Leonberger book – Page 16 – Leonberger Life

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.

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.

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.

Leonbergers and Hamsters

Bronco gave us many funny stories and great memories. The book I wrote “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” feature several dozen stories. I’ve told a few of the stories here in my blog, but my recent visitors have not seen the early ones. Instead of telling too many stories from the book I’ve decided to rerun of the earlier stories including this one. It also an improvement because I am including images that were used in the book. In the first telling of this story back in March, I used an unfinished image. Anyway, this story is about our Leonberger Bronco finding run-away hamsters.

A photo of Bronco’s friendly face — Bronco’s friendly face

Back when Bronco was young, the kids had pet hamsters—Moldova and Montenegro. The hamsters escaped from their cages sometimes, but Bronco usually helped us find them whenever they did. Claudia would tell him, “Bronco, find the hamsters,” and he would go around the house sniffing until he found them. One time he found them in the linen closet; another time he found them on a shelf in the living room.

On one occasion, a friend of David trusted us with his two hamsters while he and his family went on vacation. A couple of days later, Claudia noticed that the two hamsters were missing from their cage. The next thing she noticed was that Bronco’s cheeks looked puffy, so she said, “Bronco, drop it!” Out came the two hamsters, both unconscious.

Drawing of Bronco's face with puffy cheeks because he holds two hamsters in his mouth. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt. — Bronco’s puffy cheeks. Are there hamsters in there? Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

In a panic, Claudia started performing CPR on the unconscious hamsters. She put one hamster at a time in her hand and gently compressed each tiny chest using the finger of the other hand. Fortunately, one hamster revived right away. The CPR didn’t seem to be working on the other hamster, but Claudia put both of them back in their cage, and soon the second hamster also woke up. We decided to keep the incident to ourselves. Hamsters don’t squeal.

Drawing showing Claudia performing CPR on Hamster. They came back alive. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt. — Claudia performing CPR on Hamster. They came back alive. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

The question is, Did Bronco try to eat the hamsters? Or did he simply find them and pick them up, intending to alert us to their presence? I’ve asked several people this question, including some who know Leonbergers well. The answer they give is that he tried to save them from whatever danger he thought they might have been in. If he wanted to eat them, they say, he would have tried chewing them. But clearly, he didn’t.

The hamsters may have felt differently about the situation and may have fainted from the shock. Who knows? Bronco was a hero on many occasions, but this time, perhaps, he was a hamster superhero.

Eventually our own hamsters died, but that didn’t end Bronco’s interest in them. When the first hamster died, we held a funeral. We put the hamster in a shoe box, said goodbye, put some flowers in the box, and buried it in the backyard underneath some bushes. But when we turned our backs, Bronco was there, digging under the bushes. Perhaps he thought he could save the hamster. So, we called Bronco off and tried again: this time I dug a deeper hole and put a wide rock over the shoe box before covering it. Now Bronco couldn’t dig up the hamster. When the second hamster died, I had learned my lesson and did the same thing.

Photos of our Leonberger Swimming

This post presents various photos of our late Leonberger Bronco swimming. Leonbergers have webbed paws and they are excellent swimmers. They are therefore used in water rescue. Some Leonbergers are trained to jump out of helicopters and into to the ocean. Bronco did not jump out of any helicopters, but he jumped into White Rock Lake in Dallas almost every weekend. Bronco loved swimming and he loved chasing ducks and egrets in the water, as well as fetching sticks in the water. Click on any of the photos below to read about Bronco’s water adventures.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco swimming in White Rock Lake. Click on the photo to read about Bronco’s swim adventures. — Click on the photo to read about Bronco’s swim adventures.

Hey What Kind of Dog is that Life with Leonbergers

This is the third Leonberger book review on my blog. I am reviewing and recommending Leonberger books that I loved. This time I am reviewing Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers, by Julie McGloin, ISBN 978-1662913679. You can buy it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is currently $13.88 on Amazon and $30.00 on Barnes and Noble. It is 104 pages, in a medium sized format (8.5 x 0.28 x 8.5 inches, 9.3 ounces) and it is in color.

