Tag: Daisy

Todays Wag the Dog Adventure

Walking our Pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is often an adventure and so was today’s promenade. Daisy, who is fifteen years old and has arthritis walks very slowly and cannot walk far. Therefore, I let her sit in a pet stroller on our walks. However, I let her walk a little bit, go to the bathroom, well the grass, and sniff around a bit. She also has incontinence problems and wears a dog diaper inside the house. I take it off for our walks.

Daisy our pug in her blue and black pet stroller
Daisy in her pet stroller

Rollo our mini–Australian Shepherd, on the other hand, is very energetic and fast, and unfortunately very misbehaved. He is the worst behaved dog that we’ve ever had, and he growls and barks aggressively at every dog we meet. Yes, I know that is our fault and we need to fix this problem, but it requires some time and discipline. He also does not seem to understand that he is too small to take on large dogs like Bernese Mountain Dogs. Perhaps, he acquired that belief because our Leonberger Bronco was so patient with him.

Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd bites our Leonberger Bronco's tail. Bronco just ignores him.
Rollo pulling Bronco’s tail. Once he even bit it and swung in it like a swing. Bronco’s patience with him was great.

So, what happened today?

During our walk I stopped to let Rollo go to the bathroom and I also let Daisy down, who also went. Right at that moment a woman with her two Bernese dogs approached us and Rollo went crazy. He barked loudly and the Bernese dogs barked loudly back. As Rollo ran towards them Rollo’s leash got stuck around the stroller wheel and he tipped the stroller over. As I tried to fix it, I made it worse, and the stroller tipped upside down. Luckily, when the woman saw this, she turned and went a different way.

Our neighbor Dave, who is a nice guy, had watched the commotion from his window and came out  to help. As he ran towards me, he shouted, “Thomas are you OK?”, “are you OK?”. I thanked him and I was able to turn the stroller over and I put Daisy back in the stroller. As I did this Daisy peed all over me, but other than being wet and in need of a shower, I was back in business. I was annoyed with Rollo, but I did not say anything. I wonder what will happen on tomorrow’s walk.

Finally, a few words about Daisy’s pet diaper. It is a diaper with a hole for the tail. I think it is a great idea. Dogs eventually get old, and they may have bathroom problems. You cannot get angry with the dog when they pee on the floor or the carpet, they already feel bad about it. A diaper will solve the problem and make them feel better about it. They will quickly understand how it works. However, one problem with the diapers is that they easily slip off and to solve that we got suspenders with Velcro holding the diaper. You can buy this stuff from online pet stores, Amazon and many other places.

Daisy our pug standing on the wood floor wearing a blue diaper and her suspenders.
Daisy in her diaper with suspenders holding it.

Today Is Daisys Birthday

Today is Daisy’s fifteenth birthday. She is indeed a little old lady. She spent her first 12 years with her big brother, our Leonberger Bronco. Bronco saved her life one time, when a very aggressive lose German Shepherd attacked us and went after Daisy. Bronco stepped in between and saved her life. She also grew up with a Labrador, Baylor, a German Shepherd, Baby, a Japanese Chin, Ryu, and now Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd. Everyone loved her and wanted to protect her. We no longer have Bronco, but we still have Daisy and Rollo.

Bronco our Leonberger dog and Daisy pur Pug is on our leather sofa. Daisy is walking past Bronco.
Bronco and Daisy in our leather sofa. Daisy decided that Bronco was taking up too much room and moved.

Today we visited my wife Claudia’s parents where we celebrated Daisy’s birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to Daisy. Daisy and Rollo ate pupcakes and hot dogs.Today we visited my wife Claudia’s parents where we celebrated Daisy’s birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to Daisy. Daisy and Rollo ate pupcakes and hot dogs.

Below are some photos from today’s celebrations.

Our Pug Daisy is sitting in Claudia's lap while Claudia is feeding her pupcake and hot dogs.
Daisy sitting in Claudia’s lap eating some pupcake.
Daisy our Pug is sitting in Claudia’s lap. Claudia is feeding her pupcake.
Daisy sitting in Claudia’s lap.
Our Pug Daisy is sitting in Claudia's lap while looking up at her.
Daisy in Claudia’s lap.
A family photo. We are singing Happy Birthday to Daisy. Claudia’s mom is on the left holding our Pug Daisy. Claudia's dad is on the right holding our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. They are both sitting. Claudia is standing up in the middle.
We are singing Happy Birthday to Daisy. Claudia’s parents are sitting. Claudia is standing up.

