This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
Today (well actually yesterday by now) was the Eurovision final (from the UK) and Sweden won. For those who don’t know, Eurovision is the largest song contest in the world. Countries compete against each other, and the final typically has as many viewers as the Superbowl, about 200 million. You are allowed to sing in your native language or in English. Not all participating countries are European, for example, Turkey, Israel, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus are frequent participants, but they are not European countries, and this year Australia participated, The Eurovision is a huge cultural phenomenon that is not well known in the United States. I’ve noticed that the natively English-speaking countries often miss out on big worldwide cultural phenomena that are not entirely based on English. Typically, famous music groups do not participate, but many famous music groups got started or were propelled by the Eurovision, for example, ABBA (waterloo 1974) and Celine Dion (1988).
Anyway, this is a Leonberger blog but sometimes I post about other things and my home country Sweden winning the Eurovision is a big deal for me, so I made a post about it. I am also posting number two (Finland) and number three (Israel). Which one do you think is best? I won’t be offended if it is not Sweden.
Sweden in the Eurovision
Sweden, Eurovision 2023
Finland, Eurovision 2023
Israel, Eurovision 2023
Russia was banned from participating this year, and some other countries that usually do like Turkey, Bulgaria, and Hungary did not participate. These were the top seven.
Sweden
Finland
Israel
Italy
Norway
Ukraine
Belgium
Finalists in green, participants not making it to the final in red, in yellow countries that typically participate but didn’t.
Left to right, Labrador called Baylor, Leonberger puppy called Bronco, and German Shepherd called Baby.
I should say Baby was a rescue dog who came to us via my wife’s sister. She had allegedly been abused in her previous family, as well as dumped at the shelter. For being a German Shepherd, she was anxious and did not have strong self-confidence. She did not like the dog park, which you could see because she tried to be by herself, and she was drooling while at the park. She was very smart, obedient, and easy, but she seemed depressed.
Baby at the dog park.
Even though Baby was a shy and anxious dog at first, once we got Bronco, her personality changed. She loved Bronco, and she took on the job of being Bronco’s adoptive mom. She played with him; she watched him; she was fiercely protective of him. Bronco was her puppy. She seemed rejuvenated, as if she had found an important job to do—a purpose, if you will. It was beautiful to see her take care of Bronco and play with him. She became happier and more confident, and Bronco loved her.
As an example of her protective behavior, once our daughter Rachel put a bucket over Bronco’s head. She was young and she was just playing. Baby barked at her in a gentle way so that she understood to take the bucket off. She told me later she did not feel threatened by Baby. She felt corrected, like a mother saying, “don’t do that”. Baby liked our daughter Rachel. Rachel was the first one to pet her when she joined our family.
Bronco, at the age of four or five months, would soon outgrow his playmate Baby.Bronco at the age of three months
What follows next is a scary story
One day I was out walking with Baylor, Baby, and Bronco. Bronco was very young, maybe four months old. We met a man walking two medium-size black dogs off leash. Suddenly, one of the dogs attacked us. There was nothing I could do. As I watched helplessly, the black dog made the monumental mistake of going for Bronco. If the dog had attacked Baylor or Baby, either dog would certainly have put up a courageous defense, but going after Bronco was nearly suicidal, not because of Bronco himself but because of Baby.
I heard a loud explosion of barks that lasted only a few seconds, and then I saw the black dog flying five or six feet up into the air. Baby had bitten him in the side and tossed him skyward. It was surreal. I almost couldn’t believe what I was witnessing.
The black dog lay in the street. The man knelt before him and started crying. He said his dog’s back was broken. I was mortified, and I said, “I am so terribly sorry.” He said, “It’s not your fault. I was the one walking my dogs without a leash.” It was gratifying for me to hear that under the circumstances, but it was no less tragic.
Then, to my astonishment, the black dog stood up and quickly walked back to the other side of the street. The dog was in shock, but he was fine. The man calmed down, and we said goodbye to each other on good terms.
It wasn’t the only time Baby protected Bronco, but it was the most memorable. Thinking about it still sends chills down my spine. Years later, after Baylor and Baby passed and we got our small dogs, Bronco would take on the role of their protector. He would save lives.
