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| What Am I Looking For in My Owners? I'm looking for owners who have done some research and feel they can meet the needs of a Leonberger. Because I spend so much time, effort and money trying to create a sound, typy, healthy Leonberger, I expect the people who live with them train them to be good ambassadors of the breed and love them as part of their family. A respect for the breed and its history is important to us, and we try to maintain Leos of integrity . We strongly urge ALL of our owners to contribute to the health of the breed by doing the same health testing at 2 years of age that we, as breeders, do. Without data from owners - on pets as well as breeding dogs- breeders can't possibly know what our breeding dogs are carrying. It isn't magic. We will only sell a Leo to someone with an appropriately large fenced yard ( an acre minimum unless you have a strong daily exercise plan) where your Leo can exercise and spend time with your family. A small suburban lot is NOT a good choice for a Leo who will destroy it and become very frustrated in a matter of days. I'm looking for owners with a good track record with other dogs they have owned. Have you kept in touch with your last breeder and followed your contract? Are you able to financially handle an emergency situation? The purchase price of any dog is about 1/10 of 1% of what it will cost you over its life! Owning a dog is a large financial commitment. The bigger the breed, the more expensive the maintenance, from food (about $600 a year) to heart worm medication (around $100 a year) to boarding (around $25 per day per dog in our area - $40 on the East coast) and vet bills (shots and vet apts can run anywhere from around $200- thousands depending on the reason) I'm looking for owners who can agree to hold off neutering a male until the growth plates close at around 14-18 months unless there is a good reason to neuter earlier, and a female until after her first season. Please read this well documented article on health issues connected with neutering before a dog reaches maturity, Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete Adolescence hits all dogs, but neutering at 6 months does not help much as adolescent behavior is the same in every species and it is a training issue just as much as a hormone rush. The males usually go through it worse than the females (of every species!!) but training and leadership are the keys, not neutering. If you are choosing to share your life with a large breed it is important that you let them finish growing to their full potential before you neuter them! Hormones are there for a reason. A female’s growth plates close at her first heat, usually between 8-14 mos. Neutering a male before he finishes growing, can give you a male who is tall and not well developed. Neuter him after he matures. I want everyone in a buyers’ household to be thrilled that they are getting a puppy from us, not just some of the members. Puppies will get you up in the middle of the night to go out for the first few weeks, bite you and the kids with those sharp little puppy teeth because that is what they have always done with their litter mates, have accidents on the oriental for the next few months if you aren’t paying attention, chew on your dining room table if you aren’t in the room watching them, dig up your plants, eat the remote control, knock the kids over etc. In other words they act like normal puppies – only bigger. Owners who have not lived with a large breed before tend to romanticize the image of a sedate, well trained companion who lives peacefully in their home and never causes trouble. That was Lassie and she never existed! Check out this Australian You Tube video for the “really real.”! The Leonberger - A Low Energy Dog Don’t fall into the trap of “puppy fever”. They will be around 20 lbs when you get them. They will be around 100 lbs. at 9 months. They are a great breed in the right home, but be aware it requires more than your love. It takes care and work to become those wonderful, calm, adults you’ve met. (and a sense of humor sure helps too!) If you are within a short traveling distance you are welcome to make an appointment to come out and visit our dogs and us. We do not ship puppies. We want to meet our potential owners beforehand where possible. Over the past 20 years we have produced 143 puppies. As we can’t influence the sex or number of pups our bitches will produce, you are more likely to get a pup from us if you are open to either sex. There are not all that many Leos born in the US each year and the division of sex is about half and half although obviously, not in each litter. The females in the breed, although better watch dogs, are easier to live with as teenagers, and usually challenge their owners less than the males who are prone to testosterone surges from around 15-36 months and are not a good choice for owners who have not owned a large breed male before or who are not strong leaders. The females, while not quite as large and majestic looking as some of the mature males, are still larger than the dogs most owners have previously owned! Next page: How do you get on out waiting list Back to: "PUPPIES" |
| 18900 Chamberlain Rd. Grafton, OH 44044 | 440-926-2801 | cherrywoodleos@yahoo.com |