This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
This post is another themed 25 Leonberger photos. This time the theme is Leonberger puppies. Below is a list of previous themed 25 Leonberger posts I’ve made.
Also don’t forget to check out my new blog if you haven’t done so.
Below are the 25 Leonberger Puppy Photos
This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco when he was three months old.This is a black and white photo of our Leonberger Bronco when he was three months old.Baby (German Shepherd) is playing with our four months old Leonberger Bronco.Ten Leonberger puppies. My guess is that they are about two months old. Shutterstock-ID:561107710 by Akbudak Rimma.Ten Leonberger puppies with mama. Shutterstock-ID: 561107650 by Akbudak Rimma.Leonberger puppy Stock Photo ID: 561111403 by Akbudak Rimma.Leonberger puppy. My guess is that he is around two months old. Shutterstock-ID: 629624396 by TOM KAROLA.A Leonberger puppy running in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2056502327 by Nikky de Graaf.Two light colored Leonberger puppies playing. My guess is that they are three months old. Shutterstock-ID: 2141564415 by AnetaZabranska.Leonberger + Chihuahua Stock Photo ID: 2166660069 by cynoclub.Leonberger Puppy Stock Photo ID: 2233375083 by VeronArt16Two Leonberger puppies. Shutter stock Photo ID: 2294202331 by Olga Shusters.A Leonberger puppy standing in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2390810457 by VeronArt16.Two Leonberger puppies running in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2390810463 by VeronArt16.Leonberger puppy on a white sofa sitting next to pink flowers. Asset id: 561113224 by Akbudak Rimma.Leonberger puppy running on green grass Asset id: 629624387 by TOM KAROLALeonberger portrait with cristmas background Asset id: 763087333 by Liliya KulianionakClose up of Leonberger puppy Asset id: 1835879938 by Sarah HattonLeonberger puppy in front of white background Asset id: 1910154892 by cynoclubLeonberger puppy in front of white background Asset id: 2511987683 by cynoclubA Leonberger puppy in front of white background. The puppy is maybe three months old. Asset id: 2526895887 by cynoclubLeonberger puppy in front of white background. It is a little older, maybe four months. Leonbergers aren’t fully grown until they are close to two years old. Asset id: 1973707379 by cynoclubYoung Leonberger, maybe 4-5 months old. Stock Photo ID: 2170918265 by cynoclub.Young Leonberger, maybe 5-6 months old. Leonbergers aren’t fully grown until they are close to two years old. Stock Photo ID: 2192241957 by cynoclub.Young Leonberger, less than a year old. Leonbergers aren’t fully grown until they are close to two years old. Stock Photo ID: 2089116934 by cynoclub.
It is easy for me to answer the daily prompt “What are your favorite animals?”, it is Canis Lupus Familiaris, or dogs of course, especially Leonberger dogs.
ur Labrador Baylor and German Shepherd Baby. They were both rescues.
Dogs are very social and often quite intelligent. They are loving, loyal, fun, innocent, playful and they can provide protection whether it is physically or just via their barking, which alerts us to the presence of strangers. Dogs provide companionship and encourage physical activity since you need to take them for walks and play with them.
A black and white photo of our Leonberger Bronco at three months old.Our Leonberger Bronco is in the front yard.
Among dogs my favorite breed is the Leonberger. Leonbergers are confident and brave gentle giants. They are great with children, very social and good companions and they can also be guard dogs. They are not aggressive and were not bred for that purpose, but their size, strength, courage, protective nature and acute senses make it a natural role for them. Our Leonberger Bronco protected the entire neighborhood by chasing off a peeping Tom. Leonbergers are double-coated, and they have webbed paws, so they’re natural swimmers as well. They are sometimes used in water rescue operations. But be careful, they are big, full of energy, and can be rambunctious when they’re young.