Below are some photos from previous birthdays

The picture below has a story to it. We were celebrating Daisy’s 13th birthday and we had visitors from Los Angeles who came with their dog Oslo. Unfortunately, Rollo had not been socialized well when he was little (our fault) so he does not like dogs he does not know. Oslo came over to me and I made the mistake of petting him, which prompted Rollo to attack Oslo. We handled the situation, but it was an unpleasant surprise. I guess in his mind, I committed petimony. “You shall not pet any other dogs but me, well Daisy is OK”. We tried telling Rollo to behave but Oslo was obviously afraid of Rollo. Later, when the dogs were sitting around the table eating their pupcakes, Rollo was growling at Oslo who just looked away.

Three dogs around the table, celebrating Daisy's birthday. From the left to right, Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd, Daisy our Pug, and then Oslo a mixed breed.
Daisy is telling Rollo to behave.
Daisy our Pug is in the middle of the picture. She has a blue hat on. Bronco our Leonberger is on the right.
This photo is from Daisy’s 11th birthday. Bronco was celebrating with Daisy. We did not yet have Rollo.

Below are some other photos featuring Daisy

Daisy our Pug hanging her paws over the sofa
Daisy after an exhausting day of doing nothing.
Daisy our Pug is laying on her back sun bathing
Daisy loves sunbathing. She lays out in the hot sun and soaks in the sun rays.
Daisy is old and has arthritis so when we walk the dogs, we let her sit in a stroller. In this photo we are outside and she is sitting in the stroller.
Daisy is old and has arthritis so when we walk the dogs, we let her sit in a stroller. We lift her out so she can sniff.
Daisy our Pug wearing a nurse hat
Daisy as a nurse, helping to nurse Bronco back after a toe amputation.
Daisy our Pug and Bronco our Leonberger are standing in the kitchen and they are sharing a smashed gingerbread house.
Daisy and Bronco sharing a gingerbread house that Bronco grabbed.
Photo of our Japanese Chin Ryu and our Pug Daisy sitting in our red suitcase.
We are going on a vacation, but Ryu and Daisy didn’t like that. This is their protest.
Daisy our Pug and Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd are standing on the sofa and barking out the window. The joke goes: - Daisy: Rollo do you want to hear a joke? - Rollo: OK - Daisy: Knock! knock! - Rollo: Woof! Woof! Woof! - Daisy: Woof! Woof! Wooof!
Daisy’s and Rollo’s knock knock joke

Today Is Rollos Birthday

Today is Rollo’s fifth birthday. Rollo grew up with his big brother the Leonberger Bronco, but we lost him three years ago and now it is just Rollo and his sister Daisy the Pug. Today they both had a so called pupcake, a cupcake especially made for dogs. Unlike some other pupcakes, it was soft, like a human cupcake and the dogs liked that, especially Daisy who is 15 years old and missing half her teeth.

Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd with a plate with a pupcake in front of him. There is a candle in the pupcake.
Rollo with his pupcake. We are singing happy birthday to him, and our daughter is holding him. Daisy participated but is not in the picture.
Rollo’s birthday last year. He has the same blue clown hat on but a Happy Birthday Bone Cookie instead of a pupcake
Rollo’s birthday last year (4th birthday, coincidentally also on October 12).
Two dogs. Daisy a pug to the left. Rollo a mini-Australian Shepherd to the right.
Another photo from Rollo’s birthday last year, with Daisy.
Rollo almost five years ago. He is in our backyard. He is a mini-Australian Shepherd and very small in this photo.
Rollo almost five years ago, at his new home.
A close up of Rollo's face and eyes.
Rollo almost five years ago, at his new home.
Photo of our big Leonberger Bronco in the kitchen with little Rollo (mini-Australian Shepherd) in front of him.
Rollo almost five years ago, meeting his big brother Bronco.
Rollo around four years ago. He was biting Bronco's tail and even hanging and swinging in it. Bronco was our big Leonbeger.
Rollo around four years ago, terrorizing his big brother Bronco.

The King of Texas is Cute

Recent dialogues at the Wikman residence concerning our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.

Rollo loves belly rubs.

Rollo: laying down on his side, opening his legs a bit and barking once. That’s how he asks for a belly rub.

Thomas: Honey, can you give Rollo a belly rub? I’ve done it several times today.

Claudia: No, I am cooking. You do it.

