A lion has characteristic features that have been identified in a certain breed of dogs. Outward visible characteristics a lion possesses may include features like its yellow-gold coat. A lion has got a long body too, a large head and short legs. These are some of the characteristics you would find a certain breed of dogs have borrowed from the lion outward features.
Dog breeds that look like a lion would include the Lowchen, Tibetan Mastiff, Chow Chow, Leonberger, Newfoundland, Pekingese, Pomeranian, and the Chinese Crested.
Here is how each individual dog breed bears physical features that marry those of a lion’s:
Lowchen
The name is of German origin that translates to lion dog. The Lowchen dog breed has a long-haired and wavy coat that is usually given a lion-like trim so that the end up looking like the traditional little lion dogs.
They get their back legs, rear part, front legs and one half of their tail shaved thus having the lion trim trademark of a Lowchen.
This dog breed has been located in various countries and in many art pieces featuring dogs as far back as the sixteenth century. It has a history as a companion dog for the wealthy and elite, owners mainly being from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
At that moment they were called little lion dogs but once they got imported into Britain, they got the name Lowchen.
The Lowchen dog breed comes in a variety of colors and surprisingly these colors change as they keep on growing. It has been observed that many that are born dark get to lighten up to a crem or silver color.
However, the common colors of this dog breed are silver, cream, sable, chocolate, white, parti, Irish pied and red/gold.
The dog’s temperament is quite friendly. The dog breed is quite active and playful thus an excellent house pet. It has a history as a companion pet thus a good pet in a family setting.
The Tibetan Mastiff
This dog breed was developed in Tibet for the use as a guard dog for livestock and property.
The Tibetan mastiff was once used as a hoax for visitors in a zoo in Chin’s Henan province where it was posed as an African lion. Its physical features really duped the visitors into believing it was an African lion in a zoo. The illusion was shattered when it started barking.
This dog breed is a medium to large in size and quite muscular and compact beasts. It has a double coat that comes in a variety of colors. Instinctive behaviors including canine pack behavior contributed to the survival of the Tibetan Mastiff dog breed in harsh environments.
As a guardian dog for the flocks in the Tibet, it uses all the usual livestock guardian tactics such as barking, marking perimeters using the scent so as warn away predators and to avoid direct confrontations.
As a pet at home, it can survive in a fenced yard with a fellow canine companion thus not appropriate for apartment living. They are quite stubborn therefore obedience training is required.
Chow Chow
The Chow Chow is considered as the most famous lion-dog among the group. The dog breed is an ancient breed originating from China. It has a thick fur and small rounded ears giving it the lion-like appearance.
This dog breed is known also for its unique mode of fastidious cleanliness like cats have. They are also aloof creatures bearing the unfriendly nature a lion has too.
As their history has it, these dogs used to be companions to emperors thus had snobby expressions and were not easily impressed. They seem to be aggressive toward strangers thus highly temperamental. However, they are loyal for life once you have gained their trust.
Chow chows are also known for their expert napping therefore identified as the lazy dog breeds. However, Chow chow are prized for their strength, speed and scenting prowess in the grazing fields therefore are used for herding, pulling cattle and sheep. They also act as watchdogs.
Leonberger dog
The Leonberger is described as a gorgeous giant since is stands at three feet tall and weighs as much an average human. They also have a long coat that extends into a beautiful leonine mane around the neck and chest thus their gorgeous look. The mane that appears at 2 to 3 years of age is what gives them the lion like appearance.
The Leonberger dog breed has its origin from Leonberg, Germany. The dog is said to have been the result of breeding a Landseer Newfoundland and a St. Bernard multiple times and the resulting product bred with a Pyrenean Mountain Dog thus a Leonberger dog breed came to be.
Male Leonbergers stand up to a height of 28 to 31.5 inches while the female ones stand at a height of 25.5 to 29.5 inches. Their weight ranges from 120 to 170 pounds.
The Leonberger has a long, water-resistant double coat. Beneath all this, it has well-muscled heavy bones giving it its averagely large body size. It has a characteristic black mask on its face.
This dog breed has quite the friendly tendencies toward its owners thus regarded as companionable. They are also fearless beasts and loyal too to their owners.
The Leonberger was used in the farms to pull carts and even used in the world wars to pull ammunition carts where they almost faced extinction. Now they are used as rescue dogs.
Newfoundland dog
The Newfoundland dog breed is considered to bear the lion physical attributes due to its size. It comes close to match a lion’s size standing at a height of 71 cm for the male breed and 66 cm for the female breed. Their giant size and tremendous strength are what they are known for.
A genome analysis carried out revealed that Newfoundlands are related to the water spaniel, Labrador Retriever and Curly-Coated Retriever. It is evident that this dog breed was bred and used as a working dog for fishermen in Newfoundland.
They come in a variety of colors ranging from black to brown, grey or a mix of white and black. Their coats are thick and double coated. They also possess webbed paws thus able to swim and due to these traits, they are used as rescue dogs too.
The Newfoundland dog breed is known for its calm and docile nature and strength. They are loyal to the core and make great working dogs. due to is sweet nature, Newfoundlands make great companions too.
Pekingese
Chinese legend has it that a lion fell in love with a monkey. The lion beseeched Buddha to be down sized so that it could have a union with the monkey. Buddha did get to agree and the union between the two brought forth the Pekingese dog breed. This serves as the more common origin story.
The Pekingese dog breed is referred to a lion dog because of how closely it resembles the Chinese guardian lions. It a small toy purebred dog from China bred for the purpose of companionship and lap dogs.
Their bodies are compact and low to the ground with a flat face and large eyes thus the breeds most obvious characteristics.
A Pekingese dog breed is affectionate especially toward known associates thus a good companion to have in a home setting.
Pomeranian
The Pomeranian dog breed resembles a lion due to its fluffy leonine yellow coat that forms a mane around its head. It has its origin in a place called Pomerania located between north-west Poland and north-east Germany. It is said to have descended from the German Spitz dog breed.
Pomeranians are small in nature weighing 1.36-3.17 kilograms and stand at 20-36cm high.
They are compact in body but quite sturdy with an abundant double coat covering their body’s mass. The top coat is what forms a rough of fur around their neck which is viewed as the characteristic mane around its neck.
Pomeranians are kept as pets at home especially for older people and the overly busy people since they are not an overly dependent breed.
They are typically friendly and playful. They try to prove themselves by being aggressive only to other dogs and human. They are also alert and can detect change in stimuli really fast. As being an intelligent breed, they respond well to training but can become stubborn and dominant wanting to be the center of attention if not well trained.
Chinese Crested Dog
This dog breed comes in distinct varieties: the hairless breed and the powderpuff which is the completely covered breed with long thick hair. Both of these dog breeds have a fluffy mane and a tail tuft giving them a characteristic lion-like look.
The dog breed is considered to be quite small in size weighing an approximate 4.5-5.9 kg. the hairless kind has soft, human like skin as well tufts of hair present on its paws and tail and long flowing hair on its head. The rest of the body is completely hairless. The powderpuff on the other hand has a long soft coat covering its body’s mass.
This dog breed has quite the affectionate nature thus kept in a home setting as a lap dog. It’s a good companion to have as a pet at home due to its lively nature.
