Pros and Cons
to having a Leonberger Service Dog
The choice to work a Leonberger as your Service Dog is not one
to be taken lightly. There are many challenges inherent to working
a giant breed, many challenges inherent to working a hairy breed,
and challenges inherent to working a Leonberger. When choosing
a breed it is easy to glibly say "those things won't be a problem
for me" but it is much harder to live with them. Every breed has
its pros and cons, and its important for people to do the research
to make sure that the breed they select is the best one for them.
I love Leos. I am planning on getting another Leo as my next
Service Dog. However, I do NOT recommend them to most people.
This has nothing to do with me thinking that other people "can't
handle" a Leo, and everything to do with the fact that I know
that most people, when confronted with the reality of a Service
Leo, won't want to be partnered with one.
1) Size is an issue. Leonbergers are Giant dogs. My Leonberger,
Fergus, stands about 30" at the shoulder and weighs about 100
pounds. It is not unusual to see a male Leo who is 31" at the
shoulder and 150 pounds and NOT fat.
Think about how cramped planes, buses, trains, and subways are
without a dog. Now imagine squashing a Leonberger at your feet.
Its probably not something you want to do at all, much less on
a regular basis. Having a Leonberger Service Dog can make it difficult
to go to little hole in the wall restaurants, to go to small out
of the way bookstores, to go to bars and clubs, to go to antiques
stores, or to frequent some coffee shops. It is not acceptable
to have your Service Dog block an aisle or be in the way of a
waiter or waitress, other patrons, flight attendants, etc. Some
places aren’t simply difficult to navigate with a Service Leo,
they are impossible to navigate. In many stores Fergus cannot
pull my wheelchair simply because there is not room for him to
be beside me.
I know a lot of people say "oh, I can get around that." Sure,
you can. Obviously I have. BUT it may take significant changes
to your routine, to your lifestyle, in order to get around these
things. Start thinking about where you'd have your Giant Leonberger
Service Dog with you as you go about your daily routine. Where
would s/he fit? Where would s/he not fit? Can you get along without
going to those places where your Service Dog won't fit? Remember,
places are required to let you bring your Service Dog in; they
are NOT required to rearrange everything so that your giant dog
can fit.
2) Hair is an issue. Leos are hairy, fluffy, dogs. People knit
sweaters with yarn spun from their undercoats. Hair in the house
is something you will have to learn to live with. Hair in your
yard. Hair in your car. Hair on your clothes. Daily brushing of
your Leo is a must. When the wind blows, the hair tumbleweeds
will blow through your house.
No amount of cleaning will keep your home hair free, and because
of this you will have to do some additional maintenance. For example,
air conditioner filters have to be cleaned much more frequently.
Computers get clogged with hair. Vacuum cleaners burn out. There
will be dog hair in your food.
The first coat blow is the worst as your Leo will be shedding
puppy coat in addition to blowing out his undercoat. Fergus shed
and shed and shed that first time. I had nightmares about brushing
my dog and my arms ached. The neighbors complained about the dog
hair in my front yard (I kid you not). Fortunately the subsequent
coat blows have been a bit easier, BUT, they are by no means insignificant.
It is NOT acceptable to leave hair all over out in public. When
Fergus is blowing his coat this means that I must brush him and
bathe him a lot, and I stay home as much as possible for the worst
of it. The rest of the year it means that I must brush him a lot
and bathe him regularly. A blower is a great thing. Don't use
it in your house.
When I first moved to Atlanta I called several groomers to find
out how much they would charge to bathe, brush, and blow out Fergus.
The average price that I was quoted was $150. I have found a wonderful
place near me where I can bathe Fergus, blow him out, and then
they clean up all the hair for only $14. We do this about every
2 weeks.
3) Rate of maturity is an issue. Leonbergers are slower to mature
than, for example, Labs. Between 2 years old and 3 years old,
Fergus grew one inch taller. It isn’t simply physical maturity
that comes later to Leos. Mental maturity also comes a bit slower.
