Leonberger University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland In the 1830s, Heinrich Essig, a dog breeder and seller and mayor of the town of Leonberg near Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, claimed to have created the Leonberger by crossing a female Landseer Newfoundland with a "barry" male from the Great St. Bernard Hospice and Monastery (which would later create the Saint Bernard breed). Later, according to Essig, a Pyrenean Mountain Dog was added, resulting in very large dogs with the long, white coats that were the fashion for the time, and pleasant temperament. The first dogs registered as Leonbergers were born in 1846 and
St. Bernard (dog) until "the dogs became so gross that they had difficulties in getting from one end of a show ring to another". An 1895 New York Times report mentions a St. Bernard named Major F. measuring in length, who, if the claims are true, would be the longest dog in history. Another St. Bernard named Benedictine V Schwarzwald Hof (Pierson, Michigan - USA) also reached , which earned a place in the 1981 edition of the "Guinness Book of World Records". St. Bernards are often portrayed, especially in old live action comedies such as "Swiss Miss", the TV series "Topper", and