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.
I recently finished reading “My Patronus is a Leonberger”, January 16, 2023 by Alex Luther. The dimensions of this paperback are 6.34 x 0.56 x 6.34 inches, and the weight is 11.8 ounces, ISBN 979-8373947503, and it currently costs $17.99 on Amazon in the US.
Front cover of “My Patronus is a Leonberger” by Alex Luther. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
In summary: “My Patronus is a Leonberger” contains 111 pages of text and 111 pages of black and white photos plus advertisement and links to places where you can buy mugs and T-shirts. None of the 111 dog photos feature a Leonberger and the word Leonberger is never used anywhere in the book. It has funny photos of various small dogs though. However, the book has nothing to do with Leonbergers. In my opinion that means that putting Leonberger in the title is a bit misleading.
Below is my review of My Patronus is a Leonberger by Alex Luther. I made minor improvements compared to the Amazon review. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book three stars.
Cute Dog Book That Never Mention Leonbergers
“My Patronus is a Leonberger” features 111 black and white photos of dogs paired with 111 black pages featuring 3 to 36 words long wisdom words or sayings in white text. The sayings are typically related to wizards and sometimes to Hogwarts. They are of varying quality but some of them are cute. The dog photos are cute and feature mostly small dogs often wearing glasses, real or photoshopped, wands and human clothes. At the end of the book there is an advertisement for dog merchandise from the company the author represents.
It is a cute little book for children or adults. However, there are no photos of Leonbergers, or any giant breed, and the word Leonberger exists only on the cover. Considering that the photos are not in color, that the sayings were just OK, and that the title of the book is potentially misleading to buyers I cannot give the book a high rating. Imagine someone buying this book for a friend owning a Leonberger thinking it contains Leonberger related writing or photos. Then when his friend opens the book, he sees nothing but pugs, Pomeranians and cats, but no Leonbergers or any mention thereof. I think he would be disappointed. I give it three stars.
Back cover of “My Patronus is a Leonberger” by Alex Luther.
With this post I am adding another Leonberger book that I recommend. It is a very good guide for new Leonberger owners with one caveat. It implies that you should neuter/spay your Leonberger at six months old, which would severely harm your dog if you did. The in general recommended six months does not apply to Leonbergers. Vannessa Richie did her research except regarding this. She has written many dog books, interviewed many Leonberger breeders, and she is a skilled author. However, it is obvious that she has never owned a Leonberger. Therefore, I am giving this otherwise great book four stars instead of five.
Front cover of the book the Complete Guide To Leonbergers by Vanessa Richie. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the book.
The book is The Complete Guide to Leonbergers: Selecting, Training, Feeding, Exercising, Socializing, and Loving Your New Leonberger Puppy Paperback – May 12, 2022 by Vanessa Richie. It is 195 pages, and the current price on Amazon for the paperback is $19.95, the hardback is $26.95, and the Kindle is $9.95. ISBN-13 978-1954288485, weight 12.5 ounces and the dimensions are 6 x 0.44 x 9 inches.
Complete and Very Helpful Guide to Leonbergers, but DON’T Neuter/Spay a Leonberger at Six Months
As the title promises this book is indeed a complete guide to Leonbergers. It is focused on training and care. First the book examines whether a Leonberger is the right dog for you as well as the history of the breed. The rest of the book includes topics on how to find and prepare your home for a Leonberger, puppy training, socialization, exercise, grooming, nutrition, health, etc. The book has a lot of detail and a lot of useful information. The author clearly did her research. She interviewed ten breeders after all.
The content of the book is almost 100% correct as far as I can tell, and the information is very useful to Leonberger owners. I question the second page of the chapter on history where she claims that Essig bred his Leonbergers from two dogs, a white and black Newfoundland and a long-haired St. Bernard. Essig claimed a third dog was also involved, a Pyrenean Mountain Wolfhound or possibly a Pyrenean Mountain Dog (Great Pyrenees). However, Essig’s claims have been disputed, and this is not important.
The book design is very professionally done with various sorts of sidebars, highlighted headers, professional looking tables, dividers, little corner boxes with graphics for “helpful tips”, “fun facts”, “historical facts”, “Health Alerts”, pros-cons sidebars with graphics, and 62 black and white Leonberger photos. The author is not only a good writer, but she also knows a thing or two about book design.
I’ve read more than a dozen Leonberger books and this is among the best Leonberger books I’ve read. I wish this book had existed when we got our Leonberger. I should say that we did not do everything right, but we got a lot right, and he lived exceptionally long for a Leonberger, 13 years. If we have had this book, maybe he would have lived even longer. I should add that we donated his DNA to Leonberger health research (upon request).
The reason I am not giving this book five stars is because of a problematic blooper in the middle of page 30. It says “….the dog is spayed or neutered once it reaches maturity (typically six months)”. Leonbergers aren’t fully matured until the age of two and should not be neutered/spayed until then. If you spay/neuter a Leonberger much earlier (six months) you will harm the dog. Yes, they are different from most dogs. I should say that we did not wait two years, it was not practical, but we waited about one and half year, which is much better than six months. If the author removes the faulty parenthesis, I will change my rating to five stars and update this paragraph and the title of the review. Assuming the book is print on demand you can update so that future prints here on Amazon will be correct.
So, in conclusion, this is a great Leonberger book with a lot of useful information, and I highly recommend it to Leonberger owners and prospective owners, but the blooper on page 30 prevents me from giving a perfect rating at the moment.
Back cover of the book the Complete Guide To Leonbergers by Vanessa Richie.
Leonberger Life 