Below are various photos of our dogs
Our Leonberger Bronco and our Pug DaisyOur Japanese Chin Ryu with our daughter who was 9 years old at the time.Our Japanese Chin Ryu.Our pug Daisy loved to sunbath even when it was hot. Here she is catching some rays while lying on our old backyard porch, which had gravel.Our daughter with our pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.A gray wolf on the left. Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo sitting in a stroller on the right. Whenever there was a sound that scared him, such as quacking ducks, or someone banging on something, he wanted to sit in Daisy’s stroller.Our Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.
All official dog breeds have a breed standard. If you want to show your dog your dog has to closely match the breed standard. Below is the breed standard for the Leonberger.
The physical breed standard for the Leonberger. There is also one for character/behavior. The AKC / the USA has its own breed standard for the Leonberger but it closely resembles the international one.
A little bit more than a week ago a photo of our Leonberger Bronco taken when he was three months old was stolen and used without attribution. The thief, Valerie, was the founder and administrator of a new Leonberger Facebook group. In addition, she changed his name and gender. Our breeder (well Bronco’s breeder) Julie Schaffert alerted me to the situation. I was unaware of the existence of this group. Julie knows this photo well since I’ve used it a lot on Facebook and Instagram as well as here. I think the worst part of it was that the thief manipulated the emotions of the members of the group by fabricating a story about the puppy being sick. What a dubious way to attract attention.
Photo of Bronco at three months old. This photo was copied without permission and Bronco’s name and gender were changed.His name was certainly not Gracie, and the story about being sick was fabricated. BTW this kind of emotional manipulation has become ubiquitous. Don’t believe these kinds of claims.This was Julie’s comment.
It is far from the only time I’ve had a dog photo stolen. I was (well still is) a member of a few pug groups and all of them except for one smaller group were photo theft groups. It seemed like the bigger the groups, the worse they were. The founders/administrators of the groups regularly stole the photos posted by the members and then used the Facebook approval feature to prevent the members from complaining about the situation. I had several photos of Daisy stolen.
The photo below was stolen dozens of times and passed around to several groups including groups I was not a member of. I accidentally discovered my photos in other pug groups that I was randomly browsing. Her name and gender were often changed, and it was perpetually her birthday for at least several months. She was congratulated thousands of times, which was a silver lining. At first, I played along and just said thank you to all the people congratulating her even though I was not the one who posted the photo. However, that became unsustainable as there were so many congratulations in so many places for so long and then one guy started accusing me of pretending it was my pug. Well, it was my pug. After a while I just gave up on the pug groups. It seemed to be the same problem everywhere.
Photo of Daisy’s 15th birthday. The photo was stolen dozens of times in various pug groups.
So why do people steal dog photos? It seems like in some cases it is for the purpose of selling stuff, but that is not always the case. It seems like some photo thieves just want to grow their groups and become “influencers”. I should say that one of my old on-line friends told me that he had a popular YouTube video downloaded and re-uploaded (stolen) several times. He was making money off that video so in that case it was a matter of theft of money. YouTube took down those videos when he reported them, but naturally he still lost some money.
This seems to be a problem that’s spreading like wildfire on social media. I did not use to see this, but now I see it all the time. Photo theft happens even in the beer groups I help administer. Apparently taking your own photo of a beer can is too much to ask for. Unfortunately, it seems like photo theft has become normalized behavior.
In regard to the daily prompt “What is good about having a pet?” Pets can give you so many things, love, company, adventure, memorable moments, hilarious moments, protection, and playing with them or taking a dog for a walk is good for your health. We have dogs and have had dogs for decades. According to this article from the Mayo clinic dogs are good for your health. Dogs reduce work related stress, help manage stress, increase activity and help combat loneliness.
