Does anyone here own giant breeds?

[Poniesandgin]

If so please tell me all about them and living with them

I’ve thought of the usual expense, space issues but what’s the reality like?

Also what car do you have to fit them in?!

I agree with @Witchgonebad they are in the main friendly and socialable. mine is super friendly around other dogs and people but that is as a result of constant socialisation in the first 18months. My breeder is not in favour of castration so mine is not done but I agree with witch that you need to take individual advice. Remember though it is difficult to board an intact male so you’d need to consider what you might do when you go on holiday. Best of luck if you decide to get one though!

Thank you both. We mostly always holiday at home but are happy to wait to castrate.

When you say about socialising do you mean you just went out every day to see things as you normally would? Puppy and training classes? Or something else?

Another Leo owner here. We had a newfie before and when she died decided on a Leo as they are livelier. And I can confirm that they definitely are! She's four now and calm and settled but the first 18 months were hard work. Very very loving, no drool and as someone else said doesn't smell as much as our newfie did. Although she definitely has a whiff about her sometimes. I agree though that they need training and socialisation. We've had absolutely no health issues at all. The only thing she's been to the vet for in four years is her vaccinations. Would I have another? Don't know. I'd probably consider an adult rescue (which our newfie was) rather than go through the challenging puppy bit again.

I’m so pleased to find some leo owners here

I must admit I am a little worried about the puppy phase, my last German shep was a perfect puppy. She chewed a little bit but that’s it- unless I’ve blocked out the horror of it!!!

I’ve contacted some breeders. I am very dog experienced but somehow this feels very different to getting a collie or even GSD again.

In the home do yours tend to do much. Do they sleep a lot or do they spend all day trying to find trouble?

Hi @Poniesandgin yes socialisation was a mix of puppy classes (be warned though that by 5 months they are enormous and far bigger than the other puppies which makes other puppy owners less tolerant) plus a variety of on and off lead walking by the sea, in woods and in towns. They need exposure to a variety of noise and bustle as they are lovers not fighters so tend to have a flight response to a sudden noise and you don’t want to go flying! Also they attract a lot of unwanted touching by random people so need to be able to handle strangers suddenly lunging for a fuss (you’d think people would ask Before touching but they don’t) unlike @airfixkitwidow mine has had multiple trips to the vets. He is very clumsy and incredibly fixated so has broken toes and broken claws following chasing a fox off his land at speed and banging himself off of doors when launching..., had to have multiple grass darts removed under anaesthetic and even had a horrible reaction to a broad spectrum parasite treatment which resulted in fits and an MRI scan... he is insured for £15k pa. This is over £100 a month in insurance. We’ve also had ear infections.

One was a brilliant puppy but that was mainly achieved through constant stimulation and tiring him out in between feeds. I literally took him everywhere and increased carefully the amount of time he could be left by himself. With respect to chewing, we’ve only lost one flip flop and one shoe but they love feet so we learned early on to keep shoes away from harm! I do however need a new front door following scratching when the bloody fox appears (every. Bloody. Night) he has bones to gnaw at every week and they can go through most bone except cow shin very easily. If they are kept busy they will leave your stuff alone but I was warned by the breeder that a bored Leo will snaffle anything important to the family which is touched a lot (remote controls, glasses, phones) so we try and hide treats for him to find. Mine has an hour walk in the morning and is totally out for the count for pretty much most of the day. Because of the fox situation he tends to be ‘on guard’ during the night so this suits us with him settling down in the day. On average he’ll be in his space in the cool porch for most of the day. He changes his preference when he likes to eat from week to week but generally they are easy to read with what they want - water,’ I want the door shut now please’ 🤣, food etc they can leave food for several hours untouched so it is a bit of a faff putting raw food back in and out of the fridge in summer.

I had labs and x breeds growing up and yes, this is very different to owning those! Lovely though 🥰

Hope that helps!

I would say behaviour wise they are no worse than any other breed as pups. The issue is they are rapidly the size of a small donkey with the pleasures of puppy behaviour!

Ours haven’t really been destructive, but they are with me most of time. A bored pup will always be destructive and they have bigger jaws so can do more damage if they decide to!

It’s also worth mentioning that they are a sensitive breed and can’t tolerate harsh treatment (not that any dog should) So firm, consistent training and avoidance of unpleasant experiences.

I’d say the most challenging time is adolescence, particularly with the males.

Just to show you what a tired Leo looks like after a heavy day of sitting on the lawn in the sunshine

Airfixkitwidow She’s absoloutley gorgeous! How much do you exercise her per day? We have a large garden but the shepherds still need at least an hour morning and then another walk later on to settle!

@Yesbutisittouching that’s really helpful thankyou. I will be insuring no matter what.
Perhaps corona will stop all the unwanted touching?!
I will probably walk Shepherd and leo together if I can manage, Shepherd isnt the sort of dog who likes strangers groping her so perhaps that will be a good excuse for people not to touch which might keep puppy from feeling too suffocated! I have had a reactive dog previously and spent a lot of time using positive reinforcement so I could start this with a puppy from day one.
I always use positive methods where possible

A few more questions while I have some leo people to ask!

Crate or no crate, I’ve spoken to a breeder and she thinks generally they are just too large to be comfortable in a crate after the young puppy stage. If so what did you do with regards to leaving them etc and making sure you have a house to come back to?

