Tag: Leonberger

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Bronco's Adventures

Illustrations by Naomi Rosenblatt for my Book and This is Blog Post 100

My book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger” feature 58 photos and 16 illustrations, all in color. The illustrations were made by Naomi Rosenblatt. Some of the stories in my book I think are funny, exciting, or touching but like it is for most people, the best moments you don’t record with photos or video. You miss them. Some of the stories in my book I believe would have gone viral if they had been recorded, but they weren’t, and that’s why I needed someone who knew how to create an illustration of the events (without charging too much). I don’t know how to draw so I couldn’t do it. I think she did a good job.

This is my 100th post since I started my Leoberger blog back in March 2022.  I think showing the 16 illustrations made by Naomi Rosenblatt is a good 100th post. I also included links to stories related to the illustrations of the event if I’ve made a blog post about it, usually in the form of an excerpt from my book. To read the stories related to the illustrations that does not have a link, you’ll have to get my book. Anyway, I’ll hope you will enjoy the illustrations below.

My wife was harassed by a peeping Tom at night. In fact, he was harassing women all over the neighborhood. I hired private detectives to catch him but to no avail. Can you guess who solved the problem? To read about it click here or here.

Illustration showing a peeping Tom looking through our bedroom window. He is sitting on a garden chair.
Peeping Tom by our bedroom window
Illustration of Leonberger chasing off a peeping Tom.
Bronco saving the neighborhood.
Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing a Leonberger dragging a woman, my wife or my daughter, both happened.
Oops! What happens when a Leonberger doesn’t listen to you? See the book for the story.

Leonbergers have an excellent sense of smell. Our Leonberger Bronco sniffed out and found our run away hamsters on a number of occasions. He had a hamster search and rescue operation going, On one occasion his special superpower became somewhat embarrassing. Please don’t tell anyone. The victims still don’t know what happened. Click here or here to find out what happened.

Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing a Leonberger with two hamsters in his mouth.
Don’t worry he didn’t eat the hamsters. He most likely saved them.
Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing CPR on a hamster. He came back alive,.
Wouldn’t you be somewhat distressed if a big dog put you in his mouth? Hamster CPR was needed but the hamsters were just fine. Again, please don’t tell the owners of the hamsters.

Bronco’s attack on the laptop made the  Best Buy Geek Squad technicians’ day. It was something e had never seen before. You shouldn’t ignore your dog while playing computers games, it’s upsetting and what if he crushes or eats your computer. To read about it click here.

Illustration of Geek Squad technician being very excited about the story he just heard.
That’s the best story I’ve ever heard. With a good story the warranty will always apply. Remember that!

I can’t believe Bronco did this to me. Pushing our German Shepherd into the storm drain while barking and acting like crazy because he saw a dog across the street. The man lifted up his dog and fled down the street and left me with a mess. To read this crazy story click here.

Illustration showing our German Shepherd Baby in the storm drain. Me trying to handle the situation. After this Baby decided that I had to walk her separately from Bronco. She loved Bronco very much, but I guess she had some misgivings after this event.
Our German Shepherd Baby in the storm drain. Me trying to handle the situation. After this Baby decided that I had to walk her separately from Bronco. She loved Bronco very much, but I guess she had some misgivings after this event.
Illustration of me and our Leonberger Bronco chasing a rabbit. Rabbits are fun to chase, aren’t they? Some people think watching such games is hilarious.
Rabbits are fun to chase, aren’t they? Some people think watching such games is hilarious.
Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing our Labrador Baylor crossing the rainbow bridge.
Our Labrador left us tragically and unexpectantly. Evidence that we humans our cruel.
Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing our late German Shepherd Baby under a star.
Sometimes not thinking things through is cruel. Watch your emotions. We could have done better for our brave German Shepherd Baby.
Hurry and run Claudia. Catch the runaway Leonberger. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Sometimes Bronco gave you a reason to run as fast as you could.
Bronco our Leonberger in a full leg cast running down the street. Oops you are not supposed to bump it. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
One time Bronco had to wear a full leg cast that could not be bumped. Well, he turned into a cast wearing monster chasing people and dogs around the neighborhood. Never mind not bumping the cast.
Illustration of neighbor running down the street with his corgis. Run for your life, yes run for your life dear. On the rare  occasions that Bronco was not well behaved it was better to flee. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Run for your life, yes run for your life dear. On the rare  occasions that Bronco was not well behaved it was better to flee.
Drawing of Ryu our smart little Japanese Chin. Our smart little angel was unlucky with cancer and I was not there for him.
Our smart little angel was unlucky with cancer and I was not there for him.
Illustration showing Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd, Bronco our Leonberger, and Daisy our Pug. Bronco lived a very long life for a Leonberger. Giant breeds don’t live long. The Leonberger Health Foundation International is trying to fix that. Bronco’s longevity is an inspiration for all Leonbergers and giant breeds around the world. Hopefully his DNA sample will be of some help.
Bronco lived a very long life for a Leonberger. Giant breeds don’t live long. The Leonberger Health Foundation International is trying to fix that. Bronco’s longevity is an inspiration for all Leonbergers and giant breeds around the world. Hopefully his DNA sample will be of some help.
Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing a paw print in the sky.
The paw prints that dogs leave in your heart are eternal.

