I'd like to hear from anyone who has any experiences with Leonbergers.  I'd particularly like to know about the character of the males - what are the chances of dog aggression, low/medium/high?  From what I've read in official information about the breed they are supposed to be fairly laid back and not overly aggressive but I've also had a couple of different people tell me they have met male leos on walks that have been pushy and aggressive to their dogs.

Also do their coats have much doggy odour?

Thanks for any helpful info.

my friend has two males i think they are gentle giants i carnt remember them having a smell. i think they are brill and fairly quiet too.

Have to say that I've never met an aggressive Leo.

My friend had one that was a really big softy; he used to give up his bed to the new kitten they bought! Don't have any experience other than that though.

There are a few people with Leo's on here and some breeders, so bumping this to the top again to see if they spot it for you.

The Leo's i've met at shows have been very well behaved and not shown any signs of aggression to my boy or any other for that fact. If they are like the Bernese they need to be trained well and a firm hand put in place to stop them becoming ott. They are lovely imo bouncy loving dogs who want to say hello to all and sundry, we've met a few on our walks and sometimes the size of them can make people walking smaller dogs a little wary.. Who knows..

Thank you all for your replys - glad to hear it is all positive. 

Are there any leo owners out there who have any insights into the male leo character?  I'd especially like to know if anyone has an un-neutered male because if I do get a leo it will be a male (have a bitch (spayed but bossy) at home already) and I won't be neutering him until at least two years old (health reasons).

Obviously I will be speaking to breeders and hopefully meeting a few at Discover Dogs but I'm just using this forum as one way of helping make up a short list of breeds to investigate further.

There was a Leo that came to our training class for special socialisation under the supervision of our trainer. She had been having private training and had been very dog agressive :( Not good with such a big dog :( However I'm sure that it wasn't a breed thing, just inexperienced owners who hadn't done any socialisation with her and, apparently, had done very little training at all :( :(

Daisy

We have a female Leo but have known lots of males and females and not one I have come across has had any major issues with other dogs.  They are a very gentle, loving breed.

One nearly had its owner of her feet at a recent show trying to get to my puppy. I wasn't very impressed but that is the first time I have ever seen a nasty one in all the years I have been showing.

Hi Scoobysmum,
I have two female Leos and mine are very dog/human freindly. I think with any breed you get alsorts and as Suejaw rightly said you need to be rather firm but kind and fair when they are young. Please feel free to pm me if you would like to come and visit mine or for more info
julie

i have a male Leo. he's never shown any aggression to any animal or human. i did do a lot of socialization and training with him, which is a necessary must. this is something that every dog, whatever the breed, should have. if not, then there will be problems

he is daft and stupid and i have found that if i dont spot another dog before him he's off to say hello.
IMO males are more docile and very laid back. mine ATM has been scrumping my cherry tomatoes, so they also have a very cheeky/fun nature.

I've had 2 male Leos - the first very bouncy and very naughty, the 2nd amazingly laid back and well behaved (made PAT dog at just 9 months).  But absolutely no aggression in either of them, and neither were neutered.  However, I have met many that become aggressive to other dogs during adolescence, but given a firm hand this can be just a phase.  Dog-dog aggression seems to continue more in those dogs used at stud.

Hope this helps

ps. have actually found other dogs can be more aggressive towards a Leo as they feel a bit intimidated, have also been told their black mask can make it difficult for other dogs to read their expression.  Both my Leos have been attacked by other dogs, but fortunately it never affected them negatively.

With regard to odour, IMO they smell no worse than any other breed.  Infact they smell a whole lot better than my old St Bernard dog ever did!!

Someone has already offered but I'd also be happy to introduce you to Fozzie Bear if you live anywhere near or plan on attending any shows

I have seen few dogs with problems but I would say many of these are caused by inexperienced owners thinking they will have a gentle teddybear without putting any work in when the dog is young, few months later have 60kg of dog to handle and teach about world which is not easy!
Most other "aggression issues" I have come across have actually been because of lack of confidence(both owner&dog) so often loads of noice but no action.
My first one was like this, would bark and scream on the lead but if let to go and say hello she would act in very unconfident manner.
Problem was not many people would let her say hello after she barked, which I can totally understand but makes it difficult to do what they need the most which is socialise!
She did grow out of it when she matured(+loads of work) and was later used as a dog other non confident dogs would get to greet at the training club due to her calm non-pushy mannerism...

Also, Leos can be pretty high energy especially when young and I do not think all owners are expecting this.
Just like Susie says, many seem to go through a period when they kind of reverse behaviour vice and try their limits when around two years old...
Often this is a first time the dog that has been easy dog suddenly has issues and this can throw the owner a little.
Most "barkers" fit to this age period and many will mature to be "nice" dogs when the brain grows a little!

They are generally pretty sensitive breed and need to be guided to behave correctly from young age...firm and fair handling is needed.
I remember the puppy guide we had with our first one(+15 years ago) having a sentence that said something like: Leo's need to be handled with firm but gentle attitude, too hard handling will shut the dog down and will get you nowhere. I still think this is so true...

Thank you for the feed back, I will definitely look out for opportunities to meet some leos in person.  Thanks to those who offered for me to meet there own dogs as well but I'll probably start at Discover Dogs and then maybe some local shows.