Do you allow your Leo’s to play/meet strange dogs on walks or is it not worth the risk due to size?

Also feeding...what do you all feed and why?

Thanks again everyone I’m taking it all in!!

I have a giant puppy and use a whelping pen. You can add extra panels to make it the right size.
A giant puppy won’t manage an hour walking though. You’ll have to walk them apart to start with.

Don’t worry Wolfie I won’t be walking them together- made that mistake once before and I’ll be making sure this one is perfect on lead before attempting two!
The breeder I have spoken to said 2 x10min walks up until a year! This seems like nothing at all!

Hi @Poniesandgin I bought a massive crate from the US, puppy refused to get into it from day one. So that was £500 up the swanny (I had a cushion and curtains made too 🤣) Puppy stayed locked in the porch (it is big so no discernible issues) and this became his ‘crate’. He goes to this space voluntarily and always sleeps there (we also have UFH everywhere except the porch so it is the coolest room). We generally confine him to this when we go out as he sets off the house alarms otherwise 🤣

He was weaned on a raw diet so I kept that up. Everything is frozen first then fed after defrosting. I usually feed a mix of bone-inchicken (wings/legs/thighs) and minced beef. We started him on wings cut into small pieces along with raw ‘natures instinct’ but that is insanely expensive for an adult dog so we progressed to human grade butchers/supermarket meat. Right now it is difficult to purchase in quantity so that is an issue to consider. He also has raw eggs, root veg and bones from the butchers and occasionally raw fish. No titbits except cheap ham for training and the odd lump of cheese. Advantage of raw fed is a quicker degradation of poo (I couldn’t hope to find it all to scoop up on the land) and less smell from poo.

My Leo is not aggressive even if the other dog is so he is walked off lead and Pre Coronavirus met every dog going, I tend to keep him close at the moment. that’s not to say other dogs like him though he did face daily aggression from smaller dogs (which he ignored). Pre virus we did 5k by the sea. Now we do an hour in the woods. The only thing to be careful of is overheating in summer so early morning walks only.

Hope that helps!

Thank you all.

Yesbutisittouching Your leo sounds exactly what I’m hoping for I just want a safe sound family pet. I don’t mind putting the effort in to get him there but it’s the basic friendly temperament that I’m looking for!

Excited to start the search now!

@Poniesandgin be prepared for disobedience even when you think they are trained. Mine got a scent of a lady dog this morning and was off for bloody miles. He hasn’t done that for ages 🤣

We used a large crate when he was little, but he grew out of it by 6 months. By then he was fine out overnight, but he’s shut in the utility room if left during the day.

For exercise, we followed the 5 minutes per month of age rule as advised by our breeder and no jumping, stairs, rough play etc. You just have to be sensible

There is a good podcast called "barks from the bookshelf" hosted by two registered dog behaviourists (APBC/IMDT). Their most recent podcast discusses the realities of living with giant dogs as both hosts have recently acquired giant breed rescues!

I've got a big rescue myself and everything they discussed rang true for my experience.

Good luck OP 😊

Realities of owing a Leo 5 mins dead hair blasting and 5 mins coat raking. It’s like Halloween 🤣

Morning,
Just read this thread as we are getting our first giant breed puppy this week. We're getting a 10 week old Bernese Mountain dog. Are there any other Berner owners? Thank you for all the useful insights into life with a giant breed!

@Rowdythree
Are you in touch with the breed club or society? That’s a good place to start.
How well do you know the breeder? Will they support you?

This thread is fascinating. I do love seeing the giant breeds out and about but I think I’ll stick to my whippet

I have a Newfoundland, he's nearly 9. I never had kids of my own so I do spoil him rotten. He's absolutely gorgeous but I've got to admit though the hair and drool is excessive, i moved in with my boyfriend 2 years ago and I don't think he had really prepared himself for living with a large dog 😂. As much as I love my baby bear I think if we ever have another dog in the future I would opt for a much smaller breed.

@Wolfiefan the Breeder is very hands on and a wealth of information. She's great and is involved in all her puppies lives when they go to their new home.

It's nice to be able to chat at to other non expert owners though.

Brilliant! Any chance you can get/stay in contact with other new owners of the litter? I got my first wolfhound a few years ago. I’ve stayed friends with quite a few people across the country who had one of her brothers or sisters. They’ve been great support and are lovely people!
I’ve also joined the wolfhound club and society. I’ve found help with health issues and grooming etc.
Prepare for your whole life to change! I now have two giant dogs, a converted garage for their bedroom and a van not a car!!

Yes I think there is a Facebook group for his litter mates. Luckily we already have a van but I'm rearranging my furniture as we speak to make space for him worth it though,I just can't wait to get him home!

I met someone out walking this morning who was asking about my Leo and are they easy dogs to have?

I said, it depends what you mean by easy! If you don’t mind hair everywhere, a soaking wet dog 50% of the time, being trodden and slobbered on by a 70kg oblivious lump, massive food and vet bills...then they’re fantastic. Best friend you’ll ever have.

I have to say, my friends with normal dogs think I need my brains testing

@Wolfiefan could you please tell me which Solvit ramp you bought from Amazon as I have a 42kg elderly rish setter who would benefit from a ramp. Many thanks