24th December 2008 - With just a few hours until the big day arrives, I'd like to this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Fantastic New Year for 2009.

2008 has been a good year for us in many ways. First and foremost we have enjoyed good health and the love of the people around us, friends and family alike and we give thanks for that, we are truly blessed. Secondly we have eaten well drunk well and have been warm in our beds at night. Despite the economic situation that has transpired in the latter part of 2008 and the doom and gloom outlook of the media, we have a lot to be thankful for. We have great dogs, great friends and a family in our hearts. So, with that in mind, we'll leave you in 2008 and see you again in 2009. In the meantime, we wish you all a truly wonderful Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.......til next time, take care....Gary, Rachelle, Jack and Maisie. The Leo boys, Bear, Mac, Barney, Murphy, Grissom, Myson and Alfie, the Leo Girls Nanna and Dilly and our non Leos Dot and Bisou xxxx

20th November 2008 - What news I hear you say! Well not much I have to admit. Since the shows last month we've been quiet. although we have heard that Grissom's love date recently has been successful and therefore all being well, pups will make it in to this world in due course. Grissom has 3 more matings lined up for February time, all French and 3 very nice young ladies too. Nanna is due in season any time soon but keeps us guessing. Its likely that we will mate here this time rather than waiting until summer 09. Our waiting list is filling up and provided we have the majority of bookings in place then we will probably go ahead. So if you are interested in the combination please let me know as soon as possible. We won't be having another litter for a further 2 years after this one so drop me a line. Pups will be born in the UK as before. We've received a number of enquires from around the world for pups and do we export. The answer is that we have done and today we have pups in the US, Spain and France along with the UK. I have one or two conditions about exporting. We certainly need to meet the potential owner and secondly we only transport a pup through the correct channels and with our preferred airlines. The cost of exporting to the US can be more that the price of the pup so its a big decision and a financial commitment. Add to that the cost of meeting us in France before we agree to export and its getting expensive. I know that sounds excessive and probably old fashioned, but our pups are special to us.

If Nigel Wray(London) is reading this, Nigel, I've written and responded to your email on at least 3 occasions over the last few months and although I've put read receipts on them, I've never been sure you got my emails.

We've finally finished the fencing of our property, at last. Just a few small jobs to do and we can keep the dogs safe. Over 1 km of fencing, 1000 metes of barbed wire, hundreds of posts, (all banged in by hand) and hundreds of screws and tentioners along the way. If nothing else, Jack and I are dam good at fencing now and have the blisters to prove it.

Rachelle and I are off to Marseille at the end of the month. Its a Leo special so we're taking Grissom and Alfie, Grissom in open and Alfie in pup. Some quality time together should be nice and if the dogs do well, so much the better.

Our friends at Jantonely Kennels have 2 female pups available, so if your looking for a pup right now, drop them a line at Jantonely

After 2 years of loyal service its time to sell our Leomobile Our trusty Toyota Hilux has done us proud. and has taken us around Europe safely and securely and in some style. Its for sale at around £14k and we have had it since new. (56 plate) its got 78k miles and full Toyota service history. It will be back in the UK awaiting sale in January 09, so if you are interested, look at the page and send me an email for more details. Rachelle has a new car now and we don't do so many shows these days so its really not getting used.

Talking of bargins, its seems the market for pups is really depressed at the moment. I notice pups as low as £350, a price never seen before. Is it the credit crunch, is it too many pups being born or maybe breeders are having pups without a waiting list? I don't know but I'm sure it raises the issue of price and who's doing what, how anyone would breed a litter with less than half of them booked I don't know, regardless of how commercial you don't want to be, the fact remains that puppies must be sold and therefore "sales" must be upmost in an breeders mind. Right now I think people are being cautious about spending money so I'll ask this question, is someone looking for a bargin and therefore buying based on price, the right kind of owner for a Leo? Maybe if they have always wanted a Leo and never been able to afford one, then now is an ideal time, but does price say anything about the breed? How easy is it to explain a £700 variance in the same breed, with pups from similar lines? Some food for thought and if you're looking for a bargin or you have always wanted a Leo and could never afford it, go get yourself an early Christmas present!

Finally....It was a slow day in heaven so God phoned The Devil to see what was going on down there. "It's slow here, too", said The Devil "Well," God said, "I think a dog show might be fun." "Sounds good," says The Devil, "But why are you calling me? You've got all the dogs up there. "I know," answered God, "But you've got all the judges."...til next time....take care...G

13th October 2008 - Once again in to the afray...or at least this months blog. a very enjoyable month I must say. The main events being the German and French Club Shows. First of all Leonberg and the ancestral home of this wonder breed. This year was only a quick visit for us so we arrived on the Saturday evening having had "dinner" at Burger King just before we arrived. We don't get BK in France so the kids were delighted and had to partake of the meaty convestibles (Burger & Chips). So in to the Amber Hotel once more followed by some dog prep and a beer. Just the kids and I went with Rach holding the fort back at home. Early Sunday morning saw the show start at around 8 am with dogs being checked and passported in to the showground. Good weather all day was a huge bonus and as the judging began, those warm fuzzy Leonberg feelings came rushing back.

Just Grissom and Alfie were entered along with a small UK contingent among 300 or so other dogs. A little down on numbers from last year, but still a quality event. Grissom is Open dog with 47 other males, Guido Perisino judging, Grissom was award excellent along with another 17 or so dogs and in the final cut made the last 8, which I was pleased with as I fancied Grissom was not the Judges type. Alfie entered the BAby Class and although no placing or awards are made in this class, nice things were said and he came away with his trinket for attending.

Best performance for the day was Anita and Nigel Halliday's Delta with Best Bitch and Best in Show. This is the first time a UK dog was won Leonberg and a big hearty congratulation must go to them and Delta for an excellent job.

Sadly we couldn't join the celebrations and made our way home directly after the show, arriving home about midnight.

Last weekend saw the French club show although this time we went on the Saturday and the Sunday as we wanted to do our TAN test and obtain confirmation. Both Grissom and Nanna carried out the test and passed with flying colours. Nanna scored one of the best of the day with 19.5 out of 20 and Grissom with 18 out of 20. 2 dogs gained 20 out of 20 for their TAN one of which was a Bear baby called Charlie from the Legende Du Chene Kennel. TAN tests are there to test temperament and endurance and is only done in France to my knowledge. Its not compulsory but its nice to have. Confirmations went equally well and we can now apply for our LOF numbers from the French Kennel club, which in turn enables us to have and register litters in France and makes it easier for French breeders to use Grissom as he is then known to the Kennel Club. He also needs it if he is to complete his French Champions Title.

Saturday evening saw the Club dinner and we had a fine time with other "Brits" and French alike, a real good laugh (Thanks folks, you know who you are!)

The show itself began bright and shiny at 9 am, this year it seemed to have a better layout which helped. Grissom in Open Male which had about 80 dogs and Alfie in Puppy Class of 12 or so, his first at bang on 6 months old. Grissom received an Excellent but no short-list and Alfie was awarded a Very Promising (which is the highest for a pup) and a 2nd place behind the oldest pup in the class, so we were delighted!

Dilly has been in season, her first since the last litter, the boys have been crazy as always but thank god that's all over for now. Myson is coming on a treat and at 8 months old is over 60 kgs, Alfie at just 6 months is nearly 50 kgs so both look like they will be big boys, Alfie is the image of Grissom at this age. Molly and Poppy have gone home to the Jantonely Kennel now, so peace at last! (just kidding Janey) Myson is depressed at the leaving of his sister and only has Alfie to do stupid things with.

Grissom's "dance card" (so to speak) is filling up. Hopefully no shortage of Grissom pups in France over the next 12 months. Talking of which, we're now starting to think about Grissom and Nanna's mating and hopeful litter for next summer. Already a number of reservations for that one, so if you're interested in this combination, do let me know sooner rather than later.

Nothing on the show scene for now, normally we'd do the UK Club show and Crufts next march, but no time for the UK Club and Crufts not my "cup of tea" next year despite Bear and Grissom qualifying. Myson will be going to LKA with Tony Wilson from Jantonely. Jane and Tony are his breeders and are keen to see what he can do in the ring, I fancy he could do well, he's a nice lad and getting better all the time.

Finally...The Credit crunch has now hit Japan I hear. In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches. Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song, while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived. While Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank is reported to have taken a hit, but they remain in the black. Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.....Til next time...take care...G

9th September 2008 - Here we are again, summer disappearing and Autum is just around the corner. The good news is however, that the best shows are approaching rapidly. Belgium Club Show, Dutch Club Show, German Club Show, French Club Show and UK Club Show, all in a matter of just about 6 weeks...glorious! Abeit, we will only attend the German and French Club Shows as we have far to much to do around here right now before the cold weather comes. We're currently in the process of building a bridge over our small river to gain vehicular access to another part of our land. 15 tonnes of concreate, over 100 metres of large timbers plus fixtures, fitting etc. Makes my back ache for sure. In addition we have the kennel block footings to dig, the wood shed to repair and the final part of the fencing to complete. So you can see that weekends are a little precious right now and will be for the next few months. Leonberg for me is the only place to be on the last Sunday of Sept any year so that one is always a must, even without a dog I'd still go, the French Show is just up the road as such and so we'll doing that one too. We're also doing some work on our old house (which is still for sale) so that's even more pressure....happy days!

So what of the dogs I hear you say. Well, we haven't done much really. We have 2 dogs visiting us right now, Molly, Myson's sister and Poppy (11 in November) from the Jantonely Kennel. The 2 girls have a great time, they go through the usual cycle of sleep, eat and play and have acres of land in which to roam and play. Mind you, Alfie has his nose put out when Molly and Myson play, two's company and threes a crowd as they say.

Grissom has had a love connection with a a very nice female (nudge, nudge) and we currently have a Poodle Berger. A Poodle Berger???? you exclaim, what's a Poodle Berger? Well, Bear has got his coat in such a state during a period of bad weather that we dicided to shave lots of his coat off! fom the top down he's normal, but from midway down he's a Poodle! except for the strands of hair that hang down from his tummy, which looks like an upside down Mohican. So maybe he's a "Punky Poodle Berger" he's carrying good weight right now so that makes him a "Chunky Punky Poodle Berger". Listen, its my blog and I can make up stupid names whenever I like....:-))). Nanna has decided to through her coat, naturally it was 3 days after I entered her for the club shows (Thanks Nanna) We'll see what she looks like by the time the shows come, she may even be in season but she's not due until mid October. Dilly seems like she will be coming in to season also as the boys are starting to show minor interest. Dilly will be "snipped" after her next season. No plans to breed her again, we're absolutly delighted with the litter she produced with Grissom but we're not really in to breeding and therefore snipping seems the most sensible option. We are planning a litter with Nanna and Grissom as you know, but after that we'll see. To be known as a stud kennel is OK, with a selection of nice males to choose from is about right for us. We have 7 males of which 5 are intact.

The kids are back at school, the Spartans are doing well including little Alfie. He's so like his Dad at that age, coming on nicely, I'm very pleased with him. Myson is doing well, tall, good size, good bone and fabulos redness of colour which seems to come from his Dad. I'll get more pictures up at some point.

I notice there are around 30 or more pups for sale right now around the UK. Jantonely has had a nice litter with their Ruby and Casper, their Czech import (Mysons Dad). Last time I spoke to them they had a few available, so give Jane a call if interested on 01623 751814.

