Dogs are the animals closest to human society. We are totally interdependent and probably we co-evolved troughout domestication. As a matter of fact this gives us a precise responsibility in maintaining their quality of life. This task cannot conflict with the modern consideration of the human-dog relationship that saw, in the last 200 years, its greatest acceleration both under its social and breeding side, as the most intense part of the original domestication. This action, the dog’s breeding, has to be seen as a dog’s genetic (stable) improvement, selecting individuals not only on appearance and movement, at the expense of their health and well-being but in conjunction with. In the specific case Leonbergers are fortunate since, differently from a few other breeds, no one of the type-conformation features are conflicting with health or well being, nor the size: we can breed understanding their biology, physiology and psychology with an approach which values their health, longevity and suitable temperament.
Guido Perosino
