Some links to this page may not work if old information has been removed.

10th December 2006: We have had a quiet November so no show news to report for this month.

December has been very busy helping my son settle in his new puppy Rudi, the Border Terrier, in to our home and family. He is a delightful little dog and we have all become smitten with him. He is also very clever mastering, sit, down, stay, out and come already, his recall is excellent and he rarely leaves our side when out walking and so far is a very well behaved little dog. Matthew started puppy socialisation and training classes with him in mid November when his inoculations were done, and he has enjoyed them. At the classes's Matthew, Rudi and I meet Carol with her Leo puppy Meadow her latest homebred pup and they enjoyed meeting each other. At the class they also do basic obedience and mini agility which is a lot of fun to watch, my son hopes to do mini-agility competitively once Rudi is old enough and had all the training he needs. The Leo's just love Rudi and Indi spends hours playing patiently with him, Willow Mothers him like a little pup of her own and Ti is never far from him protecting him and being his big brother!

We didn't make it to the Ladies Kennel Association in Birmingham's NEC, Mr Frank Kane was judging and we were very disappointed not to make it, but both Jamie and I were unwell and I don't think that being sick on a judge wins any points. We shall do some open shows in the new year to get some practice in ready for Crufts in March. LKA was our last chance to qualify the girls for Crufts so they will both miss out on this event next year, but considering we didn't make it to half the shows we entered this year it was not a big surprise.

We were delighted to receive photos and news recently on two of our puppies from our first litter, both Bones and Jess, take a look at how they are turning out. Bones is a formidable dog who is proving to be a very handsome young man and looks very much like his brother and his father. Jess looks the spitting image of her Mum and so beautiful, she is a sweet natured lady who is devoted to her mum Gill. I am so proud of them both. So thank you to Jo and Ian for the pictures of Bones and to Gill for the pictures of Jess.

We hope you have enjoyed your year with us and hope you will all continue to visit our site to see how we get on in 2007. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year from all at Leonius Leonbergers.

22nd October 2006: Well we have had an extremely busy weekend. We collected Matthews puppy, Rudi, from Vicky Gregory at Bowvargreg Border Terriers on Saturday and spent the day helping Rudi to settle in to his new home. He took meeting Willow, Ti and Indi in his stride and was very brave considering he was is so much smaller than them. They were all very gentle with him and kept him company in the night to help him settle in, as he slept in his crate. He has a delightful nature and is a real character. Check our his latest pictures on his page.

Sunday saw us attend the Leo Club of GB Champ Show in Coventry with all three of our dogs, it was a long day but it was lovely to meet everyone again. This was the first show we have been able to attend since moving house, 4 months ago, so it was nice to be back in the ring. At the show we met many people who regularly visit our site, thank you to everyone who came and said hello, it was lovely to meet some of you for the first time and some who we have met before. Thank you for your continuing support of our site and our dogs.

It was lovely to have all three of our Leo's out, although I was thoroughly worn out running from ring to ring, I would like to thank Gary Pitchford for being on stand-by for me incase I needed his help and for Glenda Rotherby for showing Willow for me in the Post Grad Class, while I went to show Ti. As for the results of the show, we were a little disappointed that we didn't do a bit better, but it was good practice and since it was our first show in some time we were happy to just get through it without incident. Indi was entered into two classes, but was unfortunately unplaced, she behaved very well and stood nicely for me so we shall try again at LKA in December to qualify her for Crufts. She has only attended 3 shows this year and we have missed many important ones when she was poorly so hopefully December will bring some better luck. I was delighted to show Willow again for the first time in 2 years, she behaved herself and enjoyed her day out and gained a 5th Place in the Novice class, unfortunately she was unplaced in the Post Grad Group but it was a large class with very strong competition. We shall try again at LKA in December to qualify Willow and see how she fairs under the judging of Mr Frank Kane. Ti moved wonderfully around the ring but decided that he didn't want to stand still but wanted to play and caused me a great deal of trouble trying to keep him still for the judge to assess him. He gained a 5th place in both the Junior and Yearling classes so we have a lot of work to do to get him back to the right standard of behavior.

Yvonne and John Lance did very well at the show with Boden, check out their site for his latest news at www.valeguard.com. Well done guys for your great result.

We did hear some very sad news, we were told that Willow's Mum, Holly (Kinghern Just a Little Dream) sadly passed away a few weeks ago. We would like offer our thoughts to Glenda, Heather, David and their families on their sad loss. Rest in Peace Holly.

Our next show will be at LKA in December so it will be quiet again until then. We shall keep you up-to-date with Rudi's progress as he settles into our family and Ti's new ring craft classes, Willows Agility Classes and hopefully we shall see Indi assessed for Pets As Therapy work. Until next time take care.

30th September 2006: We have had a very quiet September with all the dogs. No shows, just lots of lovely walks in the country.

Ti met some cows on one of our walks, he wasn't sure what to make of them, although he has met them several times before he has never gone nose to nose. Ti also had his hips and elbows x-rayed and we were very pleased with the results; Hips:6:4; Elbows:0. I was a little nervous of him having an anesthetic but he came through it fine, although very wobbly. Ti still has his summer coat but has managed to regain some of the weight he lost during Indi's last season. Ti and I will also be starting at our new Ring Craft lessons next Thursday, anyone who has seen us in the ring knows we need the practice!

