Considering a Leonberger or Irish Wolfhound

[AllHailKingLouis]

I currently have a Dobermann and she has been ridiculously hard work from day one. I’m not an inexperienced dog owner either, I’ve had big dogs all my life but this one has almost made me never want a dog again. You just can’t tire her out! I get up at 6:30 and she’s flying around the house instantly, throwing cushions around, barking at us, whining, doing laps around the room … I take her for a walk before work and she’s bouncing off the walls when we get back. I come home from work 4 hours later and then it all starts again. Barking, bouncing, screaming, laps around the house … she’s been trained to KC citizenship gold level. But I just can’t tire her out and she’s tiring ME out to the point where it’s making me almost depressed. Yes we have a trainer.

I just can’t do ridiculously high energy again. I simply couldn’t cope.

Next time I’m thinking Leonberger or Irish Wolfhound. I want a dog I can walk and do training with etc and then it will settle. With a Leonberger I would also take part in water sports as well as hiking and forest walks etc, preferably off lead when trained. I realise I couldn’t do this with a wolfhound but the low energy of the wolfhound is appealing to me!!

can anyone tell me the realities of these two breeds? I’m not bothered about hair or slobber.

We are hoping for a wolfhound in the future. Their short life expectancy puts me off a bit. Currently have 3 sighthounds.. Lovely natured ddogs. Great ime!!

We have leonbergers (obviously 🙈)

Overall mine are amazing dogs. Happy clown like personalities that are generally really easy going. Very family friendly and gentle.
Mine have completed obedience classes and are relatively intelligent but they don’t particularly have any drive so sometimes they take some convincing if they don’t think it’s worth their while. If you can motivate them they are able to learn almost anything but won’t do it at the speed or with the enthusiasm of a collie.

Mine will walk about 5-6 mile at a time. They realistically need 20-30mins twice a day plus some pottering around outside to be happy but will do more.
Mine are happy to run around, have a sniffy type walk and then sleep in the sun. They don’t have that level of madness and always wanting to do something that my German shepherd has. For example if we go to a cafe for a coffee they will sprawl out within 5mins snoring wheras the GSD is on edge waiting to move again. It’s that type of thing that made me switch breeds because I can’t be bothered any more 😳

They have good recall and almost no prey drive (some do though I think that depends on the line)
They don’t drool but do shed heavily all year round. We keep it under control with regular blasting but there’s always fluff. Also don’t underestimate the amount of damage an 80Kg dog can do to your house even unintentionally, just running around and lying on your floor while wet and that sort of thing.
Lifespan is an awkward question, there’s many of them into double figures and lots of breeders are prioritising long lifespans now but there are some still dying young. Despite this they are a reasonably healthy breed for a giant IMO, certainly callable of running around, swimming and walking decent distances!

There are negatives, bigger car (they can’t jump well so you’ll need something low) and also the cost compared to a normal dog is high. Surprising they don’t eat loads more than my German shepherd but vet bills and that type of thing are significantly more.
They are also supposed to be very happy go lucky but occasionally some lines can throw an aloof one (throwback to the livestock guardian), not the end of the world for me as I have GSD and I’m used to it but it can be a shock for people expecting a dog that loves everyone for that not to be the case.
Males in particular can be challenging in adolescence. It’s never been too much for me but they really can become stubborn hormone driven arses for a while and it feels like it lasts forever due to the slow maturity of them. It’s made worse by the fact your dogs huge but they do come back to earth eventually.
They are useless in the heat. Forget walking anywhere once it hits 20 degrees.
Oh and you’ll be hassled everywhere you go forever more, you’ll be lucky to walk 3 steps without someone asking what’s that or to stroke it…

Thank you! They sound absolutely ideal for me honestly! I have a Ford Focus, would I need to change car?

also can you recommend any breeders or tell me any to avoid? I’ve contacted one breeder and I have a few niggles about them but don’t know if I’m being paranoid because of my current dog

The breeder I got mine from no longer breeds sadly. I’m not on Facebook any more but there used to be a couple of Leonberger groups which had a list of breeders on, I would consider looking there if your able to or ask the breed secretary for some recommendations. Most breeders are incredibly helpful and be happy to chat you through everything leo! The waiting lists for some breeders can be years long, whoever you choose I would look closely at what health tests have been done and also try and speak to people who have those lines to get an idea exactly what you’ll be getting.