Thomas: I walk over to Rollo to give him a belly rub. He loves it, turns over and kicks his legs, and he looks like he is laughing like a child being tickled. Then I stopped.

Rollo: One loud bark. That means he wants more.

Thomas: continues giving a belly rub.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco with Rollo lying on his side on the floor in front of Bronco seemingly asking him for a belly rub.
Rollo is asking our Leonberger Bronco for a belly rub. Unfortunately, it is not easy for one dog to give another dog a belly rub.

Rollo wants to sit where you are sitting.

Rollo: I am sitting on the sofa and Rollo comes over and taps me twice on my knee. That’s the command Rollo gives when he wants to sit where you are sitting.

Thomas: I move over.

Rollo: jumps up and sits where I sat.

Claudia: Thomas do you remember the trainer who said that Rollo thinks he is in charge and that we need to fix that?

Thomas: Yes, but he is so cute.

Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd (left) and Daisy our Pug (right) sitting on a white sofa chair.
Rollo and Daisy in sofa chair.

Rollo wants to sleep on the bed but not alone.

Rollo: I am sitting on the sofa and Rollo comes over and scratches me on my knee while leaning backwards as if he wants to leave. That’s the command Rollo gives when he wants to go to bed but he does not want to go alone.

Thomas: Honey can you go lay down in the bed with Rollo. I am busy reading.

Claudia: No, I am not doing that anymore.

Thomas: stands up and follows Rollo into the bedroom and lays down on the bed as Rollo jumps up on the bed.

Claudia: Thomas you should not be doing that either. Remember, it is not good that Rollo thinks he is in charge.

Rollo: falls asleep while Thomas reads a book on the bed.

The head of our mini-Australian Shepherd sticking out from under the covers on our bed.
Rollo tucked in under the covers on our bed.

Rollo and Bronco

Rollo and Bronco (our Leonberger) were best buddies. We no longer have Bronco, but we have Rollo who is the worst behaved dog we’ve ever had. It already started while we were still having Bronco. Rollo walked all over Bronco, like he did with people. If a few people were sitting on the sofa, Rollo would just walk from one end of the sofa to the other, stepping on everyone’s legs or bellies in the process. He still does that. He frequently bit Bronco’s tail and even swung in it as if it was a swing. Bronco was extremely patient and did not get angry, except one time when Rollo stole his toy. Bronco’s loud booming bark scared Rollo and he let go of the toy. However, to be on the safe side we put Rollo in a playpen, or baby jail, as we called it. Rollo came to love his baby jail.

Our Leonberger Bronco lying in the grass in our backyard with our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. Bronco is to the left and Rollo to the right.
Bronco and Rollo, best buddies. Bronco is quite old and Rollo is quite young.
The photo shows the back of Bronco to the right including his tail, which Rollo (to the left) is pulling.
Rollo is pulling Bronco’s tail.
The photo shows Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd inside a dog play-pen, also including toys and a water bowl and a small bed.
This was Rollo’s Baby Jail

Rollo’s other commands and peculiarities.

Rollo scratches doors he thinks should be open, which is basically every door, and if no one comes to open the door, then he barks. When he wants to play with a toy, he barks at the toy box with one loud bark until I give him the toy he wants. He barks at balls that roll in under sofas and beds and expects someone to get them for him. Rollo loves balls. I should say, naturally, we have commands for him as well, such as sit, stay, come, and shake, and he obeys them most of the time. But he has commands for us too. He sleeps in our bed, typically in the middle, surrounded by his subjects, me, Claudia and Daisy.

Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd, is holding a soccer ball with one of his paws. They are inside the house.
Rollo loves balls. He loves to chase balls, chew balls and roll balls.
Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd is in the backyard biting an orange volley ball.
Rollo is ball crazy.

The greatest quality that someone could have.

What is the greatest quality someone could have? Is it intelligence? Is it knowledge? Is it wisdom? Is it charm? Is it beauty? Is it courage? Is it strength of character? Is it work ethics? Is it honesty? Is it integrity? No, it is none of that. The most important thing in the world is that you are cute. That is why Rollo is the King of the House, in fact the King of Texas. But seriously, Rollo is spoiled, he sleeps in our bed, he does not like other dogs (except Daisy), and this is our fault. Before we can get another Leonberger we must work on certain bad habits. However, his cuteness and his innocence make this harder.

Photo of Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd, as a puppy.
Rollo as a puppy. Being cute is all that matters.
Photo of our daughter in the middle, with Rollo on the left and Daisy on the right.
Our daughter with Rollo and Daisy.