We celebrated Indi's 1st birthday on 22nd September, we gave her some special treats and lots of extra hugs and fuss. I can't believe we have had her for nearly a whole year, its gone so quickly. Indi will have her Hips & Elbow x-rays done this month ready for any potential mating in the future. Indi is also going to be assessed for P.A.T. (Pets as Therapy) as she has the most gentle nature, this will hopefully be soon so we will let you know how we get on.

Willow is going to join a big dog agility club, we are just waiting for some more details and then we will be running around an agility course once a week. I know she will love this and now she is fully mature it is more than safe for her to do.

We have news of another doggy addition that will join our family in about 3 weeks time. My eldest son Matthew (9 years old) has, after two years of research and some guidance from us, decided on a breed of dog he likes. He has for a long time wanted to have a dog he could walk, train and do mini-agility with. As a Leo is just too big for him he has selected a very special little British breed the Border Terrier. So Rudi the Border Terrier will join our family in October and my son has helped pick some different colours for his own web page, we have posted some pictures of him on these for you to see. We look forward to Rudi coming home very soon. I am sure that he will fit right in with Willow, Ti and Indi. Borders may be a small dogs but they have a big heart. Like the Leo, they bark rarely and are extremely friendly and have an exceptional temperament with children. I have to admit I am looking forward to being able to cuddle a dog on my lap without my legs going completely dead.

We have had little show news to share with you lately regarding our dogs, but we do have some exciting news regarding Willows sister and litter mate, Zoe (Davenhealth Almost an Angel), has had confirmation and is now a full Champion on gaining her 3rd and most important CC, so many, many congratulations to David, Heather, Glenda and of course Zoe, of Davenheath Leo's a most definately deserved result.

Our next show is the LCGB Champ Show where we will hopefully have a full compliment of dogs with us. They may not all enter the ring, but we hope to have them there. Until next time, take care.

31st August 2006: Well August was a busy month, people wise, we returned from our holiday in Crete (our 10th Wedding Anniversary) to 3 dogs that had missed us very much. Tom & Emily from the 'Animal Aunts' organization stayed at the house looking after our dogs plus my Mum & Dad's Boxer, Kia. The dogs had been well looked after and I would like to say a very big Thank You to Tom & Emily for such a wonderful job, its not an easy task taking care of such large dogs but they did a terrific job and I couldn't recommend them more highly.

Unfortunately Indi decided to have another season 4 days after we left so they had their hands full playing 'Leo Chess' keeping Indi and Ti separated. This was a bit of a surprise as Indi had only just finished her last season by 4 weeks but stress can bring on a season so us leaving her for the very first time probably attributed to this happening so soon. She looks wonderful though with her coat now much darker and getting longer. She is in the middle of a molt but her top coat remains very nice.

As a result of Indi's unplanned season Ti went off his food, added to the fact that we had left him for the very first time also, he dropped his coat and lost a load of weight so he looks a bit of a mess at the moment. We have put him on all his favorite foods to try to help him regain the weight he has lost and to help his coat come back. All of this has not stopped him doing his 'Houdini' tricks though, he has discovered that if he stands in his food bowl holder and jumps high enough he can escape though the very small window in his room. This window is about 5ft up the wall on the side of the house. We discovered him early in the morning running round the garden having been out most of the night.... naughty boy. Needless to say the window is now on the latch so he can't do the same thing again! What next I ask! He also goes in for his BVA Hip & Elbow x-rays on Friday and his BVA eyes exam will be done next week too. I'll let you know how we get on.

Willow on the other hand is looking fabulous and although she missed us too while we were away she has gained a good amount of weight and her coat is in full bloom. We didn't manage to make it to the Birmingham City Champ Show this weekend, yet again another show missed. I must have spent a fortune on shows we have had to miss, but family comes first. We shall aim to get her to the Club show in October.

Jamie has been in hospital to have spinal surgery so I've had to put all shows and doggy business on hold until he is fit and well again. The operation went well and he's back on his feet but it'll take a while before he's back to normal, all you prolapsed disk sufferers out there will, I am sure, sympathise with him at the present time. He is being very brave about the pain he's in, but at least it's an improvement on his condition before the op. I've missed the help he would normal give me in our general day to day life and didn't realize just how much he did for me before his op. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has sent their best wishes to Jamie while he recovers.

Boden had a very successful day at Bournemouth in August gaining an excellent 3rd place in a large Junior class, so well done to John and Yvonne for another great result. Check out Boden on his website at www.valeguard.com .

We had a wonderful note from Carol and Nick to let us know how Tia is doing and they have sent some lovely pictures of her for you all to see. Tia looks just like her mum, and if you didn't know you would swear it was Willow. Tia has turned into a stunning girl and I'm very proud of how she is doing. She's recently enjoyed a lovely holiday at the beach in Cornwall with her family and the pictures show her at the beach, apparently she loves to chase rabbits - don't they all...and has turned into a bit of a gardener....!

