Overall Proportions of the Leonberger
Let's look at some proportions (again, this is as a breeder and involves some conjecture, not in any official capacity)! Proportions are fundamental to what makes the Leonberger look like and move like a Leonberger. The proportion described in the AKC Leonberger standard is: "𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑠 9:10. 𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠; 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 (black stars). 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑠 50 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡; 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑙𝑏𝑜𝑤."
It's important to observe that we have some Leonberger mass in front of the point of shoulder and behind the point of buttock on a well-angulated and well-furnished example. Though the stated 9:10 proportion is almost a square (dashed lines), the actual Leonberger is clearly a 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 dog. The extra horizontal room in the skeletal structure allows the Leonberger to have more extension at the trot without having to worry about the limbs colliding on the ground.
In a well-built Leonberger, the lengths of the head, neck, shoulder blade, upper arm, thoracic back, and thigh bones are all about the same (red lines). The foreface and backskull are also the same depth (purple lines). The compact, strong loin, and proud head carriage help to frame out our Leonbergers as built for power rather than built for speed. This is why lacking a good neck, strong loin, or depth of ribs can really spoil overall type.
Lastly, the "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 50 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵; 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘸." An easier way to understand that is that the distance from below the pad of the foot to the elbow (the elbow meets the ribs with good return of upper arm/depth of rib) is the same as the distance from the elbow to the top of the withers (blue lines). Goldilocks would love Leonberger legs for being neither too long nor too short. :)
Text borrowed from- Matt Townsend
Reference: MALC's workshops
https://www.midatlanticleonbergers.com/conformation-101
Correct is balanced. Balanced isn't necessarily correct.
We looked at stifle, the head-neck-shoulder assembly, and desirable proportions. Let's wrap up this little conformation journey with some thoughts on 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦 - a small bone that makes a big difference! Bear with me, it takes a large amount of background knowledge to understand this little piece of anatomy! (This is my opinion as a breeder and involves some conjecture, not in any official capacity.)
Fundamentally, moving on muscle-powered legs, whether as a Leonberger or a person, is 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 with so much control that it looks smooth and intentional. If this doesn't make sense, try standing as tall and straight as you can and walking forward by only moving one leg in front of you. Nice kick, right?
It isn't until you move the center of gravity in front of you (lean forward) that you are able to "catch" your fall with a leg and start to move. The Leonberger similarly shifts their center of gravity to the side (to free a limb to move) and then forward to facilitate movement. A significant contributor to the shift in the center of gravity is a change in the carriage of the head (diamond). 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝. (This also changes the mechanics for some important muscles and tendons, but that's another can of worms). Trotting is a smooth dance with gravity where the Leonberger throws and catches themselves at tempo using their limbs as opposing hinges in the line of dance.
The standard states "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥-𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 [backline]." Reach is the amount of ground covered in one stride of the front legs and drive is the amount of ground pushed through in one full stride of the rear legs. If a dog is trotting, 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑑 reach and drive are always equal (𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙; the front and rear won't end up in different zip codes if the number of steps is the same on all limbs. A severely limited assembly will handicap the achievement of the other assembly).
Given the angulation and build described in the standard, the "𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥-𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨" reach of the forepaw should reach out to the plane of the nose (green arrow) and bring the limb into the plane of the back at around a 45 degree angle (protractor & line). This is correct 𝑎𝑛𝑑 balanced. If the Leo is very well proportioned, the return under the body will slide the forepaw right on top of the rear paw without colliding or extra movement.
Key to balance of the front assembly and producing this desired reach is the angle in the 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑚 (the blue rectangle below) matching the angle of the shoulder blade. The shoulder blade and return of upper arm are a swinging hinge that pushes the forelimb in front of the Leonberger in movement (the shoulder of a Leonberger doesn't have a joint like in humans). Without enough angulation in the return, a well laid back shoulder blade can do very little and reach will be limited. Because of this, a Leonberger with balanced, but open angulation, will typically move much more smoothly than a Leonberger with a long neck and gorgeous blade who is hampered by a steep/short return of upper arm.
Successful show dogs are typically balanced, but are very often more moderate in angulation than the standard describes. Leos have pleasing front movement when the shoulder blade and upper arm angles are in balance (even if not technically correct) and look even more pleasing to the eye when the rear angulation matches the front, helping to produce a strong backline and clean, balanced movement. What manifests in the show ring, of course, is a combination of structure (inherited traits), conditioning (being in shape), and presentation (the pace and energy set by the handler balanced against the attitude and potential of the exhibit).
Text borrowed from Breeder and Judge Matt Townsend
Reference: https://www.midatlanticleonbergers.com/conformation-101
Head-Neck-Shoulder
𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐬. We had so much fun yesterday with stifle, that I thought we could take another medieval approach today on the head-neck-shoulder assembly (again, this is as a breeder, not in any official capacity). The Leonberger standard describes front angulation as "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩." That layback of shoulder produces the length of neck!
The neck is "𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦" and the head is "𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥." There isn't an education to be found in the standard itself to understand how these parts exist in direct proportion to one another. However, if you take a look at Leonbergers that use their fronts as described in the standard where "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳", you can see a clear pattern emerge. When considering the length of the skull to the occiput, the length of the neck to the top of the withers, and the length of the shoulder blade's spine to the point of the shoulder, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫 stacked with the legs perpendicular to the ground.
Expert groomers can try to fool by masking the actual set of the withers, but it is very difficult to fake correct once you train your eyes to recognize it. Very pronounced manes can obscure this from the eye, but not from your hands.
Text borrowed from Breeder and Judge Matt Townsend
Reference: MALC's workshops: https://www.midatlanticleonbergers.com/conformation-101
Boomerangs not Crutches
Please pardon a very short diatribe on Leonberger rear angulation (as a breeder, not in any official capacity). The Leonberger standard describes the rear angulation as matching the front angulation. The front angulation is "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩." This is a similar description to many working breeds. Front and rear angulation in harmony brings balance.
In order to match a correct front angulation of the shoulder/upper arm, the pelvis and the femur need to have a similar "mirrored" angle. The problem is that we 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 see the tail/croup along the backline through all the butt fluff (the tail is a long continuation of the spine) and cannot see the pelvis. However, if angulation is correct in the Leonberger, the lower thigh's "return" of the femur will create a strong angle as well.
As a result 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. Don't fool yourself when mature feathering comes in; the feathering is not extra thickness to the thigh. Training our eye to see the difference is key to improving rears, increasing strength, and reducing ACL tears.
Text borrowed from Breeder and Judge Matt Townsend
Refrence: Check out the MALC's workshops: https://www.midatlanticleonbergers.com/conformation-101
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