Bronco and Baby at the dog park. Bronco was still very young and did not yet look like an adult Leonberger. He was gangly and not very muscled yet.
However, as Bronco grew older Baby slowly grew out of the role as Bronco’s protector, especially when he wasn’t that well behaved himself. On one occasion when I was walking Bronco and Baby, we met a man and his dog walking on the other side of the street, heading toward us. Bronco started barking at the dog, and the other dog responded. Both dogs worked themselves up into a frenzy. Bronco began pulling on his leash and even jumping. Baby remained quiet. But with all his carrying on, Bronco accidentally bumped Baby into a storm drain, which we happened to be standing right in front of.
To save Baby, I lay on my stomach and grabbed her around her abdomen with one arm—all while holding Bronco’s leash with my other hand. He continued pulling, jumping, and barking as I gradually dragged Baby up out of the drain. The guy on the other side of the street looked at us with big eyes, as if he had seen an evil clown peering out from the storm drain. He lifted his dog up in his arms and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
Me holding onto to poor Baby while also holding young and misbehaving Bronco. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Meanwhile, Bronco had calmed down, and I was able to drag Baby back onto the street. She loved Bronco, but after this incident she showed us in her own way that she’d rather not take her walks with him. We respected her wishes, and I walked them separately from that point on. It was safer anyway.
This is the story of the ban of my five-star review for the book “The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet” and the warning I received from Amazon. I certainly ruffled some feathers just by paraphrasing some content from the book. I highly recommend the book by the way.
At the end of March, I received this email from Amazon:
Hello,
One or more of your posts were found to be outside our guidelines. In order to help our customers make informed choices, we encourage them to review the product and contribute information about it. However, Community content that violate our guidelines or Conditions of Use will be removed.
Please consider this a first warning.
Before submitting your next post, please refer to our Customer Guidelines:
At first, I had no clue what post they were talking about. Then I realized that they had removed one of my reviews, for the book “The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet”, after they had initially approved it and let it be displayed for a month. There are many ways to violate guidelines, and I did not understand what they were referring to. I got a warning, so this was fairly serious. So, I asked community help which guidelines were violated but I received no reply. After three attempts to no avail, I asked Amazon customer service the same question, explaining that I understood it is not their area of concern, but I wanted them to help me with getting an answer. They knew I was a very good long-time customer. They promised me that community help would return an answer within 24-48 hours as they are supposed to, but they didn’t.
After engaging Amazon customer service three more times community help finally got back to me telling me that I had violated community guidelines, which I already knew. After engaging Amazon customer service one more time and receiving an assurance of a reply they finally admitted/told me what the problem was. They considered my review to be very offensive and also warned me about posting something like it again. I did not understand why it was so offensive but at least I had received an answer, so I replied with a thank you and I gave them a good rating on the survey.
Me and my friends whom I shared the review with, could not see why the review was so offensive so it is still a bit of mystery. I am certainly not going to try to repost the review on Amazon, that’s like asking to be banned. However, no one can stop me from posting it here, or on Barnes & Noble.
I liked the book in question, that was not the problem. I think that the problem was that the book discussed the campaigns launched against Dr. Michael Mann and other scientists perpetrated by certain rightwing thinktanks and populist politicians, and I paraphrased some of this information in my review. These campaigns were multi-billion-dollar sized aggressive campaigns that aimed to misinform the public about the climate science, defame, lie about and harass climate scientists, and even make people hate them and threaten them and to prevent research from being done on the topic. You can’t mention the basic facts about these climate wars, as Dr. Michael Mann calls them, without upsetting some people, and I included some of that in my review of the book. I often include some of the content from non-fiction books in my reviews of them to help me remember the content. I did not think much about it. However, I guess, if the book is inflammatory in some people’s eyes, then a review paraphrasing the book will be too.
Before I present my review, I should mention that why some “climate-denier” forces attacked Dr. Michael Mann was because of his hockey-stick curve created in the mid 1990’s. It was already known that the recent sharp global warming not only was real but was caused mostly by greenhouse gases emitted by us. We knew that from the way the warming happened, how it was distributed, how it affected the atmosphere, etc. However, that’s a complicated thing to explain to the public. Dr. Michael Mann was the first scientist to create the hockey stick curve using proxy temperature data from the pre-industrial times (not direct temperature measurements), and this curve made it obvious even to the uninformed layman that the current warming was not natural. You could see that just by looking at the curve. This is why he was so intensely targeted. For your information I have included two examples of hockey stick curves below, and for more information, click here.
