Reminder Of The Leonberger Health Foundation International

Today I received the Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI) Calendar for 2024 and I was reminded of this wonderful organization. LHFI supports medical research that improves the health and lives of Leonbergers as well as other large dog breeds, potentially even humans. They have raised nearly half a million dollars for research into conditions that affect canine health, including osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, glaucoma, cardiac diseases, thyroid diseases, and neurological disorders. Its research also supports healthful longevity and aging as well as population diversity. They have had several successes, for example the eradication of Addision’s disease among Leonbergers.

Front page of the LHFI Calendar showing a mountaneous landscape and a Leonberger
Front page of the Leonberger Health Foundation International 2024 Calendar

The Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI) was founded in 2000 by Waltraut Zieher and other members of the LCA’s health, education, and research committee to “facilitate the solicitation and distribution of donations given to support health related breed-specific research.” The LHFI also administers a program that collects DNA samples from Leonbergers to share with universities and research institutions.

January page of LHFI Calendar showing two Leonbergers in snow
January page of the Leonberger Health Foundation International 2024 Calendar

All purebred dogs are more or less inbred, which comes with inherent health risks. That is especially true for large breeds. However, Leonbergers, especially those bred in North America, are fortunate compared to other large breeds. The Leonberger breed standard does not call for traits that can be detrimental to health. The precise and restrictive breeding regulations of the Leonberger Club of America (LCA) and other Leonberger clubs, and the work of the Leonberger Health Foundation International or LHFI, have resulted in Leonbergers being relatively free of inherited illnesses compared to other large dog breeds in America. For more information see Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, “Guide to Congenital and Heritable Disorders in Dogs,”

June page of the the LHFI Calendar shows a Leonberger on a canoe.
June page of the the Leonberger Health Foundation International 2024 Calendar

One happy event for our family was when Bronco received his Grey Muzzle Award, which is an award given for longevity by LHFI. LHFI bestows the award on any Leonberger who has reached the age of twelve. These Leonbergers are the canine equivalents of centenarians, humans who are at least one hundred years old. The Grey Muzzle Award is also given to breeders, because they are partially responsible for the dogs’ longevity. The Grey Muzzle Award was certainly a happy event in Wikman family. If you have a twelve-year-old Leonberger, simply fill out a form on the LHFI website or send an email to lhfgreymuzzle@gmail.com.

The Grey Muzzle Award from the Leonberger Health Foundation International contains a photo of our Leonberger Bronco's face and the text

The Grey Muzzle Award
For Leonbergers Longevity is Presented with Gratitude By
The Leonberger Health Foundation International To

Bronco
For Offering Hope and Potential For Longer Lives for Leonbergers
The Grey Muzzle Award from the Leonberger Health Foundation International

The foundation will ask for some information, including the registered name and call name of the dog; the breeder’s name, kennel name, address, and email; the dam’s registered name; the sire’s registered name; the owner’s name, address, and email; the birth date of the dog; and whether the dog is alive or dead. If the latter, they will want to know the cause of death. In addition, they would like you to write a one-paragraph tribute to the dog and send two (preferably high-resolution) photos—one head shot and one favorite photo. To find out more about the Grey Muzzle Award click here. To see the 2019–2020 awardees video featuring Bronco click here.

Photo copy of the full Grey Muzzle Award Diploma. Lots of text.
Grey Muzzle Award certificate from the Leonberger Health Foundation International

I can add that when Bronco passed away, we sent his DNA to the University of Minnesota to be used in research. This was facilitated by the LHFI.

Familiar faces. Time marches on.

The faces (Leonberger dogs) of the 33 2019 & 2020 Grey Muzzle Awardees
The 2019-2020 Grey Muzzle Awardees. Bronco is on the second row from the top and second from left. Click on the picture to visit the YouTube video.
Video showing 33 2019 & 2020 Grey Muzzle Awardees (Leonbergers)

Many of the owners of very old Leonbergers joined the Double Digit Leonberger group on Facebook (Leonberger 10+ years old) and the owners of the extremely old Leonbergers (around 12 or older) started talking to each other a lot. It was a small group from around the world. This is why I said “Familiar faces” above. I knew many of them, including Pling, a Leonberger in Sweden. I and Pling’s owner talked a lot to each other in Swedish. Bronco and Pling reached about the same age and passed not too far from each other in time.

