The Leonberger does not have a straightforward history.  There are a few different versions about how the breed came to be.  The most popular one is the story of Heinrich Essig. Essig lived from 1808 to 1889 in the town of Leonberg in Germany.  At the time Newfoundlands and St. Bernards were very popular among the aristocracy and tales of the heroic deeds of these breeds were being told. Essig decided to create his own breed to rival these and to resemble the lion in the town crest of Leonberg.  He presented his dogs to kings and politicians, making them popular so that other wealthy people would want to be seen with one – and be willing to pay high prices for this status symbol. He is said to have mated a Landseer bitch to a long haired St. Bernard dog which he got from the St. Bernard monastery.  Close inbreeding and an outcross to another St. Bernard and then to a Pyrenean Mountain Dog is said to have produced silver-grey or white dogs with black faces and ears.  Continued inbreeding is said to have produced the yellow and red dogs we know today. The first breed standard was not written until 1895, six years after Essig's death.  Silver-grey remained in the breed standard for the breed until 1973 when it was dropped. Essig did not keep any breeding records and modern geneticists say these matings would not have produced the Leonberger so there always remains some mystery about the past. What is certain is that the Second World War decimated the population of Leonbergers and the breed was recreated by enthusiasts after the war when it  was said there were only a handful of good specimens left.  It is to the skill of these people that we owe the Leonberger that we know and love today.

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