That's all for now, but finally...."Some days you're the dog; some days you're the hydrant." til next time...take care...G

12th August 2008 - A bit late this month in making my posting. We've been quite busy these last few weeks so a few things to talk about. Lets start with shows, we went to the Spanish Club Show on the 2nd of August which was set in a beautiful location in the grounds of an old fort at San Sebastian, we were on top of a hill that overlooked the town below and you could see right out to the sea. The down side unfortunately was that the show was on the Saturday and I had to be in the UK for Sunday. We left at 10.30 pm on Friday night, drove all night and arrived at 6.45 am, being the first weekend in August the traffic was terrible, even in the small hours. I've rarely sat in a jam at 4 am in the morning, the service stations were like car parks and this added at least 2 hours to the journey.

52 Leo attended and we had Grissom, Nanna and Alfie booked in. This was Alfie's first show as he's only 4 months old and he took it all in his stride. He gave the Judge a kiss and paw and basically wagged his tail and looked all cute. This did the trick and he was placed first. He was then up against the Female Baby winner for Best Baby and won that too, so a good start to the day. Grissom was in Open Male and managed a 3rd, but Nanna did really well with a 3rd in Open Female in a class of 14. The show as always was a lovely event, the Spanish Club make you feel so welcome. Judging started at 2.30 pm that afternoon and finished at around 9 pm. The sun was out all day and temperatures were in the 80's.

We departed the show at 9.20 pm Saturday evening and arrived home at 8.20 am Sunday morning. An hour later I was back in the car on my way to the airport to catch my flight to the UK. To say we were knackered is an understatement! 1200 miles in 36 hours is no fun and took the shine off the show really. We really wanted to go and knew it would be tough, we had a short but good time and we hope that next year we can attend properly as before.

The other show we attended was Cahors Leonberger Special. We need a CACS from a Leo Special so that Grissom can claim his French Champion Title, he has everything else he needs so off to Cahors we went. 42 dogs at what turned out to be a very enjoyable show. We met some new dogs and people alike and had a really good chat with some. Being a Leo Special the French Club provided food and drink best part of the day, I don't know the name of the lady who provided it all but she did a great job and our thanks to her and the club for such wonderful support at the show, the punch was particularly good!

Just Grissom and Nanna entered, Grissom got a disappointing 4th although I felt he deserved better, but Nanna was our star of the day with 1st in Open Female and the CACS. Nanna is looking really well this last month or so, she has coat, substance everything going for her, which makes a change. She's had a down period but maybe we can do something with her in the coming months and the flurry of shows that starts in September.

Myson is now a little over 6 months old and the other day he was swimming in the lake. Next thing we know, he's got a fish in his mouth and is swimming to the side with it. Out he jumps and eats the fish, which incidentally was around 14 inches long. How he caught it I don't know, we figured the fish was suicidal and Myson swam by.

I must tell you about a new book that's coming available in the next month or so. Metha Stamer's book, the first volume of a series of three, is going to the printers by the end of the week, and will be ready by mid September.
This first volume covers the history of the Leonberger breed from 1848-1948. It is a hard cover book, 368 pages, 17 x 24 cm (6,7 x 9,5 inches), with nearly 250 illustrations, 32 pages in full colour. Cost wise its to be decided but €35 - €45 is roughly what it will be. If you are interested then contact Hein or Metha at this email address.I for one will be placing my order as Metha is a probably one of the few people who could pull this off. My understanding is that the 3 volumes are more of a reference work than casual reading. This subject matter has never been done before to my understanding and is a must read for any Leo enthusiast.

Dates for your diary, Belgian Club Show 13th Sept, Dutch Club Show 21st Sept, Leonberg Show 28th Sept, 4th-5th Oct French Club Show at Remorantin, mid Oct UK Club show (Not Going) so maybe we see you at some point.

Our Spartan litter is doing well, some of the boys are just like their Daddy at this age and at 4 months old they good weights and developing nicely.

Nanna and her litter mates are 3 years old on the 14th August. A very happy birthday to Nanna our beautiful girl and the rest of the litter. Yummy treats all round I think.

New pictures of Grissom, Nanna and Spartan litter

Finally..."We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made" --M. Facklam ...till next time....G

4th July 2008 - Its been hot this last week and it topped out yesterday at virtually 100 degrees in the sun. After a period of sun rain sun rain, it was good to have a week of nothing but sunshine. Alas as I write this we have a storm brewing which no doubt will see the water bouncing off the ground before finally soaking the dry and dusty sand that makes up the land around the house. So, what's been going on in the Arcanine world just recently?....well, not a lot in the answer but I can tell you that Alfie our new home bred pup has arrived from the UK where he was born and whelped along with 10 other little lovelies. All have now settled in to their new homes and photos and reports of their antics are starting to arrive by email. As most of you will know it was our first ever litter and although having a litter has never been a priority for us we are very pleased with the outcome. We'll attempt to have a litter from Nanna next year and maybe that's it, we only have 2 females as it is so, I don't think we'll ever be prolific breeders.

As you know Grissom won at the Championship of France which is a Crufts qualifier, not that we'll be going. This got me to think about what it takes to make a French Champion as I knew you had to win the CACS at the Championship of France as part of the qualification. It turns out that the following criteria must be met. First of all you need a CACS from either the Championship of France or the French Club Show, Next you need a CAC from a Leonberger Special Show of which there are about 8 per year. You also need another CAC from any other qualifying show and these should be under different Judges. Next you need a blood test to show the genetics, then you need to be "confirmed" which gives you a LOF number with the French Kennel Club and finally, or at least what I think is finally, you need a TAN test which looks at and tests temperament. So to be a French Champion the dog will be tested from the inside out! On that basis a maximum of 4 Champions per year can be created, 2 male and 2 female. Quite a system and from what I know its unique to the French, oh, and if that's not enough the qualification must be achieved within 2 years of the first award!...no pressure then!

Myson, our other youngster has reached that stage when each leg does something different, he' s "push-me-pull-me" like the Dr Dolittle character. He's a very heavy pup, tall with lots of good qualities, but I think he'll be a while in getting it all together, making all limbs move in the same direction would be a good start, bless him, he really is a nice lad but time will sort him out.

I'm currently reading a good book, "If Dogs Could Talk - Exploring the Canine Mind" by Vilmos Csanyi in it he explores many canine subjects such as behavior, bonding, emotions of dogs, the Human/dog alliance and cooperation. I instantly recognised in my own dogs much of what he discusses in the book and have found it to be a fascinating read, I thoroughly recommend it, I got mine from Amazon for about £12 or so, you'll enjoy it I'm sure.

Unlike me, I've put up the results of the World Dog Show which was held the other day in Stockholm, click here to go to the results. Well done to all those that attended.

Oh I must tell you about new bedding we bought for our boys and girls. Its matting made for martial arts and its really good!. Comes in 1 x 1 metre squares that link together, its about 20 mm thick and has different colours on each side. It's, strong and completely washable in a matter of minutes. Costs about £13 per sheet. We're using it in crates, the kennels, the back of the truck, in fact everywhere...its great! thoroughly recommend it. We got ours from http://www.legendma.co.uk/ who deliver to the door and who we found to give good service.

Finally...Two Nuns arrive in the USA by boat and one says to the other, "I hear that the people of this country actually eat dogs." "Odd," her companion replies, "but if we live in America , we might as well do as the Americans do."

Nodding emphatically, the mother superior points to a hot dog vendor and they both walk towards the cart. "Two dogs, please," says one

The vendor wraps both hot dogs in foil, and hands them over the counter. Excited, the nuns hurry to a bench and begin to un-wrap their 'dogs'. The mother superior begins to blush and, then, staring at it for a moment, leans to the other nun and whispers cautiously, "What part... did you get...?" ...Till next time...Take care...G

8th June 2008 - "Brit's do well at Championship of France". I guess that should be the headline this posting? We went to the Championship of France yesterday (7th June) and having entered Open Male with Grissom, we competed against 28 males in a tough class with some really great examples of the breed all taking part. Under one of the top German Judges we took 1st place in Open Male, the CACS and the CACIB. Other Brit's were also in the line up, 2nd Open Male RCAC and RCACIB was Beninio Vom Zeitschelhof from Julie Jones (Bavaruki) and 3rd Open Male was Caspar H Bora z Miloticek at Jantonely from Jane and Tony Wilson, who also got a 4th place in Intermediate Female with their youngster Enya vom Treuen Löwen. So, a good day for the Brit's you might say. Another good day was had by Anita and Nigel Halliday of Lionslord last week at Southern Counties Champ Show near Newbury. Their lad Kumamata Awesome Boy won his 3rd and crowning CC for his Champion title. Its been a while since the last UK Male Champion and both Anita and Nigel have worked hard to achieve the new title. Congratulations to you both.

All the pups have gone to their new homes except the one going to the US. He goes in about a weeks time. They all managed to catch up on weight and in the most part we are very pleased with how they turned out at 8 weeks old. Naturally we have a new addition..."Arcanine Alpheus", our own little Spartan. I'll be putting up his new page soon along with a photo or two. He's quite a character and very similar to his Dad Grissom at that age. Dilly is now starting to drop her coat and to look awful, but that's how it goes and she will come back to full blossom in due course.

We've just started to try a new food for the boys and girls here. Its a Canadian food by a company called Nutram. I've looked at all the details and although its a tiny bit more expensive than Royal Canin, it seems to be working well and the dogs enjoy it more than their old food. We'll see how it goes and try to report any feedback we get. Not sure if its available in the UK but we have a distributor in France.

Myson has Pano, bless him, feeling really sorry for himself so we're trying to rest him up as much as possible.

Finally..."Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail.." - Henry Wheeler Shaw till next time...take care..G

25th May 2008 - Happy days...what a good result in Switzerland we had! Grissom taking Clubsieger and although it would have been lovely to have had Best in Show, the veteran female that beat him was 10 years old and fabulous. The same female won Best in Show at Leonberg 2 years ago and is Granny to our Myson, so who could be upset by that. At 2 years old Grissom has a long way to go so maybe one day he can win a Best in Show himself. We had a good show and a good weekend overall, we arrived on the Saturday around teatime, checked in to our hotel and went out for dinner with our friends Jane and Tony Wilson from Jantonely Kennel. Contrary to popular belief Jantonely is not Italian and Tony is not from Barcelona. <hehe> private joke. We met up with some old friends at the show and the folks there always make you so welcome. Anita and her team did a grand job in organizing the show as always and the new venue was well received. A good weekend, a good show and a good result, not only for us but Jane and Tony did really well with 4th in Open Male, 2nd in Intermediate Female and a win in the Baby Female class with Myson's sister, Molly.

Litter wise all the pups are reserved. I'm really pleased with them all, pups and homes. Paperwork is back from the Kennel club so we have all our little Spartans lined up for collection next weekend. There seems to be a lot of litters around at the moment and all of a sudden. We travel to the UK on Thursday afternoon ready to meet up with new owners Friday and back on Sunday. I'll stay in the UK as I'm working there that week. I'll probably go along to the Southern Counties Champ Show if I get the chance, its where 2 years ago Bear picked up his 2nd CC on the way to Champion. You know its been 2 years since the last UK Male Champion was crowned (Bear), since then there have been a few Female Champions in that time but still only 6 males to date. I notice there are one or two males with 2 CC's currently so it won't be long until the next one....good luck...Of the 6 males, one is sadly no longer with us, one UK born and bred is living in Sweden (Jasper), one comes from Sweden (Grizzly), 2 are litter brothers (Bear & William) and one is a favorite of mine (Dylon) 2 Champions are 6 years old (Bear & William) and the rest are all Veterans. 3 have produced offspring and 3 have not, from the 3 that have produced, over 230 puppies have been born to date, of those puppies many have seen success in the showring including CC's and RCC's although only Grizzly has produced Champion offspring in Europe and UK so far. Its an exclusive club but there's plenty more room yet!