This book is a photographic tribute to a remarkable dog breed, the Leonberger. It is a fairly new book. It was launched early March 2022 and uploaded to Amazon at the end of February 2022. The author did not only include photos of her own Leonbergers but included photos from many other Leonberger owners as well. The book feature 100’s of beautiful color photos from around the world as well as interesting and useful information about Leonbergers. Our Leonberger Bronco is featured on page 6-7, which is something we are grateful for.

Photo of Page 6 & 7 spread in Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers, featuring our late Leonberger Bronco. — Page 6 & 7 spread in Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers, featuring our late Leonberger Bronco. Click on the photo to go to the Barnes and Noble page for the book.

I loved reading about all the other Leonbergers and learning a little bit more about the Leonberger breed. The information and the photos are presented in a charming and fun way, and it is easy reading. Leonbergers are beautiful and majestic, they love swimming, they love winter and snow, they love to eat, they are friendly and intelligent, and they are way too cute as puppies. All of this is reflected in the gorgeous photographs throughout the book. The book is for all ages and a great tabletop book. Below is the spread for page 64 & 65.

Photo of page 64 & 65 spread in Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers, featuring Leonbergers in water. — Page 64 & 65 spread in Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers, featuring Leonbergers in water.

Another important thing to mention is that a portion of the sale proceeds from this book is donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. I guess this book started a trend. Hopefully all Leonberger book authors will donate to the Leonberger Health Foundation International from now on. I highly recommend this book to all dog lovers and anyone thinking about getting a Leonberger.

Photo of two copies of “Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers” arriving at my house. The photo includes the box. — Two copies of “Hey! What Kind of Dog is That?: Life With Leonbergers” arriving at my house.

Leonberger Special Rare Breed Edition

This is the second Leonberger book review on my blog. This time I am reviewing Leonberger, Special Breed Edition, a comprehensive owner’s guide, by Madeline Lusby, ISBN 978-1593783143. This is a Kennel Club book and part of a large series of dog breed books (167 books). You can buy it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble and it exist in both printed version (hardcover) and e-Book (kindle/nook). It is not expensive $9.95 on Amazon for a used hardcover version and $24.99 for the kindle version (nook a little cheaper). It appears that you can no longer buy it new (as I did). I remember buying the book new for $24.95. It is 155 pages, in a medium sized format (6.75 x 0.75 x 8.25, 1.27 pounds) and it is in color.

This book was published in 2005 before the Leonberger breed was recognized by the AKC and therefore there was no Leonberger AKC breed standard at the time. However, the FCI Leonberger breed standard certainly existed, and it is still the most prominent Leonberger breed standard. I was very impressed by the image summarizing the FCI Leonberger breed standard on the inside front cover (see below). I should mention that FCI (Féderation Cynologique Internationale) is the international organization that defines the dog breeds. However, some local organizations, such as the AKC (American Kennel Club) have their own breed standards that typically exactly match (but differ in language) or very closely match that of the FCI.

Photo of the inside cover of the book Leonberger, a Kennel Club book. It features the FCI (Féderation Cynologique Internationale) breed standard illustrated. — The FCI (Féderation Cynologique Internationale) breed standard illustrated

As the front cover states this is a pretty comprehensive book on Leonbergers. Due to the age of the book a few of the chapters may not be up to date, but overall, the book contains useful information for all Leonberger owners or potential owners. Leonberger history is interesting and fascinating, and this book contains some Leonberger history even though some of the claims should be taken with a grain of salt. For example, there is no proof that Leonbergers were used to pull ammunition carts during World War II as they were in World War I. There are chapters on the characteristics of the Leonberger, the breed standard, the Leonberger puppy, proper care, training, healthcare and the showing of your Leonberger. The chapter on healthcare is detailed and very well written and organized with nice sidebars, illustrations and photos. Unfortunately, this chapter is also a bit outdated. As the book points out, a Leonberger is not for everyone. Do you have the time and money to take care of it? Do you have the space? You can find out if a Leonberger is right for you by reading this book.

