders that you can buy a puppy.

Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Leonberger breeders in various states in the United States.

On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.

A few of these breeders are listed below.

  1. Yvain Leonbergers

    Puppy Price: $3500.00

  2. Janice Weaver / JDLeos

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  3. Forrister Family Leonbergers

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  4. NEWCASTLE

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  5. Mary Schaller/ Conquest Kennel

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

Adopting or Rescuing the Leonberger

You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Leonbergers included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.

These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.

In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.

Below is an adorable Male Leonberger named Nemo that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Leonbergers like Nemo on pefinder.com.

Leonbergers like Nemo are available for Adoption! It is cheaper to adopt. Image from petfinder.com

You can find more Leonbergers that are available for adoption on petfinder.

Leonberger Growth

Leonberger Growth

New Leonberger owners need to know about the growth of their Leonbergers. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.

Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Leonberger will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Leonberger early.

See our calculator for predicting how big your Leonberger puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Leonberger at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Leonberger

Leonberger

What Colors do Leonbergers Have?

Leonbergers come in the following beautiful primary colors:

  • Red / Chestnut / Orange
  • Brown / Chocolate
  • Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
  • Bicolor

Leonbergers come in the following lovely secondary colors in addition to their primary colors:

  • Brown / Chocolate
  • Black
Leonberger
Leonberger
Leonberger

Leonberger Litter Size

Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 46 different Leonberger birth litters.

From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Leonbergers can have is 8 puppies. Also, the Leonberger can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 15 puppies per litter.

The number of puppies that the Leonberger will have depends on factors such as the age of the Leonberger, the method of pregnancy, etc.

Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Leonberger will have and how the litter size of the Leonberger compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.

How Fast Leonbergers Can Run

How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.

Based on our analysis of the speeds of 41 different Leonbergers, the average speed of the Leonberger is 20.0 mph (32.3 kmph).

The fastest speed on AKC record that the Leonberger ran in a race is 26.06 mph (41.9 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Leonberger is 10.19 mph (16.4 kmph).

Click here to see how the speed of the Leonberger compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.

How fast Leonberger can run compared to other mammals

Good Names for Leonbergers

Here are some really good names that are typical for the Leonberger ranked by popularity:

  • Yoshi
  • Dale
  • Nemo
  • Gizmo
  • Griffin
  • Leon
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Leonberger

How Popular are Leonbergers with New Dog Owners?

Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.

The graph below shows the popularity trend of the Leonberger.

The popularity of the Leonberger averaged over the years is Number 97 out of about 200 dog breeds.

Popularity of Leonberger

Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.

Leonberger

Health Problems in Leonbergers and How to Prevent Them

Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.

The Leonberger is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.

From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.

Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.

If you want a Leonberger puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Leonberger breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.

The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Leonbergers for:

  1. Autoimmune thyroiditis
  2. Cardiac Evaluation
  3. CGC
  4. DNA Repository
  5. Elbow Dysplasia
  6. Eye Examination
  7. Hip Dysplasia
  8. Leonberger Polyneuropathy (LPN1)
  9. Leonberger Polyneuropathy 2
  10. Leukoencephalomyelopathy (LEMP)

You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Leonbergers here.

Leonberger

How to Take Care of Leonberger

How to feed your Leonberger.

To take good care of your Leonberger, you need to make sure that you groom your Leonberger regularly.

Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Leonberger regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Leonberger`s preventative care.

Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Leonberger daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Leonberger.

Also, you need to feed your Leonberger high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Leonberger from getting overweight or underweight.

See our recommendations on what to feed the Leonberger and how much food to feed the Leonberger at different life stages.

Finally, you need to make sure that your Leonberger has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Leonberger needs to drink at different ages.

How much water your Leonberger needs.

Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Leonbergers

If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Leonberger.

We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Leonberger:

Leonberger

Other Things to Know About Leonbergers

Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Leonberger that you need to know about the Leonberger breed:

  • Leonbergers do not adapt well to apartment living.
  • Leonbergers are not the best dogs for new dog owners.
  • Leonbergers cannot tolerate hot weather. They are not suited for hot environments.
  • Leonbergers have the tendency to develop certain health problems.
  • Leonbergers do not like to be left alone.
  • Leonbergers are not very friendly towards strangers.
  • Leonbergers are not easy to train.
  • Leonbergers do not have the potential to wander after things that capture their attention. They tend to stay around where you leave them.
  • Leonbergers are easily disturbed by noise in their environments. They are sensitive to human tone. They will understand the tone of your voice when you try to correct their behaviors with a firm tone.
  • Leonbergers get along well with kids. They are kid-friendly.
  • Leonbergers are very easy to groom.
  • Leonbergers gain weight easily. You need to pay careful attention to what you feed them.
  • Leonbergers are prone to nip and chew at things.
  • Leonbergers have a high prey drive. They do not get along well with other pets.
  • Leonbergers have very high energy levels. They need a lot of exercise time to release their high energy.
  • Leonbergers do things with high intensity. They can be very forceful.
  • Leonbergers require a lot of exercise. They are good for owners who like to exercise.
  • Leonbergers are very playful.
  • Leonbergers can tolerate cold weather.
  • Leonbergers are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.
  • Leonbergers shed. They are not recommended for people with dog allergies.
  • Leonbergers weigh 120 to 170 pounds when fully grown.
  • Leonbergers are 25 to 31 inches tall at the shoulder when fully grown.
  • Leonbergers have a lifespan of 10 to 12 years.