Hockey stick curve last 1,000 years, blue-Michael Mann’s original curve (proxy measurements such as tree rings), green-dots 30-year average, red temperature measurements.Global temperature going back twenty thousand years, a hockey stick graph. Notice the stable temperature during the last 10,000 years, coinciding with the development of human civilization, and then a sudden sharp increase at the end.
Some basic information about “The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet ” – May 10, 2022 by Dr. Michael Mann. The paperback dimensions are 5.5 x 1.4 x 8.25 inches, and the weight is 11.2 ounces, ISBN 978-1541758216, 400 pages, and it currently costs $15.99 on Amazon in the US. The kindle version is $12.99 and the hardcover $14.29.
Front cover of the book “The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet” by Dr. Michael Mann. Click on the image to go the Amazon page for the book.
Below is my banned review, exactly as posted:
The Climate Deniers Lost but the same People Are Back with New Tricks
First off, this is not a book about climate science despite the fact that the author is a climate scientist. This is a book about the new form that the climate wars have taken. It is yet another topic on which the author is an expert because of his grueling personal experiences.
For decades climate scientists were attacked, defamed, misrepresented, lied about, and threatened. There was climate science denial, misdirection, distortions, lies, and mockery. It was a well-funded war launched by political groups such as the Heartland Institute, right wing politicians, corrupt industry funded scientists, extremist rightwing media and fossil fuel industry front groups such as the competitive enterprise institute, and the Koch brothers, and many other rightwing billionaires, etc. It was a war against scientists who were trying to find the truth, and a war against those telling us what was already known about the science, and a war against those who dared to speak up for the environment and future generations. Dishonest denialist bloggers, such as Anthony Watts, rose to fame as a result of the war. It was ugly and Dr. Michael Mann was in the middle of it. In the first chapter of this book, he describes what happened in the past and he describes his experiences. He was called a fraud and he was viciously attacked for his research that led to the Hockey Stick curve, a curve which is now established fact.
About a decade ago I believed myself that Dr. Michael Mann was a fraud and that his Hockey Stick curve was bogus. I had my doubts about the climate science. That’s because at the time I read and listened mostly to rightwing media. Then I took the time to understand as much as I could about the science, and I came to realize that I had been hoodwinked. Dr. Michael Mann and the other climate scientists were undoubtedly right. Well, that climate war is mostly over. Climate change deniers, or global warming deniers, whatever you call them (they were never skeptics), aren’t taken seriously anymore. However, the dark forces who launched the climate wars against the science didn’t disappear, they changed tactics. Instead of outright denial, the new tactic is downplaying, deflection, dividing, delaying and lastr but not least doomism. He refers to these bad actors as inactivists. Remarkably, many climate activists and environmentalists are naively doing the bidding of the inactivists and in this book Dr. Mann explains how.
Placing the responsibility of climate change on consumers and climate activists is an example of deflection. We need systemic change. Individual behavior needs to change as well but without systemic change, adjusting individual behavior is not only difficult but not very impactful and also associated with unnecessary guilt, which is exactly what the deflectors want. In addition, a solitary focus on voluntary action may undermine support for governmental policies to hold carbon polluters accountable.
The division tactics seek to polarize and divide the environmental movement and those who care about climate by using misinformation. One example is the misleading Cowspiracy so-called documentary. The dividers made sure Donald Trump won the 2016 election with the help of armies of Russian bots and Trolls poisoning on-line discussions. Among the division tactics he mentions making progressive/leftist climate advocates reject the most effective climate solutions such as a carbon price. Dividers have also succeeded in convincing the leftwing of the climate movement that deconstructing capitalism is necessary to solve the climate crisis, which is false and will scare away the moderates and conservatives needed onboard for achieving climate solutions.