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. It is beige and brown and has an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Categories
Photos

A Leonberger and His Little Pug Friend

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

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

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

Above Daisy and Bronco on our large wide leather sofa.

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

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

Book Trailer
Categories
Bronco's Adventures

A Gigantic Cone of Shame And Our Friend Ump

Our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) had an issue with recurring squamous cell carcinoma in his toes requiring surgery. Each time Bronco had toe surgery, he needed to wear a so-called cone of shame to prevent him from licking the site of the amputation. In the beginning, we used a standard hard plastic see-through cone. They are very practical and work well, but they don’t seem comfortable. Then we tried a Comfy Cone and a pillow cone. A Comfy Cone is shaped like a standard cone of shame, but it’s made of a soft material that’s comfortable to lean your head on. A pillow cone is an inflatable ring-shaped pillow that you put around a dog’s neck. In terms of comfort, this was probably the best solution. But in Bronco’s case, it wasn’t practical. He was just too big, and he could reach around even the largest size available. For him the best solution was the Comfy Cone.

The Comfy Cone came in the extra-large size that Bronco needed. However, the large size of the cone came with its own issues. As Bronco walked around the house his very large Comfy Cone was swinging back and forth knocking things over. Another problem was that the big swinging cone scared the living day lights out of our mini-Australian Shepherd. To him Bronco probably looked like a Dilophosaurus  or Triceratops with a giant frill. However, they loved each other. See Rollo lick Bronco’s face in the picture below.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco accidentally clearing the coffee table of books, notepads and magazines.
When Bronco wore his Comfy Cone, he sometimes accidentally cleared the coffee table as he walked by.

Bronco was getting old, and he was having issues with his toes, and I believe that is why he also became a bit clingy. He often followed me around the house, and he did not want to be alone. When I went to the bathroom, I closed the door on him, and he waited for me outside the bathroom. I took the photo below after opening the bathroom door and he just barged in, cone and all.

Photo of Bronco Bronco barging into the bathroom with his huge cone and all after I opened the bathroom door.
Bronco barging into the bathroom with cone and all after I opened the bathroom door.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd licking Bronco’s face. They loved each other.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd licking Bronco’s face. They loved each other.

Finally, in this post I also would like to highlight the Dawn of Humanity series written by Jacqui Murray. This captivating series is about the adventures of a group of pre-historic humans who live 1.8 million years. The books also include a pre-historic canine called Ump. He is affectionate, loyal, brave, and big, just like our Bronco was, which was another endearing aspect of these books. I highly recommend this series. Below I am posting some information about the series.

Book trailer:

Categories
Leonbergers

Ten Leonberger Myths and the Truth

In this post I am stating and correcting ten Leonberger myths that I’ve seen on various websites and in various Leonberger books. Websites featuring incorrect information include Wikipedia. It is always good to remember that googling is not research and that a lot of information on the internet is wrong. In the list below I avoid stating the myth and then correcting it. Instead, I am trying to implicate the myth as a myth from the start or begin the sentence with the truth. The reason for doing this is psychological. Research has shown that if you state something false and then correct it, people tend to remember the first thing they saw, which was the myth, instead of the truth.

This embedded old historic photo of a Leonberger is from the AKC website.

To correct many of the myths regarding Leonberger history I am referring to the book Leonberger by Caroline Bliss-Isberg. If I am not specifically stating the source in a listed item it is from her book. Caroline Bliss-Isberg is a recipient of the Heinrich Essig Award and the Leo Heart Award and a very prominent leader in the Leonberger community. With the help of other prominent leaders of the Leonberger community as well as expert researchers she attained documents, illustrations and photos never before published and from it she created the most extensive (several hundred pages) and accurate account of Leonberger history.