Our Leonberger Bronco from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020. The photo/screenshot shows a close up of his face.
Our Leonberger Bronco from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020.
The photo shows 12+ year old Bronco in our TV room
Our Leonberger Bronco from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020.
Pling the Leonberger from Sweden is holding a stick in her mouth.
Pling a Leonberger from Sweden from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020.

Note, all royalty earnings from my book (see right) go to the Leonberger Health Foundation International.

Leonberger Facebook Groups Are the Nicest Dog Groups I Have Found

I’ve been, or am, a member of several Facebook dog groups. I’ve found that most of them are awful. Take for example the Pug groups. I’ve joined a few Pug groups so that can post about Daisy. What I’ve found is that almost all of the Pug groups have preapproval turned on for all posts. Most other groups (Leonberger groups, beer groups, discussion group, etc..) do not. It would not be a bad thing if it wasn’t for the fact that the administrators/moderators of several of the Pug groups take weeks before they approve a post, all while shamelessly doing constant self-promotion, promoting products, and spamming the group they are supposed to moderate. I am a moderator or administrator in several groups, and I certainly don’t behave that way.

Another thing that annoys me is that they copy the photos that members post and then repost them in multiple places and multiple groups without attribution. Look at my photo from Daisy’s birthday below. That photo was copied (not shared) without attribution in lots of groups, multiple times, receiving several thousand reactions and thousands of comments, which is something I only found out about by accident. Who knows how far and wide the photo was spread. Unless someone explained it to you, you would think that it was their pug and that it was they who took the photo. I assume they do this because they want to get attention and be social network influencers. I’ve never complained, that probably would get me banned from the groups in question. However, I don’t think that is the way to run a group. I have not yet found a decent Pug group.

Photo of our Pug Daisy being fed a pupcake.
Photo from Daisy’s 15th birthday on October 22. This photo has been spread all over Facebook without attribution.

This brings me to the seven Leonberger groups that I am a member of (there are many more). I’ve listed them below. Only one group does post pre-approval and they typically approve posts within a few hours. None of moderators/administrators of these groups spam their groups, try to push products, or copy members photos/posts without attribution. People have friendly informative discussions, and they get to know each other. The Leonberger community is smaller, and the owners/administrators/moderators of the groups are more mature and responsible. I think it makes a difference that Pug groups tend to be run by attention seeking youngsters. I wish I could find a Pug group that was more like a Leonberger group.

  • Leonberger’s All Colors Worldwide
  • LEONBERGER
  • Leonberger Double Digit Double Club
  • Leonberger Forum
  • Global Leonberger Lovers
  • Leonberger Lovers
  • Frontier Leonberger Club of the Southwest

I think my favorite Leonberger group is the Leonberger Double Digit Club. It is a group for Leonberger owners with Leonbergers who ten years are old or older. Leonbergers tend not to live very long so that is why this is an exclusive club. It was one of the former administrators (and founder) of this group who suggested to me that I write a book about our Leonberger Bronco.

Below I am posting a few screenshots of my posts from the Leonberger Double Digit Club.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo in the lower right corner. Both close up to my face.
Our Leonberger Bronco standing in the kitchen. Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is behind him.
This photo is from Bronco’s 12 years and 8 months birthday. He demanded a greenie by slamming his paw in the floor. Daisy our Pug and Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd are looking on from behind.
Bronco our Leonberger just got his grey muzzle award, which is given to all Leonberger (who’s owner apply) older than 12 years old. Being older than 12 years old is rare among Leonbergers. The photos show Bronco with my wife holding his diploma.