Overall, the book is well written, well organized and professionally made. There’s amusing anecdotes, and it is filled with interesting and beautiful photographs, tables, illustrations and colorful sidebars and notes. It was a pleasure reading it and despite its age and some inaccuracies I highly recommend this book. I gave it five stars.

Leonberger

Previously I have not posted any book reviews on this blog. However, there are a lot of great Leonberger books out there, not just mine. I am starting with Leonberger, a comprehensive guide to the Lion King of breeds, by Caroline Bliss-Isberg, ISBN 978-1943824243. You can buy it from Amazon and Barnes & Noble and it exist in both printed version (hardcover) and e-Book (kindle/nook). It is expensive $109.95 for the hardcover version and $34.99 for the kindle version (nook a little cheaper). However, it is a masterpiece. It is 422 pages, in large format (8.5 x 1.25 x 11 inches, 3.62 pounds) and it contains hundreds of high-quality color photographs.

The Leonberger is arguably the most interesting dog breed in the World. As you know we owned a Leonberger, Bronco, who passed away a couple of years ago at the age almost 13. That’s a long life for a Leonberger. Those 13 years were the best years of my life. Bronco was my best friend, so kind, so strong, so brave, so loving towards children and towards smaller dogs. He saved our Pug Daisy’s life from an attacking unleashed German Shepherd, and that’s just one of the amazing things he did. Leonbergers are truly amazing dogs and we are considering getting another one. Unfortunately, they don’t live that long, 8 years on average. Due to his age our Bronco got a longevity award called the Grey Muzzle Award.

What I didn’t know before reading this book was how incredibly interesting their history is. The research that’s been done on the breed, its origins, health, etc., is also fascinating. All of this is described in great detail in Isberg’s book. It was Isberg’s book that made me realize that the Leonberger is arguably the most interesting dog breed in the World. Isberg’s book also dispelled some of the Leonberger myths that I believed. Searching the internet and taking for granted what people tell you will often lead to misunderstandings and erroneous beliefs. For the case of the Leonberger breed this book will help you rectify that. In addition, Isberg’s book also inspired me to write something about Leonbergers myself. My shorter book is more focused on our Leonberger stories, but it also contains interesting Leonberger information.

In addition to history, this book presents the breed standard, how the breed standards have changed several times throughout history, and it feature a critique of how we breed purebred dogs. The how and why is very much part of human culture and history. The book discusses the Leonberger dog in detail, it feature Leonberger dog sports, dog show information, information on breeding, Leonberger organizations and their history, health, and genetics. The research effort that must have gone into this book is astounding. The book features hundreds of color photos, many of them incredibly beautiful. There are drawings in the book that are hundreds of years old, old newspaper clips, research paper excerpts, and full-page color photos of Leonbergers in action. It is an expensive book, but if you are up to paying the price, it is a great investment for any Leonberger enthusiast.

Getting a Leonberger the Interview

I think it is awful when people return dogs. Barring some very special circumstances, such as severe illness or death, this is not something that should happen. If it does happen a reputable breeder will take the dog back. A Leonberger, well any dog, should never be turned into a shelter. The Leonberger Club of America and the Leonberger community in general are very concerned about the wellbeing of all Leonbergers. Therefore, you often have to go through an interview before you can purchase or adopt a Leonberger. Are you fit to be a Leonberger owner? Would you pass the interview? Below is the interview we went through including our answers.

Kennel von der Löwenhöhle Questionnaire and our Answers

Why do you want a Leonberger?

We have a dog book, and while looking at dogs we came across the Leonberger, a gorgeous dog from Germany. We also had the opportunity to meet some Leonbergers, a mother and her puppies, which were wonderful. We have read that Leonbergers are great with children and good guard dogs, which is something we’d like. We have two dogs, but we have not raised them as puppies. We have never had a puppy and would like to have one.