Inactivists have many other cards under their sleeve, such as trying to discredit renewables, presenting non solutions as the best solutions, presenting insufficient solutions as all we need (planting trees, adaptation), misinforming the public in all sorts of ways, etc. However, the one very effective tool to prevent climate action is doomism, presenting the entire cause as hopeless, thus making action on climate seem pointless. People across the political spectrum, perhaps especially the left, have fallen victim to doomism. Dr. Mann is stressing that the situation is bad but that there is nothing hopeless about it. We will not fall off a cliff, but the size of the future damage depends on our actions. Doomism is not coming from the climate scientists and it is not coming from the IPCC. Doomism is a false belief that has spread like a wildfire with the help of bots and trolls. It also creates an opportunity for inactivists to attack climate scientists by falsely claiming that they are the ones spreading the despair and fear.
Dr. Mann brings speaks very warmly about carbon fee and dividend, my favorite climate policy and he mentions Citizens Climate Lobby three times and speaks favorably about them, which also warms my heart since I am a CCL volunteer. I think he was a bit harsh on Bill Gates and Ken Caldeira and I think he underestimated nuclear power a bit. I’ve read some of Ken Caldeira’s papers and we were Facebook friends for a while. His geoengineering research is done so that we would know something about the topic if we are forced to use it. It is absolutely not as a substitute for climate action, something Bill Gates makes very clear in his book.
Above all, this is a very important book that everyone interested in the climate crisis should read. We have powerful enemies who are trying to confuse us, disengage us and divide us and turn people against us. It is important to understand how climate action is being prevented and discouraged now a day. The war has changed, and the lies are now different and less obvious. It is also an important book for those who do not care about the climate crisis. Why don’t you care? Could it be that you have been misled/bamboozled? Why don’t you find out? I can add that it is a very well written and well-organized book that is very engaging no matter what you believe.
Back cover of the book “The New Climate War” by Dr. Michael Mann.
There is much to dislike about Facebook, but one neat Facebook feature is that it reminds you of old memories, such as, “you posted this three years ago” or “you posted this five years ago”. Below I am listing the memories Facebook showed me of Bronco for the month of April. Except for the first picture the date posted is the date I took the photo. I copied the original comment as is from Facebook. It was difficult not to become a bit sentimental.
Waiting for snack : photo uploaded to Facebook April 7 2016, but it is likely much older, maybe 2009 or 2010I accidentally used the word “dinner” and boom! This is what happens. He jumps up right in my face : April 17 2016, Bronco is 8 years 9 1/2 months, that’s already old for a Leonberger.Bronco on his first walk since the surgery. I put a plastic bag over his bandage while walking : April 11 2018, Bronco is 10 years 9+ months.Get off the Sofa, I’m hungry : April 12 2018, Bronco is 10 years 9+ months.I am grilling and the boys are waiting for me to be done : April 12 2019, Bronco is 11 years 9 months.Bronco : April 12 2019, Bronco is 11 years 9 monthsRollo caused more mischief than Loke this morning and Daisy is exhausted. April 12 2019, Daisy is 9 1/2 years oldBronco is saying have a good evening : April 26 2019, Bronco is 11 years 10 monthsToday’s walk with Bronco and rest stop : April 18 2020, Bronco is 12 years 9 1/2 monthsMcDonald’s run again. Bronco in the backseat. McDonald’s seem to be running out of stuff. Two different McDonald’s only have a partial menu. I wonder what’s going on? Luckily they had the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwiches our dogs like : April 18 2020, Bronco is 12 years 10 months.
With this post I just wanted to say a few words about the book I wrote “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. This book features several dozens of funny or astonishing dog stories centered on our late Leonberger Bronco, as well as information about Leonbergers and an extensive Leonberger resource guide. The book contains a lot of color photographs and colorful illustrations depicting Bronco’s adventures. The book is intended for all dog lovers of all ages or anyone who loves to read fun dog stories. It is also intended for those who are looking for information on Leonbergers.
Bronco our Leonberger was an extremely affectionate dog.
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. Bronco’s hamster search and rescue operations gave us some great stories to tell, and it kept our hamsters safe. Then there was the time he chased off a nightly stalker, well a peeping Tom who’d been terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood. The private detectives I had hired could not catch him but Bronco did.
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.