I haven’t been inside a focus but honestly…probably yes. Bitches are smaller but for example my big male is 70 something kgs and over 6ft tall on his hind legs. We have a discovery and sitting his head touches the ceiling. Most leonberger people have large estates or vans.

If you haven’t met one in person it might be worth going to meet a couple of people local to you just so you can get an idea of how big they are!

Leonberger
I just wanted to say what an incredibly informative post that was! Even though I’m not looking for a new dog!

What about a bedlington whippet?

also I know you say you have a trainer but our high energy dog you could walk for hours but mental stimulation was key to tiring him out. Might be worth seeing if your trainer can help you with that?

I only mention the bedlington as similar looking to the wolfhounds and ime easy to train and very low maintanence

Are you thinking of introducing the new one while you still have the other one? That's sounds like a disaster. You

God no! I’m doing very early research for the future

I have a Saint who needs two 20-30 minutes walk daily, and will just snooze happily rest of the day.

It's why I went with a giant breed of dog because they don't do much.

Ours is 62kg but we already owned a van before we got our dog so transport isn't really difficult. She is used to jumping in and out no problem.

What a great post, I now want another dog!

I have no experience of your two wanted breeds but was going to say the Bernese mountain dog may also be a good one for the list, a female. The are pretty smart, very laid back and 100% loveable, the crave cuddles and attention but in a really sweet and affectionate way.

Ah @Musicalmaestro I could talk leonberger all day 😊 I absolutely love them despite their flaws and I would love to see more people enjoy the breed too!

I was actually one of those mad people who got the second (and third and so on) dog while still owning the crazy first one. Funnily enough the leonbergers don’t get involved in her madness and look at her with disgust as she barks, whines at nothing and runs circles around them. Even as puppies they couldn’t be bothered to join in with that sort of thing.
They do play very well with others though, despite the huge size difference they have always been careful and gentle with all of my other charges (cats, ponies, smaller dogs, babies and small children!) They are also really social and prefer to live with others IMO, or at least with someone around most of the time so they have a lap to squeeze onto.

I wouldnt recommended another dog alongside a tough one unless you really know your stuff- I work with dogs and so have more time to work each separately and have the experience to make sure one bad egg isn’t going to influcence the others too much that’s the only reason I went for it!

Have you considered a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog? They have very similar personalities to a Leon with less hair and slightly more engaging. Ours needs one 40 min walk a day but if we miss a day then pottering around the garden is fine. Ours is incredibly laidback in the house and is bombproof with kids.

Thank you for the info @Leonberger

have you heard of Leonmoor?

Bernese mountain dog is also on my “consideration” list as well as Newfoundland but I fear their energy levels are too far the other way for me 😂

bedlington terriers are cute but too small for me ☺️

I was going to say ask @Leonberger but they got in first! They gave me super GSD advice a while back 😃.
Just on the doberman- I highly recommend scentwork classes for that busy brain. I do them with my GSD and he is unable to do anything after them- so tired. We have progressed to car searches for miniscule pieces of chicken and he is screaming to do it every time.

Love this thread. I am dogless, no experience of dogs and not going to get one but in my alternative universe I have lots of big Leonbergers and GSDs. I love big dogs and am one of those annoying people that ooh and aah when @Leonberger is out working hers.

I have heard of Leonmoor however I’ve had no personal dealings with them. They do tend to have a lot of litters for a leonberger breeder IMO which would put me off.The vast majority of breeders have a small number of pet females in the home and only breed to keep a puppy or to improve the lines which I prefer.

I would also be wary of price. Even during lockdown breeders agreed to keep pricing sane to avoid the breed becoming attractive to puppy farmers and people out to make some money. Typical pricing is around £1500, maybe £2000 at a push. Any more than that and I would be wondering why theirs are so much more expensive than everyone else’s.