All American Pet Photo Day with Leonbergers and Other Dogs

I almost missed it! Earlier today I found out that today is “All American Pet Photo Day”. So here are some photos of our dogs, past and present.

In this photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Pug Daisy, Rollo is in front and Daisy in the back. They are sitting on a white sofa chair.
A photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Pug Daisy that I took this afternoon.
Our Leonberger Bronco, three months old, wearing a scarf.
Young Bronco (Lenberger) with me. Bronco is standing on a sofa giving me a hug.
Our Leonberger Bronco, 167 pounds at the time, sitting in my wife's lap.
Our Labrador Baylor
Our German Shepherd Baby at the dog park
Rachel with our young Japanese Chin Ryu. They are dancing.
Our Japanese Chin Ry and Pug Daisy protesting that we are going on a trip leaving them. They are sitting in a suitcase preventing us from packing.
Our Pug Daisy, Japanese Chin Ryu and Leonberger Bronco.
Our Labrador Baylor (left) and German Shepherd Baby (right)
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo as a puppy. He is looking straight into the camera.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo biting our Leonbergers tail and pulling it.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is playing with an orange volleyball
Our Leonberger Bronco lying in the grass. He is very old in this photo. Almost 13 years old. We were out for a walk.
Our daughter Rachel is petting our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Pug Daisy
Our Leonberger Bronco is lying in the grass in the front yard
Photo of Bronco our Leonberger and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo in the grass in our backyard.

Also, as a reminder, the eBook version of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” is temporarily $2.99 (until July 20th).

A Leonberger and His Little Pug Friend

Our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) grew up with several dogs, one of them being our Pug Daisy, which we still have. Bronco and Daisy were good friends and on one occasion Bronco saved Daisy from an attacking lose German Shepherd. We’ve owned a very well-behaved German Shepherd, they are good dogs, but this particular one wasn’t.

Bronco stepped in between the German Shepherd and Daisy and got bitten in the leg in the process. Leonbergers are about double as strong as German Shepherds and almost double as massive and they have more powerful jaws. However, Bronco was old and had just had surgery in the leg in which he was bit, so it was certainly a sacrifice on his part. I was mad and I ran after the German Shepherd and tried kicking him and between mine and Bronco’s efforts he ran off. I cursed at the owner of the German Shepherd for letting him run lose in a public space. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but in the end Daisy our innocent sweet Pug was alive. What a day that was. Anyway, in this post I am showing a few photos I took of Bronco and Daisy.

Photo of our Pug Daisy (left) and our Leonberger Bronco (right)
Daisy (Pug) and Bronco (Leonberger)
Photo of Bronco and Daisy in the kitchen with pieces of gingerbread on the floor. Bronco raided the gingerbread house, but he is sharing with Daisy.
Bronco raided a gingerbread house, but he is sharing with Daisy.
Photo of Daisy and Bronco in the backyard. Green grass, a fence and some trees.
Daisy and Bronco in the backyard

Above Daisy and Bronco on our large wide leather sofa.

Photo of Daisy and Bronco in front of a sort of hotdog cake. It is Daisy's birthday.
Daisy’s birthday

Finally, I also would like to highlight the Dawn of Humanity series written by Jacqui Murray once again. I loved this series and I highly recommend it. Below I am posting some information about the Dawn of Humanity series.

Book Trailer

Todays Dog Stroller Mishap

I don’t think there are any pet strollers that could accommodate a grown Leonberger, but there are certainly pet strollers that accommodate pugs and mini-Australian shepherds. We bought a stroller, for our old pug Daisy. She’s got arthritis and in addition she easily get tired. Our mini-Australian shepherd Rollo frequently wants to sit in the stroller too but not because he is tired, its because he heard a strange sound and feels safer in the stroller.

Left: Wolf who is not sitting in a stroller. Right: Rollo sitting in Daisy’s stroller. The photo contains text. Text on the left: Canis Lupus, the grey wolf is a fearsome and courageous hunter in nature. Text on the right: Canis Lupus familiaris, the dog, a close relative to the grey wolf, is sometimes less brave. This specimen prefers to sit in a stroller when he hears strange sounds.
Left: Wolf who is not sitting in a stroller. Right: Rollo sitting in Daisy’s stroller.

This morning our stroller broke. The front wheel suddenly caved, and the stroller took a nosedive with Daisy in it. Daisy slid from the back of the stroller to the front but luckily, she did not fall out. She was fine. Rollo, who was watching the misadventure, was not fine. Seeing the stroller capsizing with Daisy in it really scared him and he let out a scream, eeeeek!

