General Appearance

According to his original purpose, the Leonberger is a large, strong, muscular yet elegant dog. He is distinguished by his balanced build and confident calmness, yet with quite lively temperament. Males, in particular, are powerful and strong.

Important Proportions

Height at the withers to length of body: 9 to 10. The depth of chest is nearly 50% of the height at withers.

Behaviour & Temperament

As a family dog, the Leonberger is an agreeable partner for present day dwelling and living conditions, who can be taken anywhere without difficulty and is distinguished by his marked friendliness towards children. He is neither shy nor aggressive. As a companion, he is agreeable, obedient and fearless in all situations of life.
The following are particular requirements of steady temperament :

• Self assurance and superior composure.

  1. Medium temperament (including playfulness).

  2. Willing to be submissive.

  3. Good capacity for learning and remembering.

  4. Insensitive to noise.

Facial Region

Nose: Black.
Muzzle: Rather long, never running to a point; nasal bridge of even breadth, never dipped, rather slightly arched (roman nose).
Lips: Close fitting, black, corners of lips closed.
Jaws/Teeth: Strong jaws with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth without any gap, and teeth set square to the jaw with 42 sound teeth according to the dentition formula (missing M3 tolerated). Pincer bite is accepted; no constriction at the canines in the lower jaw.
Cheeks: Only slightly developed.
Eyes: Light brown to as dark brown as possible, medium , oval, neither deep set, nor protruding, neither too close together nor too wide apart. Eyelids close fitting, not showing any conjunctiva. The white of the eye (the visible part of the sclera) not reddened.
Ears: Set on high and not far back, pendant, of medium , hanging close to the head, fleshy.

Neck

Running in a slight curve without break to the withers. Somewhat long rather than stocky, without throatiness or dewlap.

Body

Withers: Pronounced, especially in males.
Back: Firm, straight, broad.
Loins: Broad, strong, well-muscled.
Croup: Broad, relatively long, gently rounded, flowing to merge with tail set on; never overbuilt.
Chest: Broad, deep, reaching at least to the level of the elbows. Not too barrel shaped, more oval.
Underline and belly : Only slightly tucked up.

Tail

Very well furnished; while standing, it hangs down straight; also in movement it is only slightly curved and if at all possible should not be carried above the prolongation of the top line.

Gait/Movement

Ground covering even movement in all gaits. Extending well in front with good drive from the hindquarters. When seen from front and behind the limbs move in a straight line when walking or trotting.

Hair

Medium soft to coarse, profusely long, close fitting, never parted, with the shape of the whole body be visible despite the thick undercoat. Straight, slight wave still permitted; forming a mane on neck and chest, especially in males; distinct feathering on front legs and ample breeches on hind legs.

Colour

Lion yellow, red, reddish brown, also sandy (pale yellow, cream coloured) and all combinations in between, always with a black mask. Black hair tips are permitted; however, black must not determine the dog’s basic colour.
Lightening up of the basic colour on the underside of the tail, the mane, the feathering on the front legs and the breeches on the hind legs must not be so pronounced as to interfere with the harmony of the main colour. A small white patch or stripe on the chest and white hairs on the toes are tolerated.

Size

Height at the withers
Dogs (72 to 80 cm) recommended average (76 cm).
Bitches (65 to 75 cm) recommended average (70 cm)

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Very Serious Faults

• Shy or aggressive dogs.

• Severe anatomical faults (i.e. pronounced cow hocks, pronounced roach back, bad swayback; front feet turning out extremely. Totally insufficient angulations of shoulder, elbow, stifle or hock joints.

• Brown nose leather.

• Very strong lack of pigment in lips.

• Absence of teeth. (with the exception of M3).

• Over- or undershot or other faults in mouth.

• Eyes without any brown.

• Entropion, ectropion.

• Distinct ring tail or too highly curled up tail.

• Brown pads

• Cords or strong curls.

• Faulty colours (brown with brown nose and brown pads; black and tan; black; silver; wild-coat colour).

• Complete lack of mask

• Too much white (reaching from toes onto pasterns), white on chest larger than palm of hand, white in other places).

Note: Any clearly noticeable physical or behavioural abnormalities are Very Serious Faults.
Note: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.