Re: [pyrnet] Pyrs vs Leonbergers? (long)

[June Campbell <jcampbell@law5.law.virginia.edu>]

At 01:42 PM 9/29/00 -0500, Christine Hodel wrote:

>We recently had a "Leo training camp/convention" not too far from where we
>live and ... my friends attended with their
>Leo.  They observed a WIDE variety of temperaments and types. 


Hi all, 

I'm coming out of lurkdom again to respond to this. As the happy owner of
both a Pyr and a Leo, as well as a participant in the recent Camp Leo
mentioned by Christine, I'd like to clarify a few things. But first, with a
big grin, let me sum up in one sentence what I see as the biggest difference
between Pyrs and Leos: you can let your Leo out in the backyard at 6:30 a.m.
while still wearing your nightclothes (no matter how skimpy or non-existent)
and you will NOT be embarrassed in front of your neighbors! No running out
to shut the dog up before the neighbors complain. Leos don't bark at leaves
falling, birds singing, or car doors slamming a block away; they also
(usually) come when called! 

Both of my dogs are very sweet, very mellow, and each was recently certified
as a therapy dog. Yet they are different in many ways, and I appreciate
those differences. I really like having one of each. More about that in a
later post, I hope.

What I'd like to do is tell you more about Camp Leo and the dogs who
attended. This was a clicker training seminar given by Shirley Chong in
Grinnell, Iowa. It began on a Friday evening and then continued from
9:00-5:00 on both Saturday and Sunday. In all, 11 people attended with 14
Leos. Four were puppies, ranging in age from 16 weeks to 7 months (a gangly,
very awkward age!). It was too hot to fly with dogs, so people had to drive
long distances to come. People came from Texas, Louisiana, Georgia,
Virginia, Missouri, and Kansas. Some of us attended simply because we wanted
to learn more about clicker training, others because they had specific
behavior or training problems they wanted to address. (Attendees also had
the opportunity to set up private training sessions with Shirley.) We filled
out questionnaires before arriving and talked about any problems we might be
having and told what we hoped to get out of camp; this information was then
shared among all the attendees. So yes, there were one or two shy dogs
there, as well as one sometimes "dog aggressive" dog, but THAT IS WHY THEY
WERE THERE -- their owners wanted to learn how to deal with problem
behaviors in a positive way. 

Anke and her owners were not participants in the seminar and so did not know
the backgrounds of the dogs. They visited for only a very brief period of
time on Saturday morning and hardly had a chance to get to know the dogs.
They seem to have formed some snap judgments. I certainly didn't encounter
any dog who was "not good with strangers." I went to Iowa without a dog, but
got to "share" many who were there, and certainly enjoyed spending a weekend
with them.  

I wish Anke and her owners had been able to stay longer and had gotten to
know us better. Anke sounds like a fun dog, but a real turbo-Leo. Not all
Leos are as exuberantly active as she sounds! 

You can see some pictures from Camp Leo at
http://www.shirleychong.com/camps/index.html

And now good night,
--June Campbell with Star the Pyr and Amos the Leo