Photo of a pug (Daisy) in a pet stroller
Daisy in her stroller at a time when the stroller was in better shape

I left the broken stroller on the sidewalk and walked home with the dogs, carrying Daisy part of the way. After I dropped off the dogs, I took my car and returned to where I left the stroller to pick it up. However, it was gone. Who would steal a broken stroller? I had been gone for maybe 15 minutes. I had also left a bag of dog feces in the stroller basket. I always pick up after my dogs. So, I don’t think the stroller thief got a good deal.

Daisy and Rollo both like to sit in the stroller, but the stroller is really for Daisy.

Turkey Stealing Labradors and Leonbergers Who Share Their Loot

Our Labrador Baylor was a stealthy, opportunist and quick food thief. Food tended to disappear around him as if it never was there. Our German Shepherd on the other hand never stole food and took it upon herself to guard the entrance to the kitchen to the chagrin of Baylor. If she could have spoken, she would have said “you shall not pass”. 

Photo of Baylor and Baby
Baylor and Baby

Our Leonberger Bronco was our biggest dog, and he could eat a lot. Once we had prepared a big plate with five pounds of roast beef for a dinner party. Bronco finished those five pounds of roast beef with astonishing speed. I saw him do it, but I was not quick enough to stop him. Luckily, he thoughtfully left us the carrots, the broccoli and the dip, so the guests had something to eat. All our dogs were, and are, great dogs, but many dogs have this vice, food theft. I should say that Bronco often willingly shared his loot with other dogs. He was not selfish. Below I am including a few excerpts from my book concerning food theft.

Labrador food theft stories

Photo of our Labrador Baylor
Photo of our Labrador Baylor

In addition to his hatred for mailmen, Baylor had one more vice, and that was stealing food. He was always hungry, and he was pretty good at culinary theft. On one occasion, I was standing in the kitchen holding a sandwich in my hand. Suddenly the sandwich disappeared from my fingers as if it had been teleported. I didn’t feel a thing—no pull, no touch, no wet nose. It just vanished. I turned around, and behind me stood Baylor, swallowing something. He looked at me, wagging his tail. Was he innocent? Did Captain Kirk beam my sandwich to another dimension? How could I be mad at him when I didn’t have proof?

On another occasion, Baylor jumped up on top of the kitchen table using a chair as a step stool and cleared it of the desserts that Claudia’s grandmother had brought for the kids and the family. That’s how I learned that she had a swear-word vocabulary—and that it was substantial. Fortunately, the kids weren’t nearby. On yet another occasion, Baylor emptied a tray of baklava that had been sitting on the kitchen counter.

His most notable food raid was probably when he stole the Thanksgiving turkey and ran off with it. We salvaged most of it, but knowing that Baylor had been all over it, we decided not to eat what he left us. It wasn’t very appetizing.

Leonberger food theft stories

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco. He is ready for dinner.
Our Leonberger Bronco is ready for dinner

I believe dogs have empathy, and sometimes they want to share, at least Bronco did. There was a time when we were in our home eating take-out food and Bronco stole one of our dinners, including meat, vegetables, and a baked potato. He started eating the meat, then he glanced at Daisy, who was sitting in the middle of the floor looking sad. Immediately he took the baked potato in his mouth and carried it over to her and dropped it right at her feet. I was going to get mad at him for stealing, but when I saw his kindhearted and unselfish act, I let it be.

On another occasion, Rachel made a gingerbread house and left it on the kitchen counter. I had forgotten to lock the kitchen gate, and the photograph above shows what greeted me when I got home. Guess who ate half the gingerbread house. I should say that Bronco shared some with Daisy. He was always very generous.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco and our Pug Daisy sharing a gingerbread house in the kitchen.
Bronco and our Pug Daisy sharing a gingerbread house

On yet another occasion, Bronco got hold of a box of chocolates in the shape of small gnomes. Each gnome was filled with liquor—some with gin, some with vodka, some with whiskey, and some with rum. It was a gift from Rachel, who had just come back from a visit to China. She had bought the present for us at the airport in Hong Kong. But Bronco ate the entire thing—tinfoil wrappers, chocolate, liquor, and all. We were afraid he might get very sick, and we carefully monitored him, ready to rush him to the emergency clinic if necessary. Fortunately, nothing happened, except he threw up a little bit of tinfoil. I guess he had a stomach of steel.