We had a lovely surprise visit from our friends Nina & Ray with their lovely lady Leo's, Daisy and Lotti (Lotti is Indi's half sister). We haven't seen them in the weeks since we left our old house so it was lovely to see them and we plan to get our Sunday walks back up and running once they return from a holiday in about 5 weeks time. The dogs went mad when they saw each other and they played in the garden for about an hour before they all collapsed exhausted.

That's all for now, our next show should be the LCGB Champ show in October where I hope all three of our dogs will be able to attend. Hopefully I shall actually get to this one.

Until next time take care.

27th July 2006: Just a quick update as we don't have much news to report. Well we weren't able to attend the NW&BP show, we didn't receive our paperwork to attend (probably went to the old address!) and Indi decided to eat half the orchard and ended up with an upset tummy. With the weather predicted to be very hot at the show I decided that going was really not an option when she was unwell. Thankfully she has learned her lesson and I don't think that unripe cooking apples will be on her menu again!

Ti is continuing to grow back his fur so I'm hopeful that he'll attend Bournemouth in August without his 'crown jewels' on display and where we shall try again to qualify Indi for Crufts.

Willow will be entering the ring again for the first time in probably 18 months when we hope all our dogs will attend the Birmingham City Champ show and the LCGB 5th Championship show. I'm excited about showing Willow again and perhaps we can even get her qualified for Crufts '07.

There are some new pictures of Will, Ti and Indi so take a look via the links to see how they are enjoying the new garden, the newest pictures are at the bottom of each page.

We did hear that Yvonne and Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) gained an excellent 4th place out of 14 dogs in the Junior Dog class at NW&PB Show so well done guys and thanks for letting us know. Also at the same show our good friends Gary and Rachel Pitchford of the Arcanine Kennel, won their 3rd CC with Bear (Hellkenna Travelers Joy from Arcanine) and also took home the BOB and Group 4, so many congratulations Bear on becoming a Champion.

We have six more Wildlife pictures that we've added to our Wildlife at Home page if you want to take a look. I've been busy pinching Jamie's camera, much to his annoyance.

We will be off-line for about 2 weeks while we take a well earned holiday & '2nd honeymoon', we are going back to Crete, where we 'tied the knot' 10 years ago, some of our family who came with us to witness our marriage will also be with us so it should be lots of fun. We have arranged for Animal Aunts to stay at our home to watch the house and look after the dogs so that they won't have to go into kennels, I just hope I don't miss the dogs too much. They probably won't even notice we are gone, but I would rather that than have them pine for us. Well, we will be back in two weeks all golden and sun-tanned. Until then, bye for now and take care.

10th July 2006: Well, we celebrated our daughters second birthday on Friday 7th July (Happy Birthday Emily) as well being in our new house for exactly one month. It still feels very strange having so much space. Willow, Ti and Indi are loving being able to run free and the kids spend every waking moment climbing trees or bouncing on their new trampoline, as for us, we spend a lot of time just watching, enjoying the peace and quiet it brings. We have with the help of our parents (thanks so much mum's and dad's), fenced approximately 1/4 of a mile of gardens so that the dogs are safe from escape attempts and kids will be safe from possible danger. The fish pond is now also secure from the odd visiting dog to bathe in and the fish are greatly relieved, I think!

Show wise we haven't managed to attend either the LCGB Open Show or the Windsor Champ show as planned (oh the great plans of mice and men), with all our dogs going down with an upset tummy, due to change in environment and water, we thought it better to stay at home let them recover and get used to their new home. Luckily 4 weeks on we have stability and finally dogs that are back to normal. Indi has also had her first season so we didn't think it wise to take her to shows while this happened.

We had some very sad news recently, our good friends Yvonne and John Lance of Valeguard Leo's, lost their beautiful Leo girl Scandal, she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly late last month leaving the family devastated at her sudden loss. Our thoughts are with you and your family at this time.

We also heard of the sad loss of Willow's father, Zak, (Debbolinby Ruff Justice at Davenheath) our thoughts are with David and Heather for their loss. He was the most amazing and gentle dog and I will never forget the first time we met him. Rest in Peace Zak.

On a brighter note we've had several visitors to our garden, one in the form of a very beautiful, very shy fallow deer, we knew they visited the garden and now have a picture of one nibbling on our rose bushes. This was taken at 4am in the morning by my husband (who is currently suffering from a slipped disk, therefore spends odd hours pacing the floors to try to relieve the pain). I've placed some pictures on to a new page Wildlife at Home, for you to see if you are interested, this page also includes some other pictures of the wildlife we have found at our home so far. The deer was still in the garden some 3 hours later when I strolled down the garden for an early morning walk, she scarred me half to death as Jamie hadn't told me she was out there, she gracefully leapt 8 foot up into the air and cleared the hedgerow without a seconds thought. Wow, what a sight it was.

Our next show will be at the NW&PB Champ Show in Malvern, 22nd July, and we are likely to only take Indi as Ti will be recovering from an emergency 'hair cut' that will put him out of the ring for a good few months, he had an allergic reaction to a sting/bite of some kind leading to swelling and an infection on his....um..... 'bits & pieces'... (sorry lads) so a special treatment was urgently needed and the hair cut was a necessity, so he has little to cover his pride and joy at the moment, not a good sight in the ring I think!