What do you like about the Leonberger and what do you know about its characteristics? Do you prefer male or female? Why?

They are very beautiful and love to swim. We have a huge pool, and my children love to spend their summers swimming. Leonbergers also make wonderful pets and are good guard dogs, and best of all they don’t drool. We don’t prefer a male or a female dog.

Are you aware this is at least a ten-year commitment?

Yes. We have two other dogs, and of course we are aware that they live up to ten years—hopefully more.

Do you have any other pets? Have you had any experience raising a giant-breed puppy?

We have a Lab and a German shepherd. We have two dwarf hamsters, Moldova and Montenegro. My son also keeps a baby ball python in a cage in his room (UGGH). As I said before, we have never owned a puppy, but we met some Leonberger puppies from a breeder who resides in Houston.

Where will your dog be kept—indoors or outdoors? Backyard or kennel?

Our dog would be kept mostly indoors. (We live in Texas, and it would get too hot outside.) At night we take all our dogs for walks and for occasional swims during the year. When the dog is still a puppy, we would keep it in a puppy playpen and take it out every half hour to go to the bathroom (until obedience training). We do have a fenced backyard the puppy can play in, and we have a dog run with a dog door so the dogs can come and go as they please.

Is your yard fenced?

Yes. Our yard has a seven-foot-high solid wood fence all the way around

How many hours will you be out of the house? Where will your Leonberger be while you are gone?

I am a stay-at-home mom, and we would almost always have someone in the house, such as our housekeeper, children, and family. If we are gone for a long periods of time, we have a dog sitter who comes to our house to take care of our dogs.

Do you have children? If so, what are their ages?

We have three kids, ages thirteen, ten, and eight. Two boys and one girl (in that order).

Describe a typical day at your house now. How do you think it will change once the puppy arrives?

On a typical day, the kids go to school, and I like to take a long walk. I go through some paperwork, I prepare dinner, then everyone comes home. On weekends, my younger kids have sports, but my oldest kid stays home (he plays during the week).

I would be with the dog most of the day and would do my shopping while the housekeeper is there. I do not plan on leaving the puppy for any long period of time. I’m sure that having the puppy will be like having another child. We have been told that the puppy will be quite rambunctious for the first three years of its life.

Have you observed any obedience classes in your area? It is very important that Leonberger puppies start obedience classes by sixteen weeks of age. Would you attend such classes?

We have not observed any obedience classes yet. However, we are interested in the International K9 training facility in Dallas and would absolutely attend these classes.

Von der Löwenhöhle puppies start their crate training at our kennel. Will you continue this training? If not, why not?

Yes, we would continue crate training at our home. We will follow your advice and that of our veterinarians in regard to further training.

What plans do you have for your Leonberger—e.g., showing, breeding, obedience, family companion, therapy? If you plan to show or breed, what experience, if any, have you had?

Our major purpose for wanting a Leonberger is to have a family companion.

Please add any other information you feel will help us pick out a puppy for you.

We would like a dog that will fit in well with our family.

Lets Do Le Bronco von der Lowenhohle

On social media I’ve been posting faulty book covers with Bronco’s full name misspelled. A Facebook friend of mine pointed it out. Thank you Guido! Well, it’s not the first time Bronco have had an issue with his name being misspelled, just look at his original birth certificate.

Image of snippet from Bronco's original certificate from LCA “Lets do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. — Bronco’s name on his original certificate “Lets do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”.

You may have figured out from the title of this book that Bronco’s full name was Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. However, his name on the original pedigree certificate from the Leonberger Club of America was even more interesting: “Lets do le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”—yes, without the apostrophe. How did that happen?

The Leonberger is a noble and relatively rare breed, and purebred Leonbergers typically have a long pedigree that can be traced back to the beginning of the twentieth century. This means that if you buy one, you and your dog will become part of a special community, and your dog’s name will reflect that. Bronco’s last name, von der Löwenhöhle, means that he originated from Kennel von der Löwenhöhle.