Murphy is 2 years old today so happy birthday my boy!

We're going to the Championship of France Show in a couple of weeks. Its the equivalent of Crufts if there is a such a thing. Lots of Leos and in past years has been a good show.

Finally...Here's a thought..."In the world which we know, among the different and primitive geniuses that preside over the evolution of the several species, there exists not one, excepting that of the dog, that ever gave a thought to the presence of man." - Maurice Maeterlinck 'Our Friend, The Dog'

11th May 2008 - Great News, Grissom attended the Swiss Club Show and takes Clubsieger 2008. This means best male in the show under breed specialist and top German Judge Gerhard Zerle. Our thanks to the Judge for thinking so highly of our youngtser. Grissom achieved this at just over 2 years old.

9th May 2008 - This last weekend I visited the puppies for the first time and we had a new homes visiting day. Many of the new owners took time out to come and say hello to the pups and me, it was great to meet you all and have a chat. Everyone spent some personal time with the pups and managed to eye up the one they fancied. Unfortunatly the day was pretty hectic and I'm sure that any time with pups is never long enough, but thank you to all the new homes for making the effort, people came from the local area, Yorkshire, Wales, London, Southern Ireland and Spain. In addition we have pups going the the USA and France so a real international litter, not bad for the first one. We have great homes for all the pups and I am delighted with all of those we met. Pups weights are good and even the tiny ones when born are going from strength to strength. We have a couple of girls available.

Pups go to new homes at the end of May, a time of mixed emotions of course but also excitement to see our pups start their new lives. Dilly is doing really well, she's a fabulous mother and is being spoilt rotten, she won't want to come home, all the attention, treats etc is doing her good. She's in good condition at the moment but that will change in the next few weeks as she starts the post pregnancy coat drop.

After much debate we came up with a theme for the litter on which to base the names. This first litter will be the "Spartan" Litter. Taken from the Ancient Greek people of Sparta, names are based on prominent people from Spartan History, Kings, Queens, Princesses and Hero's. The Spartans were a people well advanced for their time and it was well known that a Spartan man was worth a dozen of any other Greek. A fascinating people and a great theme for the litter. Names have gone to the Kennel Club for approval now, so I hope that they accept all those put forward.

I was speaking with a friend of mine at the weekend and we got on to the subject of dog behavior. We discussed the idea of letting dogs be dogs. So many times we humanise our dogs and think of them as humans in furry clothes. A dog has a far simpler way of thinking about life, the number one priority for any dog is the hunt, we call it a walk these days but to our dogs the hunt is the big idea. What we do after that is secondary but must involve discipline and affections, pretty much in that order. We both agreed that you must give your dog the best chance of being a dog first and try to meet his or her expectations. A dog interacts with the world with their nose first then their eyes and then their ears, so its the complete opposite to us. If a dog is going to be balanced and a good member of your pack, then it must be allowed to work with its in-built system. That means the one thing you and I must be is the pack leader, This is the single biggest expectation your dog has of you. This is more important the more dogs you have as the problem of not doing it is bigger. John Fisher in his book "Think Dog" and Cesar Milan is his books "Cesars Way" and "Be the Pack Leader" offer some great advice on letting your dog be a dog first. I have to say its not something I've mastered and my dogs are still humanised, but we have made changes and I do believe my dogs have benefited as a result.

Off to the Swiss Club Show at the weekend, Zurich actually, taking Grissom and Nanna, also little Myson is coming for the ride so should be a good weekend. I'll let you know how we get on.

Finally...this seems quite fitting..."Of all the things I miss from veterinary practice, puppy breath is one of the most fond memories!" -- Dr. Tom Cat...til next time, take care...G

1st May 2008 - The boy we had available is now reserved. Just one Girl now available

24th April 2008 - Pups gaining weight, all doing well. Looks like we have a boy available as someone has dropped out so if your interested let me know. Myson now 22 kgs at 12 weeks old.

I've been looking at the site stats recently and our visitor numbers have increased substantially. We're now receiving over 3500 unique visitors each month, which is up 3 fold on the same time last year. The average person visits 1.3 times per month with 2% spending over an hour on the site. The most visited pages are this blog and Bears page, currently followed by Myson's page at the moment. Our biggest audience is from the UK, followed by the USA, Canada, Germany, France and Poland. A very big thank you to all our visitors. As a result of the increased traffic I will now increase the amount of updates to the site from once a month to twice a month as we can also tell from the stats that many people "pop in" to see what's new. Our stats show that this site is probably one of the busiest private Leo sites around the world.

I hear that more Leos are finding themselves in rescue or need to be rehomed. This is a sad situation for sure but I wanted to tell you some of the positive elements of rehoming a Leo. As you may know I have 2 rescue Leos, Barney and Murphy. Barney came to us after he was 18 moths old, he's now 5 years old. He came to us because his owners situation changed and he needed a new home. For us it was the chance to make a positive contribution to the breed and outside of that Barney is a great dog. Fare to say he came with problems, his hips are not good which causes him to walk badly and he has had a major ear operation that was very expensive, but apart from that he is just great. I firmly believe we have improved Barney's life, not that he had a bad life before, not by any means, but he now has all the freedoms and care he could ever want, He has a good lifestyle and is loved totally. So although a Leo in rescue is a sad and upsetting thing at times, I doubt that given the opportunity to speak, Barney nor Murphy would say it turned out badly. I encourage you to look at a rescue Leo if you want a Leonberger, just make sure that it will be their last move and that you can provide the best home possible. You know, a balanced dog lives in the moment and will only hang on to their past if you do. They have little sense of geography, distance or time they have different values and belief systems than we do although naturally we impose our sense of things on them and try to instill our values. Many of us believe our dogs think just like we do...Having a rescue Leo is very rewarding, we also have 2 other rescues that are not Leos and the same situation exists here although we had them as puppies. So, do consider a rescue, they bring great joy, how they came in to your life is not important, what you do with them after that most certainly is...good luck.

Swiss Club show coming up in May, we off to Zurich to take part, its a lovely show and we will meet up with friends and dogs alike. A new venue this year and a bit further to travel, but there you go, we'll have a nice weekend I'm sure.

Grissom has a love date this weekend, fingers crossed for that one

Our good Friend Anne Bremond went to the Czech Club Show last weekend and won Best in Show with her lad Akilles, well done Anne, very proud of you both.

Finally..remember next time you are in the show ring with your dog and its not going well, its your dog who's naked!..til next time...G

18th April 2008. Just 2 Females available now. Mum and pups doing really well, all growing all putting on weight nicely. New pictures to come

14th April 2008 - It seems that we are now breeders! Its official, and we have 11 pups to prove it. Dilly gave birth on the 5th of April to 12, 7 boys and 5 girls. Unfortunatley we have lost one boy so far :-(( so we are down to 11. We only have a couple of places available at this time, all others were pre booked. Thankfully we have been able to accomodate all those on the waiting list so if you have an interest in any of the remaining pups, please let me know.

The pups were born a few days early but fingers crossed they seem to be fighters and are gaining weight, they have a way to go but we're hopeful for them. Dewclaws have been removed from 2 pups and Dilly is an excellent mother. The big decision now of course is what names to choose? more difficult than you think and will no doubt cause some debate within the family. So, I hope to report good news as time goes by and all being well, we'll see 11 pups go to new families at the end of May.

Myson, our new addition is finding his way, he's become a real part of the pack and although gets the odd special treatment, he is fitting in rather nicely. He's a big lad for his age, at 10 weeks he's 19kgs which is about 40 Lbs or a little over 2 stone, so he could be a big one. Lots of coat, nice dark eye, lots f bone, sqaure rump, good mask and big ears. He's a Swedish / Czech combination. In particular it brings together lines of Zedas Fox on the Run (Bono) Mysons Uncle, who was a fabulous dog!! and Huzar Von Sissy Haus, another incredible male, ClubSeiger at Leonberg and former World Winner. Mysons Grand Mother was also Club Seiger at Leonberg 2 years ago. So some rather special dogs behind him that I really like and if we are really lucky, we may get some of these qualities coming through in Myson. He now has his own page and some new photos have been posted. More to come in due course.

Grissom has a love date with a rather nice French female in the next couple of weeks. He also has another 2 booked for later this year, so he could be a bit of a stud muffin, he's only just turned 2 years old and could have lots of off-spring by the end of the year. Bear also had a love date a few weeks back, just waiting to see if that's been successful, should know in about a week or so, fingers crossed. He could also have another 2 matings this year, both French. French breeders are great, some of our best French friends are breeders who we met through stud bookings and showing, we really have been blessed to meet such good people.

The other day sombody asked me why after 6 years in the breed did we decide to have puppies? Its a good question. I didn't need to think of an answer, I've always known why we wanted to breed, its was just when and which dogs would be involved. The answer for us is simple, we believe we can make a positive contribution to the breed. Idealistic maybe, but what else is there, money, I don't think so, when you have 10 dogs you can forget that one, Kudos? Well, that would be nice but that takes a long time a lot of luck and more litters that we will ever have, although we would like to think that our dogs would do well in the show ring given the chance and will represent us well. To further the gene pool is our aim, the lines that Dilly and Grissom bring are not common to the UK although pretty regular in Europe. Imported or foreign dogs have done well in UK shows in recent years, winning Crufts for the last 2 years for a start.There are many lines out there that offer interesting and stimulating possibilities. We will make the tiniest of contributions in our breeding lifetime, but we hope we can look back in years to come and be proud of the that contribution.

So just a short blog this time, but will make another in the next couple of weeks as the pups grow. Finally..."The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue." --Anonymous - Til next time...take care..G

16th March 2008 - All being well Dilly is expecting her first litter around 10th April. Sired by Grissom we are excited to learn from the scan last week that there are 9 or 10 puppies, so now we have official permission to start the worrying process ;-) We thought she was pregnant anyway as she is already showing signs, a little bigger in the ribs for sure. Dilly will be whelped in the UK so the pups will be available in the UK from 8 weeks old. An odd decision really with us living in France, but its more viable than following the French system. We have some space on the list for pups, if you're interested please let me know as soon as possible.

Grissom and Nanna went to Montlucon Championship Show on Sunday. Grissom won Open Male, Best Male and Best of Breed. He also made the shortcut to the last 7 out of a group of 28 in the Group Competition.

Crufts, I have to say it was one of the nicest Crufts we have been to, not for the showing mind you but for the people. Both Rachelle and I spent best part of the day talking to visitors, many of whom we have known from previous years. Bear and Grissom both shared the limelight with dozens of photos and and some video taken. Grissom's size for many was overwhelming and Bear has been a show favorite for a number of years. Its surprisig how many people tell us how they have a picture of Bear on their PC or mobile phone screen savers. some even tell us about the pictures they have printed off and even framed them and put them up on their wall or on the shelf. So thank you to all our visitors, new and old, thank you for your kind comments, words of encouragement and for coming to say hello. I know from reports from our service provider that we have a lot of visitors to this site, many of whom (over 60%) are repeat and regular offenders from all corners of the world. It was great to meet you and do please come and see us again next year.

