A Healthy Puppy

Congratulations on making the decision to add a Leonberger puppy to your family! Your role as a responsible owner of a healthy Leonberger starts before you bring home your new Leonberger puppy. You need to do your homework to find the breeder and breeding that will give you the best chance for a healthy Leonberger that will be a member of your family for many years to come. A healthy Leonberger starts with finding a healthy puppy!

It may seem easy to get the first puppy you come across online or in a pet shop window, but resist the urge. Puppies purchased in a pet store or through on-line brokers are often products of puppy mills or breeders that are most likely not breeding for health and longevity.

Although there are never any guarantees that a healthy puppy will live a long and full life, a health-focused breeding program builds the foundation for a healthy Leonberger. Take the time to establish a good relationship with a responsible, ethical breeder that is concerned with health issues.

FOCUS ON HEALTH

Responsible breeders will have complete health testing information for both the sire and the dam and will have done extensive research on the health concerns of the mating pair’s pedigree-direct ancestors and close relatives. You should ask the breeder about their research and to see the health test results from both the sire and the dam. Recommended health tests for breeding Leonbergers, the frequency of testing, and the results you want to see are shown in the table below:

Recommended Health Tests for a Breeding Pair

Test	Frequency	Rating/Result
OFA Hip Dysplasia*	Once after the age of 2	Excellent or good preferred, fair acceptable if bred with a dog with additional familial history to mitigate
OFA Elbow Dysplasia	Once after the age of 2	Normal
OFA Thyroid	Every 2 years after the age of 2	Normal
CERF (Eye)	Every year starting at 18 Mos. or later	Clear**
OFA Cardiac	Once after the age of 2	Normal
LPN1 – Leonberger Polyneuropathy 1	Once	Clear***
*Some dogs may have test results from a foreign registry or PennHip. The breeder should explain to you how those test results are equivalent to the OFA ratings.
**Some eye conditions can be acceptable in a breeding dog. Discuss any rating other than clear with the breeder.
***Ideally both the sire and dam are clear of the LPN1 gene mutation. However, it is acceptable to breed a heterozygous “at risk” dog (having one copy of the gene mutation) to a “clear” dog.

Other health questions you should ask a breeder before choosing a puppy:

How old are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of the planned litter (or what age did they live to be)? You should be looking for dogs in the line that are over the age of 8. Living beyond the average life-span can indicate disease resistance and could be an indicator of increased longevity in progeny.
If any pedigree-direct ancestors died before the age of 8, what was the cause of death? You should make sure that early death causes (or suspected causes) are not duplicated in the pedigree.
Do you know the health test results of any of the parents’ siblings?
Do you know of any other early deaths or health concerns in the siblings of the parents, grandparents or great-grandparents of the planned litter?
Are there any other health concerns in your line? Responsible breeders will be willing to discuss health concerns in their lines. There is no such thing as a line without any health concerns and it is important that a breeder address them in their breeding program and with any potential puppy buyer.

YOUR HALF OF THE RELATIONSHIP

Your conversation with the potential breeder of your new Leonberger puppy will also include questions for you. You will find that most Leonberger breeders are very diligent about selecting prospective puppy buyers. You should expect to be asked lots of questions about your family, home, lifestyle, job, schedule and your expectations of your future Leonberger. Any reputable breeder will want to make sure that potential owners are knowledgeable and committed, and that the Leonberger is the right breed for them. Answer honestly; it is not a test, but a conversation that will help you and the breeder to make the right choices.

Finally, once you have your Leonberger puppy, stay connected with the Leonberger Health Foundation, and the breeder, to keep us updated on your pup’s health. We can continue to improve the health and longevity of the Leonberger breed, if we are all willing to share information and work together!

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