The front cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the book.The back cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com kindle location for the book.These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to go to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.
Below are four selected book spreads.
Page six and seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. His initial birth certificate was faulty stating his name as “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.” This came about when we were told that his first name “Bronco” could not start with a ‘B’, it had to start with an “L” and my wife said “Let’s do…”. You can figure out the rest.Page twenty-four and twenty-seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. That’s my wife Claudia behind Bronco. The second picture feature Bronco carrying two hamsters in his mouth (they were fine but somewhat frightened).Page ninety-two and ninety-three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. In this spread Bronco was wearing a full leg cast he was not supposed to bump. Let’s just say he was bumping it all over the neighborhood.Page one hundred and two and one hundred and three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd frequently tested old Bronco’s patients, climbing on his, and even dangling in his tail once, as if it was a swing.
If you would like to learn more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click on the cover images above to buy it from Amazon. All royalties are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. I can add that all illustrations were done by Naomi Rosenblatt.
I recently finished reading “My Patronus is a Leonberger”, January 16, 2023 by Alex Luther. The dimensions of this paperback are 6.34 x 0.56 x 6.34 inches, and the weight is 11.8 ounces, ISBN 979-8373947503, and it currently costs $17.99 on Amazon in the US.
Front cover of “My Patronus is a Leonberger” by Alex Luther. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
In summary: “My Patronus is a Leonberger” contains 111 pages of text and 111 pages of black and white photos plus advertisement and links to places where you can buy mugs and T-shirts. None of the 111 dog photos feature a Leonberger and the word Leonberger is never used anywhere in the book. It has funny photos of various small dogs though. However, the book has nothing to do with Leonbergers. In my opinion that means that putting Leonberger in the title is a bit misleading.
Below is my review of My Patronus is a Leonberger by Alex Luther. I made minor improvements compared to the Amazon review. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book three stars.
Cute Dog Book That Never Mention Leonbergers
“My Patronus is a Leonberger” features 111 black and white photos of dogs paired with 111 black pages featuring 3 to 36 words long wisdom words or sayings in white text. The sayings are typically related to wizards and sometimes to Hogwarts. They are of varying quality but some of them are cute. The dog photos are cute and feature mostly small dogs often wearing glasses, real or photoshopped, wands and human clothes. At the end of the book there is an advertisement for dog merchandise from the company the author represents.
It is a cute little book for children or adults. However, there are no photos of Leonbergers, or any giant breed, and the word Leonberger exists only on the cover. Considering that the photos are not in color, that the sayings were just OK, and that the title of the book is potentially misleading to buyers I cannot give the book a high rating. Imagine someone buying this book for a friend owning a Leonberger thinking it contains Leonberger related writing or photos. Then when his friend opens the book, he sees nothing but pugs, Pomeranians and cats, but no Leonbergers or any mention thereof. I think he would be disappointed. I give it three stars.
Back cover of “My Patronus is a Leonberger” by Alex Luther.
I recently finished Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger: How to Make your Leonberger to STOP Chewing your Shoes, Pee on Your Bed, Pull the Leash, Jump Over People, Bark a Lot and Bite People Paperback – November 26, 2021 by Mark Mendoza. The dimensions are 6 x 0.19 x 9 inches, and the weight is 6.4 ounces, ISBN 979-8774384570, and it currently costs $19.99 on Amazon in the US.
Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger by Mark Mendoza. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
In summary: Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger, is a short Leonberger book that is a fairly generic dog behavior book and not really about Leonbergers. In addition, the book needs an editor, it does not have page numbering, no pictures, and considering that it is also a short book I don’t think the price $19.95 is justified. That last statement may not be appropriate for an Amazon review.
Below is my review of Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger by Mark Mendoza. I improved it a bit over the Amazon review. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book three stars.
Good Advice on Hyperactivity in Dogs But There Are Issues With The Book
This is how the book begins; “My name is Mark Mendoza, and if you are reading this, then probably you know a few things about me;”. Well, I did not know anything about the author when I started reading this short book, which makes me wonder if I was the intended audience. As the title implies, this book is focused on dog training, specifically how to handle hyperactivity in Leonbergers. The author states that he is not a trainer but that he has a lot of knowledge of dog psychology. After reading this book I tend to agree, he does know what he is talking about, and I think he takes a very sensible and modern approach to basic dog training and how to handle hyperactivity and stress in dogs and how to prevent a dog from running away. We could certainly apply this knowledge to our somewhat hyperactive mini-Australian Shepherd.