Jacqui pointed out to me in a comment below that you can take action when people are using your stuff without attribution. A photo that took me a second to take may not be a big deal, even though it is bit rude to use it as if it is yours. However, when people copy artwork, as had happened to a few commentors below we have a more serious situation. So anyway, here is the link that Jacqui posted in her comment. (You can also visit the comment).

Send them a DMCA take-down order (https://www.dmca.com/FAQ/What-is-a-DMCA-Takedown) or turn them into Facebook for copyright infringement.

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.

Indy Author Day At Watauga Library 2023

On Saturday November 4th Watauga public library hosted an indy author day to which I was invited, and I gladly joined. Wautauga is a small city located between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is closer to Fort Worth. They also hosted an indy author day last year, which I also partook in. We all had a booth where we sold and signed our books. I did not sell a whole lot, half a dozen, but that’s OK. It is a great way to interact with and get to know other authors, and it is fun.

We also read a short passage from our respective books in front of an audience. My reading went very well. I read one of the shorter funny Bronco stories from my book and people laughed a lot. Well, I had practiced, and I was animating the story a bit. I felt like a comedian. I am including the story I read at the end of this post. If you are an indy author and you live in the Dallas Fort Worth area I suggest you participate next year, just for the fun of it.

Me, Thomas Wikman, standing in front of an audience presenting my book and reading a passage from my book "TThe Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger". In the picture I am holding the book and standing in front of a microphone.
Me presenting and reading from my book, The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger.
Eleven Indy authors. I am standing on the left in green.
Author group photo. One author had to leave before the photo.
Photo of eleven Indy authors. I am standing on the right and wearing a blue polo.
Author group photo from last year 2022 (me on the right/blue). As you can see it to a large degree the same people.
My author booth from last year, 2022. My booth looked about the same this year.
I did not take a photo of my booth this year, but it looked the same. This is the photo of my booth from last year.

The story I read during reading time (3 minutes)

Bronco’s Hamster Search and Rescue

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 (my wife) 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 (our son) 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.

Illustration of Bronco with puffy cheeks
Cheeks full of hamsters (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.

Illustration showing a hamster in the palm of my wife's hand and her giving the Hamster CPR with the finger from the other hand.
Hamster CPR (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.

Note: Unless they bought my book, they probably still don’t know what happened

Have you been an indy author day or similar?

About Me and Our Leonberger and LHFI

Tomorrow I will do book signing at Wautega Public Library here in Texas. I will read a short story from my book and present myself. I will also mention that all royalties from book sales go to the Leonberger Health Foundation International, or LHFI, a charitable organization working towards healthier Leonbergers and healthier dogs in general. Below is my is my 20 seconds video pitch.

Hi, I’m Thomas Wikman, author of the Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, a book featuring funny and informative stories about our Leonberger. It is a great book for all dog lovers. All royalties from book sales are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. Their work gives us healthier dogs.

My 20 second video pitch.
Me standing in front of a painting wearing a blue suit
That’s me a few days ago.
Leonberger Health Foundation Logo. A Leonberger puppy surrounded by flags from around the world.
The Leonberger Health Foundation International. Click on the image to visit the LHFI’s website.

The Leonberger is an unusual and fascinating dog breed that is known for its size, affectionate nature, and intelligence. I know a lot about Leonbergers because my family was lucky enough to live with one for thirteen years. His name was Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle—but we called him “Bronco” for short.

Bronco wasn’t our only dog, but our world wouldn’t have been the same without him. For instance, he once saved the life of our pug by fending off an attack from another dog. He probably saved our Labrador’s life, too, by sniffing out an impending insulin shock before it happened. Then there was the time he scared off a trespasser who’d been terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood.

Photo of me with one year old Bronco, our Leonberger. He is standing on a sofa.
This is me with our late Leonberger Bronco when he was still young, not even one years old.

