Our Dogs
My Leonberger family includes Zelda, a 10-1/2 year-old female I imported from Belgium. My plan was to bring new bloodlines to this country, with the goal of expanding my gene pool and adding some desired traits to my breeding program. I have been very happy with the results of this outcross as Zelda has produced outstanding puppies in all of her litters. Zelda is a very athletic, fun-loving dog with an ideal Leo temperament. She has earned her LCA and UKC Champion titles, and has had multiple successes in the show ring. She has also earned her Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and Therapy Dog International (TDI) titles. Zelda had her final litter in December of 2007 and is now retired from breeding.
Zelda has very recently become the first of our dogs to earn her AKC Championship and Grand Championship at the advanced age of 10 years, with some spectacular wins! She was the #1 rated Leonberger in all-breed points for several months this year, an amazing feat for such an old dog. The Leonberger officially became part of the AKC’s Working Group on July 1st, and Zelda finished her Championship on September 5th after being shown only five times. In those five times she won the Working Group twice and placed fourth in the group once. This is unheard of for a 10-year-old dog of any breed to win such high honors. She is a truly special dog in every way!
Another of my Leonbergers is Cheyenne (LCA CH Jamaica von Alpensee), a puppy I kept from my J litter (Zelda/Darius). She is almost 8 years old and has proven herself in the show ring, winning Best in Specialty Show at the 2004 LCA National Specialty at just 12 months old!! She has followed up those wins with a number of Best in Specialty Show wins at the MALC and NRLC Regional Specialties, and most recently by winning Best of Opposite Sex at the 2007 National Specialty in Asheville, NC, and Best in Specialty Show at the NRLC specialty in May of 2009. She is a beautiful girl with great movement, structure, coat and color, and an excellent temperament. She had her last litter this summer and has been retired from breeding.
Our next Leonberger is Rio, now 3 years old. She is from my 2007 litter with Cheyenne and Baxter. Rio is just like her mother; sweet, happy, and very outgoing. She is the biggest of my Leos at almost 130 lbs. and 29” at the shoulder. Rio is the clown of the family, always making us laugh with her silly antics. She had her first litter this summer and we are very pleased with her puppies, one of which stayed here with us. Rio has also recently finished her AKC Championship, the second of our Leonbergers to attain this title.
Rio’s best playmate is Cleah, a puppy we kept from Portia’s first litter two summers ago. Cleah will be 3 years old in June and is a very athletic girl with a sweet, loving, playful personality. Her favorite thing to do is run toward you at top speed, skid to a stop in front of you and wait for some petting. We are very pleased with both her temperament and her excellent type and structure. This past April, Cleah was Winners Bitch and Best of Winners at the 2010 National Specialty under European judges Maria Kerekes and Guido Perosino.
Our youngest Leo is Xinnia, a puppy we kept from our litter with Rio this past summer. She was born on May 15th and helps to keep my older Leos young with her insistence on playing! She is a lively, happy, very outgoing little girl and we couldn’t be happier with her temperament and her development so far.