The journey to Crufts was somewhat a tough one, I woke at 3.45 am on Friday morning to make the journey up to Stansted from Reading. I had a 7.10 flight down to Lyon via Easyjet which all went without a hitch. I then got the bus in to Lyon station and waited over 2 hours for the next Train to Vichy. I arrived in Vichy at 4.20 pm, Rachelle picked me up at 5 pm and finally arrived home 30 minutes later. It was then a mad rush to get the car packed, food shopping done and the final prep for the dogs. We left home at 8.30 pm ready for the 12 hour journey over to Birmingham. Following my trusty Tom Tom we arrived at the Euro Tunnel port at 3.30 am, by this time I had been awake nearly 24 hours. and had travelled best part of a thousand miles by plane, train and automobile. A coffee and a rest at the port ready for the 4.20 am train to Folkstone, at last a chance to get some shut eye. 45 minute later were were entering Folkstone still completely nakered! Still only another 3 hour drive to the NEC. We arrived at Birmingham at 7.45 am after a stop at the services for a good fry up. In to the halls and let the fun begin. By this time I couldn't give a monkey's how we did, which was just as well by all accounts. I didn't enjoy the judging but the day was great as I explained. A little after 4 pm saw us on our way to Nottingham and a night stopping at our good friends Jane and Tony Wilsons house, the idea was to watch Crufts on the TV, have some fish and chips and have a few beers. Well, 1 out of 3 isn't bad in the circumstance. Within half an hour of landing on the sofa (Jane says its was 10 minutes but I dispute that) I was crashed out, the next thing was dinner, I opened my eyes long enough to eat and had every intention of doing more. Nice try, having been up nearly 40 hours I crashed on the sofa until 5.30 am when it was time to get up and head back to "La Belle France" In to the car and off on the 200 mile plus journey down to Folkstone, Rachelle dropped me at Ashford International train station as I had to get back to Reading ready for work the next day. Off she went, Maisie, dogs and all. Unfortunatly Rachelle missed the train and had to wait and hour and half until they could get her on the next one. She evenually arrived home at 7 pm on Sunday night.

I'm glad its only once a year, UK shows are really hard work for us, outside of Crufts and the Club show I don't think we will be doing too many. Its a lot of money for 20 minutes in the ring and then to not even know what the judge thought of your dog. To have an "all rounder" as a judge at Crufts for me is not on. It really should be a breed specialist. There are dozens of Judges in this world that are breed specialist, surely we can find just one each year? I don't know who's Judging next year but after that I beleive they are breed specialist for the next couple of years after that.

We currently have a round of birthdays, Grissom was 2 years old a couple of weeks ago, Mac was5 on the 13th March amd Bear will be 6 years old on the 21st March. Bear will now be rested until the end of the year or even until next March when he enters veteran. We have the youngsters to concentrate on for now so some time off for him will serve him well, although he will still want to get in the car as soon as he sees the show bag! last week he had a "rendez vous" with a nice French Lady, all went well so know as always we wait for the scan, he's being used by French Kennel that have been in Leos for about 40 years and if its successful, this would be his 3rd French litter in the last 2 years, so fingers crossed. Grissoms mating that was planned for a couple of weeks ago has been put off until the next season, but should go ahead in due course

At home we are just starting the plans for the new kennels. 60 square mtres of indoor kennels, whelping room, kitchen and show preparation room. In addition there will be isolation kennels and reserved outside area for when the girls are in season, all set in a 1 acre park. With trees providing natural shade during the summer I for one am very excited at the propect of this new building. This is the main project for this year so as things progress I'll let you know and post photos etc.

Nanna is looking fabulous, despite her recent pregnancy she looks great! It seems to have done her a world of good, she's filled out, her coat is in excellent condition and she seems to have a smile on her face. . Nanna picked up a 4th at Montlucon Championship Show last weekend so we were reasonably pleaed with that.

Ok, so enough for now but before I go a thought for the lady readers and some wisdom for the chaps.... A woman always has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument. Til next time...take care...G

14th February 2008 - Lets be early for a change I thought and suddenly realised, what do I have to blog about this month? Certainly we had been up to a few things and have a few things planned so here we go. Nanna's pup arrived on the 2nd of Feb as expected, having settled her down for the night on the Friday we were sure nothing was going to happen until late Saturday if her temperature was any indicator that is. Rachelle woke at around 7 am on Saturday morning only to discover Nanna out of the whelping box, laying on Jack's bed and sat there quite contently with a new arrival, a boy weighing in at 600 grams. We were delighted, Nanna had done the work all by herself and had settled in to motherhood instantly. Things were going well, everything was functioning as expected and weight was going on. For 3 days he was the apple of our eye and adored by all the family. However, it seems it wasn't meant to be and for some reason 4 days after birth our little lad suddenly died. No reason, no signs just died. We know this happens and you try to not think about, but when you only have one in the litter you only have one chance, after months of expectation and the joy of his arrival, the Arcanine household was a sad and tearful place to be....sleep well little one.

On a more positive note, Dilly decided that Grissom was her chosen partner for her mating, despite initial attempts to put Bear to her, she was adamant that Grissom was the one. So last week we had 2 successful mating's each with 20 minute plus ties, so now we wait until early March to see if Dilly is pregnant. We also have another mating for Grissom here in France in the next 10 days or so with a very nice female bred by the Neuf Grains D'or kennel based in Savoire. Although the female lives with her owners in the South of France, anyone interested in this combination could contact Corinne Serra in the first instance whom I'm sure will be pleased to help.

March also sees Crufts, I'm bringing my good friend Anne Bremond from La Legende Du Chene kennels here in France and her daughter Ambre. They've never been to Crufts before so it'll be a new experience in many ways. I warned Anne that as a spectator, the 2 most important items to bring are a camera for the dogs and a credit card for all the shopping! :-)))

House wise things are coming together, the electric is finally sorted as is the water supply, just need the phone connected next week and we're sorted, we'll even have internet! broadband no less, which is something we have been lacking for the last 2 years. Despite promises from French Telecom about keeping our old number, we now have a new one, see contact page for details I know some of you have been trying our old one but alas tis kaput!

I don't know how many know this, but at the end of May there's the Austrian Club Show and its their 30th Anniversary and in recognition of this, the Leonberger Union is making it their Special International Union Award Club Show. The first of what I understand will be an annual event, although in different places each time. Its a show over 3 days with the club show and a CACIB Show on the 1st June. Its held in Salzburg and further details can be found here. Maybe the UK Club could form a group to come from the UK and spectate or even show their dogs. Being the first event of its kind it would be nice to support the show with a strong English contingent? Maybe we'll see you there?

Other shows, well, I'm lining up Montlucon, Chateauroux, Limoges, WELKS, Leonberg, and the Swiss Club Show and Austria in the first half of the year, beyond that I haven't thought too much, but it shoudl be a fun year.

With all that showing in mind here's a couple of thoughts for you.... when reading your critique.. "ANGULATION" is talking about your dog, not the degree to which you should bend over backwards to impress the Judge. Also remember, even if you don't win, its nothing a good whinge, whine, bitching session and half a bottle of vodka won't sort out!...till next time....take care..G

24th January 2008 - Talk about manic! the last few weeks have been high stress to say the least, apart from Christmas, which was great and New Year, great also, we currently have 2 girls in season, pup due next week, we move this weekend having spent the last couple of weeks finalising the purchase and we are looking after a friends Leo and Parrot! Rachelle doesn't know what day it is just lately but it will all start to calm down in the next couple of weeks.

Nanna is pregnant although with only one pup according to the scan. she's due on the 2nd of Feb, Rach is terrified of the whole event and I can't blame her, I would be too. Still, lets hope nature does the right job and all is well, this will be our first ever litter (if you can call one pup a litter) and naturally we're looking forward to it. We have names ready and all that's left to do is build the whelping box, install the heat lamp and buy the weighing scales. Pictures and news as soon as anything occurs.

Dilly is in season already, she should be mated in around 10 days, Bear or Grissom to be sire, hopefully we have better luck this time around. Poppy, our visitor from the Jantonely Kennel is also in season, the boys are going nuts already so you can imagine our place right now.

The new house is finally ours, all signed and sealed last week, spent a few days moving stuff over ready for a final move this weekend. 8 hectares, lake, streams, woodland and open fields. The house and outbuildings will be demolished and a new house put in its place, work should start on that in the summer, first job however is to build the new kennel block, after all, you have to get your priorities right!. The property has a peaceful and lovely setting, rural yet with shops and services just 8km away, a good mix of what we hoped to achieve in a new property. (sounding like an estate agent all of a sudden) You know, we looked at 52 houses in total and only found 2 we liked enough to put an offer on, now its ours and we can start another new chapter in our french life.

Crufts is booked, Bear and Grissom coming over, never really sure why we go to Crufts, its a strange show I find but I think we go because of the event, the theatre and the ceremony and because we spend time money and effort in qualifying to go. We tend to enjoy the event rather than the showing side, its a good chance to catch up with people so we look forward seeing you there.

Bear had a love date just recently with a nice young French lady, She stopped with us for a week but wasn't having any of it. That girl knew what she wanted and it certainly wasn't sex, despite our best efforts she remained as pure as the day she arrived, hopefully she will come back at her next season and we can have another go.

Grissom is now available for stud to approved bitches. His "dance card" has a couple of names on it already so we look forward to seeing what he produces in due course, his first offspring is due next week with Nanna.

So you see its all go at Arcanine, never a dull moment. I'd just like to thank a couple of people for their help recently. Laurent Gougeon (UK), you're a star my friend, you help our dreams come true, Jane & Tony Wilson (FR) you're our rock, you don't know what peace and fun you bring.

Finally...when it comes to your dog, If it's not wet and sloppy, it's not a real kiss....till next time, take care..G

14th December 2007 - Its almost here, Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat...Not that Grissom is a goose and not that he is fat, but he is 80kg as of this week. Fair to say he's a little tubby but even he vet says he's not fat. I think we call it big boned ;-) rather like myself, although actually I fancy it could be a fur ball!

Grissom has ben to the vet this week with a poorly leg, safe to say that with a wave of the magic credit card, all is getting better. Vet fees in France are really quite good, about half the price of those in the UK, which is just as well really. I think I must have shares by now or at least I should have seat or room named after me.

As you may have noticed hip scores for Nanna and Grissom are back. We're delighted that both are A:A so they are ready to be mated. I'm not doing eyes or elbows for a number of reasons. First of all I can't get a reliable regulated test locally and secondly its not done in France, Germany, Spain or almost any other European country, and seeing that's where we are, then that's what we will be doing. 95% of all Leonberger's ever born have never had eyes or elbows tested, so, I feel comfortable in my decision. Why not do it in the UK I hear you say? well, we only come to the UK a couple of times a year and we only bring 2 or 3 dogs, but given the opportunity and time, then we may well have the show dogs eye tested, but 3 out of 9 is all that will ever be done. I'm sure this won't go down well in the "establishment" but that's the way it is, go tell the majority of the worlds Leo breeders that they are wrong! Better still write to the Leonberger Union and insist that they change the rules....Now I'll put my soap box away and get back to business.

We haven't done any shows since the UK club show, we've been very busy preparing to move, lots of work around the house although the weather has been appalling, rain, rain and more rain. We also had strong winds yet it hasn't been that cold, its amazing the warmth that comes off 9 dogs, its like having 9 radiators and really does keep the house warm. Rachelle's off to the UK tomorrow for a few days to finish the Christmas shopping, see family and friends and to stock up on those goodies we can't get locally, no real plans over the Christmas break, packing boxes for the move, eating, drinking, watching the box, the usual.

