& Fifi  29.04.2019
Norwegian Forest Kitten
Fifi passed away 15.08.23

 

We were first introduced to the Leonberger breed in 2006 and fell in love with them almost immediately. We have had dogs all of our lives, different breeds and for 25 years we had Cavalier King Charles Spaniels along with other  breeds.  We had always admired Giant breed dogs from afar, but never ventured in to this new world to which we would become totally and utterly absorbed.

Over the years, our dogs have become much more than just a big part of our lives, 20 years on, they are our lives. They have taken over our home, our vehicles, our sofa, bed etc, and in doing so, they have enriched our lives to the point that we can never imagine life without them in it. Each and  every one of them brings something special to us that makes us love them more and more as time goes on. As you read further, you will find that we much prefer our dogs to most people! they are loyal & true, their love is unconditional and they don't judge; love and care is all they ask for in return. Us humans are not capable of this level of total devotion.

We also accrued a little yappy dog who was with us for 11 years, sadly now gone.  We also have 5 cats, all who mingle with our big dogs and rule the roost. They are all getting older as the years go on, as we are too.

We have lost many of our beloved pets and our hearts have been broken  multiple times. While we carry on with life, we never fully recover from their loss and certainly never forget them. Rarely a day goes by that we don't think of the ones we have loved and lost.

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We describe ourselves as a hobby kennel, in that our dogs are our beloved pets first and foremost. They live with us in our home and not outside in kennels and they stay with us for life. They are involved in everything we do. Holiday's together are a thing of the past, we now take separate holidays and dogs come with us wherever we may go.

We began with just four Leonbergers, our 3rd and foundation bitch Siska, was on breeding terms and she cost us £4000 in 2010 when she had her first litter. With the exception of our imported dogs, all our breeding goes back to our late Siska, who was well bred and the most amazing girl to own throughout her life, a credit to the breed. In 2026, we are still breeding with those same bloodlines.

 

We have spent the last sixteen years trying to improve these bloodlines, adding in those imported dogs along the way. Preservation breeding is an expensive hobby, time consuming, researching many dogs and travelling thousands of miles. These bloodlines that we are  using today are now very valuable to us as it's been a lifetime of work and effort.

We have a contract for every puppy that we sell and included in this is a "Liquidated Damages" fee for any breach of contract. We have included this due to the value of our bloodlines that we have created. Should a puppy that we have bred get in to the wrong hands, it can compromise our breeding programme. It is important that we always know who owns our dogs and where they reside. For this reason, our contract clearly states that should an owner no longer be able to care for the puppy/dog, it must come back to us. They cannot be sold, gifted or put in to any welfare organisation. If any doubts arise along the way, we would without doubt sue for breach of contract.

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Our purpose for breeding is to improve on health and longevity, along with expanding the narrow breeding gene pool here in the UK. We ONLY breed Leonbergers.

We have had 21 litters over a 16 year period.

We don't breed to fund a lavish lifestyle,  or expensive hobbies and we don't have our fingers in other pies, (so to speak) We have no dogs in co-own homes for breeding purposes, so all breeding dogs live here with us. We currently have Mums, Dad, Grandmas and Grandpa living here. They can all be seen when people come to visit us. This is an achievement in itself and quite a rarity. 

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We purchased our first four dogs for £7000 but the two boys, Ozzy & Balou were never used in breeding, only the two girls, Elsa & Siska.  Since we first began to breed in 2010, we incurred huge costs in travelling abroad for several Sire's. Our male import from Slovakia in 2014; two girls from Poland in 2018 and another boy from Poland in 2019. In 2023, we imported another male from British Columbia, Canada, so five imports in total. Importing dogs is expensive business and we can never be certain that we are able to breed from them, it's  always a gamble.

It was 2017 and after seven years of breeding before our dogs became self sufficient,  but only for that year. We now have to breed to be able to keep our many Leonbergers, most of whom are not in breeding, and to pay vet bills for our older dogs. Without breeding, we could not afford to keep so many dogs together in our home.