Bronco is no longer with us, but even in his passing he was distinctive. Leonbergers tend to live less than nine years—but Bronco came very close to reaching his thirteenth birthday. In fact, he received an award for longevity called the “Grey Muzzle Award.”  We already knew he was a special dog, but we sent his DNA to two labs for research anyway.

Bronco's Grey Muzzle Award. In the middle of the diploma is a photo of Bronco. The text says "The Grey Muzzle Award", "For Leonberger Longevity Is Presented with Gratitude By The Leonberger Health Foundation International To Bronco For Offering Hope And Potential For Longer Lives For Leonbergers Throughout The World"
The Grey Muzzle Award is given to Leonbergers who reach the age of 12 years or older.
YouTube video featuring Grey Muzzle Awardees including Bronco, entry nr 10 out of 34 at 2 minutes. This is an emotional video for me, not only because of Bronco, but I was very familiar with many of the other dogs. Time marches on.
A second part of the Grey Muzzle award is a signed document.
Bronco’s Grey Muzzle Award

The Leonberger Club of America

If you own a Leonberger, or are interested in Leonbergers, and you live in North America you likely know about the Leonberger Club of America, or the LCA for short. You are about as likely to find a Leonberger at Petland/Puppy-Mill as you are finding an Elephant for sale there. LCA is very protective of the Leonberger breed and of Leonbergers in general. You typically buy/get a Leonberger dog from an LCA certified Leonberger breeder or from the Leonberger Rescue Pals, and if you don’t that might be a problem.

This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) in 2007. He was three months old.
We bought our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) in 2007 from Julie Schaffert, a certified LCA breeder since 1992.

There are only about 3,000 Leonbergers in North America and about 2,000 Leonbergers in the United States but the Leonberger Club of America has more than 1,000 members. They publish the Leo-Letter, a quarterly Leonberger magazine. So, the Leonberger Club of America has a very prominent place among Leonberger owners. Click here to see a summary of the Leonberger Breed Standard.

Leonberger winning a price
Photo of a Leonberger from the LCA website

Other clubs associated with the Leonberger Club of America are New Jersey Leonberger Club, Great Lakes Leonberger Club, Greater Bluegrass Leonberger Club, Mid-Atlantic Leonberger Club Of Virginia, AKC Licensed Specialty Club, Tarheel Leonberger Club, AKC Licensed Specialty Club, The Frontier Leonberger Club Of The Southwest, Leonberger Club Of The Northwest, Northern California Leonberger Club. I am a member of The Frontier Leonberger Club Of The Southwest.

Other more or less related Leonberger clubs are the Leonberger University, Leonberger Health Foundation Internation and the Worldwide Leonberger Database. All proceeds from the sale of my book go to the Leonberger Health Foundation International.

Leonbergers have a long history in North America and the United States—despite the fact that until 1985, there were only seventeen Leonbergers known to be living in the United States.

See: Lusby, Leonberger, page 15.

Front cover photo of Leonberger, Special Rare-Breed Edition, A Comprehensive Owners Guide, Madeline Lusby.
Leonberger, Special Rare-Breed Edition, A Comprehensive Owners Guide, Madeline Lusby. Click on the image to see my five star review for this book.

In the 1870s, Leonbergers were brought to Newfoundland to invigorate the stock of Newfoundland dogs. Around the same time, two Leonbergers named Caesar and Sultan were purchased from Heinrich Essig’s kennel (founder of the Leonberger breed) and transported across the ocean to join the Wellesley-Sterling theater company in the United States as the stars of their productions. Then in 1879, Caesar and Sultan visited President Ulysses S. Grant, who called them the largest and most magnificent dogs he had ever seen and presented them with gold medals. During the years between World War I and World War II, a New Jersey family, the Wolfs, opened their home as a temporary refuge for Jews fleeing Germany: they also imported Leonbergers. Unfortunately, this introduction of the breed into the United States did not last, and it would be another fifty years before the Leonberger appeared in America again.

