Welcome to Heart N' SOUL
Here at Heart N Soul, Our passion began with our first Leo, Chewy - Lionhill's Wind Dancer. I never understood the term "heart dog" until then. Please don't misunderstand, I had other companions and still cannot look at a Rottie pup without crying, but Chewy- now he IS my heart dog. From the moment we set eyes on each other, Chewy was taking no prisoners. He crawled into my lap, my heart, my soul and <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/T7JyZtQP2rk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>claimed them for his own. He is almost 12 years old and we are two peas in the same pod.
Our commitment is to healthy, happy, LONG LIVED Leos. After we see that they meet conformation standards, at the age of two, our Leos are health tested for hips, elbows, eyes, thyroid, heart, LPN1 and LPN2. Only when th2se tests are passed do we then go on to look into a mate. We look for all of the above to match and exceed what we are bringing to the match. We look back into the lines so that we are not doubling up on any illness or issue that we can see. This includes cancers. Although cancer is not hereditary, we none-the-less look for breeding that do not have it or at the very least small amounts or very late onset. We love our Leos as if they are our children and we want the future generations to be healthier and longer lived. We do not agree that a Leo’s life span is 6-8 years. All of our Leos and their parents are examples of long lived Leos with the exception of Abby's daddy who died of hemagioscarcoma at just under 7.
The above is just the very tip of the iceberg when deciding to breed Leonbergers or any other breed of dogs. Caring for the mother during gestation becomes an ongoing challenge once the pregnancy is in the third trimester. Mom has no room left for big meals, so very small meals several times a day are necessary.
Puppies are born and raised in our living room. My husband or I sleep next to them for the first two weeks after they are born, only then putting up a baby monitor next to the whelping box so that we can hear the tiniest squeak in the middle of the night.
We feed raw and are dedicated to a holistic/homeopathic approach when it comes to our Leos and our kennel.
We follow Dr Jean Dodd's vaccination protacol, vaccinating later and tittering after a year of age. Leonbergers are very sensitive to all medication.
We do not use topical flea and tick medications, choosing instead to use a homeopathic recipe that can be used by our animals and us. The EPA has been conducting studies after numerous complaints that range from itching, frothing at the mouth, seizures and even death as a result of using these products. Please realize that topical flea and tick treatments along with other internal parasite meds are SYSTEMIC POISONS. They do not flush out of your animals system. Read the warning on the label. It states to call Poison Control.
If it isn't good for you, it isn't good for your animal. There are several homeopathic remedies that work as well or better and have no poisons in them to harm you or your companion animal.
Our commitment is to healthy, happy, LONG LIVED Leos. After we see that they meet conformation standards, at the age of two, our Leos are health tested for hips, elbows, eyes, thyroid, heart, LPN1 and LPN2. Only when th2se tests are passed do we then go on to look into a mate. We look for all of the above to match and exceed what we are bringing to the match. We look back into the lines so that we are not doubling up on any illness or issue that we can see. This includes cancers. Although cancer is not hereditary, we none-the-less look for breeding that do not have it or at the very least small amounts or very late onset. We love our Leos as if they are our children and we want the future generations to be healthier and longer lived. We do not agree that a Leo’s life span is 6-8 years. All of our Leos and their parents are examples of long lived Leos with the exception of Abby's daddy who died of hemagioscarcoma at just under 7.
The above is just the very tip of the iceberg when deciding to breed Leonbergers or any other breed of dogs. Caring for the mother during gestation becomes an ongoing challenge once the pregnancy is in the third trimester. Mom has no room left for big meals, so very small meals several times a day are necessary.
Puppies are born and raised in our living room. My husband or I sleep next to them for the first two weeks after they are born, only then putting up a baby monitor next to the whelping box so that we can hear the tiniest squeak in the middle of the night.
We feed raw and are dedicated to a holistic/homeopathic approach when it comes to our Leos and our kennel.
We follow Dr Jean Dodd's vaccination protacol, vaccinating later and tittering after a year of age. Leonbergers are very sensitive to all medication.
We do not use topical flea and tick medications, choosing instead to use a homeopathic recipe that can be used by our animals and us. The EPA has been conducting studies after numerous complaints that range from itching, frothing at the mouth, seizures and even death as a result of using these products. Please realize that topical flea and tick treatments along with other internal parasite meds are SYSTEMIC POISONS. They do not flush out of your animals system. Read the warning on the label. It states to call Poison Control.
If it isn't good for you, it isn't good for your animal. There are several homeopathic remedies that work as well or better and have no poisons in them to harm you or your companion animal.