I must take some new pictures for the site. Murphy has changed such a lot as has Dilly so I really need to get to grips with updating photos. I also have a bunch of other photos of Bear's and Mac's off spring. They are all growing well and all beautiful naturally so I'll work hard to get some of those up on the site

So, a quite period since the last posting, it leaves me just to say that we all wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year for 2008. Thank you for your support, visits and messages for 2007 and we hope to see you next year, until next time....take care and all the very best...from Gary, Rachelle, Jack, Maisie, Bear, Mac, Barney, Grissom, Murphy, Nanna, Dilly and not forgetting Dot and Bisou.

15th November 2007 - A bit late this month with the update, my apologies, I know many of you check the site on a regular basis so here goes. Since the last update we attended the UK Club Show, a good show and a good result for Bear with a 2nd in Open, Grissom was unplaced which for me was quite unbelievable having not 3 weeks earlier won Intermediate class at Leonberg, plus all the other awards he has received around Europe at all the other Club Shows, still, that's showing and I had predicted exactly this outcome. Makes you wonder if the time and the £500 to go is really worth it. We'll go to Crufts in March 2008 but need to think about the shows we want to do, we do less and less these days but still enjoy it.

It was good to see all the dogs and people we haven't seen in a while, Bear's boy Taz won Special Yearling, well done to Paul and Jacqui and Breeder Gaynor Thomas picked up a 2nd in the breeders class with 3 of her Bear puppies.

They tell me its 6 weeks till Christmas which means we have to start thinking about litters from Nanna and later on from Dilly. Nanna is due in season December and the boys are showing a little interest in her already, so we'll wait and see how that works out. Fingers crossed all is well. We're spending the Christmas period at home as usual but hope to spend some of that time moving, as I said last time the pack is on the move, I can't and won't say anymore than that at this stage but I'll post photos etc in due course. We've been spending a great deal of time and money preparing our current house for sale, we still have a long way to go but I enjoy the work and although it takes up my entire weekend, its starting to come together slowly, as soon as we move out I can start to think about the inside of the house, you know what its like trying to decorate with 10 dogs running around, mayhem for sure and the results last as long as it takes to swish a tail.

I don't know about yours, but my dogs are eating for France! For some reason (Maybe the weather) they have nearly doubled their in-take of food. My guys have never done this before, in fact I've struggled to get food in to them at times, we've done the worming and most of them have been to the vets at one time or another, so no health issues there. Rachelle says they are just taking after me and feeling contented and eating for comfort, thanks love!. You may know that we have food down all day which is always topped up throughout the day and therefore the dogs graze rather than gulp at set feeding times. Weight wise they are OK, the boys range from 60kgs to 75 kg's and the girls are 43kg and 48kg all of which I'm happy with.

Bear has a "love date" coming up in the next couple of weeks, young French "totti" reasonably local to us and she will be staying a couple of days. Grissom has had a couple of enquiries too, although under the French rules he must be 2 years old before he can be a stud, so with that in mind he can't be used until Feb 08, his only "action" so far has been the vet and a plastic tube when we had him sperm tested... poor sole.

Over the last 10 weeks we have had a little Leo visitor with us from our good friends Jane and Tony Wilson's pack. Poppy (Rikandan Blankety Blank at Jantonely) is a real honey and the perfect house guest (apart from destroying my bedroom door and a section of wall that is) anyway, last week she celebrated her 10th Birthday... so a very happy birthday dear girl and many more to come!

Finally...When you're a dog ....nobody thinks less of you for passing gas in public....till next time...take care, G

8th October 2007 - We're obviously delighted with the result at Leonberg, I was so pleased with the result I forgot to say that Grissom picked up 2 CAC's as well, one from the Club and one from the German KC. It was a good day with a record attendance of 375 Leonbergers and a good turn out from the UK, both in terms of dogs and on-lookers. I think it was 12 or 14 UK dogs in total and out of that I believe we (UK) had a 4th in Open female and 3rd in Open Male, a 2nd in Junior Male and a 1st in Intermediate Male, this is excellent when you consider not only the quantity but the quality of the dogs there. Class sizes of 25 to 50 are incredible to see and for us in the UK a single class of 50 would represent a small Champ show in itself. So a good day for all concerned and I can only urge you to come next year and join in the fun. Bear did well in Champions Class with an Excellent although not placed. Nanna was in Open class and gained a Very Good.

Just a couple of weeks prior to Leonberg saw the French Club Show at Romorantin in central France. Again 300-400 leos and again large class sizes. Grissom once again did outstandingly well in a class of 26 and finally took 2nd Place in Intermediate Male. Just the day before the French Club Show was the Belgium Club Show. Just Grissom and Nanna attended and again a good result. Grissom 1st Intermediate Male and in "Couple" with Nanna they collected the 1st Place, we are very proud of them all.

Now, I've had my ear clipped by the little lady in-doors. Let me set the record straight (certainly if I want to be fed for the next month or two) Although I discuss a number of events on this blog none of them would be possible without the background support and work that Rachelle (wife) puts in to all the dogs. She is responsible for the day to day looking after, feeding and health of our dogs, she is the one who runs back and forth to the vets, mops the muddy floor and provides the never ending supply of love that any Leo needs and deserves and of course all the show preparation every time we go out. She is the unsung Arcanine Heroine and I want everyone to know this. I (as she puts it) am just the guy who runs the dogs around the ring. (Only becuase she lets me you know) and on that basis we are a team and I am truely grateful to have such a little gem on my side. (That should keep me in the good books for the next few months) So to all the unsung back room boys and girls, us "dog runners" couldn't do it without you and we appriciate you make us all look good! Thank you!

Ok, litters, no joy to report on the Dilly front. We'll try next time and I plan to have another male in reserve, more on that nearer the time. Thank you for the patience of all those waiting for a pup from this litter.

Bisou and Murphy have both had the chop in the last couple of weeks, not in the normal sense, more of a vasectomy as they still have all there bits and pieces, we'll never breed from either of them and Murphy is just a pet rather than a show dog so it seemed sensible to have the op. All went well and they are almost fully recovered.

The 20th of October sees our first visit to the UK since April. The UK Leo Club Show is on the 21st at Sprots Connextions at Ryton-on-Dunsmore just north of Leamington Spa. Kick off is 10 am I think and a record turn out of 250 Leonbergers are entered and expected. So arrive early and settle in for a long day. Judges are Liz Cartledge and Jean Hammond. It will be nice to see people we haven't seen for a while and the dogs too. For us this will be a relaxing show after the hectic Euro Club circuit, both the boys are qualified for Crufts so I don't really mind how we do although to do well would finish the year off just nice for us. This will probably be our last show before Crufts next year.

The pack is on the move... details to come in due course but its fabulous!...

Finally...They say the dog is man's best friend. I don't believe that. How many of your friends have you neutered?
--Larry Reeb.......till next time....G

1st October 2007 - Just a very quick update as we have just returned from Leonberg with a stunning result. Grissom at the age of 20 months took 1st Place in the Intermediate Class. A class of 25 males from all over Europe including two of his litter brothers. Safe to say we are delighted!!!!!...more next week....if anyone has photos of Grissom at Leonberg, can you send me a copy? I never took a single picture!!!

15th August 2007 - Lets start with a very happy birthday to Nanna and her litter mates, born 14th August 2005, 11 of the "little tikes" are 2 years old now and how time flies.

More good news is that Taz (Hazelcraig Talamazam -A Bear baby) has had good success at Bournmouth Champ show with a 1st in Special Yearling and a Reserve CC. When you consider at 19 months old he already has a full CC and now a Reserve, I think we may well have a star in the making? Congratulations to Taz and Jackie and keep up the good work, that is, unless we're in the ring when I will be quite satisfied if Taz takes a 2nd behind us...(Just kidding Jackie). Anyway, a good result for sure.

You may know that we recently attended the Spanish Club Show in St Sebastian. We took Bear, Nanna and Grissom and had a great weekend. We met up with some friends and met some new ones along the way. The Spanish people made us feel so welcome and were totally helpful in every way. For us its one of the best shows, the dogs are just half the story so, thank you to everyone in Spain and we look forward to coming back next year. Results wise we did well. Bear took 2nd in Champion Male, Nanna 3rd in Intermediate Female and Grissom 1st in Junior Male, Best Junior and was short listed to the final 2 for Best in Show. Congratulations to Lawrence and her beautiful "Princess" a worthy winner. I also put Bear and Nanna in to the Brace competition in which they took 2nd behind my good friend Anne Bremond and her two wonderful leos Akilles and Argane. I'm going to do the same again at the Belgium Show and see how they do. This class is for fun really but I enjoyed it for a change

Mac's foot is all better now, Dilly still hasn't come in to season and if she waits another couple of weeks then we will have the opportunity of mating her with a bit of luck. We need to get hips and eyes done pretty sharpish mind you as its come as a bit of surprise, we really expected her "in" with Nanna back in June so we will see how that pans out.

I don't know if any of you have Sky TV and watch the Dog Whisperer? Its a Mexican guy called Caesar Millan who has over many years com to know dogs in a very special way. I recently bought his books and having read them started to implement some of the techniques he suggests, and although not as easy as he makes it look, it does work and is having a positive affect on my boys and girls. So, if I may be so bold as to make a recommendation, I would certainly put forward the books as good reading for any dog owner!

A busy period of shows coming up, Maisie is handling at Evian Show (where the water comes from) in a week or so, then its the Belgium Club Show on the 8th of Sept followed my a mad dash down to France that evening for the French Club Show on the Sunday. 30th Sept sees the Leonberg Show in Germany and weekend of the 21st October the UK Club Show. I reckon around 5000 km in total, mad I know but we really enjoy it.

Finally a big thank you to the French Police and Highway Authority. Whilst on our way back from Spain we had a near side tyre blow out on the motorway. Having pulled on to the narrow hard shoulder and exited family and dogs to the other side of the barrier, luckily on the opposite carriageway a Police vehicle arrived. The two officers then directed traffic away from us, called for a service vehicle for extra traffic control and kept us all safe while I change the wheel. The Service vehicle arrived within 15 minute and provided even more safety while I was sat half on the hard should and half in the slow lane doing the necessary repair. Thank you to all concerned.

As Caesar would say, maintain your calm assertive energy and be the pack leader....till next time....take care...G

8th August 2007 - I start this post with the very sad news from Germany that Barney von der Johann-Adams-Mühle has died at the grand age of 9.5 years. He was one of my Leo hero's and a dog I loved and admired for many years. Barney was one of the all time greats of the Leo world, a true statesman and fine ambassador of the breed. He will be sadly missed by all those that knew him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Hannelore and Wolgang Deppener his owners. Sleep well dear boy.

Further post next week...till then...take care..G

4th July 2007 - Slack, thats what I call it, unlike me but I have neglected my duty to provide a regular update on this page but I will do my best to rectify that situation straight away. In my defence, we have been very busy and have had very little spare time, in addition, we haven't been doing much Leo wise so didn't have much to report. Still, here's an update.

The big news this time is that Bear baby...Hazelcraig Talamazam "Taz" won his first full CC at the Windsor Championship Show last weekend under Judge, Club President and Leonberger Specialist Celia Peters. This achievement was particularly special as it was achieved from the Junior Class!. I don't remember in all the time I have been showing that a CC ever went to the Junior. Our many congratulations to Jackie and Paul for breeding a great boy. He is certainly following in his Dads paw prints and we are all very proud of him. May it be the first of more to come!