However, I also had some issues with this book. I am a former Leonberger owner, and I saw no information in this book that applied specifically to Leonbergers. You would think the history section might contain some Leonberger specific information, but the word Leonberger was never used in that section. The book is a generic dog training book with the word Leonberger frequently used instead of the word dog. Making it seem like the book is specifically for Leonbergers when it is not, is not OK in my book. In addition, the sentence structure is frequently faulty, which makes me think the author is not a native English speaker, and there are also a lot of typos. The book needed an editor. There is also no page numbering, and the text is large resulting in less content than the stated 83 pages would imply. There are no pictures. Considering that the book is quite short and has not pictures I also think the price is too high. Therefore, despite the sensible approach to dog training and the handling of dog hyperactivity I am giving it three stars.
Back cover of Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger by Mark Mendoza.
Jen O’Keefe, a fellow Leonberger enthusiast and Facebook friend gave me permission to post about her late Leonberger Digory and the fundraiser she started to celebrate his memory.
Digory and Obi, two Leonbergers. Click on the image to visit Digory’s Facebook Page. Photo Jen O’Keefe.
Osteosarcoma is an aggressive type of bone cancer that tends to spread to the lungs. It affects both young and old dogs and appears to have environmental as well as genetic components. But according to the American Kennel Club, research into the disease in dogs is likely to have benefits for children who suffer from it as well.
Digory and Obi. Click on the image to visit the Canine Cancer Alliance Facebook Page. Photo Jen O’Keefe.
Digory was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and had his leg amputated 3 years ago. Although he passed a couple months ago, he still made it 2 years and 10 months, which is about 2 years longer than expected. Part of his treatment was a vaccine through Yale that was in early stages of clinical trials. That vaccine has shown great promise in treating both Osteosarcoma and Hemangiosarcoma, and Jen believes it was integral in giving him so much extra time. That vaccine has moved on to the next stage of trials. The Canine Cancer Alliance is helping to fund this next step, so in honor of Digory, Jen created this fundraiser so that more dogs, and their people, can benefit from the extra time.
Digory the Leonberger. Photo Jen O’Keefe.
Through the duration of this fundraiser, Jen will be posting links with more information about the vaccine and about Digory’s journey. Jen hopes that, even though he is no longer with us, he can continue to be an inspiration in the fight against Osteosarcoma. To end dog cancer, through research in prevention and cures. If you wish you can join in the fundraising. Facebook takes care of the donation processing with no fees.
Digory the Leonberger. Click on the picture to visit Digory’s Fundraiser. Photo Jen O’Keefe.Digory celebrating two years passed the amputation. Photo Jen O’Keefe.Digory with friends at the beach some years ago. Photo Jen O’Keefe.
Leash laws – Unless your pet is in a designated off-leash area, he or she has to be on a lead at all times. That’s the law in Dallas, Texas and in many other places. Dogs must be on a leash when outside except for, for example, dog parks. It doesn’t matter how good and obedient the owner thinks his dog is, it does not matter if the owner thinks he’s got perfect control over his dog. It is the law for a reason. Accidents happen, of course, and our dogs escaped on a few occasions. However, we all need to make an effort.
In my Leonberger book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” I describe three dog fights resulting from off leash dogs, but we experienced many more, dozens, and it is ugly.
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, our Baby, they are good dogs, but this one was young and aggressive.
Our Pug Daisy with our Leonberger Bronco
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.
Photo of Daisy that I took a few minutes ago. She is alive today, thanks to Bronco. She is 14 ½ years old.Bronco our saint who saved Daisy.
Another spontaneous dogfight happened before we got Bronco, when two dogs attacked our Labrador Baylor, who later would welcome Bronco into the family.
Baylor our sweet Labrador. He was a rescue.
