Leonbergers

Not really, but we did stumble into the annual leonberger picnic one year.  We kept seeing signs for the 'Leo Picnic' and we couldn't figure out for the life of us what it meant.  There were 25 of them in one park along with a few newfs and a pyr.  We met some of the owners and got to play with some of the dogs for a few hours.  There was a 5-6 month old puppy that was just HUGE.  All the dogs were very well behaved and very friendly.  Just lovable big balls of fur really.  []
 
I absolutely adore them now. 

Leo Picnic, wow. I'd be thinking, astrological sign - but odd that a bunch of Leos would want to get together . . .the thinking is that you don't necessarily socialize with those who actually share your sign. Not that I'd really know and I'm probably confused with Asian astrology with which I'm more familiar (just from reading).

Uh, anyway, that's the sort of thing I was looking for, actually - people who'd met these dogs and what they thought. I understand from my reading that it's super important to socialize early on - could explain the general impression of being well-behaved.

The dog show I went to not too long ago, I met FIVE of those huge beasts (the biggest being 185 lbs, but he was quite the giant and I believe currently the largest in the country actually).  I talked with their owners and breeders for a bit and early socialization was stressed very very very much.  All FIVE were absolutely well behaved and loved people...expecially one of the youngest who would do anything for a butt rub lol.  For not dog saavy people they didn't recommend them (since they are just huge and really need to be taught manners).  But otherwise they said they make great family dogs. 

They were originally bred for companionship, and they do have a lot of energy to burn.

ETA (because I hit ok too soon!)  My impression of them was really high.  The pup was being a little unrurly but heck he was just a youngin and was brought to the show for socialization (he just wanted to play lol) and the owners were doing a good job of working with him and having him settle down.  The older ones were fabulous.  Well trained and incrediably gentle.  The biggest male had a soft spot for children.  He would lie down in front of them to not be so imposing and ask for belly rubs and gently give them kisses.  It was such an adorable site!  They were starting to blow coat when I met them and grooming was an issue really only during those times. 

Becca,
 
I've met 3 of these dogs.  They were all very well behaved and very social with both people and other dogs.  All 3 were owned by a couple, one being a rescue.  My first impression of them was that they are HUGE!  Not really tall but very long in body. 
 
I spoke with the owners at length, since they were regulars at the DP I used to frequent.  They are good with children, if socialized.  To me it seemed like they had a very calm temperment-easy going, almost Golden Retriever like but less excitable. 
 
The owners told me that they regularly have Leonberger get-togethers.  Even having 20+ Leos in the yard there was never a squabble.

I Met a couple at dog camp.  One was very well socialized.  The owner is involved lots of dog related events and goes to dog camp (90+ dogs) twice a year.  What a big charmer!

The other was a bit shy.  She was newly adopted and needed to get use to everything. 

I didn't see any sign of aggression.  Nothing raised any red flags for me.  Her big fella is like something you would see in a Disney movie.  Just a big smiling lover!

Years ago, I knew a horse trainer who had one.  The dog was her constant companion and very well mannered (so were her horses).  No-one had heard of Leonburgers at that time and everyone thought he was a golden retriever/St. Bernard mix. 

this breed is coming up on some big time health issues...and there is already a pretty big divide because of it and AKC registration both. The gene pool was shrunk again because of that divide and that will make the health issues worse...really REALLY watch who you get one from. I was on a Leo list for a bit and there was a LOT of fingerpointing going on and denials...didn't give me a warm fuzzy or a feeling of cohension amongst breeders...and the health issues are pretty severe and life shortening and expensive.
 
The health thing prevented me from getting one....coming from Akitas I am gun shy on that.

I met one about a year and a half ago where I buy pet food.  I swear, he was one of the sweetest dogs I'd ever met.  His personality reminded me a lot of a Golden- just a big mush.

ORIGINAL: brookcove

Leo Picnic, wow. I'd be thinking, astrological sign - but odd that a bunch of Leos would want to get together . . .the thinking is that you don't necessarily socialize with those who actually share your sign. Not that I'd really know and I'm probably confused with Asian astrology with which I'm more familiar (just from reading).

 
We actually thought it was a family reunion or a business picnic or something.  We kept speculating what it could be until we got there and saw all the dogs.  It was really fun though!  I'd never seen leos before.
 
Anyways, proceed with your discussing. 