We're now booked in to the Spanish Club Show at the end of July and after that at the begining of September its the Belgium Club Show followed the next day by the French Club Show and at the end of September its Leonberg for the German club Show. October sees the UK Club Show which we may substitues for 2 shows in Switzerland that same weekend. Nanna has 2 Swiss CAC's and needs 2 more, of which both are on offer that weekend. So, we'll make a desicion nearer the date and see how it goes.

Talking of Switzerland, Bear has a planned mating with a very nice Swiss young lady in the next couple of weeks, I'll let you know if its successful in due course. Its so nice to have Bear used in other countries other than the UK. To have Bear chosen by foreign breeders when there is such choice and quality amongst European dogs, makes us very proud and its always a priviledge for us.

Mac was at the vets recently with a torn claw, he spent a short time in the vets while they remove the claw back to the toe so he looks a little odd in the foot dept right now, he's making a good recovery and the vet says it will all grow back in due course. Nanna finished her season and now Dilly is starting, prolonging the agony for the boys of course and winding them up all the more. Grissom has lost an incredible amout of coat for the summer but still looks fluffy, his weight seems to have leveled out for now at around 75 kgs, the home page shows a recent picture, currently 17 months old, he is still coming on nicely.

Finally a thought for you..."He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." -- Unknown...Till next time..take care...G

22nd May 2007 - What an exciting few weeks since we last spoke. You may remember that we were off to WELKS in the UK which is a Championship Show and a Crufts 2008 qualifier. Well, as it tuned out, Grissom won his Junior Class and Nanna pulled a 5th on Post Grad. A good result for both of them and Grissom is off to Crufts. It was a good show, very well attended and I really enjoyed the judging. Thank you to all those that complimented us on Grissom. Your comments were very welcome and we thank you again.

The following week saw the Championship of France. The biggest show in France really, kind of like Crufts but French. 160 Leos attending and what a good day. Nanna and her litter sister Buffy pulled 1st and 2nd (Nanna) in Intermediate Female, followed by the Best Bitch and Reserve Best Bitch including the CAC & RCAC and CACIB & RCACIB. So Bear's babies had a good day

The following week saw a local show at Charolles a good turn out of 16 Leos and again Grissom took Best Junior and Nanna Best Female and the CAC

Last weekend we made the 6 hour trip to the Swiss Club show and this time took Bear. He was in the Champions class with Nanna and Grissom in the usual classes.We traveled with our good friend Tony Wilson from the Jantonely Kennel and had a really good day, despite having difficulty finding a hotel at 1 am Sunday morning and finally sleeping in the car, we took home 3 trophies. Grissom saw a 4th in Junior, Nanna and 2nd in Intermediate Female and Bear a 3rd in Champions Class from a starting 8. The weather was glorious at over 35 degrees but the dogs struggled somewhat and by the end of the day,mine had had enough.

Our next outings will be July, with the Spanish Clubs 15th Anniversary Show and extravaganza on the 28th July.

Other news is that Nanna has come in to season, unfortunately its 15 days too early to be mated as under the Code of Ethics she must be 22 months, so with that in mind we will be mating her next season for sure, which will be around December time. It looks like Dilly is coming in to season as well and she too will be mated next time round.

I've was asked a number of times at WELKS how Bears knee's are and was the operation successful, this surprised me somewhat as his knee is getting a lot better and he hasn't had any operations. Last November he slipped and twisted his knee which put him in some discomfort, we then went through a number of months where it was getting better and then he'd do something daft and it was back to square one. We had him x-rayed and seen by a specialist who suggested it could be his cruciate ligament and gave us an option to have an operation to rectify. I decided to give it one more try before an op and to my delight it appears to be mending well. So, no operation at this time, although if he has another set back we will probably have it done. Its only the one knee at this time and should I decide it needs doing I'll let you know via this blog. In the meantime, thank you for your concern and best wishes which I have duly passed on to Bear.

Other update being that we are still working on the house in preparation for sale and we are still looking at property to move to, I've settled on a price of €225,000 so again, do let me know if you know of anyone who may be interested. As I said last time, I'm happy to pay a finders fee of 1.5%

Ok, well that's about all I have this time, other than the LCGB Year book is out and so is the LCGB Newsletter, lots of good Leo reading, till next time.....take care....G

25th April 2007 - The weather has really improved this last few weeks with temperatures now reaching 33 degrees with a promise of 40 degrees at the weekend. Thankfully we will be in the UK at the WELKS show in the less sunny area of Great Malvern. Nanna and Grissom are booked in and we look forward to a nice day. The last couple of weeks has seen us putting on the miles to attend a couple of shows. Firstly we took a trip down to the Rhone Alps region to attend the French Leo Club regional show. It was a beautiful day, 30 in the shade and a good number of dogs turned out. The event was casual and relaxed with a beautiful setting. Our very good friend Anne Bremond of the La Legend du Chene kennel introduced us to a number of people who all made us feel very welcome.

The dogs did well too. The strange thing for me was that no dogs were placed. That's not what the show was about as we found out. Each dog however did receive a written critique and a grading from the Judge. Nanna and Grissom both graded Excellent. Despite the three and half hour drive each way, we had a good day, good people, great dogs and new friends.

Last weekend we attended the Chateauroux Championship show. Mainly because its just and hour and half from home so we thought why not? Glad we did as Bear won 1st in the Champions Class and the CACIB, another step closer to International Champion. Nanna won a 1st in the Intermediate Bitch Class and in the challenge beat the Open bitch winner to take home the CAC and the CACIB. Nanna then competed against Bear for the Best of Breed award. Maisie handled Nanna very well as Bear picked up Best of Breed. Grissom did very well too, 1st in Junior and then Best Junior. These results saw Grissom and Bear in the Group later in the day. Grissom, handled by Maisie was short listed to the last 8 out of a starting 50 or 60 dogs from all groups. Bear didn't get a look in within his group of 28 dogs and was in and out in a matter of minutes. For the group judging in France, the Judge doesn't go over the dogs, they simple look at the line up and shortlist, from this the pick there 3 for the podium. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes usually, so its somewhat different to the UK. So, with a clean sweep in the places we made our way home.

This weekend WELKS, Next weekend Championship of France and then the Swiss Club show 20th May.

Were still looking for a new house, ours will go on the market soon, we have one in mind that we are keen on but we need to pursue it further. I'm very happy to pay a finders fee to anyone who finds me a buyer for my house. I'll pay 1.5%, at €250,000 that's a little over €3,700.00, cash on completion. Drop me an email if you can help.

Kinghern Special Lady and her litter from Bear is doing well, I understand the breeder has a few left, although they are finding new homes at a steady rate.

I was on the German Club website last night and counted the available puppies, would you believe that there are currently 135 puppies available! Now that's what I call a selection. Can you imagine that in the UK? Just a piece of useless information really but amazing at the same time. How about this for a Class size. At the Championship of France the are 160 dogs entered, 36 males in Open Dog and 51 females in Open Bitch, now thats a man size class. That class alone will take 4 to 6 hours to judge. Its estimated that all 160 dogs using 2 Judges will take over 7 hours to judge!

A few new photos on the site, Bear, Nanna and Grissom, a couple of Mac also. The new Newsletter from the Leo Club of GB is now out. I haven't seen it yet but I wrote an article for it about showing dogs in Europe. It was nice to be asked and I hope you find the information useful. I'm happy to help you with advice and information about showing in Europe so if you get stuck, drop me a line and I will see what I can do.

Finally....A Blonde Joke - A Blonde calls her boyfriend to ask for help to complete a puzzle. Her boyfriend arrives looks at the puzzle and asks what's its meant to be when finished? The Blonde says "its a Tiger" and shows him the picture. The boy friend replys....very nice dear, but lets put the "Frosties" back in the box!

Till next time..take care...G

4th April 2007 - April already, where has it gone? but we say it every year and nothing changes. So what have we been up to? Well, not a lot actually, Bear has had 13 puppies with Nea, Kinghern Special Lady. Just about 10 days old now I think, unfortunately one has been lost just a day or so after birth, but to the best of my knowledge, 12 babies are doing well and growing as they do. All of Bear's babies in France have now gone to their new homes, good luck to them all. Although we only provide the stud, we always feel we have an emotional attachment to all the puppies, daft I know but we feel proud and refer to them as our "Grandogs", are we the only ones like this? we're just a soft touch really but there you are. Bear has also been sewing his wild oats in the UK again with Marymead Meander (Mea) Scan around mid April or so to see if its been successful.

Nanna and Grissom's planned litter has some places left, although we have a growing list of potential homes, interested parties should drop me a line.Dilly and Mr X towards the end of 2007 is also in the pipeline and as I said in the last posting Mr X will be a top European stud male, and will be the first time this males direct offspring will be available in the UK. I can't say much at the minute but as soon as I confirm with the owner I will release the name, fair to say we are excited about the litter and what it brings.

Show wise, not doing much at the moment, got 3 shows booked, a local CACIB, WELKS in the UK for Grissom and Nanna and Championship of France early May, again for Grissom and Nanna. I think we will only do 3 visits to the UK this year, take in 5 shows and that will do. I'd rather concentrate on European shows, there cheaper to do and its a new experience for us.

We are looking to move house (Yes already) we are keen to move to another region to make sure we have better communication and transport routes. With all the traveling we do, we could be better placed in Europe so we are currently viewing houses. If you know of anyone looking to move to central France, in to a renovated farm house of 90m2 of living space with 2 large barns ripe for conversion and around 5 acres of land, then let me know. We're about 7 km from the nearest main village so the location is good. Unless like me you commute every week. Price guide is around €250,000. The house is ready to move in to so wouldn't need a load of money spent on it, I've already done that! Its a great place to raise Leo that's for sure.

I'm off over Easter and will try to take some up to date photos of the dogs, its about time I did this so watch this space. Finally, Bear has celebrated his 5th Birthday and Mac his 4th Birthday in March. How time flies, Big kisses and hugs to my gorgeous boys.

So, wishing you all a safe and happy Easter period, till next time, take care....G

11th March 2007 - With Crufts coming to a close and us making our way back to France, it seems like a good time to do my latest news page update. The last few weeks have been quiet in general but enjoyable. Shortly after my last post, we went to Switzerland to compete in 2 shows over a weekend at Fribourg. A good show with good results that we were all pleased with. Nanna in particular picked up 2 CAC's and a RCACIB which we were delighted with. 2 more of those and she picks up her Swiss Champion title. A full write up of the weekend can be found here. Crufts, just this weekend, for us was a mixed day, Mac and Nanna didn't get anywhere but we enjoyed the day none the less, the event itself is like no other, although we did say to ourselves that it would be nice to go to Crufts without the dogs and that maybe next year we would do just that. Well done to all the Leo's that attended, nice to see some foreign dogs there too, the Best of Breed was from Sweden I understand, he didn't make the final cut in the group but he represented the breed very well I thought.

Puppies from Bear's mating with Viro and Samsara (both French litters) are all growing well, there are new photos of each litter on their respective pages, click here for Viro and here for Samsara. Last I heard there were 2 females from Viro's litter available, but all looking gorgeous naturally. Another litter is on the way and another mating planned. Gaynor Thomas in Cardiff with her female Nea (Kinghern Special Lady) is expecting a Bear litter at the end of March. I believe the scan suggested 6 or 7 but no matter how matter, we are very pleased and I am sure Gaynor is too, details and contact numbers can be found here. Next weekend Bear will be mated again with Mea, Marymead Meander, a repeat mating of last year when we were delighted to have seen a nice litter produced, from which a few have been seen in the ring and done well since. Taz and Taloola both qualified for Crufts and it was a pleasure seeing them in the ring just the other day. Taz took a 3rd in Puppy and Taloola a very respectable 5th .2007 is certainly a puppy year so far, Bear's never had it so good and I think has a constant smile on his face.