New news is the new style Leonberger Club of Great Britain WebSite, the address is still:www.Leonbergerclub.org.uk, so go and take a look if you haven't already. There are some new items, pictures, news and pages and its looking very nice.

I'm trying to get some new images of the dogs ready for the websites next update, possibly 2 weeks time. Don't forget to sign our guestbook (at the bottom of the homepage) if you enjoy our pages, feedback is always welcome. Until next time, bye for now.

11th June 2006: Just a quick update, we have finally moved house so check out our house move story and how the dogs are enjoying their new space with some lovely pictures on the 'New Home for Leonius' page. Hope you like them. Be back in a few weeks time with some more news. Until then, take care.

5th June 2006: We have lots of news for you this month.

First for those of you who know our beautiful Willow, she went to the vets to be spayed on Monday 15th May and came out the other side fit and well, to our great relief. It was a difficult decision to have her spayed but done on the grounds that we will not be ready for anymore pups for at least another 18 months to 2 years, at which time Willow would be nearly 6 years old, and we did not want to put her through another litter so late in life, so spaying was the rational decision to make, especially when Ti is becoming more 'grown-up' and showing rather too much interest in his mum! Willow has provided us with a most wonderful litter of 11 pups who have all grown into fine Leonbergers and this was more than enough for us. Ti, her son will continue our line with Indi when she is old enough for a litter of her own, so Willow's lovely temperament will continue through her son in our future litters.

Ti has turned into Houdini giving us a very stressful 30 minutes on Bank Holiday Sunday when he disappeared from our back garden into the field behind our house. We ran about the local area trying to find him and, very luckily for us and him, our neighbors found him and returned him to our doorstep, much to our relief.

Both Ti and Indi attended the Southern Counties Championship Show this Sunday, 4th June. Ti, having qualified for Crufts at the National in May, went for practice more than anything. Having tried some new treats and training techniques for showing, we had a massive improvement in his showing behavior. We were delighted when he was placed 4th in a very tough group of 10 junior dogs. Yvonne and Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) were placed and excellent 5th, so we were thrilled to have both dogs placed again at a Championship Show of such excellent quality. There are some that may consider being placed 4th or 5th as nothing great so celebrate, but we consider it a honor to be placed at all against such tough competition.

Indi behaved herself impeccably for me when it was her turn to enter the ring and I was thrilled that she stood so nicely and moved so beautifully for me. Unfortunately it was not to be her day and out of 10 entries she was unplaced, but another day and another judge could bring a totally different result, so we must wait for a while longer before we can try again to qualify her for Crufts at her next show, which will be the NW&PB in July, but she will be able to attend LCGB Open show and Windsor Champ Show for more practice and very valuable experience before then.

Southern Counties this year for the first time in it's history had CC's on offer for Leonbergers and we saw our good friends Gary and Rachel Pitchford of the Arcanine Kennel take the Dog CC home with their boy Bear, this is their second CC so just one more before Bear picks up his crown, well done guys, many congratulations.

We are finally on the move to our new home in the country. It has taken a total of 9 weeks from offer to exchange and we will finally have a wonderful acre of land for the dogs and kids to roam and run in which will be lovely to see. We move on Thursday 8th June and we can't wait.

Our next show is the Leonberger Club Open Show in June where we will be taking all three of our dogs for a day out. Ti and Indi will go into the ring and Willow will be there for the day out.

That's all our news for now, so take care until next time.

14th May 2006: (also addition added on 16th May) Well we had a much better day today, with an early start of 5.30am Ti and I left the house to travel to Stafford County Show Ground for the Birmingham National Dog Show, arriving just after 8am. After a quick brush up and practice we entered the ring with the hope that Ti would remain calm and behave himself, ha.... no chance...., but although Ti decided to be a pain in the ring, the judge, Mrs Oriani, saw past his fidgety behaviour and placed him 3rd out of 13 entries. This means that he follows his brother Boden in qualifying for Crufts 2007 and we couldn't be more pleased. Ti's next show will be June at Southern Counties in 3 weeks time. I have added this result to Ti's show results page if you wish to check them out.

I also had the joy of seeing Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) and Yvonne being placed an excellent 4th in the same group today, clocking up another excellent place in a tough class, congratulations Valeguard for yet another excellent placing (check out Boden on his website at www.valeguard.com ).

Indi was to be shown at this show but as I was on my own (husband doing babysitting duty) I decided that I could only cope with one Leo, so Indi stayed at home. Her next show will be in June at Southern Counties.

Willow is doing her best impression of furless fred with nearly no coat left she looks just awful, but her new coat is coming through and at least she will be cool ready for the summer weather.

It was also a great day for our friends Gary and Rachael Pitchford of the Arcanine Kennel who were awarded their first full CC for their handsome boy Bear, well done guys what a great result. It was also a very good day for our friends Darren and Mandy Spencer, of the Mandazz Kennel, for being awarded BOB and the CC for their beautiful girl Ella, many congratulations to you to.