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We regularly take our dogs on holiday throughout the year, our gang love to go away and they take it in turns to go on an adventure with us so they all get a holiday. Over the last couple of years, we have increased our time away and intend to do this much more in the very near future. 

We no longer holiday abroad, we prefer to have our fur kids with us to enjoy quality time with them away from home. We know from looking after other people's dogs that they are not happy being left without their owners. For the short lives they will live, it's a small compromise we are prepared to make for them.

 

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It will always be our priority to breed healthy, happy and well socialised puppies, who are confident and ready to meet the world. Puppies are born and reared in our home around our family and other pets. We give them the utmost of love and care to ensure a comfortable, safe and stable beginning for them.

We research the background and pedigree of our chosen stud dogs to the best of our ability to ensure good health, temperament and longevity. We are health conscious but not health perfect!
In 2016, we  had our first litter from our own import boy Darco Leon Kral'ovce of Pagency (Neo) COI 3.12% We believe that the low COI is more healthy than  high COI and for this reason we do not line breed. Today in 2026, we can question the ethics of line breeding; we have more knowledge of its  health effects and doubling up on health issues. The ease in which we can exchange genetics  across continents is far better today than it's ever been before. Line breeding isn't the only way of consistently achieving type; although we have never bred for the show ring. Studies have been carried out (analytically) and found a negative correlation between line breeding and longevity. The higher the COI, the shorter the life.

We will always outcross to a Sire who has few common ancestral links, you will not see dogs repeated in the first five generations of our pedigrees. Bearing in mind that the breed was decimated following two world wars and there were only 30 Leonbergers left in the world.

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We strive to keep the Leonberger as it was originally intended, a beautiful, elegant, majestic and a harmonious Giant of a dog.

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Over the last 20 years and 25 Leonbergers, (2026) we have had very little health problems in our dogs, so far, none in dogs that have been in breeding. Starting early 2017 with Neva, followed by Julz losing an ear, and then Balou losing his left eye, we had our first serious vet bills. For us, a vet visit is for an emergency and usually not until they reach 8-9 years old. If we keep our dogs healthy within, we won't have big vet bills. The only operation we had after the ones listed here was Neo with a broken jaw caused by accident, getting one of his canines stuck in a metal bar. Sometimes these things happen. What we can avoid is illness due to diet and chemical overload. Much of this is killing our dogs.

In recent years, Osteosarcoma has become a problem in Leonbergers. This form of cancer is not necessarily hereditary, it can be brought on by trauma, sometimes many years before it manifests in to cancer. People wrongly assume that cancer is passed down through the generations but there are many other reasons for cancer to develop. Environment plays a part, chemical scents in the home are also thought to cause cancers.

We  can only be vigilant and  do our best to avoid lines in the future where cancers seem  to be  more prevalent, in the hope that we won't become another casualty. We aim to limit chemicals to avoid health issues and it seems to be working, along with a healthy diet. We provide a wealth of information to our puppy owners, based on our own proven health statistics. We can only hope that those owners will take our advice and their own dogs will reach ten years old, as ours seem to be doing consistently.

We have lost 13 Leonbergers over the years, none to any form of cancer, bloat or Osteosarcoma. In the early days we lost three to sudden heart failure at just seven years. We now give Taurine  supplement to rectify this heart deficiency. Since reducing chemicals from vaccinations, worming and flea treatment, our dogs are reaching the ages of 10-11 years.  We lost our four oldies at 10 years and over within 18 months, absolutely devastating! Neo was just two weeks off 11 years in 2025.