In addition, our late Leonberger dog Bronco protected us and our neighborhood from a trespasser and a peeping Tom who was terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood. A Leonberger is very large dog, like a St. Bernard. The police could not solve the problem. The private detectives I hired did not catch him, despite the fact they were hiding in our backyard at night. However, one time when the peeping Tom showed up, I sent Bronco after him and that took care of the problem. Bronco probably just wanted to say hello, but a big bear-looking dog dashing towards you in the darkness can be unnerving. That scared him off for good. Bronco saved the neighborhood.
Bronco also saved other dogs and pets on several occasions. He detected when our Labrador Baylor was about to have an insulin shock. He protected our pug Daisy from an attacking German Shepherd. He found our runaway hamsters on a number of occasions. Below are some photos and illustrations of our dogs.
Our Leonberger Dog Bronco at 3 months oldMe with our Leonberger Bronco. He was not yet fully grown.Our large but cuddly 167lb Leonberger Bronco is sitting nu my wife Claudia’s lap.The stalker / peeping Tom is sitting on a lawn chair and looking through our bedroom window at night. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.After the police and private detectives all failed our Leonberger Bronco is chasing off the intruder for good. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Our Leonberger Bronco is carrying two hamsters in his mouth. Don’t worry they were fine. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.Our Labrador Baylor and German Shepherd Baby. They were both rescues.Our son with our pug Daisy when she was a puppy.Our Japanese Chin Ryu and our Pug Daisy are protesting our travel by sitting in our suitcase. They want to come with us.Our Leonberger Bronco with our new puppy Rollo, a mini-Australian Shepherd.Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd could be a pest. He loved biting Bronco’s tail and even swung in it as if it was a swing.Our Pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd barking at people passing by our house. Notice the joke.
Today’s writing prompt is “Describe a Family Member”. This family member is good looking, fun to be around, and he is a loving character. He loves to play ball, he is very curious, and he loves to eat. However, he is anxious and easily frightened and he can also be a bit of an a-hole, and he hates dogs and cats. Can you guess which family member he is?
Three family members, but there are more of us.The answer is Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd.
You may ask yourself, but he is a dog, how can he hate dogs and cats? Good question, but I don’t think he knows he is a dog. I think he thinks he is a little person. He prefers human company. He got along well with our late Leonberger Bronco and our pug Daisy, but he hates every other dog and all cats.
Rollo loves rolling and chasing balls.As I mentioned, he can be a bit of an a-hole.As mentioned, Rollo is anxious and easily frightened. Daisy’s stroller is a good thing to sit in for such occasions.Today and the last few days Rollo has been wearing a cone. He had to extract a tooth on Thursday.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd turned six years old on October 12, 2024. However, we were at a wedding in Chicago, so we had to miss his birthday. We celebrated when we came home. In the past we’ve put a funny birthday hat on him. Unfortunately, he hates hats so this time I took pictures without a hat. To celebrate Rollo’s birthday, I am posting 20 photos I took of Rollo through the years, including some with our late Leonberger Bronco. If you’ve been following my blog, you will have seen many of these photos already but not all of them, certainly not the ones I just took.
Rollo eating a pupcake from our daughter’s hand. A pupcake is a cupcake for dogs.Rollo reaching for a piece of a pupcake on the sofa.This is an old photo from his fourth birthday. He is unhappy with the hat.Rollo almost six years ago. He had just arrived at our house. Our Leonberger Bronco is welcoming Rollo.Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy.Our Leonberger Bronco with little Rollo.Close up of Rollo as a puppy.Rollo on his first walk. It wasn’t really a walk. More like carrying him around the neighborhood.Rollo peeking out behind the sofa.Rollo playing with a volleyball.Rollo rolling a soccer ball.Rollo frequently bit our Leonberger Bronco’s tail, and he even swung in it like a swing. He climbed all over Bronco. Bronco was very patient with him.When Rollo was young, he loved chewing shoes. Here the artist is posing with his art.When we left the house we put Rollo in his baby jail for his own protection. We were afraid he would bother Bronco so much that Bronco lost his patience. Rollo ended up loving his baby jail. It was his own special house and no one else was allowed in.When Bronco had a toe amputation and we had to change his bandage every day, Rollo helped out. He was a dog nurse.Rollo liked to play with Bronco. Here he is asking for a belly rub.Our daughter with our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and Pug Daisy.Sometimes there are scary sounds and Rollo wanted to sit in the stroller we bought for our Pug Daisy.Two friends.Daisy our Pug and Rollo are watching something from the window.