Well we will have more news to report in early June when, hopefully, we will not only have a few show results to report but a house move too. Take care until then.

29th April 2006: We had a lovely day today at WELKS show in the Malvern Hills, it was not to be our day for doing well in the ring but all the same we had a lots of fun and it was nice to see so many of our friends do so well.

Ti was unfortunately unplaced in the Junior Dog group of 13 entries and I have a feeling that my handling, as usual, did not help his cause. Ti did behave, much to my relief, no jumping around and messing about but tomorrow is another day and I shall try extra hard next time with my handling to allow him to gain the places I believe he deserves.

Indi was also unplaced in the Puppy Girl group, but with this being her very first show I was not expecting her to be placed. This was very much a learning curve for her and she coped really well. She had a very exciting day. Indi did not like the tenting area and was much happier outdoors in the sunshine so this is where we stayed. She took to the ring really well, behaving herself and doing as I asked of her. She stood nicely and was very patient considering there were about 14 entries in this group, 2 of which were her litter sisters.

On a much more positive note, Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) did his owners and us proud by being placed a fantastic 2nd in the Junior Dog group, qualifying for a second time for Crufts 2007, well done to Yvonne and John for your success today. Check out the Valeguard website for Boden's latest news at www.valeguard.com .

We have put some pictures of our day onto the relevant pages so follow the links to Ti, Indi and Boden's pages to see them in action at WELKS.

We have also had some lovely pictures of Tia sent in by Carol and Nick, Tia is looking just like her mum so check out her page for her latest images.

Our next show is Birmingham National in Stafford, but we may not be able to attend as we are hoping that we will be moving house, so we may have some more news for you around Mid May. Until then, take care.

4th April 2006: After a very exciting March and Crufts we have settled down to a more sedate way of life, at least for now anyway. We have had some exciting news we would like to share, we have, after a very long 20 months of waiting, sold our house. We hope to be moved and settled in about 4 to 6 weeks time and have found a nice house in a pretty little village in the countryside just outside Swindon, we have an acre of gardens backing onto open countryside, perfect for the dogs and kids to explore. We are now just hoping that the move goes smoothly and nothing goes wrong with the completion. I'm very much looking forward to this move as the dogs need more space to run free while still being close to the family home so this is perfect.

As the show scene is quiet for us at the moment we are concentrating on training and just having fun, Ti is now in the full 'Juvenile Delinquency' phase and refusing to return on command, preferring to run off and do as he wishes regardless, thankfully he is a very friendly dog and will not engage in any aggressive behavior, but we have decided a long lead walking and training period be instigated until he has come back down to earth and normality. We shall reintroduce the more intricate details of the Amichien Bonding training process (developed by Jan Fennell) to gently reinforce leadership and I have no doubt that he will come back into line once this happens.

Indi has joined our Sunday morning Leo walks which we have adjusted and shortened to allow for her tender age and exercise restrictions, and is enjoying the experience, she is very well behaved and her recall is very good, she is socializing very well with everyone and everything she meets and is proving to be a delight to own and love. Now their are five Leo's on our walk, quite a sight if your not used to Leo's.

Willow is continuing to be my beautiful girl, her recall is nearly at 99% and as usual she is my ambassador for how a well behaved Leo should be off the lead, it was not always like this we have had to work hard at it, but now she is nearly 4 years old she has settled into a very happy and relaxed nature and is and will always be my 'special girl'.

We had some nice news about Boden, as you know he won the 3rd place at Crufts this year in the Special Puppy Dog class, and in doing so qualified for crufts 2007. He had his show report recently printed in the dog press, so check out the Valeguard Website at www.valeguard.com for Boden's Crufts Report which was a very positive and pleasing report, Yvonne and John are thrilled with it.

We have had some super pictures sent in of Bailey and Max so take a look, they are big lads now and looking very handsome. Thanks to Lee & Claudia and Steve & Angie for taking the time to send in these picture to us. Keep them coming guys we always enjoy seeing how they are all doing.

This month we say a goodbye or should I say 'Au revoir & bonne voyagé' to Rachel and Gary Pitchford of the Arcanine Kennel, they are moving to France with the kids and dogs to start a new style of life and even thought they will be in the UK for many of the CC shows we will miss them very much. Good luck guys with the move and your new life, enjoy all those acres of land you now have, we look forward to visiting you soon.

I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to an excellent article on the new LCGB website regarding 'Inherited Leonberger Polyneuropathy'. Its a piece written by an owner on her first hand experience of this terrible disorder, I would recommend you check it out, if you have not already done so, at www.Leonbergerclub.org.uk.

With the topic of Leo Health in mind, and with the further development of my website, I have decided to develop a new page on 'Health' for Leo's with items on the problems Leo's could potentially suffer with, luckily these problems are few and far between but I feel it is a very important part of anyone's research so have decided to add this to my website to help others understand Leo's before embarking on our breed, or, once you have one, to keep up-to-date with newest health issues. There will also be links to other sites regarding Leo Health, so keep an eye out for this page, hopefully, next month (house move allowing).