Photo of the book Leonberger, by Caroline Bliss-Isberg. Click on the image to go to my review of Leonberger.
Leonberger, by Caroline Bliss-Isberg. Click on the image to go to my review of Leonberger.
  • If you want to spay or neuter your Leonberger it is best to wait two years, so do NOT spay or neuter a Leonberger at six months as some erroneously state. The neuter at six months claim is not very common, so it is perhaps not a real myth in that sense. However, I’ve seen it in some books and there are some organizations that insist on spaying./neutering even giant breeds. To learn about the reasons and the research behind the two years wait for Leonbergers click here.
  • Heinrich Essig was NOT the mayor of the city of Leonberg. Heinrich Essig was a prominent citizen of the town, and he was a successful businessman, farmer, innkeeper, horse and dog trader, large-dog enthusiast, dog breeder, and town councilman, but he was never the mayor of Leonberg. About half the Leonberger websites and books that I’ve come across get this wrong and the other ones get it right. However, it is the research by Caroline Bliss-Isberg that sets this straight as can be seen on page 20 of her book.
  • More than two dogs were used for creating the Leonberger. It was not just a St. Bernard and a Newfoundland dog as a few Leonberger books I’ve come across erroneously claim. See next list item for more information.
  • It is not entirely true that the following three dogs were used to create the Leonberger; the St. Bernard, the Newfoundland dog and the Great Pyrenée dog. This is a common claim based on the Essig’s claim that he bred the Leonberger from long haired St. Bernards, the Newfoundland dog and the grey-yellow wolfhound from the Spanish Pyrenees. However, the Pyrenean wolfhound is not likely to be what we call a Great Pyrenée dog. Moreover, these dogs did not look like they do today and there was a lot of breeding back and forth going on and Essig did not keep records. Therefore, the story is likely to be a lot more complicated. The bigger story is explained on the pages 23, 41, 45, 48-49 Caroline Bliss-Isberg’s book but it is also more briefly explained in my Leonberger History page on this website.
  • There were definitely more than five Leonbergers alive after World War One despite several Leonberger books and websites erroneously claiming only five survived. I should say that many of the more reliable websites get this right. It is true that World War I was tough on the breed. It didn’t help that Leonbergers were used to pull ammunition carts and cannons. However, more than five Leonbergers survived the war. After the war, Karl Stadelmann and Otto Josenhans, worked hard to save the breed, and they were able to find twenty-five Leonbergers whose owners were willing to cooperate in reestablishing the breed. Of these, only five were suitable for breeding. That is still a pretty significant genetic bottleneck.
  • There is a common erroneous claim associated with World War II as well, stating that only eight Leonbergers survived World War II. There was indeed a “genetic bottleneck” of Leonbergers in the 1940s. This was largely because people repeatedly bred the dogs they thought were the best specimens in a misguided attempt to improve the breed. Scientific pedigree analyses demonstrate that the Leonberger has twenty-two founder animals, or animal ancestors unrelated to one another (ten males and twelve females). Again, that is a little bit different from “only 8 survived”.
  • Another World War II myth is that Leonbergers were used for pulling ammunition carts in World War II just as in World War I but there is no proof of that.
  • Another incorrect claim that I’ve seen on websites and some books is that the Leonberger dog first appeared in North America in the 1970’s. As Caroline Bliss-Isberg describes in her book in several places, Leonbergers were introduced in the United States and Canada on several occasions during the 19th century and at the beginning of the the 20th century. However, it was typically just a few Leonbergers and the population was not maintained. It was not until the 1970’s that Leonbergers a permanent population was established in North America.
  • The lifespan of a Leonberger is on average 8-10 years not 6-8 years or 7 years, which is old data still reported by some websites. The Leonberg Health Foundation International have been successful in eradication several detrimental genes in the Leonberger breed. I should say the reliable websites typically have this information correct.
  • I’ve come across a few Leonberger books which grossly understate the size and weight of Leonbergers, for example, claiming that a male Leonberger weigh between 45 and 60 pounds. The weight of a male Leonberger is 120 to 170 pounds. Luckily the vast majority of books and websites get this information correct.

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. It is beige and brown and has an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Categories
Leonbergers

Three Leonberger and Wolf Videos

In this post I am posting three videos that I like, first, an interesting informational video about Leonberger dogs Second a song video featuring a Swedish lullaby about a wolf. Wolves are after all close relatives of dogs and our Leonberger Bronco was accused of being a wolf. The third video from the Britain got talent show, feature a Leonberger, Hagrid making a world record in sausage eating.

First video: It is an AKC informational overview of Leos featuring Leonberger breeder Alida Greendyk, von Alpanese Leonbergers. The video is 4 minutes 25 seconds.

