Life wasn't challenging enough. (new pup)

We had a simple little life, 2 kids and a well trained border collie.
Then we saw him. A LEONBERGER pup. We have actually been interested in these dogs for a long time, and i was hoping the wife forgot all about them.
I saw in the paper Leonberger pups and i thought about throwing the paper away, but she already saw the add.
They are a St. Bernard, great Pyrenees and Newfoundland mix then the St. Bernard bred back in. Males get 150-180 lbs! They are surprisingly mellow and sweet for their size. A gentle giant they say. Many are used for therapy dogs in nursing homes and love kids. When i went to look at the pups i met the father, he came around the corner of the house and stopped me in my tracks, calmly walked up and checked me out, hung out for a while and went about his way. Pictures do no justice to the size of these guys.
So impressive! These dogs have typical big dog health problems and a short life span of 7-10 years. But no reason not to own one.

Have i lost it for even considering such a beast?
They are very loving family orientated dogs. They say to socialize them from 8 weeks, so we have been all over, met lots of dogs and people.
The pup is so far so good, a big lumbering bear already.

Put a harness on it an use 'em to pull logs out of the woods.

There ya go.

I can't wait till my little 100lb wife takes him for a walk.

We are a bit stuck on names.
Moose, MAX and Bear are a few we are kicking around. Any suggestions?

Ya gotta love puppy breathe !!

He's a cutie !

That's a beautiful animal. Its poop probably weighs more than my terrier.

LOL !! Terriers are big dogs in a small dogs body

YES! My oldest son (6) was just given his first chore.....JK

Um. Bfunk. You stink. I am so friggin jealous! I put a 5 foot high fence up around my yard, with gates, for my new dog! And my wife said no just before I got the dog. (That is putting it mildly.) She asked me to wait for a year or two until our youngest at the time was a little more independent! Well, it was hard to argue against that point. She was requiring all her time. And the other kids at the time were not going to help my arguement I guess. ;-) I just showed her the beginning of your post and reminded her that one year had went by in August! This summer will be two years. "Just throwing that out there." I said. ;-P

Yes, as you can see my wife has some serious pull around the house. I have to give her some. She is great. And smart. My brother has a new puppy. Well, wait. I mean has had. He is now a year old I think. Boxer. Has been a pain right in the friggin ass for him and his wife. They are both dog lovers. Have an older Golden Lab, and a nice big house with a good size yard. But less than half the size of mine. They tried everything with this dog. Crate training, more exercise, less exercise, food alteration, etc., etc. It did not help. Sh!t on the floor, puke after chewing everything under the sun. Did I mention my wife is also smart. Maybe I should not get a dog! :lol: I was always thankful every time I heard something like that happened and I did not have one. :cheese:

I was looking at G.S.D.s, Anatolian Shepherds, Leonbergers, Maremma Sheep Dogs, Great Pyrs, and a few others. The time will come soon. Somebody stop me.

Awesome looking dog man. Did I mention you stink!


P.S. Oh. Yes, you have lost it!

yikes Beautiful dog. Have fun. I loved raising my pup. Work all day with 100 kids who don't want to listen. One kid at home who doesn't want to listen. Then this little pup who would sit at the ready waiting for my next instruction.

this was my pup (sheepdog) and my brother's pup. Both 4 now.

LMAO!
Well truth is, until your good and ready don't get one.
They are a pain. I needed this like i need another ass cheek honestly. But, we started late in marriage and kids, so i suppose we are catching up for lost time.
I have a 6 and 2 year old. And a great border collie who is so well trained i never leash her. A snap of the finger and she follows. We were just settling in and life was pretty routine. Ahh, we are good pet owners and he will have a good life here. I will keep you updated.

Dogs RULE!

You are right about until your good and ready. But let's get this straight. You are never good and ready for a puppy. :smirk: Never. Been there. Years ago. You are never.... Oh, ya. I said that already. We started late in marriage and kids too. What's your point! I am now behind you in catching up. What the f%(@ dude! I have two twins who are now 7 and a 4 year old. Life is routine for us now as well. Have to admit, it is nice, right now. Nice. Oh, now you just have to throw the picture in of your second beautiful dog. Now you are just pissin me off. The one that is never leashed. A snap of a finger and she follows! :lol: Good for you man. Enjoy.

P.S. Don't keep me up to date on all the cleaning of the sh!t and the chewing of this and that. I don't want the downsides of the dog. Got me!?

Too funny man!
So right about never being ready for a puppy.
The plan is hopefully this big overgrown meathead i just got will learn a few things from the older wiser border collie (sammi).

Pretty dogs Kathleen.
I understand about the training. Training smart dogs is a lot of fun and quickly rewarding.