Well, that's all for now, we will be back in about 4 weeks time with lots of news, we have our new home details which we would like to share with you, Indi will be attending her first ever show (a champ show at that), Ti will also be there where he goes up to the older groups of Junior, Yearling or Novice. Until then, take care.

9th March 2006: CRUFTS 2006 REPORT : Well Jamie, Ti and I had an amazing day at Crufts. It was lovely to see so many beautiful and well behaved Leos.

We left the house at 6am and arrived at the NEC, Birmingham, before 8am, with just enough time for a quick brush-up and walk to settle Ti. Ti was entered into the Special Puppy Class along with 5 other dogs, one of which was his brother Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard). Ti wasn't on his best behavior, as usual, but did just enough to be awarded the 4th place. We have added this result to Ti's Show Results page with the ones he has achieved in his first year if you want to take a look. Even better news was that of Boden, Ti's litter brother, who gained an excellent 3rd place, in doing so he also qualified himself for Crufts 2007, so many congratulations to Boden, Yvonne and John on their success today. We were so pleased to see them do so well in their first appearance at Crufts, all that hard work, patience and training paying off, well done. For Boden's news and photo's please check out the Valeguard Website at www.valeguard.com.

While we were at Crufts we met many people who came to say hello to Ti and ask lots of questions about Leonbergers. We also bumped into Linda and Tom, Nana's (Leonius Amun Ra) owner, which was a lovely surprise and we had a good long chat as we watched some of the judging. Also while we were there we visited the Discover Dogs stall to give our support to the people manning the fort for Leonbergers and found ourselves answering questions from people who wanted to know more about our breed. Ti loved all the attention and many people came to say hello to him while we were there. After a long drive home and a big day, Ti has collapsed tired out and I think he may sleep for the rest of the week!

After much thought, we have decided to create a 'General Leo Information & Frequently Asked Questions' section to our website. We have shyed away from this in the past as so many sites give opinions and information and we didn't really want to repeat what is already out there. But as we have had so many e-mails recently from people interested in our breed we have done a very basic page to help with those everyday question's that come with a Leonberger, this page is based on someone who perhaps knows very little or nothing at all about the Leo and is not aimed at the more experienced Leo person. We hope anyone new to the breed finds this section of use in some way and a starting point for their research.

We have also received some lovely new pictures of Max and Bones, sent in recently in celebration of their first birthdays by their owners, they are both looking wonderful, so take a peek.

Our next show for Ti will be at W.E.L.K.S in 6 weeks time and this show will also see our new addition, Indi, go into the ring for the very first time. She will be competing against two of her sisters from the same litter and probably many other new pups in the minor puppy bitch class. We start her training for this event from now and with Ti being at the same show we will have our hands full. We are very excited about having another girl in the ring.

Willow is still having a well deserved rest from the ring and may very well make an appearance at one or two shows later this year, in the meantime she is enjoying many lovely walks and peace and quiet.

Well that's all for now, so unless we have anymore news between now and the end of April we will be back in about 6 weeks time when the next set of show results to report. Until then, take care.

18th February 2006: Well, no show news to report this weekend, we were supposed to attend the Maidenhead and District show with Ti, but due to having several viewing's on our house on Saturday (which we are still trying to sell!) I had to stay at home tidy, clean and then do the viewing's, so attending a show was just impossible, but we were very sorry to miss this particular show. We've another show in 2 weeks time, Swindon and District, which we will be doing our best to get to, this will be the last show before Crufts.

Ti's coat has nearly all fallen out, which is not good news for Crufts, he won't be looking his furry best for Crufts, but the experience of attending will still be fantastic. Like many others I consider it an honor to be able to show Ti there, so if we are lucky enough to be placed it will be a wonderful bonus. With Ti's brother Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) also competing at Crufts we will have a wonderful day I am sure.

I've just spent the last week down in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on a farm where my Mum and Dad are renting a house before moving back to England. It was the children's half-term school break and we took Indi along with us, being the smallest of our three Leo's she was the only one that would fit in my car. Willow and Ti stayed home with Jamie for the week and I've a feeling I'm in the dog house with them both for leaving them for a week, but our Sunday morning walk put them back in a good mood and they are now 'talking' to me again.

Indi really enjoyed herself, with 30 acres of farm to run around on, a trout lake to dive in, chicken's and sheep to drool over, 3 Collies (2 of them puppies) and my Mum and Dads Boxer dog, Kia, to play with she was in doggy heaven. Indi wasn't at all phased by any of the animals that she met but wasn't quite sure what to do with Buzzie the huge Welsh Black Bull. We also visited the seaside and Indi loved the beach and wasn't at all bothered by the sea or the noise it was making, she went right in and splashed about. I took loads of pictures of her enjoying herself, so check out her pictures page for her latest images, she has developed a wonderfully thick deep red coat with nice black tips which you may be able to see in the pictures.

We received some lovely news from John and Yvonne Lance of Valeguard Leo's, Boden, Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard, gained his Kennel Club Good Citizenship Gold award the day before his first birthday, so many, many congratulations to Boden, what a clever boy, for all the details on Boden's success please visit their website at www.valeguard.com.