So, for this Thanksgiving watch your dogs so they don’t run off with your Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate

Our Leonberger and His Japanese Chin Friend

This blog post is focused on Ryu one of the dogs that Bronco grew up with.

Photo of Ryu a Japanese Chin. He was our Leonberger Bronco's little brother.
Ryu a Japanese Chin

Around a year after we got Bronco, we got a fourth dog, a Japanese Chin. He was a gift for our daughter, Rachel, who named him Ryu after a Japanese ninja warrior. Ryu was a very energetic dog, quick and brave—except that he was terrified of thunderstorms. At seventeen or eighteen pounds, he was bigger than most Japanese Chins, but he was still a small dog. He got along very well with Bronco.

Photo of our daughter Rachel with Ryu her Japanese Chin. They are sitting on a chair at the dogpark.
Rachel and Ryu, the Japanese Shin at the dogpark.

One of the things that stood out about Ryu was his singing. Japanese Chins are famous for their singing—well, actually, it’s closer to howling, but Ryu’s was a beautiful howl, and he was very proud of it.

Photo Ryu a Japanese Chin. He is ready to sing or howl, whatever.
Ryu the howling opera singer.

As soon as he discovered that he got a lot of attention for it, he started doing it quite often. Whenever we came home, he would sit politely, look at us intently—it seemed like he was clearing his throat too and howl. Like an opera singer, he would slowly turn his head to look at us, as if he were performing. In fact, I think Ryu’s howling sounded just like a night at the opera—especially when the lyrics are sung in Italian.

Photo of Ryu standing with Rachel. Ruy loved dancing and singing and Bronco partially visible on the left was his big brother and protector.
Ryu loved dancing and singing and Bronco partially visible on the left was his big brother and protector.

We would say, “Good boy, Ryu,” and clap, and he looked mighty proud. Other people thought it was cute and wonderful, too, and they gave him lots of praise, and of course he loved doing it and got good at it. When Rachel played the harmonica, Ryu would howl along. They made quite a duo.

“Good boy” might not be the kind of praise Andrea Bocelli would want, but Ryu was perfectly happy with it.

Left to right in photo, Daisy a Pug, Ryu a Japanese Chin, Bronco a Leonberger.
Daisy (Pug), Ryu (Japanese Chin), Bronco (Leonberger)

The interaction between Ryu and Bronco was sometimes truly amazing to watch. I remember one instance in which Bronco was sleeping in the house and Ryu was outside in our fenced backyard. The door to the backyard was open. I heard Ryu bark a few times. He had evidently seen something he wanted us to notice—or something he wanted other people to notice.

Left to right in photot Daisy (Pug), Ryu (Japanese Chin), and then our Leonberger Bronco.
On the left Daisy (Pug) and Ryu (Japanese Chin). On the right Bronco our Leonberger.

Then I saw Ryu running in through the back door. He was a fast runner. He ran to Bronco, jumped on his stomach, and barked at him. Bronco woke up, looking drowsy and confused. Ryu waited for Bronco to shake off his grogginess and get up, then he ran out the back door with Bronco in tow. They both hurried to the gate that leads to the street. Ryu yapped, and Bronco barked his loud, booming bark. Ryu had enlisted help to multiply his bark power.

Photo of three dogs resting thinking up mischief. Ryu a clever little dog enlisting big brother's help. Ryu is a Japanese Chin, Daisy a Pug, and Bronco a Leonberger.
Three dogs resting and probably thinking up mischief. Ryu a clever little dog enlisting big brother’s help.
From left to right in photo; Bronco a Leonberger, Ryu a Japanese Chin, Daisy a Pug.
Bronco our Leonberger was very protective of his little siblings Ryu our Japanese Shin and Daisy our Pug. He saved Daisy’s life when he got in between her and an attacking loose big dog.
Ryu a Japanese Chin is licking Daisy's ear. Daisy is a Pug.
Ryu loved Daisy
Photo of Ryu (Japanese Chin) and Daisy (Pug). Bronco our Leoberger is partially visible on the left.
Daisy and Ryu, Bronco in the corner.
Photo of a Pug (Daisy) and a Japanese Chin (Ry) sleeping.
Sleeping little dogs
Photo of a table with a cake for the dogs and Bronco and Ryu are ready to eat.
Ryu’s birthday. Bronco is helping with the celebrations.
Photo of Ryu a Japanese Chin being under the weather.
Not every day was great.