This is another of my 25 Leonberger photos posts. This time the theme is old Leonbergers. Most of the photos are of our late Leonberger Bronco from the age of 11 years old and up. Since Leonbergers typically live 8-10 years, eleven years old and up is indeed old for a Leonberger. One of the photos is a photo of Bronco with my wife standing next to him holding his Grey Muzzle Award. This is an award given to Leonbergers who have reached the age of 12 years or older.
The first two photos are photos of Leonbergers belonging to friends of mine, then there are 17 photos of Bronco and finally there are six Leonberger stock photos. If you’ve been following my blog, you may have seen many of these photos already but not all of them. Below is a list of the previous 25 Leonberger posts I’ve made.
A Canadian Leonberger called Mak with my book. Photo by Debbie Ireland.Digory and Obi two Leonbergers. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.Bronco’s 11th birthday.Bronco taking a resting in the grass in our backyard.Bronco and our Pug Daisy. Daisy is leaving because she thinks Bronco is hogging the sofa.Our Leonberger dog Bronco is coming up to me. Maybe it is dinner time.Our Leonberger Bronco in the backyard with our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo. This is the first time they met.Our Leonberger dog Bronco is eleven and a half years old and we have acquired a new puppy, a mini-Australian Shepherd by the name Rollo.Rollo wants Bronco to play with him, but Bronco is old.Bronco got his Grey-Muzzle award from the Leonberger Health Foundation International for reaching the age of 12 years old and thus giving hope for a longer life to all Leonbergers.Bronco our Leonberger dog is taking a rest during a walk. He is twelve and a half years old.A rambunctious Rollo is biting Bronco’s tail. Bronco was very patient. One time Rollo swung in his tail as if it was a swing.Our Leonberger Bronco is in the bushes at grandpa and grandma’s house.After a toe amputation due to toe cancer, Bronco needed to wear a cone, a big soft cone. Unfortunately, he frequently cleared tables as he swung the cone back and forth. Here he has just pushed a pile of books and papers off a table.Rollo wants Bronco to give him a belly rub. But Bronco does not know how to give belly rubs.Bronco taking a break during a walk. He is old for a Leonberger. He is 12 years old and 10 months.Bronco our Leonberger is hanging out with Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd. Bronco is 12 years old and 11 months, in this photo. You can see his blue help-em-up around his waist. He needed help to get up. Unfortunately, he only had two more weeks to live in this photo.Big dog Leonberger portrait in the studio Stock Photo ID: 193024763 by Csanad Kiss.Old Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 2342234815 by theimagebooth.Mature big Leonberger Stock Photo ID:731020957 by Peter Josto.Old Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 1844035084 by Daniel Lesk.Old Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 1957113277 by AnetaZabranska.Old Leonberger in the snow Stock Photo ID: 1944789826 by Anna Krivitskaya.Old Leonberger in Norway Stock Photo ID: 1779931691 by Britta Paasch.Closeup of old Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 1942925251 by Wirestock Creators.
Also don’t forget to check out my new blog if you haven’t done so.
I almost missed that today is Rainbow Bridge Day or more correctly Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day is a day of reflection and gratitude that takes place every year on August 28th to honor pets who have passed away. We lost several pets through the years, hamsters, snakes, rabbits and dogs. In this post I will focus on the dogs we lost including Daisy our Pug, Bronco our Leonberger, Ryu our Japanese Chin, Baby our German Shepherd and Baylor or Labrador, or rather Yellow Lab mix. I will start with the dog we lost last, our Pug Daisy and end with the dog we lost first, our Labrador Baylor. I should say that my wife had dogs before we met each other, but Baylor was my first dog. I did not grow up with dogs. We miss them all very much. They left a hole in our hearts.