See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 60, page 64, page 101

Front cover of Leonberger, A comprehensive guide to the lion king of breeds, Caroline Bliss-Isberg.
Leonberger, A comprehensive guide to the lion king of breeds, Caroline Bliss-Isberg. Click on the image to see my five start review for this book.

During the late 1970s and the 1980s, a few families—Waltraut and Klaus Zieher, Brian Peters, Manfred and Sylvia Kaufmann, Keri Campbell and Melanie Brown, and Mary and Reiner Decher brought Leonbergers to the United States. The Dechers had started a breeding program and were looking for a mate for their first dam, Viona. By chance their neighbor discovered through a newsletter that there was another Leonberger in the United States, and that led to the families’ finding and connecting with one another. I should add that the Dechers were careful to conform to the German breeding regulations and performed hip X-rays that they then submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Viona became the first OFA-certified Leonberger in America.

See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 152.

On Saturday, November 2, 1985, eight of these Leonberger enthusiasts met at a hotel in Denver, Colorado, to found the Leonberger Club of America (LCA). This group of founders, which has since been dubbed the Denver Eight, appointed a registrar, formulated a breeding acceptability checklist, and instituted various policies, including the requirement that OFA certification is mandatory for breeding. LCA membership grew: it held social gatherings, began publishing LeoLetter, and imported an increasing number of dogs. Now the LCA has thousands of members across the country, and Leonbergers receive high ratings on health tests relative to other large breeds. For example, in 2000, the OFA reported that only 14.6 percent of Leonbergers tested positive for hip dysplasia, compared to 47 percent of Saint Bernards.

See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 154, page 176.

Another important historical event was the founding of the Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI), in 2000 (it was just called the Leonberger Health Foundation back then). According to its website, the organization was founded by Waltraut Zieher and other memers of the LCA’s health, education, and research committee to “facilitate the solicitation and distribution of donations given to support health related breed-specific research.” The LHFI also administers a program that collects DNA samples from Leonbergers to share with universities and research institutions, and of course it administers the Grey Muzzle Award (long living Leonbergers). Our Leonberger Bronco was a recipient of the Grey Muzzle Award, and we provided them with his DNA.

Bronco's Grey Muzzle Award, which he received for being an unusually long lived Leonberger. It was give by the Leonberger Health Foundation International, for offering hope and potential for longer lives for Leonbergers throughout the world.
Bronco’s Grey Muzzle Award, which he received for being an unusually long lived Leonberger.


LHFI’s global biobank contains DNA samples from more than nine thousand Leonbergers. Among the organization’s notable achievements are the eradication of Addison’s disease among Leonbergers and the raising of nearly half a million dollars for research into conditions that affect canine health, including osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, glaucoma, cardiac diseases, thyroid diseases, and neurological disorders. Its research also supports healthful longevity and aging as well as population diversity. Another success is the fact that since 2011, no Leonbergers with two copies of the LPN1 gene mutation (which causes Leonberger polyneuropathy) have been recorded in LHFI’s biobank. LHFI is one of my favorite charities.

The end of the twentieth century marked not only the end of the Cold War but also the beginning of what I call the Dog Wars of America. In 1985, the American Kennel Club (AKC) registry comprised one-third of the world’s known dog breeds. But the AKC had recognized only a few new breeds since 1887—a period of ninety-eight years. So, the organization decided to change that policy, but this did not always go smoothly. The members of rare-breed clubs often did not want to be part of the AKC. For example, the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) was very reluctant to join, so a relatively small splinter group, the United States Australian Shepherd Association, was formed and designated the official member club of the AKC, which was not welcome news to the ASCA. The border collie is another example. Charles Krauthammer, the late political columnist, called the AKC the politburo of American dog breeding.

See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 159.

Similarly, in 2003, a new Leonberger club was formed—the Leonberger Club of the United States—with the goal of becoming the Leonberger member club of the AKC. This essentially forced the LCA’s hand, so they applied for membership in the AKC, a process that took years to complete. But ultimately the AKC approved the LCA as members in 2010: Leonbergers would officially become part of the Working Group. Fortunately, 90 percent of LCA breeders agreed to continue following LCA regulations regardless of whether the club would remain independent or become part of the AKC. Also fortunately, AKC membership afforded more opportunities for Leonbergers to participate in dog shows, which is important to many owners.

