The Landseer is an animal with a strong character that is specifically suitable for lovers of especially large dogs. They are considered to be very intelligent and are known as the European answer to the Newfoundland dog. The Landseer dog's coat colour is always white and black.
The origin of the Landseer
The still relatively young breed goes back to a much older one - the Newfoundlander. These dogs, which actually originate from today's Canada, were almost extinct in Great Britain in the 19th century. Lovers of the breed, such as the famous poet Lord Byron, created their own European breeding line. The new breed was named after the famous painter of noble dogs Sir Edwin Landseer. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the official naming of the breed in his honour. The name was officially established in 1900 and Landseer had already died in 1873.
Later, the Hungarian Kuvasz and Pyrenean Mountain dogs are said to have been included in the breeding. The aim was to establish white as the solid basic colour of the Landseer. This way, it was supposed be more clearly distinguishable from the Newfoundland dogs. The Landseer breeding and refinement especially advanced in the 20th century, specifically in Germany. The "German Landseer Club" that was founded in 1976 still exists today.
Breed characteristics of the Landseer
For the layman, the Landseer can hardly be distinguished from the Newfoundland to this day. However, Landseers are always white and black in colour, while the Newfoundland can also be dark brown or black.
Connoisseurs of the breed say that the Landseer is of a slightly taller and slimmer build. In addition, they have a significantly longer muzzle and are a bit sportier than their relatives from Newfoundland. With a withers height of up to 80 cm they are clearly one of the largest dogs in the world.
- rather young breed
- named after the animal painter Landseer
- is similar to the Newfoundland dog
- occurs only in the colour white-black
- FCI with the Standard No. 226 in Group 2, Section 2.2 Mountain dogs