I've had them in my classes.  Haven't met one yet that I didn't like. []

There is a woman up the road from me that breeds them, fantastic dogs but she has stated there can be health issues within the breed hers seem fine *touch wood* but I also believe that is a risk you take buying "big" breeds as they always seem to have problems as well as shorter life spans than our small friends as well as mutts. But if you find the right breeder and they are honest people that have breed good dogs you should be fine. They are loveable big suckers and great with my dog who is VERY high energy they always play nice

I was considering offering a home to a rescue eventually, as our setup here is simply perfect and of course I've got lots of experience rehabbing rescues. Of course, that's a risk with the health problems in the breed but that's going to be problematic with almost any domesticized giant breed (to distinguish from the less "improved" giants in the guarding world that don't fit in as housepets quite as well).

Well, it just worked out for us to adopt a big loveable lug of a hearing impaired Border Collie and Patrick has claimed him all for his own, so this may be revisited WAY down the road. Thanks for all the info!

Stumbled across Leonbergers in the big loveable family dogs post and did a search here to find more info - they're gorgeous. 
 
So, that said, as much as I love my rotties, I love all dogs and these really have me interested now.  I had an english mastiff before the rotties, so while they are big, they just seem normal size to me.  Odd how your perception changes based on what you are used to!  The mastiff - people used to gawk at her and comment on how big she was.  That's the only time I'd look at her and think 'oh, yeh, I guess she is bigger than most dogs, huh'. 
 
Anyway, does anyone have a link or anything to more info on them?  Are they an accepted breed by AKC?  I'll go check there next I guess. 
 
Leaving work now and wont be back till Sunday.  No computer time at home - hubby gets jealous.  [8|]  But I'll check back on Sunday.  I'm kinda excited!!

Never mind.  Quick little search and I answered my own question.  For anyone else interested, I found this:
 
[linkhttp://www.leonbergerclubofamerica.com/default.aspx]http://www.leonbergerclubofamerica.com/default.aspx[/link]
 
and this for their health issues:
 
[linkhttp://www.leowatch.org/]http://www.leowatch.org/[/link]
 
Now I'm gonna go print every page of both sites and take them home to study!!

I've been looking into this breed for a while in my search for a decent-sized dog compatible with house rabbits. It's not a common breed in Australia, but the Leo community is a really lovely one. They keep in contact with one another and regularly meet up. I was invited to a Leo beach party to celebrate some interstate Leos being in town. There were about a dozen Leos at the beach. My impression was that they adore other dogs. They just wanted to be friends with every dog they met. I saw a lot of pups and small dogs cowering on the ground when 3 giant Leos bounded up to them to make friends. The Leos generally got their way and romped with every dog they met. I was told they're not very interested in social hierarchies and if a dog gets growly with them, they're far more likely to walk off and find someone nicer to play with than get growly back. That seemed to hold, as the only sign of aggression I saw was when a 9 month old male got a little bit over-excited around an adult female and tried to mount her. She told him off and all the Leos came rushing over to see what was going on, but by the time they got there the boy had submissively backed off and the female had turned her back on him. That was the end of it.

I think I learnt more about them from watching the owners than the dogs. It was interesting how the owners paid very little attention to where their dogs were and what they were doing, seemingly taking it for granted that they would be nearby staying out of trouble. I know when my dog is offlead I'm very aware of where she is and what she's doing, especially when there are a lot of other dogs around. She's quite reliable offlead and good with other dogs, but I still find plenty of reasons to be accutely aware of her. I guess with the size and temperament of Leos, they never get into trouble with other dogs, and they rarely wander far from their owners. They have no real prey drive and no interest in rolling in dead birds or fish on the beach. They seemed interested only in making new canine friends and lying down in the surf.

I was very taken with them and definitely want one. They don't drool like other big breeds like that, and they're a little more active. The only thing that concerns me is that they make for very big puppies. The adults were generally very aware of their size and I saw one adult female go to some effort to pull herself up while playing near me to avoid stepping on me. She shot me an apologetic look and moved away for more boisterous play. The youngsters, though, were understandably not so self-aware. They play rough and you don't want to get in their way. They're surprisingly agile given their size and I saw one 9 month old female regularly jumping over her lab friend when he got in her way rather than barelling into him or trying to move around him. I'm looking for an adult for myself, because I don't think my elderly corgi could cope with a puppy that big, and I'd be worried she'd be accidentally hurt. The breeders I spoke to agreed that a pup would probably not be suitable for a small, older dog. Unfortunately, adult Leonbergers don't often need homes over here.

As for health, I asked about that and none of the breeders over here are having any trouble. They seem to be less prone to health problems than other large breeds.

I've got some video footage of the Leo beach party knocking around somewhere if anyone is interested. My boyfriend wants a Leo, now. They're just big cuddle bugs, very confident, but also very laid back and tolerant. They sure love getting wet and dirty, though!