See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 187

For information on the history of the Leonberger starting in 1830’s see this link

The Life and Times of Le Bronco Von Der Lowenhohle Featured on Smorgasbord

Today my book is being featured on Sally Cronin’s prominent Smorgasbord book promotion blog

Leonberger In Online Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine

Three weeks ago, I made a post about our late Leonberger Bronco (and my book) being featured in a local Dallas magazine called the Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. This magazine has 47,000 subscribers. In that post I posted screenshots of the printed version. Today they posted the free online version of the magazine. Click here to see the article about Bronco, my book and me. Click here to see the front page of the online version of Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. The headline of my article can be found on the front page.

The page showing the article in Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. My article is on page 10 - left. It is the upper half of the magazine.
The page showing the article in Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. Click on the image to see the front page of the free online version of Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine.
The article in Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine zoomed in a bit. The title is "preston Hollow Man Pens tribute to his beloved Bronco"
The article in Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. Click on the picture to go to the article in the free online version of the magazine.
Bronco, our Leonberger is standing on an orange sofa while giving me a hug.
Bronco and me

Name Change Successful In the Amazing Leonberger Database

There is a World Wide Independent Leonberger Database (WILD) which features more than 166,000 Leonbergers. That is a lot considering that there are 30,000 Leonbergers in the world and if you go back in time there were many fewer. In fact, genetic research has shown that there are only 22 founder animals (the ancestors of all living Leonbergers) who lived soon after the Second World War. By selecting the search item from the menu and then typing in the name of your Leonberger you can most likely find your dog in the database. If your Leonberger’s entry does not have a photo you can email them a photo, which I did.

Home page for Cthe World Wide Independent Leonberger Database (WILD). It's blue with 12 menus. It is in three languages, Dutch, French and English.
Click on the image to visit the World Wide Independent Leonberger Database (WILD).

Another update I requested and had approved was an update to Bronco’s name. We wanted to name our Leonberger Bronco. It was our son’s choice. However, the Leonberger community and breeders have rules about how to name your dog. My wife Claudia was told that Bronco would not work because the litter Bronco was part of needed to have names beginning with an ‘L’. You can see the full sibling screenshot below. So, Claudia said “Let’s do Le Bronco”. Imagine our surprise when his birth certificate stated that his name was “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Well, “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” begins with an ‘L’. His birth certificate name including the unexpected preamble “Lets Do” made its way into the database. Fortunately, the World Wide Independent Leonberger Database recently updated his full name to “Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” upon my request.

The is the old data base entry for Bronco has his name miss spelled as "Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle"
This is the old data base entry for Bronco. Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.
This is a screenshot for the corrected data base entry for Bronco. The nameis correct "Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". There is also registration number, birthdate, birthplace, and health related information.
This is the corrected data base entry for Bronco. Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Click on the picture to visit Bronco’s database entry.

I should explain that the database entries feature not only name, birthdate and birthplace, kennel, etc. It also contains health related information including important tests, genetic defects and inbreeding coefficients (COI). Note that Bronco lived in Dallas, Texas, but he was born at Kennel Löwenhöhle outside Vancouver, Canada.

Right below Bronco's entry is his father and mother's name and a list of his full siblings (litter).
Sire: Priamos von Dreiburgenland
Dam: Justus Aria von Drevas
Full siblings: Little Jonah von der Löwenhöhle, Love Ryan von der Löwenhöhle, LRV's Moose von der Löwenhöhle, Lakeisha Makita von der Löwenhöhle. Note, the database uses von der Lowenhohle instead of von der Löwenhöhle.
Bronco’s four full siblings (same litter). You don’t call it twins for dogs but that’s what they were. Notice that all their names start with an ‘L’.
The database entry for Bronco’s father Priamos von Dreiburgenland includes a photo. He had 54 offspring.
The database entry for Bronco’s father.
The database entry for Bronco’s mother Justus Aria von Drevas includes a photo. She had 35 pups.
The database entry for Bronco’s mother.
The database entry for Bronco’s grandfather Aquino-Zep Lowe von Vogtland included a photo. He had 201 offspring.
The database entry for Bronco’s grandfather. Notice that he had 201 offspring. This was a kennel in Germany.