Our Pug Daisy was a sweet and easy dog who lived a long life. On April 5th this year she died peacefully in our arms at the age of 15 ½ years old. This was just a few months ago, and it still feels strangely empty without her. Our dog Rollo, a mini–Australian Shepherd has been alone ever since.
Daisy came to us a little pug puppy almost 16 years ago. Our son David, eleven years old at the time, was holding her. A few months ago, I held her for the last time.Daisy’s 15th birthday. This is one of the last photos of Daisy.Daisy on the sofa after an exhausting day of doing nothing.Our daughter is petting Rollo and Daisy. Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is still with us. He is six years old.A painting of our late pug Daisy who passed away in April. It is based on one of our photos and created by Etsy. I believe by the same woman who made Bronco’s portrait (see below).
The dog we lost before Daisy was our Leonberger dog Bronco. The Leonberger dog is a very large dog related to St. Bernards, Newfound land dogs, and Great Pyrenees, He died on June 16, 2020, just a couple of weeks before his 13th birthday. He lived a long life for a Leonberger. He was s sweetheart who protected our smaller dogs. He likely saved the life of our other dogs a couple of times, he found run-away hamsters, and he saved our neighborhood from a nightly intruder harassing the women in the neighborhood. He was also incredibly funny. I wrote a book about him and the Leonberger breed. Look to the right if you are using a laptop and at the bottom of the screen if you are using a mobile phone.
Bronco our Leonberger three months old.Today’s walk with Bronco and rest stop : April 18 2020, Bronco is 12 years 9 1/2 months.The portrait was drawn by Veniceme at Etsy (Natasha Dall’Ara) and it is based on one of our photos.Bronco lived a very long life for a Leonberger. Giant breeds don’t live long. The Leonberger Health Foundation International is trying to fix that. Bronco’s longevity is an inspiration for all Leonbergers and giant breeds around the world. Hopefully his DNA sample will be of some help.
In February of 2018 we lost Bronco’s little friend our little Japanese Chin Ryu. We bought him from Petland not knowing that they got their dogs from Puppy Mills. One time when we went to Petland to buy dog food we brought Ryu with us. As we approached the store he started shaking out of fear. That was a wakeup call for us. He loved howling and it sounded like he was singing an opera. Perhaps he loved howling for the attention he got when he did. Everyone turned around and clapped when he howled. He was a happy fella who died a bit prematurely at the age of 10 from cancer. I was working 16-hour days in Oklahoma when he passed so I could not be with him when he died, which is something I will forever regret.
Ryu loved dancing and singing and Bronco partially visible on the left was his big brother and protector.Rachel and Ryu, the Japanese Shin at the dogpark.Our smart little angel was unlucky with cancer, and I was not there for him. That is Baby and Baylor waiting at the end of the rainbow bridge.
Baby was a female German Shepherd. One of Claudia’s sisters had rescued her. We were told she had been abused by her first owners and she was a very anxious dog. We frequently took the dogs to the dog park, but she was never comfortable there and kept to herself. She was very protective of our Leonberger Bronco when he was a puppy. She played with him and protected him fiercely as if she was his mother. She died from cancer at home on her mattress. It would have been better for her to get an injection at the veterinary, but we did not react quick enough. Another thing we regret.
Bronco, at the age of four or five months, would soon outgrow his playmate Baby.Baby was always a little wary at the dog park.Sometimes not thinking things through is cruel. Watch your emotions. We could have done better for our brave German Shepherd Baby.