Our plans for our first litters towards the end of 2007 are still good. As you know Nanna will be mated to Grissom and Dilly was going to be mated to Bear or Mac. But, in thinking about it, living in France gives us a great opportunity to use a European stud male. I have a few in mind and will make contact with their owners in due course, but I will use a male who has an excellent type, in particular, I want a male who throws excellent heads, bone and coat along with overall construction. (Not asking for much am I) Naturally health and temperament go without saying so with that in mind I have a number of top european males on the list. Most of the lines I'm thinking about are not in the UK and with Dilly being German/French this particular litter would bring, to a large degree, new blood.

Nanna and Grissom have both had their eyes done, both good. Next its hips and elbows, which will be done in France. They will be done under the FCI system which instead of a number score such as 3:5, they use A1, A2, B1, B2 and so on with A1 being the best score. Although we could have them done in the UK, living in France as we do, means we should work under the French system, we can't keep running back and forth to the UK every time we need an eye test, not when it can be done just down the road and not when it produces the same information, the fact its not reported via the BVA and UK kennel club, for me is not important. The FCI system is the main system worldwide with the UK and the USA outside of this, the rest of Europe use it so I'm happy too. The FCI can be found here. Hips can't be done until Grissom is 15 months old, he turned 1 year on the 26th of Feb.. Mac is 4 on the 13th of March and Bear is 5 on the 21st of March, Happy Birthday to my special boys!

I've written a piece for the UK Club Newsletter about showing dogs in Europe, I hope it encourages people to do this as it can be very satisfying, It goes on a bit at times (how unlike me!) but I have tried to give as much detail as possible to avoid any surprises should you have a go at it. In addition, I have also submitted our advert for the UK Club Year Book 2007, which I understand will be published in the next couple of months. I think its important as a matter of record that we have books like this, so in many years to come, we can look back at the dogs, the kennels and the breed in general and gain a "snapshot" of what things were like in 2007.

Finally, There are a few Crufts snaps on this page, not many but a few of the ones I took, hope you enjoy. Until next time....G

5th February 2007 - Good news, Bears 4th sired litter has arrived, 7 girls and 2 boys, all doing well and really good weights too. Most over 600 grams the lightest being 485 grams if I remember rightly. Anne Bremond the breeder is delighted as we all are. Our first sired litter here in Europe but certainly not our last. The next litter is due some time next week and we have further enquiries for Bear's services from France, Germany and Switzerland. In addition a repeat mating is planned in the UK with Marymead Meander around Crufts time in March. Details of the litter can be found here.

A couple of weeks ago we went down to Bordeaux for a CACIB show and Leonberger Special. A turn out of 69 dogs was expected and with 4 of our dogs involved, we expected to gain a few places all being well. Bear was in the ring first in the Champions Class, unfortunately he didn't move that well as he is still sporting a knee injury and this could be clearly seen. Still, a 3rd and Excellent in a very strong class was a good result, we just need to work on the problem area a little more and this is already a lot better than it was. Nanna in the ring next in a class of 10, some very nice girls present so again a 3rd and Excellent for Nanna, she moved beautifully mind you and I was very pleased with her. Grissom was in Junior class and although he's not the greatest mover, he did well and produced a 2nd and Excellent. Finally, Murphy went in Puppy Class with Maisie and gained a "Very Promising" critique, the highest a pup can attain.We had a good day, we met some new people and Grissom even had his first stud enquiry, we will have to wait a while for that one as he has only just turned 11 months old.

Home wise we have had around 12 inches of snow this last week, the dogs love it and went mad playing in it, for most of them, its the first time they have ever seen it, it was great to watch them play and role around in it. Won't do their coats any harm either. Naturally the dogs are eating more this time of year, its about -6 degrees so keeping warm is key. We have them on a rota to make sure each dog has some personal time with us. This means coming inside during the day and staying in overnight. We have had them all in together at times but its a complete mad house and mud everywhere, but that's life with a Leo I guess. Although the snow is great, it has caused a few problems with the dogs eyes, Grissom and Barney have had snow burn on their eyes and although no real damage, it took a course of eye drops to clear it up. Mac also had a injury to his paw, he managed to cut his foot between the toes and it bled quite badly, so much so it was a case of doggie first aid followed by a hasty visit to the vets for a few stitches

Show wise, we're off to Switzerland next week for 2 shows in 2 days, Fribourg is the venue, Bear, Nanna and Grissom all entered so we're looking forward to that. New people to meet and a country none of us have ever been to. I'll keep you updated with results and some photos shortly after the shows, fingers crossed we get some good results.

Congratulations to Jane and Tony Wilson of the Jantonely Kennel. Their young girl "Ruby Tuesday" has just had a litter of 10 pups, 1 boy and 9 girls. The dad is Jane and Tony's wonderful "Casper" a Czech dog who is one of my favorite leos, if I was looking for a pup, I'd certainly be knocking at their door on this occasion. Good luck to them all.

Finally..My neighbor has two dogs. One of them says to the other, "Woof!" The other replies, "Moo!" The dog is perplexed. "Moo? Why did you say, "Moo'?" The other dog says, "I'm trying to learn a foreign language."...till next time, G

11th January 2007. Welcome to the first posting of 2007. I trust you all had a good Christmas and New Year and are now settling in to 2007 nicely. I will start this posting by telling you that Bear has successfully mated with 2 French females here in France. Pups are due in about 10 days or so for the first litter and about a week later for the second one. The girls owners, Anne Bremond and Corrine Serra have been a delight to "work" with, both have been very patient with me in understanding the French way of paperwork and breeding rules. As a result I have now placed many of the boys certificates and health papers on the site so others can see for themselves prior to any contact. The French and German rules for breeding are a lot more stringent than the UK, paperwork must be available and in order for a start. In addition, we have a planned mating with Marymead Meander, this is a repeat mating that last year resulted in a very nice litter.

The show scene is about to kick off, we're off to Bordeaux at the weekend for a Leonberger Special at a CAC and CACIB show. This will be Murphy's first outing with my Daughter Maisie showing. He's in Puppy class and he's a nice lad, so hopefully he can win a place in the line up. Grissom is in Junior class at 10 months old, 70 kgs mind you and still growing. Not sure what they will make of him but we love him regardless. Nanna is in Intermediate Female class, just under 18 months old now and getting better all the time. She's only been out once here in France but we have high hopes for her this year. Bear the old pro is in Champions Class, still a little light on weight and coat at the moment but its coming back slowly. He's on plenty of fresh meat and an exercise program at the moment so should improve over the coming weeks. Not expecting too much from him as a result, but should be able to hold his own.

February 10th sees us over to Fribourg in Switzerland for 2 shows in 2 days followed by a local show at Bourges. March is Crufts time and April sees us down to Monaco and Italy for 2 shows in 2 days again, finishing off with WELKS in the UK at the end of the month. This will be Grissoms first UK outing. May and more shows and so it goes on through the year. Already about 20 shows planned. We will do some of the CC shows in the UK but would like to do the European shows as a priority.

At some point we would like to mate Nanna to Grissom, probably around Sept time if her seasons are regular, we have a puppy list started and have a number of interested parties. There's room for some more so please drop me a line if interested.

Remember, compared to a man, a dog can moult without becoming obsessed about premature baldness ;-)))...Til next time...G

14th December 2006 - Good lord, time moves so quickly, its Christmas once again and traditionally at this time of year I reflect on the last 12 months activities in our Leonberger world. So not being one to break with tradition then I will begin. My reflection must start with our move to France. This time last year we were putting together the final paper work and then made the trip to sign contracts and pay our deposit. We moved in at Easter, the weather was good, although not hot and we spent our first week at Julies house while the kitchen was fitted and we got ourselves settled in. At the end of the first week I collected Grissom from Germany you may remember, a 19 hour round trip. Since those initial days, we have survived quite well really, the kids started school and we have done our best to integrate with the community at large. I don't think we have any regrets about moving and it is certainly the best place for raising Leonberger's. Talking of dogs, our numbers have swelled since we arrived here in France, we added Grissom as you know, followed by Murphy and most recently "Bisou" a French Border Collie and Leo wannabe. Bisou is french for "kiss" All three additions are great dogs, lovely personalities and each his own character.

Early this year saw the arrival of the first Hazelcraig litter, a litter sired by Bear and born to Marymead Meander .A lovely litter for sure with Taz and Taloola proving themselves in the ring and qualifying for Crufts 2007. We are always so proud of our "Grandogs" and take the responsibility of providing the sire very seriously. Mac also sired his first litter this year with Oldholbans Tamarind, a large litter resulted and from that we have watched Kate and Gus who are lovely dogs do well in the ring and again have qualified for Crufts 07. All in all, I think there will be 7or 8 Grandogs at Crufts next year, mostly in Puppy and Junior classes so fingers crossed for them all.

Show wise we had the best of years. The year started still in the UK with a couple of local shows with Best of Breed and Group placing's for Bear, followed by the season of Champ shows and the chase was on for CC's. The first came at Birmingham National Dg Show followed by Southern Counties and finally National Working and Pastoral Breeds Society, 3 CC's out of 4 shows, a great result and more than we have ever hoped for. Although I have always felt that Bear could achieve his title, it took a long time in coming and there is always a little doubt that creeps in. Still, we nailed it in the end and the title Champion was his. After the move to France, we started to show here. I was unsure how they would see Bear, he's not big and he offered a different type to many French dogs, our first Champ Show in Paris saw a great result with a second in Open Class out of 24 and a Reserve CACIB. That was to be the start of a good year in Europe although 2nd place seemed to be ours everywhere we went. We attended the Club Shows of Holland, Germany, France, Spain and the UK. Bear did stunningly well, more than we ever expected, we were delighted to say the least. I decided that I would now chase the title of International Champion, having set a number of firsts already, to achieve this title would be the icing on the cake for us. I'd happily retire Bear after this if we could do it. The title requires 4 CACIB's from 3 different countries under 3 different judges. This is very difficult at times as the traveling alone is extensive. Still, we have the first one under our belt and we'll see what next year brings.

Grissom and Nanna also put in strong performance this year. Nanna qualified for Crufts at both shows we put her in for and held her own in Europe. Grissom was exceptional in Holland and Spain and we have high hopes for next year. His first UK outing will be WELKS. Mac also qualified for Crufts along the way and with Grissom and Murphy on the way up, we'll be spoilt for choice on who we show.

2006 saw the arrival of Lilly the goat and ducks, Cookie, Dick and Fanny, although the demise of Cookie came a couple of months after her arrival, subsequently Dick and Fanny were eaten by the local fox. Barney had his ear operation which solved his ongoing ear problem and despite the tics, hot spots and snake bites we managed to find our way through most of 2006 OK.

We also bought the Leo mobile this year, a great vehicle and I'm very pleased with it despite someone reversing into it. Its now been off the road for 7 weeks although the damage was light. Fingers crossed we have it back next week.