I followed Bronco’s ancestors back on his father’s side 22 generations. The last one with a photo was 17 generations back, born in 1922. However, ancestry is not a straight line along the father’s and the grandfather’s line. It is an ever-growing ancestry tree involving 2, then 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, etc., ancestors, so Bronco has many ancestors with photos.

The entry for Bronco's great grandfather 17 generations back included a photo. He had 44 offspring and he was born in 1922.
This is Bronco’s great great great father etc., 17 generations back. Leo von der Sagamuhle. He was born February 20th 1922.
There is a big Leonberger in the middle of the photo and behind is his handler a man with a moustache and a hat.
Close up of Leo von der Sagamuhle, Bronco’s straight back ancestor on his father’s side, 17 generations (great great …. grandfather).
A screenshot of a database entry with a photo of a female Leonberger.
Alma von der Niederhaid, a female ancestor on Bronco’s mother’s side from 1957.
A screenshot of a database entry with a photo of a male Leonberger anno 1927.
Leo von Hailtingen born in 1927, another of Bronco’s ancestors.
A screenshot of a database entry with a photo of a male Leonberger anno 1904.
Pasha von der Haardt born 1904, the farthest back Bronco ancestor I found that had a photo.

What about you? Do you know your dog’s or cat’s ancestry tree? How about photos, illnesses, and inbreeding coefficients? How about your own lineage?

Leonberger Book Reviews Maybe

On Amazon my Leonberger book has 13 ratings including 11 reviews and on Goodreads I have four reviews and on Bookbub and Barnes & Noble none. All the reviews are wonderful and supportive five-star reviews. I am extremely grateful for this .💖

However, with this post I would like to shamelessly request additional reviews. The vast majority of readers do not write reviews. I know, I am the same way. It is hardly something you expect. But if anyone out there who has read my book and has not written a review somewhere, is willing to do just that, I would be very grateful. I would like to stress that the review certainly doesn’t have to be a four-star, or five-star review and they don’t need to be elaborate or wonderful or long. Short honest reviews between one-star and five-star would all be very helpful to me.

If you go to the Amazon page for my book and you scroll down until you see “Customer Reviews” on the left-hand side, there is a white button below “Customer Reviews” bars that says, “Write a customer review”. You can also get here by clicking on the small blue text near the top that says, “13 ratings”. Once you click on the “Write a customer review” button you will see four fields “Overall rating”, “Add a headline”, “Add a photo or video”, and “Add a written review”. “Add a photo or video” is optional, and I admit I have never used it. You can either type something in the “Add a written review” box or copy from, for example, Microsoft Word. Note that Amazon takes a few days to publish a review after it has been submitted.

It works similarly on Barnes & Noble but here you have a blue button towards the bottom on the left. On Bookbub there is a red button towards the bottom left and on Goodreads there is a black “write a review” button in the middle halfway down.

By clicking on any of the pictures below you can visit my book on Bookbub and Goodreads.

he image shows the Leonberger lying in the green grass. Click on the image to go to the Bookbub location for the book.
This is a photo of our late Leonberger Bronco lying in the grass in the front yard soon after a toe surgery. Click on the image to go to the Bookbub location for the book.
The image shows two photos. On the left is Leonberger puppy wearing scarf. On the right is an old Leonberger lying in the frass. Click on the image to go to the Goodreads location for the book.
This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco at 3 months old (left) and at almost 13 years old (right). Click on the image to go to the Goodreads location for the book.