Thoughts on Judging the Leonberger
BY MATTHEW TOWNSEND continued
A fun photo of some puppies from a recent litter of mine.
The rectangles produce both power and elegance.
coat in the Leonberger ring as to discover a hen’s tooth in a gerbil. THE SIZE PRIZE Th e Leonberger is a large, working dog similar in size to the Great Pyrenees. Func- tionality and agility may be compromised when Leonbergers are sized outside the standard. Achieving more size than out- lined in the standard does not constitute a merit and there should not be a “size prize” in the mind of the judge. In today’s rings, you are likely to see a great variety in Leon- berger height and size; a ring can easily have an eight inch span between the tallest dog and shortest bitch. If all the Leonbergers in consideration are within standard and the merits of two exhibits are in close conten- tion, judges should be mindful that the standard states that the preferred height of a bitch is 27.5 inches and the preferred height of a dog is 30 inches. You are more likely to have a larger than preferred Leon- berger in the ring than an undersized one. Proportions, color, and the height of the handler can all work together to trick the eye, so some diligence is due when sizing up the ring. A reality check you can keep in the back of your mind: the ideal height of a Leonberger bitch and Doberman Pinscher dog are identical.
THE RECTANGLE ANGLE When in doubt, remember that the Leonberger is constructed of rectangles built upon rectangles. Th e muzzle is a broad and deep rectangle, longer than wide. Th e backskull is a rectangle set wider than the muzzle. Th e neck is longer than deep and the body is rectangular, slightly longer than deep. Th ese rectangles work together to pro- duce a Leonberger that is sturdy, elegant, and balanced. Something you will observe along the rectangle angle: in adult Leonbergers, the body tends to follow the head and vice versa. A short, coarse head will usually be attached to a square, cobby body. A long, narrow head will usually be in front of a similarly long, narrow body. If you fi nd a great body, the head will usually match. Th is can be particularly useful in judging young Leonbergers where the head is very slow to mature. THE FRUMPY PUPPY In Leonbergers, we tend to talk more of promise than of quality in Leonberger pup- pies. You can guarantee Leonberger pup- pies won’t get any shorter and that the bone won’t get any heavier, but almost everything else is subject to change. Angulation can be lost or gained. Th e coat will change color,
THE COAT MOAT Very few breeds have as much variety in coat as the Leonberger. Th e standard names the many colors in shades of yellow, gold, red, brown, and sand and describes the black mask and lightly colored undercoat. Add- ing more variety, the coat comes in varying lengths, coarseness, and textures. Th e guard hairs, coat, undercoat, and furnishings also di ff er in length, coarseness, color, and tex- ture. Th ere are literally thousands of accept- able combinations of color, length, coarse- ness, and texture that could end up in your ring. Most Leonberger people think about coat like hardwood; if it’s beautiful and can do the job, it’s probably fi ne. Th ough not explicitly explained in the standard, the adult coat is not monochro- matic; there should be multiple colors in the coat: two or more shades of the main tone throughout the body, black hairs on the face, and a light undercoat. Th ere may or may not be black guard hairs on the body and they may be quite abundant. Depend- ing on sex, climate, care, and season, Leon- bergers are constantly in di ff erent stages of being in and out of coat. My advice: don’t get too caught up in coat with Leonbergers. You are about as likely to fi nd a DQ with
336 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , S EPTEMBER 2019
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