I'll tell you what Gasifier, we weren't looking or even thinking about a dog when a friend showed up at the front door with a puppy. (sammi)
True story, i would not let him in. I said "no thanks, come back later, without an animal" and started to close the door. Well i finally let him in and what i though would happen did.
The wife and kid fell in love with this furry little thing as it fell asleep in my lap and BAMM we were puppy owners. His wife would save them all if she could and this pup was the last of the litter and she had a plan, well it worked. Sent a collar and a bag of puppy chow.
Honestly, best dog and companion anyone could ask for. And good for my kids. Every kid needs a dog, come on man! LMAO!

I say name him Hugo and always call him using a thick Russian accent.
Hope you have enough couch for him to sprawl out on!!

I don't know which is more cute, your little girl or the pup. Congrats! Dogs are truly mans best friend.

Wow!! thats a beauty pup for sure hope ya all have a great time together..

loon

Gorgeous looking dog!

I'm ready for another dog once we get settled in the new place. Lots of room to roam around there. My daughter just had to put her sweet little mongrel down and we're all devastated. She getting another dog right away (kids gotta have a dog), and I'm researching breeds along with her. Gets lonely here when Lady BK ain't around. I need a friend to walk the new countryside with.

I have a 120lb female St Bernard mixed with something else
great companion
lots of property to roam
thinks she's a lap dog
have fun

Large breed are normally BIG BABIES...looks like yours will be no exception. Holly is our 120lb female St Bernard, affectionate but has never-ever licked/kissed anybody...but she wants your attention all the time. If your experience is like ours, your older well trained dog(Border Collies are great) will help big time getting the puppy in line. Both are great looking dogs! Our previous male St Bernard(he got up to 155lb) was named Rockford...we called him Rocky. We did this without even considering our daughter's name which is Adrienne until one day a friend pointed out we must like Sylvester Stalone!
We have had at least 1 large breed dog in the household for many years...also had Japanese Akitas. I want to name our next large dog something completely opposite of what you might expect...like Tiny or Oggie Doggie.

Sounds like your closing went through. Congrats on the new house.

I'll tell you what Gasifier, we weren't looking or even thinking about a dog when a friend showed up at the front door with a puppy. (sammi) True story, i would not let him in. I said "no thanks, come back later, without an animal" and started to close the door. Well i finally let him in and what i though would happen did. The wife and kid fell in love with this furry little thing as it fell asleep in my lap and BAMM we were puppy owners. His wife would save them all if she could and this pup was the last of the litter and she had a plan, well it worked. Sent a collar and a bag of puppy chow.

Is sammi the Leo? Are you saying you saved this dog? As in adopted him for free!? No. You mean they suckered you into buying him by bringing him to you and exposing the utter cuteness factor and got you to pay a pretty penny for him right? Tell it like it is man. :lol:

Honestly, best dog and companion anyone could ask for. And good for my kids. Every kid needs a dog, come on man! LMAO!
SHUT UP BFUNK! :lol: My grandmother always said, "Every boy needs a dog." Well, I would agree, and adjust it to, "Every kid needs a dog."
Would make a cool christmas present wouldn't it? My kids would probably cry with happiness! Then my wife would....... :shut:

After reading your original post again, I may have been premature. Sorry.

He is beautiful. Unique, for sure.

Our friends have a Newfounland/St. Bernard cross. She is amazing, and the largest female dog I have ever seen, 160lbs+.

We took in our second mastiff about six weeks ago. They are both wonderful. They came from a rescue, and are actually siblings. Very calm, quiet, sleep more than a cat, love the kids, always love attention. They are very protective. We've had the male since he was ten weeks old, and he's always slept in one of the kids' rooms at night. He also has a spot where he can watch both doors when he hears a car pull in. He stands and barks a little and looks very concerned until he knows everything is okay. His sister had been here about four days when I had her over talking to the neighbor. My six year old walked over to ask me something, and when his dogs were all arond her sniffing, Hilda got very agitated and started her slow, steady warning bark. She would've put some smack down if she hadn't been leashed. They make me feel a lot less uncomfortable leaving my family when I'm gone overnight twice a week for work.

There is something about the giant breeds. Mastiff, Newfoundland, and St Bernard all share some genes. They have similar qualities and temperaments. They do need some training and socialization. You don't want a 170lb dog you can't control. And then there's the slobber, and the hair. Once you've had one, though, you don't want to be without. Kinda like a cat stove ;-)

The "experts" claim that a 2 syllable name is best- less likely to confuse it with a common word. Max and Bear are 2 of the most common dog names this year- I'd avoid them for that alone (I'm a bahstid like that).