Baylor was a sweet dog but could defend himself when he needed to. One time, as he and I were walking down a long straight road in the neighborhood, I turned around and saw two dogs running out of an alleyway around half a mile behind us. Right behind them came a woman, and she was running as well. The dogs were racing toward us and barking, and the woman behind the dogs was screaming at them. It was obvious that they had snuck out of a house and were ignoring their owner. For a moment I thought that maybe we should be running as well, but I decided against it. I would not be able to outrun the dogs, even though Baylor could, and letting him loose would be a bad idea. I decided to keep calm and continue walking.
A few seconds later I turned around to look again. The dogs were coming closer. I could see their glistening teeth and their faces full of rage as they charged toward us. The woman behind them was going as fast as she could, but she couldn’t keep up. Both dogs were around the size of Baylor. One of them looked like a pit bull, and the other looked like a golden retriever. I braced for the worst, and Baylor and I positioned ourselves for a fight.
Then the dog who looked like a golden retriever stopped and sat down. He seemed to be less aggressive. But the pit bull came right at us as if he wanted to kill us. There was a violent clash. Baylor fought back valiantly, and he was able to control the situation, despite being on a leash. (Well, I gave him all the leeway I could.) There were loud growls and snarls and sharp white teeth snapping and biting.
The woman finally arrived. Her face was red, and she was sweating profusely. It didn’t look like she was in good shape, and she had just sprinted half a mile without stopping. Breathing heavily, she grabbed her aggressive dog and apologized. I didn’t respond, even though I felt sorry for her. I knew the whole thing was probably an accident, but after that experience I couldn’t spare much sympathy for her. Luckily, there were no serious injuries.
After it was all over, I felt proud of Baylor for defending himself so well. He was a lot stronger and feistier than I expected, yet he was a very friendly and loving Labrador. If you want to read about the time when our German Shepherd Baby defended Bronco when he was a puppy, click here.
I recently finished The Complete Guide for Leonberger: The essential guide to being a perfect owner and having an obedient, healthy, and happy Leonberger Paperback – September 15, 2021, by Bailey Lopez. As far as I can see there is only a paperback version, which is 133 pages. The dimensions are 6 x 0.34 x 9 inches, and the weight is 9.1 ounces, ISBN 979-8477891214, and it currently costs $15.23 on Amazon in the US.
Front cover of the book The Complete Guide for Leonberger by Bailey Lopez. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is another strange Leonberger book. I believe the information in the book is very helpful and interesting assuming you are looking for a book on dog behavior, concerning any type of dog. Even though the word “Leonberger” is used quite frequently there is not much Leonberger specific information in the book.
If the title of this book had been “The Complete Guide to Dog Behavior” I would have given the book a four or five star rating. The book gives a good overview of dog behavior and psychology, puppy behavior, adoption issues, training and commands, and a few health tips. I found some good tips in the book that we are going to implement for our mini-Australian Shepherd. I also think that there is some enlightening information in the book that I have not seen in other dog books (Leonberger books or not). The author also understands dogs and their behavior well. He is a true dog behavior specialist.
Unfortunately, it is not really a breed specific book despite the frequent use of the word “Leonberger”. Replace “Leonberger” with “dog” and the veracity of the information does not change, which means that it is not a Leonberger book. On a bit more than half a page he is explaining how to interpret the movement of ears, for example, “ears stretched upwards may also show dominance”, etc. The problem with that is that Leonberger ears are floppy, fleshy, hanging down and they can’t point up. Interestingly he points out at the end of the ear section, essentially invalidating everything he just wrote. The book is missing Leonberger specific behavior, Leonberger characteristics, breed standard stuff, Leonberger history, genetic illnesses common in Leonbergers, life span, nothing about Leonberger organizations, Leonberger awards, sports or activities, and anything specific about Leonbergers. It is all missing and there is not a single picture of a Leonberger in the book. The book also has a substantial number of typos.
I would think a book like this would sell well if it were marketed as a dog behavior book. Why pick a rare breed and essentially replace the word dog with the word Leonberger everywhere? I am glad I read it because of what I learned about dog behavior, but you won’t learn anything specific about Leonbergers by reading this book, which is why I am rating it three stars.
The back cover of the book The Complete Guide for Leonberger by Bailey Lopez.
Leonberger Life 