Leo is my first Leonberger after 21 years of owning giant breeds. My first Dog was a wonderful Newfy called Sheba from Monterosa Kennels in Diss, Norfolk, UK. Her Kennel name was Monterosa Black Lace, she was the runt of the litter and only reached 90lbs. She was pure black with a small white blaze on her chest. We had her for 13 wonderful years before moving to the USA. We couldn't take her with us as she was too old to fly and she lived her last year with some friends who had fallen in love with her and ended up with 2 Newfs of their own.
After living in Colorado (1 ski season), Florida (for a few hot months!) and then Longview and Seattle, Wa., we got another Newfy called Mogul from a breeder with a winery in Portland, the name escapes me. She was turning out really well when she crossed the Rainbow Bridge at the tender age of 15 months after being hit by a car.
A few months passed and being dogless was hard. A casual visit to the dog pound whilst killing time waiting to pick up my kids from school, introduced a very handsome Pyr into my life with eyes that begged me to take him home! He was 18 months and was in there due to numerous escape acts and walkabouts! They said neutering would cure that - NOT! He carried that on with much skill!
He moved from the flea country with us to the flea-free paradise called Tahoe.
Samson was his name and boy, did he love the snow. He would beg to go out in it every morning and would sit on the snow berms surveying his territory. He stayed with us until he was 7 and we had to return to England. Quarantine would have been too hard on him as he was a real loverboy and would have been really sad without us. We found a truly great home for him in Orinda, Ca., where he still lives. My 3 kids and I returned from England in Aug 2000 after my wife joined Sheba & Mogul across the Rainbow Bridge after battling Cancer at age 41. Hopefully they are having fun there! Before Chris died, we had looked at Leo pups in Stratford upon Avon, England but the time wasn't right.
Hiking in Tahoe is made for people with dogs, and it was not long before the urge returned to look for a dog again. My new wife, Clare, another animal lover who had worked at the SPCA for a while, agreed after we had been on a hike and met with a lovely Berner. I considered a Berner when I started searching the net for puppies. Clare had wanted to go to the pound to rescue a mutt, but after finding some Leo websites and recounting the stories of Sheba, Mogul and Samson, I convinced her that a giant should be part of our lives.
I visited a 4 year old Newfy in Oregon who was a sweetheart, huge at 180lbs, but after needing a change of clothes and a full wash after an hour visit, decided that dry mouth was what I really wanted. Back to the Leonberger. I had visited Crufts dog show in England and met with many beautiful Leos who were all so laid back, a trait I so enjoy in giants, so I knew their temperament would suit us. So the search began!
After almost 50 emails to different people throughout the USA, I found some puppies, born in March 2001 at Leos Arch Kennels
I emailed and called and found they also had a 14 month old, big male called Sunny. Puppies are so great to have and watch grow but are a lot of hard work and demand many hours of dedication in the first year, which as I work in a seasonal environment, wouldn't work out for me so well.
After talking with Dave Archibald and his son Tyler at Leo's Arch Kennels, I decided that Sunny would be a great addition to our family. The only problem was I couldn't deal with his name! His Father's call name is Leo, so I figured that was a name he would be familiar with and so Leo jnr it would be.
We drove to Longview, WA and Dave drove down from Quesnel, British Columbia with Leo jnr. We met and that was it. Love at first sight. He was the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. He had the most enormous feet and Dave had kept him from his first litter to show and breed from. Dave's circumstances changed and that was why he became available.
Dave was paid and went on his way after a few hours of getting to know Leo jnr. We then took him for a walk and then returned to our friends house. I opened the tailgate of the van when Leo burst out and ran off into the woods and across some fields out of site. PANIC! Luckily the grass was so long I could follow a trail and found him eventually by a fence lying down panting. I had to coax him to his feet and he then walked beside me back to the house. I returned with bramble scratches all over my legs but very much relieved that I had found him. I started to wonder if I had done the right thing after having Samson with his habit of running off!
We drove back to Tahoe the next day and Leo jnr was very subdued. He was visibly depressed, wouldn't eat and just lay around. This carried on for about a week until he started to wag his tail when I returned from work and began to be a little more animated.
I showered him with attention whenever I could as did the kids. Clare, initially a little apprehensive of living with such a large dog, immediately fell in love with him and we soon realized that Leo would become a very big and important part of our lives.
In the last 6 weeks we have seen such a dramatic change in his personality. He gets very excited whenever he sees us after being away from us, even if I just let him in from the back yard for a ten minute pee break! He is eating much better, although a little sour cream, pedigree choice cuts in sauce or spaghetti is stirred into make it more palatable! His main food is Eukenuba Giant Breed mix.
I started training classes with him and he was responding well to hand signals after 2 sessions. He is very intelligent and turning out to be a real softy! He is now 'pawing' for attention and if I lie down on the carpet, will immediately come and lie next to me a proceed to wash my face!
We walk every morning and evening in a picturesque meadow behind our house and he walks well off leash. He is meeting loads of new dog friends as well as some not so friendly, which if they go for him he just shrugs off with no aggression whatsoever.
Our 16 week old kitten (attack cat) Nikki is the love of his life ( which is a mutual thing) and I have never seen such patience in a dog. Nikki is constantly attacking his tail, feet and nose!!!
His front claws wrapped round Leo's nose and both back legs pumping against his nose gets no reaction apart from a head turn. They only thing that stirs Leo to move and whimper is the old cat torture of hanging from his jowles by his teeth! But still no reaction! The occasional paw on the cat tells Nikki when enough is enough. When Leo has been eating, Nikki will push up his jowles and lick the excess food from Leo's teeth! They can always be found either chasing each other or sleeping together. With Nikki as his personal hygienist and toothbrush, hopefully doggie breath can be staved off for a while!
Please surf the site and come back and visit as more photos will be added as Leo and Nikki grow.
LIFE WITH ANIMALS SURE IS GREAT ISN'T IT!!!
Please sign the guest book and feel free to email me photos of your 'Giant'
UPDATE
Unfortunately, Nikki became a toothbrush for the local Coyote pack in 2004 when we moved house.
Leo became a reluctant showdog and Won BEST OPPOSITE on day 1 and BEST OF SHOW on Day 2 at the NCLC Regional Specialty in Colusa in the fall of 2005. He was judged Excellent on both days and also at the LCA Nationals where he came 3rd in Foreign Bred. Had he kept his tail down many think he could have got Best of Show there too!
Leo is at this moment waiting to become a Dad with Shelli Klotz's PONI who can be seen at www.pacificleos.com and pups are due Late April 2006.