Well, that's all our news for now, I'll be updating again in two weeks time after our next show. Until then, take care.

11th February 2006: * * * *HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEONIUS LEONBERGERS * * * *

Monday 13th February sees our first litter, the Age of Mythology Pups, reach their first birthday, so we would like to wish a Very Happy Birthday to Ti, Boden, Max, Bailey, Tucker, Ziggy, Bones, Freya, Tia, Nana and Jess. We hope they have a lovely day full of presents, yummy treats and a nice long walk. We have kept in contact with all the owners who all send in regular pictures and we would like to thank them for this.

This weekend we attended the NW&PB show, it was another freezing day and early start, their was a good turnout of quality Leo's. I must thank my helper at the show, my brother-in-law Terry, who stepped in at the last minute to help as Jamie was unable to come on this occasion. It was not to be a Leonius day at this show though, the Judge was Mr D Weller and it seems that on this occasion we did not have what he was looking for. Ti did improve in his behavior at the show, although he is still very hard to handel and is unwilling to stand for any length of time he did just enough to make me happy that we had made some progress. Unfortunately he was unplaced at this show, but the competition was very strong and their were some lovely boys in the puppy group. Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) was also there and it was lovely to see him, he is coming along very well and was looking in first class condition. He behaved himself impeccably as usual but was also unplaced in this show, just not our day today, I know how proud John and Yvonne are of their boy so well done Yvonne for a first class presentation in the ring.

On a brighter note, we were pleased to see the show critique for Ti's first ever show back in August of 2005, this was the Bournmouth Championship Show, Ti was placed 2nd in the Puppy Dog class and I have put the critique onto Ti's show results page, if you would like to take a look, and we would like to thank Debbie Charwin for such positive words for our boy.

Our next show for Ti will be the Maidenhead and District CS Open show in a weeks time, this will be a new experience for Ti as he moves up to the Junior class so a new group of boys to compete against. We are just two shows away from Crufts so we will need to up the practice again for the big day.

I'm off to Wales for a weeks holiday with the children (school half-term) and will be taking Indi along, it will be a good experience for her as the farm is full of new sounds, sights, smells and animals for her to meet. I shall spend some quality time with her to help boost her confidence and try some new training commands without the others to distract her. Ti and Willow will be staying at home with Jamie while he works from home for a week.

I hope to have lots of photo's from the trip to Wales so check back in a week or so for our latest show news and pictures. Until then, take care.

5th February 2006: With another hectic weekend over, with 3 dogs bathed, brushed, smelling sweet, and lightly walked, I got to work with my husbands new camera, I've put some more new images of Willow, Ti and Indi on their pages for you to see, I've tried a new facility in my Photoshop program, so they are a bit arty, I hope you like them.

Willow is looking good with her coat fully back and I'm in two minds as weather to put her back into the show ring or not, I will wait until April and then decide.

Indi, having had all the dust from the garden washed out of her coat, is showing the most amazing Reds and Blacks coming through, just what we wanted. She is coming along nicely and I'm very excited about showing a girl again in the ring in April. She will be up against some very tough competition from puppies I know that will be out at the same time, but we will go along and see how we do.

Ti did well at the Slough and District CS Open Show, the Judge was Mr B Reynolds-Frost, who placed Ti 3rd and I have added this to his Show Results page. I would like to thank Mr Reynolds-Frost for letting us compete as we turned up rather late.

Next weekend brings the NW&PB Show where we will hopefully have the pleasure of seeing Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) I'm excited to see how he is coming along. This will be the last show for Ti and Boden in the Puppy classes (apart from Crufts) so we will have to make the best of this last opportunity.

I am hoping to be able to take Indi along with me to NW&PB, I think the outing and the experience will be good for her and I've roped my brother-in-law into coming along to help me as Jamie will not be able to come this time.

I will report back in a weeks time to let you know how we get along, until then, take care.

29th January 2006: Well, we started the weekend with an early spring clean of our house which took hours, having three Leo's certainly adds to the daily grim that invades every house hold.

As a result of our house tidying this left very little time to get Ti ready for his show the next day. He needed a very good groom and with the weather so cold at the moment I decided not to give him his usual 'show' bath so a good brush was all we could offer. Ti behaved himself much better in the ring than his last outing (no Tigger impressions this time) although we still have a long way to go, we are fighting the instincts of adolescence at the moment so he is a little hard to handle, all this said he gained a good 3rd place against 5 other entries in the puppy group at the Henley on Thames Premier Show, this was his first show for 2006 in preparation for Crufts in March. The judge was Mrs Pam Smith and she gained a good attendance for such a very cold and windy day. I stayed to watch the rest of the Leo Judging even though the bitter cold was numbing my feet and fingers, but we don't get to stay to they end very often and I thought I would make the best of our early start in the day. I would also like to thank Gary, Rachel, Mazie and Jack from the Arcanine Kennel for coming to support me and keep me company on such a cold day, thanks guys it was nice to see you all. We have added some new pictures of Ti taken today to Ti's Pictures page so feel free to take a look

Willow has finally finished her season and with a few carefully monitored introductions back with Ti it is now safe to let the dogs be together again. She is a bit miffed at me as Sunday is our long Leo Walk day with our other Leo friends and due to the showing Ti we couldn't join them today so I'm in the dog house with her at the moment. She still got a walk just not the one she wanted! Their are some new pictures of her with Indi and Ti on Willows Pictures Page out on our short walk today so take a peek to see how they are coming along.