The year is ending with Bear having mated 2 French females a couple of weeks ago. The best New Year start would be to hear that 2 litters are on the way. Then what of 2007? well, continued health for all, well being and peace would be a good start. Our first Champ show and a mating is planned for January, Crufts and another mating in March for Bear. Hopefully continued success in the ring and even a couple of Arcanine litters would be nice, but in the meantime, we'd like to wish all our visitors a very happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. A very big thank you for your continued support of our site and our dogs. Wishing you all the very best

Till next time.....Gary, Rachelle, Jack, Maisie, Bear, Mac, Barney, Grissom, Murphy, Nanna, Dilly, Dot and Bisou

18th November 2006 - My apologies for the lack postings in the last few weeks, but as you have probably read, the last couple of months have been a little manic, in addition to this the lack of internet connections here in rural France hasn't helped. Still, so far we have driven 8000 miles, been to 5 Leonberger Club Shows around Europe, including Holland, Germany, France, UK and Spain and spent a small fortune on fuel, hotels, entry fees and all the other stuff you spend money on at these things. Although some what manic, its been a great couple of months, 2nd in the Champions Class at the Dutch Show, followed by Leonberg, followed by the French Club Show with a 3rd in the Champions Class and most recently another 2nd at the UK Club Show. Bear has flown the flag for the UK with some stunning results, most notably at Leonberg with a 2nd in the Champions Class in a field of 16. If nothing else we have been consistant, more than we ever hoped for really, I am so proud of Bear, he has proven he is one of the best. Unfortunatley at the moment he is very much out of coat and under weight, the French summer and a little love time witrh a certain female took care of both, which for the show ring is not a good starting point, despite this he still did well. Grissom followed closly in Bear's foot steps at the Spanish Club Show with a Best Puppy and Most Promising Youngster awards. Not forgetting his 3rd t the Dutch Club Show in a class of 23. Closer to home we entered a couple of local shows in France, one which resulted in a Reserve CAC and CACIB and another that saw Bear's first full international ticket.Our thanks to the many Judges that have thought so highly of Bear and the gang and to the organisers of the shows for some great events.

I've just recieved a copy of the Dutch Leo Club's magazine. A month or so ago I had an email from the editor asking if they could use my write up of their event and our experince on this page as he had recently read the article and wanted to use it. Naturally I agreed and today, in full print is my account, I'm delighted to have been asked and hope those that read it find it enjoyable.

At the UK Club Show we met up with some of Bear's and Mac's babies and am really impressed with them. You always hope that your boys and girls will produce nice pups that grow in to fine examples of the breed, although still under a year old, I am so pleased with all of them. Taz is a little monster, great substance and a fine example at 9 months old. Tia is so sweet, Gus has good bone and lovely feet, so we are delighted with them all.

Grissom is doing well, we had him weighed along with some of the others this week, Grissom comes in at 60kgs which at 7 months is very heavy, Nanna is 45 kgs and Murphy is 22 kgs, which is very underweight. If I could take a little weight off Grissom and put it on Murphy that would be ideal. Still, we will work on that one, Grissom will take a good two years to come together I feel, he'll probably be in the UK at the WELKS Show if I am happy that he could do well, these pups grow in so many directions, you never know what you have got from one month to the next.

Dilly has her first season and Nanna has joined her today, so all the boys are inside and the girls outide in the pen. Bear has a pooly knee so is hobbling around the place and we are currently trying out a new food. A French food called Exigence, the dogs are quite keen on itbut lets see how it goes. Bear is booked in to LKA and will only attend if his knee is better, he has some coat and has agained some weight, he's put on over 2 kgs but I'd like to add another 4 kgs. 60 kgs for Bear is a good weight

Still deciding n what shows we are attending next year, certainly Crufts and WELKS as this should be Grissoms first outing to the UK. Need to look at dates etc as if we are coming over, then to do two shows in one week is the best use of time.

Site updates are Grissoms page with pictures of the Spanish Club Show and Bear's page with UK Club Champions Presentation.

So, til next time.....G

25th September 06 - Not long back from Leonberg and our weekend with some great dogs and good people. Set off 7 am Saturday morning in the Leo mobile for the 7 hour drive to Leonberg near Stuttgart. A rendezvous with our friends the Wilson's on the A6 near Dijon and we were well on our way. One stop at Mulhouse for some fuel and a burger and off again, arriving in Leonberg for 2pm. We stayed at the usual hotel, the Amber, but this time instead of just me and Maisie as it has been for the last couple of years, this time we had Rachelle and Jack with us, so a real family weekend. A good meal in the evening and a few beers and off to bed early for a bright start in the morning. Up for breakfast, loaded the dogs and off to the showground before 8 am. Parking was already at a premium but we managed to get a good spot. We set up our pitch ready for the day having booked the dogs in, only to find that the Champions Class was first in the ring. By all accounts, the Open Class should have been first with 34 dogs, so it came as some surprise and much panic to find we were in the the ring now!. Not only that, Bear and I were the first to be judged....No pressure then! In we went, the first of 16 cracking dog, the Judge went over Bear with a fine tooth comb, set us off running and that was us done, off we went out of the ring until all the others were done and we were called back in.

A couple of hours later, back in the ring and to be honest not really impressed with our performance earlier, so not expecting anything. The Judge looked us over again and then it was time for the running. Now, the ground at the show is sloping, therefore, on one side of the ring you're running uphill. After a few laps the bets were on (so the English spectators tell me) as to whether I'd make many more circuits and Bear would have to go it alone! Just in time the Judge called Bear and I in to the centre of the ring along with another dog, then, just as the show Holland, he picked another 2 to make what I hoped was the final 4. But you know what comes first, the running. 4 dogs set off around the ring and after another few laps the Judge stopped us and with a sigh of relief (in my case a mad panting and a respirator) placed the dogs in the 1st to 4th positions. With great delight Bear took the 2nd place behind a very nice Danish dog of German origins, who, incidentally went on to win Best Male. Not only did we pick up the 2nd place, but we also received the Reserve CAC. In the UK we have CC's, so CAC's are the European equivalent as such. Get enough full CAC's and you become a Champion in whatever country you won them. So, to say we were delighted is an understatement.We are over the moon!!! To go to Leonberg and compete in a class of 16 Champions from all over Europe and only be beaten by 1 dog is awesome. Our thanks to the Judge and the organisers for such a great show.

19th September 2006 - What a good weekend we had. Rach the kids and I, along with Bear Nanna and Grissom went off to Holland to take part in the Dutch Club's 40th Anniversary Show. Rach, kids and dogs all drove from home to a motorway junction near Calais where I met them with the new Leo mobile having driven from Reading. We transferred everything in to the truck and set off for Holland at 1.30 am. Rach had already driven 7 hours to get there so I carried on the driving until final destination some 4 hours away. Very quickly we were in Belgium and then Holland, towards Antwerp and then Arnham, finally arriving at Hoenderloo at 5.30 am. All the time traveling in convoy with our good friends Jane and Tony Wilson from the Jantonely Kennel. 11 hours and 900 km in total and ready for our beds. One problem though...The bungalow site we had booked in to wasn't open until 9 am. So we sat around, walked the dogs and watered them and finally around 7.30 am found a local bakery open who provided us with coffee and sausage roles. Not the ideal breakfast for sure. With fresh bread in hand we made our way back to the site, got our keys and found our chalets. The accommodation was really basic.... I think it was one step up from a tent to be honest.....A bit too basic for my liking so we set off in search of alternative billets. We enquired at site after site and quickly realised that everything was full so resigned ourselves to staying at the original site. By this time we were wide awake, although I had only slept an hour in the last 30. The Show was held over 2 days, the Saturday was a fun activity day so off we set to the show ground just a few minutes away to see what we could find. There were lots of people and dogs to match and all were having a good time doing all sorts of things, coursing, search and rescue, agility and so on. We had a go at a couple of activities and then off to the chalet for a sleep by 2 pm. Up again at 5pm and "preping" dogs for the show ring the next day. 7pm and off for the social at the show ground. An evening meal and entertainment had been arranged as an optional event, a couple of hundred people turned up in the course of the evening and plenty of beer was drunk and few songs were sung

Sunday saw an early start, out the door at 8 am and in the show ground by 8.10 am, registration of dogs and then find the pitch for the day. The rings were set out in a block of six, we needed to keep an eye on all but one of the rings during the day so settled for a centre position. Chairs out, rugs for the dogs and settled down. Grissom was first in the ring with Maisie showing. Around an hour later Griss and Maisie had made the last 6 out of a starting 23. The judge dismissed the final 2 leaving the 4 to go forward to the Ring of Honor. This is a single ring at the end of the day where all dogs are finally placed. The four qualifying dogs go back in the ring under their original judge and are placed in front of everyone. This way, everybody gets to see the dogs and the final placing's. Quite a nice idea I think when you consider that so much is happening at the same time during the days events.

Nanna in next, her class took around two hours to judge and Nanna was graded as Very Good. The only better grade is Excellent. When it came to the cut, she never made it and that was the end of Nanna's day. Bear was in the Champions Class towards the end of the day with 7 other fabulous dogs. A very intimidating class to say the least. If we could get a place I would be delighted. The Judge called out the critique to the steward as Bear was judged, I wasn't allowed to stack Bear as I would normally although I could alter his leg position. This made me nervous and knocked my confidence a little. We moved around the ring and Bear moved very well as usual, the critique reflected this and no doubt improved what was to be his placing. Finally the cut, the class all moved together, once around the ring and then again, one dog pulled out, another lap, this time Bear and I pulled out. Shortly after although with some trouble she pulled out the other 2 for the Ring of Honor. I was delighted, we had a place!, just didn't know which one.

The Ring of Honor was huge! with 200 onlookers around it and a top table full of Judges at one end. One by one the classes were called in, first the males and then the bitches. As each dog and bitch class winner was selected they went head to head in the best of class, Grissom won a 3rd place in Puppy Male, Jane and Tony's Diesel (Jantonely) pulled a 4th in Youth Male, Anita and Nigel Halliday's Zak (Lionslord) did really well with a 2nd in Intermediate Male and Bear finally came in with a 2nd in the Champions Class. The winning dog being the one we beat in to 3rd place at the Championship of France a couple of months earlier. A great result for the dogs and so good to see UK dogs flying the flag in a show of over 300 dogs where the smallest class except for Bears class was 23 dogs. It was also great to see people from the UK there as spectators. We were all very pleased with the day, a good time was had by all, both in the competition and the social side of the event. Our thanks to the Judges and organisers for a great show. Leonberg next weekend, can't wait!

A little closer to home...with some surprise we find ourselves with a new addition. I can't tell you much about him really as I don't know at this point. All I know is he needed rehoming and we have space. He's around 12 weeks old and we have called him "Murphy" His mum is Kernow Dusty Dreams Delight and his dad is Jakamak Cool Hand Luke, a dog I know very well. A week ago Thursday just a few hours before my trip home to France I managed to have him picked up and we were on the boat a couple of hours after that. Rach and the kids knew nothing about it until I reached home, I knew they would be delighted and they were. Murphy has fitted in just right. Grissom has a new pal to play with and the rest of the guys are pretty pleased too.

Grissom passed his pet passport so can travel March 1st, 2007.

Finally..."God, please help me be the person my dog thinks I am". (Anonymous)Till next time...G

28th August 2006 - Sat on the plane on the way back to UK so thought I would do an update, doing the commute now each weekend and its not too bad, In Northern Ireland for a few months working so its 4 flights a week which, although that sounds terrible it's OK. Just had the weekend at home with Rach and the kids, Grissom turned 6 months old on the 26th and I'm really pleased with him. Although he is very heavy for one so young and this shows in his pasterns and lack of muscle. 48 kgs (7.5 stone) at 6 months is a bit too heavy really so I'll keep a good eye on him. I fully expect him to have a bout of "Pano" in the coming months but nothing much as yet.