The standards for the Leonberger breed - as well as for any other dog breed - in Germany are exactly defined in the VDH-breeding-standards. (The VDH is by the way the leading interest group representing all dog owners in Germany.) I already discussed attitude, ajustability, coat and muscle power. Lets come to one of the most obvious things: VDH rules state:
"You should have sufficient space if you decide to get a Leonberger. The size of your car and your living space must be compatible, otherwise you risk unwanted cramped conditions."
Oh yeah. Once Ella reached 9 months I was "forced" to buy a new car. Well - "forced" actually means, I finally got a reason to get rid of the old one and go car-shopping ;-)
I didn't care about motor size, power, brand ... I just checked the trunk and decided by "does Ella fit into or not". And of course I also had to buy a car pad in 5XL. Means: also the price of that is 5XL. Plus stairs. For super heavy dogs of course. Wich costs extra. of course.
Fits into? Check!
First class, handmade leather car pet and removable, foldable stairs for her royal highness (the mud on the stairs might be another blog post, I guess)
A lot of practice and treats to teach her using the stairs!
She really likes it and is the best car buddy you could ever have!
Fine white leather is her obvously her favorite. In our living room she chose the two-seater couch as beeing hers. Wich is a good scale for her size as well.
In this specific situation she was bored to death due to rainy weather and nobody playing with her.
Once we fixed the car-issue and gthe living space, we also had to teach our friends and family to get used to our special family member. The thing is: "Dinstance" is not a very common thing for Ella, so she usually full of joy and love is ignoring personal space.
Like "Can I help you somehow?"
"Wait, @rivalzzz has come to visit and I can even have this guy twice?? Yay!!"
Conclusion: 65kg, 75cm shoulder height - yes, she is big.