Baylor was a ¾ Yellow Lab and ¼ Ridgeback. He was a happy and brave dog who fought bravely when attacked by other dogs. He was also food crazy and stole a lot of food. As he got older, he developed diabetes and cataracts. His passing was the saddest and most shocking. We had left our dogs with a dog sitter during a ski vacation when she called us and told us she could not stay at our house because she had several other dogs to take care of. Something she had not told us. We were forced to allow her to take our dogs to her house. The next phone call was much worse. She had put Baylor out in her backyard because he was barking at night, and he had escaped. It was a cold night. He was found dead the next morning halfway between her house and our house. Hit by a driver who just left him there. Apparently, he had tried to get back to our house. It was quite a shock, and the kids were bawling their eyes out. That was the last time we hired a dog sitter.
Baylor and BabyPhoto of our Labrador BaylorOur Labrador left us tragically and unexpectantly. Evidence that we humans our cruel.The paw prints that dogs leave in your heart are eternal.
This is another one of my 25 Leonberger photos posts. This time the theme is young Leonbergers, puppies as well as teenage Leonbergers. The teenager photos show them before their bodies has filled out. Below is a list of the previous 25 Leonberger posts I’ve made.
If you’ve been following my blog, you will have seen many of these photos already but not all of them. About half of the photos are of our Leonberger Bronco and then there are stock photos and photos from other people.
Also don’t forget to check out my new blog if you haven’t done so.
Photo of Hachi a young Leonberger in Canada. He is about six months old. The photo is taken with permission from a review for my book. Click on the photo to see the associated review.This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco when he was three months old.Baby (German Shepherd) is playing with our four months old Leonberger Bronco.About five months old Bronco sleeping on his back.Our Leonberger Bronco at the dog park at five/six months old. He is wearing a bandage on his knee because he got a condition from growing too fast. The two ladies are the owners of the little dog.Our about one year old Leonberger at the dog park. He is gangly looking and not yet stocky. In the background you can see our yellow lab Baylor.Another photo of our not yet one year old Leonberger Bronco at the dog park.Our not yet one year old Leonberger Bronco at the dog park with our German Shepherd Baby.Our one-year-old Leonberger Bronco wants to give me a hug.Our Leonberger Bronco swimming in White Rock Lake. He is about one year old in the photo.Bronco our Leonberger get washed off and a fairly young age. He liked water.Bronco standing by the kitchen gate. The kitchen gate was there to keep him from going inside the kitchen and do counter surfing.Ten Leonberger puppies. My guess is that they are about two months old. Shutterstock-ID:561107710 by Akbudak Rimma.Leonberger puppy Stock Photo ID: 561111403 by Akbudak Rimma.Leonberger puppy. My guess is that he is around two months old. Shutterstock-ID: 629624396 by TOM KAROLA.A Leonberger puppy running in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2056502327 by Nikky de Graaf.Young Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 2089116934 by cynoclubTwo light colored Leonberger puppies playing. My guess is that they are three months old. Shutterstock-ID: 2141564415 by AnetaZabranska.Leonberger + Chihuahua Stock Photo ID: 2166660069 by cynoclub.Young Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 2170918265 by cynoclub.Young Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 2192241957 by cynoclub.Leonberger Puppy Stock Photo ID: 2233375083 by VeronArt16Two Leonberger puppies. Shutter stock Photo ID: 2294202331 by Olga Shusters.A Leonberger puppy standing in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2390810457 by VeronArt16.And finally a black and white photo of our Leonberger Bronco at three months old.
For American Father’s Day (yesterday) I got a number of presents and cards including a portrait of our late pug Daisy. She passed April 5th. For my birthday in March, I got a portrait of our late Leonberger Bronco. With this post I just wanted to show these portraits. They are made by a company called Etsy and the portraits are based on our photos.
A painting of our late pug Daisy who passed two months ago. It is based on one of our photos and created by Etsy. I believe by the same woman who made Bronco’s portrait (have to verify this).The portrait was drawn by Veniceme at Etsy (Natasha Dall’Ara) and it is based on one of our photos.
Leonberger Life 