Leonbergers and newfs share genetics so have similar traits. I think the Leo’s are more active of the two but the main con of newfs for me was the constant drool!

@THisbackwithavengeance you would be very welcome if you don’t mind being squashed and covered in hair 😄

They're nice dogs but the thing that would put me off is their short lifespan; they can die of old age at 8.

My Jack Russell is 6 and as fit as a fiddle; he could have another 8-10 years left in him. I can't imagine him dying of old age in 2 years!

Leo owner here. Second everything @Leonberger says. Things I’d add: they come alive at night as they are a guardian breed. Mine wants to be outside as soon as it gets late. This can be quite annoying if you want to sit down with a glass of wine and watch Love Island or whatever. They do not give up badgering you until they get what they want. I.e go outside, then back inside to give you ‘a report’ in Leo language about what they’ve found outside. This is also quite annoying when you want to know if Gemma has chosen Mike or whatever on Love Island 🤣

Mine has a very high prey drive so no cats or small furries. He absolutely hates foxes and has an ongoing row with a murder of crows. They love to be cold. In the summer mine is walked at 6am as by 7am it is too hot for him.

Yes you’ll need a bigger car (mine doesn’t fit into a Range Rover Sport for example) because they like yo be able to stand up and turn around. A LR Disco is great but they’ll need to learn to use a ramp as their perception of depth/height is not great. Also factor in grooming costs. They get very smelly very quickly. Mine is professionally washed and blow dried at least once a month. I spend more on the dog’s hair than my own. Mine has a giant coat and takes two hours to dry using 2 x professional blasters. At this time of year the shedding is epic. At the last groom he filled up 1.5x Henry the hoover and looked about two stone lighter afterwards. Forest walks are great in the summer but they are essentially giant Velcros so factor in the immense amount of time wiping them down washing them down in the winter. And then all of your walls inside as they like to lean. Everywhere. And they drink gallons of water per day. And never stop panting. You can’t walk 10 yards without someone stopping you to talk about them. Everything in a giant breed is more expensive: insurance, vet bills, food, medicine, collars etc etc.

on the upside, (and there are many!) they are very easy dogs to own providing you have the space.very gentle.they are not busy dogs. Sleep for most of the day. Not greedy (you could leave the bin open and he’d not bother). Mine doesn’t do stairs either. You can happily leave them and they’re not bothered. No separation anxiety here 😂 Obviously like all dogs they are arseholes in adolescence but I’d choose the breed every time. My neighbours have had wolfhounds but neither lived beyond the age of 5 which is obviously devastating. Let us know if you do get one!

I’ve just written a huge post and it’s disappeared! I have wolfhounds. Happy to answer questions. What did you think you couldn’t do with a wolfhound?

Not what you asked OP, but I think you'd suit a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Short hair, lots of nice personality, plenty of energy for walks, but complete couch potato at home.

@Wolfiefan

walk them off-lead? Someone has also told me they have no personality and no loyalty to their owners? A bit like a cat personality? 😂 I met one at Crufts … well I say I met him, he actually blanked me completely but he was beautiful 🥰

I remember years ago I went to a dog show with her 2 dogs, a collie and an IW. She asked me which one I wanted to handle and I chose the collie due to the size of the IW, she suggested I take the wolfhound as he was so much easier to handle. I did and she was right, he just trotted along beside me then did a massive poo in the middle of the ring 😂

I do love Ridgebacks but I’m terrified of getting another reactive temperamental dog. I’m looking for dogs known to be friendly and gentle ☺️

Have had wolfhounds. Amazing but two were full on. One used to jump the sofa for fun and do giddies round the lower floor like a charging horse. Used to stand in front of the tv at about 11pm as she loved a late night race through the woods. Had them all off lead and would do 8miles plus after they were grown.
Best dogs ever but the bills - wow. I have two medium dogs now as can’t face the cost or heart break. You are only ever a limp away from bonce cancer, a cough away from heart disease or pneumonia or a head down and stood up from bloat and torsion. Best dogs ever but

I think the opposite for wolfiez aloof if you aren’t theirs but that’s good - very attached to family and very opinionated. Our bitches were super bright.