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Book Reviews

The Dog Father Leonberger

This blog is primarily about Leonbergers and our late Leonberger Bronco as well as the book I wrote about him and his dog friends. However, sometimes I review other Leonberger books. This time I am reviewing The Dogfather: Dog wisdom & Life lessons: Leonberger book ~ Leonberger gifts Paperback – May 12, 2020 by Alex Luther. This paperback is 285 pages, black and white, ISBN‏‎ 979-8645268923, item weight 13.4 ounces, dimensions 6.34 x 0.65 x 6.34 inches, so fairly small. You can buy it from Amazon but exist only in paperback format. It is currently $18.99 on Amazon.

Photo of the book The Dogfather Leonberger book by Alex Luther. Dog wisdom & Life lessons.
The Dogfather Leonberger book by Alex Luther.

We’ve owned many dogs, all wonderful dogs, but our Leonberger was the most amazing creature I’ve come across. He passed away one year ago. Originally bred to be large companion dogs they are in tune with your feelings, and for the same reason they make great therapy dogs. They are double coated and have webbed large paws, making them excellent swimmers, they are sometimes used for water rescue. They are smart, very strong, they have an excellent sense of smell, they are big, about the same size as a St. Bernhard, and they are excellent guard dogs as well. Our Leonberger became the protector of our smaller dogs. He saved our pug’s life once. He also found and brought back our hamsters when they escaped their cage. He noticed (smelled) that our Labrador, who had diabetes, was about to have an insulin shock and alerted us to it. One time he chased away an intruder that frequently trespassed on our property and threatened us as well as our neighbors. No, he didn’t try to eat him. He probably just wanted to say hello, but the intruder didn’t know that. After that the intruder never came back. Above all he was very loving, very sociable, and sensitive to our feelings.

I thought the book looked interesting and might be worth reading at the same time as I expected a lot of sayings I’ve heard before and maybe silly jokes, but as I read on, I found the book to be better than I had expected. It is a very touching collection of sayings that were all new to me and the poetic wisdom words captured the personality of a Leonberger very well. Initially this made me believe that the author must own or had owned and loved a Leonberger like us. A few examples: “I think Leonbergers are the most amazing creature; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.” “One reason a Gentle Lion can be such a comfort when you’re feeling blue is that he doesn’t try to find out why.” “The reason a Gentle Lion has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue” and my favorite “Sometimes I think I like Leonbergers more than I like humans. The only time a Gentle Lion has ever betrayed me…was by dying.” However, upon rereading the book I realized that it is possible that the sayings could apply to any kind of dog breed. Furthermore, I also realized that the author has written 160 nearly identical books called “The Dogfather <insert dog breed> or “The Dogmother <insert dog breed>”. So, I had just fooled myself. Most likely the author has never seen a Leonberger.

However, the sayings in the book are touching and the word Leonberger is used throughout the book. Not as good as I thought, but close. In the middle of the book there are two pages of advertisement and a web link for buying stuff. So, this book is partially advertising. That’s OK. The book is mostly for a younger audience but also sentimental adults. I gave the book four stars on Amazon.

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Finally, if you would like to learn more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

The image shows the front cover of my book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. The cover is beige and brown and it has the face of an old Leonberger in the middle. Author is Thomas Wikman. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com paperback location for the book.
The front cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the book.

By thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics, but I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, an amateur astronomer, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children Jacob, David and Rachel. My blog feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger e Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers

14 replies on “The Dog Father Leonberger”

Jacqui we certainly would like to get another Leonberger. We talk about it quite often. The problem is that they are big and very social family dogs and you need to be setup correctly to welcome them. That’s why the good (LCA) Leonberger breeders conduct interviews with potential buyers. If your situation does not look good they won’t sell you a Leonberger. Right now we have two little dogs a 14 year old pug, Daisy and a very rambunctious soon 4 year old mini-Australian Shepherd called Rollo. Both Daisy and later Rollo grew up with Bronco, and Bronco was very tolerant with Rollo despite his antics. However, especially Rollo has gotten used to some bad behavior such as being aggressive towards other dogs, begging at the table, and sleeping in our beds. We can’t have a Leonberger sleep in our bed. We’ve been there, done that, and I was on the floor most of the time. Basically we have to fix our situation first or Julie will say no. We know what to do, but we slipped.

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