Intro: Leo is our male keeper from our second bred-by litter out of Shira Barkon’s lovely boy Puff and our wonderful girl Cece. He was the first puppy to catch my eye, and he is a stunning mover. We showed him as a puppy for experience, but when we realized he just does not like the ring, we decided not to push it anymore. Part of what makes a show dog is personality, so we prefer not to breed dogs who don’t like to show. We have taken Leo to a foundational nosework class, and he did fantastic. He has lovely structure and temperament to work in harness, and we would love to see him go to recreational mushing/performance home.
Health & Conformation: Leo will be tested for OFA eyes and hips once old enough. We have done Embark DNA testing on him, and he does not carry any of the identifiable genetic diseases in Siberians. Leo does not carry red, so none of his offspring will be red. He is a large boy, top of the standard but only 55 pounds — he has some filling out to do. Although he is a good boy and doesn’t pull much on lead, he is still really hard to hold back because he is so strong. He has a really solid topline on the move and is incredibly light on his feet. He also has a beautiful lope and should make an excellent sled dog.
Temperament: Leo has stolen my heart. He is the most biddable dog in our pack and it’s nice to have a little of that, when you only own Siberians. Leo is a very calm, easygoing, and sweet boy. He is very submissive to the older boys and gets along with them great. He loves people and is very curious about everybody and wants to walk up to them and sniff them. He is a mama’s boy at home and is very attached to me. When he wants my attention, he will come up behind me and put his paws on my shoulders like he is “hugging” me. He is very playful and absolutely adores our other dogs. He’s starting to become a teenager and pretends he doesn’t care about us as much, but we know that deep down he does. He is a very smart boy and learns extremely quickly. He is not as easily distracted as his sister Lillie so we think he will make a very good sled dog.
Drive: he’s a very calm dog in general, which he got from his mom, so he doesn’t get worked up about anything really. But he has very good focus and is on the serious side, so I think he will be a very hard worker in harness.