At 3.5 years old, Fergus is still keeping a toe in adolescence.
4) Lifespan is an issue. Leos do not live as long as Leo owners
would like. I do not know what the average lifespan is for a Leo,
but I've been told 8-10 years. I've also been told 7-9 years.
I'm hoping for 10+.
As there are very few Service Leos, I do not know how old they
should be when they retire. From talking to people I'm hoping
to work Fergus until he is 7 years old, longer if he is healthy
and wants to work, shorter if he ends up with health problems.
5) Genetic diseases can be an issue. While Leos are a generally
healthy breed, they, like all breeds, do have some health concerns
to look out for. These include the following: hip dysplasia, elbow
dysplasia, von willibrands disease, Addison's disease and other
thyroid problems, eye problems, cardiomyopathy, OCD.
Leos should not be asked to pull significant weight, carry a
heavy pack, or be used to bear your weight until they have passed
OFA hip and elbow tests at age 2 years. (PennHip may be substituted
or used in addition to OFA hip tests. I opted to do both PennHip
and OFA.)
6) Temperament can be an issue. While the general Leonberger
temperament is very amiable and unflappable, not all Leos live
up to those expectations. As with all breeds, you must be careful
when choosing parents for your Leo to be, and you must work with
your Leo on socialization from the first day you get your puppy
and for the rest of your Leo's life.
A shy or dog aggressive or guardy dog is not appropriate for
Service Dog work. It is not unusual for an adolescent Leonberger
to get big ideas about where his territory may extend. It is critical
that these ideas be nipped in the bud.
While I personally feel that it is acceptable for an off duty
Service Dog to bark at people who approach his house, it is not
acceptable for a Service Dog to bark at dogs or people who approach
his partner (or to otherwise guard his partner) in public.
It is also not acceptable for a Service Dog to opt to guard the
house instead of obeying a command from his partner. It is always
the human's job to protect the dog, not the other way around.
Furthermore a Service Dog must always allow emergency personnel
into the house, whether or not the handler is able to give commands
to the dog.
Leos are big dogs, and as such, people are liable to judge their
behavior more harshly. Fair or not, actions that are acceptable
to the public in smaller dogs are not acceptable in giant dogs.
For this reason, Service Leos must be especially well behaved.
Again, the general Leonberger temperament is excellent. However,
this leads some to believe that all Leonbergers will have excellent
temperaments no matter how little attention is paid to their socialization.
Leonbergers are dogs, like all other dogs they vary in temperament
from dog to dog and they need to be socialized.
7) Fear is an issue. Due to the size of the average Leonberger,
more people will be afraid of them than the average dog. While
it is easy to say that other people's phobias are not your problem,
this is not in fact true. You and your Leo will need to be adept
at dealing with people who see your dog and run screaming. Because
people are likely to be nervous around your big dog it is important
that your Leo not do anything to add to their fears. Barking,
not obeying commands, sniffing people, even approaching people
in a friendly manner, can scare people. You may face accusations
such as "your dog tried to attack me" even though your dog may
be sleeping at your feet 15 feet away from the person.
8) The Stuffed Toy Syndrome is an issue. Leos are cute, fluffy,
huggable dogs. Many, many people will not be able to resist patting
your Leo. Many children will glom onto your Leo, tugging ears,
pulling tails, and leaving sticky candy in his fur. (Some of these
children will have parents who are scared of your Leo, see reason
number 7). 90% of the people who approach you and your Leo will
not ask to pat your Leo, they will just do it. Your Leo will need
to be able to work through this.
Some of the people who approach your Leo will be doing it on
a dare. They will be both attracted to your dog and also afraid
of your dog. They may sneak up on your Leo, pat him firmly, but
quickly on the butt and then run away squealing. The fact that
this is utterly inappropriate behavior on their part does not
matter. Your Leo will need to ignore these people.