Indi continues to grow at a rapid rate and is enjoying her visits out to the school, lakes and shops. She is all legs at the moment and I think she is going to be quite tall when she has finished growing. She has a cheeky streak in her too and her latest game is 'trying very hard to gain everyone's attention' no matter what!

We were delighted to have received some wonderful pictures of Max, and Tucker from their owners and have put these onto their pages for you to see so please take a look, they are both coming along wonderfully and are very handsome dogs.

Well, that's all my news for now, until next week when we show Ti in a AV Working Class at the Slough and District Show. Until then take care.

16th January 2006: Well, we hope that everyone has recovered from their New Years celebrations and that you are not feeling too worse for wear because of them. We have some news for you that might be of interest, we were very pleased to see the critique for Ti's 1st place at the LCGB Champ Show from judge, Mr Frank Kane, and thank him for his kind assessment and comments on our boy, you can see these on Ti's Show Results page.

Ti is continuing to grow at a great rate and is now much bigger than his mum and with renewed efforts to train Ti ready for the ring we are starting to see some improvement (lets hope we have no more impressions of Tigger). His coat is still very thick and we are hoping that it sticks around long enough for Crufts.

Indi continues to grow nicely and has the most wonderful temperament. She has a lovely dark mask and her coat looks like it will be quite red. She is mastering most of the training I am asking of her and she is a quick learner. We have some new pictures of her on her pictures page so please feel free to take a look.

Willow is in the middle of her season which is proving interesting with Ti around. Keeping them separated is a delicate balance of 'chess like' maneuvers. Indi spends half her day with Willow so that she does not get lonely and half her day with Ti so that they will continue to bond in a normal way. Willow is looking really good with her coat nearly fully back. We are hoping to join a local agility club so that Willow can join in and do something more fun than showing. Now she is fully grown we can start this activity.

We have been sent some wonderful pictures of two of the girl puppies from our first litter, Tia and Freya. Freya is going to be taking her PAT test soon to see if she can become a Pets as Therapy Dog. Both the girls are looking lovely and we would like to thank their owners very much for taking the time to send these pictures to us.

We have a show in just under two weeks time in preparation for Crufts so will report on our results then. Until then take care.

1st January 2006: NEWS REVIEW OF 2005 - - - Firstly I would like to wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. We hope you also like the New Look we have given our website.

This is our first entry for 2006 and we would like to start with a review of the year that has just passed, and what a year it has been for us. We started 2005 with the launch of this Website on 1st January and as of 31st December 2005 we had a grand total of just over 8000 visitors, we are thrilled with this and would like to thank everyone for their support and interest in our adventures. We followed the launch of the website with the news of Willow's first litter which was born safely in February, all 11 healthy and happy pups, 7 boys and 4 girls. March was hectic just looking after the pups and finally choosing the one that would stay with us, and April saw all the pups go to their new owners. We found good homes for all of them and continue to have regular contact with all the owners, for which we are very grateful, and many have sent us pictures which we have included on the site.

May, June and July were a quiet time for us, summer holidays and visits to the seaside and just generally training Ti ready for the show ring in the August and letting Willow recover from her first litter. August was a good month for us, Ti gained a 2nd place at Bournemouth Championship Show, his first ever show, so it was a good start for him and his brother Boden (Leonius Leviathan at Valeguard) gained a 3rd place and qualified for Crufts at his first ever show, the Welsh Kennel Club Championship Show in Builth Wells, Wales, we were very proud of how well he did with his owners Yvonne and John Lance. He was the first Leonius puppy to qualify for Crufts.

September was equally good for us in the show ring as Ti gained a 1st place at Birmingham City Championship Show and went on to gain Best Puppy in Breed and Puppy Working Group 2, we were thrilled and I think this has to be the highlight of our year for his show achievements. Boden at the same show gained a 2nd place so we had an amazing day. October brought more good show results with Ti gaining 1st place in Minor Puppy Dog and a 3rd in Puppy Dog at the 4th Leonberger club of GB Championship Show, in doing so he qualified for Crufts twice in one day. November brought us an addition to our happy family with the long awaited arrival of our new puppy girl, Indi (Glenbrindy Indigo at Leonius). December brought us a quiet month and Christmas which is always fun. So in our final days of 2005 preparations for a busy start to 2006 with five shows to attend before Crufts in March are now underway. We hope that 2006 will bring us the same good luck in the ring that we had in 2005. With the new look Leonius website finished off just in time for re-launch today we have had a busy few days for the end of this year.

Well, that is our review for 2005, we hope you have enjoyed our first year on the web and the news we had to share. We want to thank everyone who has helped and supported us in this year we could not have done it without you, you know who you are. Our next news will probably be at the end of January when we start to attend a few more shows. Until then, take care.