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We do not breed from any dogs unless we feel that they have something positive to bring to the breed, even when they conform to the breed standard. Julz, Neva, Summer & Dora were never bred from while Kiki & Nikita  had only one litter each.  Summer, from our Siska-Sweedy litter, came back to us at a young age but although she was clear for lpn1, we didn't feel that she was suitable to be bred from. We are fortunate that we have had enough girls to choose only the best for our breeding programme over the years. So far in 2026, we have had 21 litters out of a possible 45, had we have had 3 litters with all our girls, as many breeders do.​​

We have contributed to the gene pool here in the UK by bringing in new blood lines from Europe. Since we first began to breed in 2010, we have travelled to Paris; Belgium; Hungary; Germany,  Poland x 4; Holland; Italy and Slovakia in our quest to improve on quality and health in our lines. The genetic diversity of the breed is important to us for the future of the breed and it is hoped that our efforts have complimented the hard work done by others before us.
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 With new laws coming in to force with council breeding licences in October 2018, it would seem that some breeders will now require a council licence to breed, there is no distinction between hobby and professional breeders. The two are very different; breeders with just a couple of females with puppies bred in the home among the family and in relative luxury, can't be compared with commercial breeding where all dogs are bred in kennels and on a large scale. Pups covered in sawdust out in barns is no comparison to clean puppies on vet bedding. While we agree on licensing for all breeding, there should be two different licences.

The rules are very confusing and differ between councils.

As demand outweighs supply, this only benefits the puppy farms. Many of us who supported  Lucy's Law, in the belief that it would improve animal welfare, are disappointed to find out that it has not been what we were led to believe. Hobby breeding as we know it will be a thing of the past within the next ten years as we all find ourselves out of scope and needing a licence, planning permission, change of use of premises etc. Councils are dictating to people how many dogs they can own, some are bereft at having to  "get rid" of their beloved dogs.  Maybe this is the reason that only a few breeders now have a website and prefer to be recommended by the clubs who hold a list for these breeders.

 We have all seen some horrific scenes in the puppy farms on TV, all these are licensed breeders where welfare is a huge issue. Defra continue to push the licence for all dog breeders on welfare grounds, it's very contradictory ground.

 

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​​As responsible pet owners, we cannot emphasise enough how important it is to have a well trained, calm and obedient dog, especially as the Leonberger is very big and powerful.

We have trained most of our dogs under the Kennel Club Good Citizen Scheme or KC approved Ring Craft classes, and we make training our first priority.  Most of our gang has at least the Bronze Award, a few have done up to silver but we only managed to get two to Gold level. Training begins at just 12 weeks old. We also train our pups for the show ring and usually only show dogs until they have their first litter.

A well trained dog is a happy dog as he will slowly learn that his good manners are rewarded with love and affection and of course, the occasional treat. It helps to form a special bond between owner and dog and it is also very enjoyable for all. It takes time, money and commitment to see the training through the Award process, but having a very well behaved and happy dog who is able to socialise with and respect other people and animals is worth all the hard work in the end.
With keeping 25 puppies over the last 20 years, we have never been out of puppy class 😂

We would highly recommend that our prospective puppy owners would at least train their dogs to bronze level standard. While many people have the ability to train at home, it's not quite the same as in puppy school where they will learn basic manners and socialise with other dogs at the same time. We ask in our puppy enquiry form if people are prepared to go through the training process and all reply yes! so it's disappointing when they don't make the effort and have to resort to head collars and harness's as they don't have full control of their dog. Seeing through the full training course from as early as 12 weeks old, will reduce many behavioral issues later on and the dog will be much happier.

Head collars can also cause neck and shoulder injuries later in life due to the stress put in those areas. Much healthier to train them properly in the first place.

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When people visit us, our dogs are well behaved due to the work we have put in to them, they don't jump up and become out of control, and once the initial excitement is over, they return to  calm and gentle Leonbergers taking life at their own pace and ready to make friends.​
 

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We will always write regular updates of our news, views and experiences, good or bad, warts and all!

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Thank you for taking the time to read about us.

 

See future litters page for more information of our breeding plans.