I have found that the "Please Don't Pat Me I'm Working" patches
actually make the patting problems worse as they encourage people
to interact directly with the dog rather than with you. Other
people like to have the patches.
9) Cost is an issue. Leos are a giant breed, and because of their
size, everything is more expensive. Heartworm, flea preventative,
kibble, shots, ear cleaner, toys, grooming, etc., it all costs
more. Where I buy 1 heartworm pill per month for my pet mixed
breed dog, Smokie (who weighs 70 pounds), I buy 2 for Fergus.
Where I feed Smokie 2.5 cups of kibble per day I feed Fergus 6
cups.
10) Exercising and conditioning is an issue. Finding space to
exercise a big dog is sometimes harder to accomplish than exercising
a small dog. You do need more space. That doesn't mean you need
a large estate (I certainly don't have one) but it does mean that
you will need to plan how you will exercise your dog. All Service
Dogs need to be in good physical shape.
11) Training challenges are an issue. Leos are not the easiest
dogs to train. They are smart and stubborn and have a sense of
humor. This combination makes for some interesting training challenges,
especially during adolescence when their creativity and independence
seem to be peaking.
(There is even a group that Leos can join called Duncan's
Destroyers. In order to join the Leo must have embarrassed
his or her person in a spectacular, public, creative way. The
membership in this young club is large and it is growing at a
rapid pace.)
12) Stupid comments from Joe Public are an issue. This may seem
petty or silly to even mention, but over time inane comments become
really annoying. There are only so many times that you can say
"no he isn't a pony. He is a dog", "no you may not ride him and
no I don't own a saddle for him" "he is not related to a hamburger"
"a Leonberger. L E O N B E R G E R. Leonberger. They originated
in Germany. Yes they are a real breed. No they are not AKC. Yes,
I'm sure." "Yes, he is big." "Yes, he eats a lot."
Worse than those are comments such as: "I know your dog would
eat my little dog if he got a chance;" "I bet that that dog could
kill someone;" "Will he bite me? Make him bite him" "He is just
waiting to bite me; I know it." I find these insults to my dog's
temperament and my good sense to be extremely irritating, even
though I know that these folks are generally not out to insult
either of us.
13) Attention is an issue. If you are the type of person who
likes to be noticed, you may be disappointed when you realize
that nobody is really looking at you. They are all focused on
your Leo. Many people who know me when I'm with Fergus have no
idea who I am if I am without Fergus.
If you are the type of person who hates to be noticed, you may
be unnerved by the number of people who stare at, whistle to,
or flirt with your Leo. Whether you like the attention or not,
you will have to deal with it every time you go out in public.
No matter how bad you feel, no matter what you are doing, there
is someone who will interrupt you, stop you, delay you, to comment
on your Leo. Strangers may follow you through malls, through grocery
stores, into public restrooms, through parking lots, down the
street just to stare at your Leo. You can deal with it however
you choose, but you will have to deal with it.
Now that we've covered a few of the reasons not to have a Leo,
you're likely wondering "WHY ARE YOU PARTNERED WITH A LEO? The
short answer is as follows:
1) Leos are tall enough to use for balance without having to
put a handle on them.
2) Leos are big, so they can carry more and they can pull more.
3) Leos are generally healthy.
4) Leos generally have great temperaments
5) Leos like to work and they like to work with people.
6) Leos are smart, if somewhat stubborn.
7) While people may follow you to stare at your Leo, they are
unlikely to try to rob you and they certainly won't ever care
how you look.
It is very important that a person choosing the breed of their
next Service Dog look closely both at their own lifestyle and
needs as well as at the preferred lifestyle and needs of the breed.
I have been told by many people that their dog’s breed is "perfect"
but I cannot help but notice that these people all have different
breeds of dogs. When it comes down to it, the old cliché "perfection
is in the eye of the beholder" is true. To my eyes, Leonbergers
are "perfect." Find the breed that, in spite of its flaws, is
"perfect" for you.
©
2001 Samantha Burton Fogg All Rights Reserved