During an email exchange with the person writing up Bronco’s pedigree certificate, we were informed that because our dog was born in a litter identified by the letter L, his official name needed to begin with an L, too, even though at home we could call our dog whatever we liked. We knew we wanted to name him Bronco, which we thought was appropriate for a Leonberger, so later Claudia wrote, “Let’s do Le Bronco,” intending that the dog’s name would begin with the word “Le,” fulfilling the kennel’s requirement.

But when we received a copy of Bronco’s pedigree, we saw that our correspondent had misunderstood and included the words “Let’s do” as part of the name! Well, “Let’s do” starts with an L, too, so it fulfilled the pedigree requirement. And that’s how Bronco’s official full name came to be Lets do le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.

There were other mistakes on the certificate, too: Bronco was classified as female, and our last name was misspelled as Wickman. We later got these mistakes corrected in the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database, and some mistakes were corrected on the registration certificate from the American Kennel Club, which we got in 2010, after the Leonberger was recognized by the AKC. But none of that mattered much to us: we knew his name; Jacob knew his name; Bronco knew his name. Plus, we got a good story out of it.

Photo of Bronco's original (birth) certificate from LCA. We were surprised to see Bronco’s official name as it appeared on his pedigree as well as the other mistakes. — We were surprised to see Bronco’s official name as it appeared on his pedigree as well as the other mistakes.

So, what about my social media faux pas. Well below you can see the two front page covers that I have been using for front page cover images and I did not even notice the difference. The one that says: “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” is the correct one. Luckily the book has the correct front cover. It is just my social media posts that got messed up. Another difference between the two front covers is his photo. On the correct front cover his photo is from when he was 12 years old. On the incorrect front cover his photo is from when he was a month short of 13 years old.

The correct front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". — The correct front cover (click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the book).

The faulty front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Löwenhöhle spelled Löwenhöle. — The faulty front cover (click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the book).

Back cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". — This is the back cover of the book. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.se location for the book.

The endorsements for the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle".

A wonderful tribute to the author's beloved Bronco. The storiesn are heartwarming as well as informative - a true glimpse into life with a Leonberger - D'Nae Wilson, President, Leonberger Health Foundation International

A lovely tribute to Bronco, with lots of resources for general Leonberger information. - Julie Schaffert, LCA breeder since 1992. — These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to got to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.

Below is an updated list of where you can find the book. If your favorite bookstore is not listed below you can search for it using the ISBN or ASIN numbers.

ISBN number for printed edition: 978-0998084954

ASIN number for the e-book edition: B0B5NN32SR

My email is : thomaswikman@msn.com

Below are a few of the places where you can buy it. Click on a link to buy it from your favorite store.

Print version

E-book version

Number One New Release in Dog Breeds

I would like to report that yesterday my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” became the number one best seller for new releases in the category “dog breeds”, and it seems to remain so today. It does not have any reviews though, which is not surprising since it’s only been two-three days. However, if you bought the book and read the book and you liked it I would certainly appreciate a review. Also remember that all proceeds from book sales are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International.

Screenshot from Amazon showing that the book is the number one best seller for new releases in the category “dog breeds”. — The book is the number one best seller for new releases in the category “dog breeds”.

In my last post I announced that my book was available on Amazon and other places. At the time it was not available everywhere it should be, not yet. However, the book is spreading throughout the various on-line bookstores and now it is available in many more places. Therefore, I have updated the lists with the links below. However, your favorite bookstore is not listed below you can search for it using the ISBN or ASIN numbers.

ISBN number for printed edition: 978-0998084954

ISBN number for the e-book edition: 978-0998084961

ASIN number for the e-book edition: B0B5NN32SR

My email is : thomaswikman@msn.com

Below are a few of the places where you can buy it. Click on a link to buy it from your favorite store. Note some locations are not yet available as of this writing.

Print version