AKC video with Alida Greendyk, von Alpanese Leonbergers

Second video:  This music video, feature Vargsången or the wolf song, a Swedish or Nordic Lullaby. Dogs, Canis Lupus Familiaris, are descended from wolves Canis Lupus, and they have a lot in common. Our Leonberger Bronco was accused of being a wolf by an alarmed boy at PetSmart. We handled it well, so don’t worry. Bronco has been accused of being both a wolf and a bear, but as far as I can remember not a lion, despite the fact that Leonbergers were bred to resemble the Lion on the coat of arms of the town of Leonberg. I guess Germans are bad at drawing lions.

The song is about a woman protecting her child from being eaten by a wolf, but notice that despite that, there is empathy expressed in the song for the hungry wolf and his aching stomach. The existence of the stomach creates conflict between creatures in our world, and it’s been that way billions of years before humans entered the picture. The landscape is from northern Sweden where I am from. The singer is Jonna Jinton. The video is 4 minutes and 20 seconds….notice to get English subtitles you may have to change your YouTube settings.

Varsången with Jonna Jinton

Third video: is about a Leonberger named Hagrid who appeared on Britain’s Got More Talent in 2017, and other places. Hagrid was attempting to set a new Guinness world record for catching the maximum number of sausages in his mouth in the shortest period of time. You can watch Hagrid’s attempt below. The video is 4 minutes and 46 seconds.

Hagrid setting sausage eating record

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. It is beige and brown and has an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is 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.
Categories
Book Reviews

Leonberger Puppy Book Or Just Puppy Book

This time I am reviewing a Leonberger book that only exist as an eBook/Kindle, All About Leonberger Puppies Kindle Edition by Laura James, published May 28, 2012. It is a very shorty book, 24 pages, ASIN: B00874J7SW. You can buy it from Amazon for $6.43.

The book All About Leonberger Puppies by Laura James. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
The book All About Leonberger Puppies by Laura James. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.

Below I am posting my Amazon review of All About Leonberger Puppies. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book three stars.

Generic Puppy Book with a Narrow Scope.

This short book covered how to pick a Leonberger/dog breeder, advice on bringing the puppy home, puppy food, food dangerous to dogs, and common puppy health issues. However, aside from mentioning that Leonbergers are double coated any Leonberger specific topics were avoided. You will not learn anything about Leonbergers by reading this book. All advice was generic and could be applied to any type of dog.

For example, Leonberger clubs, such as the Leonberger Club of America have lists of Leonberger breeders they approve of, but this was never mentioned. You should look there first. Leonbergers have health issues specific to the breed and this was never discussed. Leonbergers have certain personality traits that were never mentioned. The book did not contain many photos, something I would expect from a Leonberger puppy book. There were just a few small Leonberger puppy photos in the book. The book is very short and the information is generic, so you can’t say that it is “All” about Leonberger puppies. However, the advice was good, even though it was generic, and the book did not contain any errors, or misinformation, as far as I could tell, and it seemed to be well edited, therefore I give it three stars (really two and a half).

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. It is beige and brown and has an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is 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.
Categories
Book Reviews

The Leonberger Book That is Copied from a Tibetan Mastiff Book

So, someone writes a generic dog book to promote a website and another dog book, the book they really want to sell, and then makes 61 copies of the generic book, make the titles breed specific, and adds a little bit of breed specific information, maybe from Wikipedia, to each of the 61 books, for dog breeds, mind you, that they probably never met. Voila! One example is this book, Leonberger (Divine Dogs Online) Paperback – August 14, 2016 by Mychelle Klose. Since the author forgot to remove references to Tibetan Mastiff’s we know what breed this book was copied from.

The paperback version of the book is 48 pages, ISBN 978-1537099552, item weight 3.68 ounces, dimensions 6 x 0.12 x 9 inches. You can buy it from Amazon, as a paperback, or e-Book. The paperback version is currently $12.98 on Amazon, and the Kindle version is $6.98.

This a photo of the front cover of the book Leonberger (Divine Dogs Online) Paperback by Mychelle Klose. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Front cover of the book Leonberger (Divine Dogs Online) Paperback by Mychelle Klose. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.

Below I am posting my Amazon review of Leonberger (Divine Dogs Online) by Mychelle Klose. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book two stars.

This book on Tibetan Mastiffs, I mean Leonbergers, has issues and contain errors.

Mychelle Klose has written at least 61 breed specific books about dog breeds that she obviously never owned. I believe this Leonberger book was based on her Tibetan Mastiff book since she sometimes refer to Tibetan Mastiffs instead of Leonbergers. In the book she is heavily promoting her website and another book “How to have a healthy dog”. I get the impression that this book was created for the purpose of promoting the “How to have a healthy dog” book and her website, which is printed on the front page and throughout the book.

The book is very generic, applicable to any dog breed, and it does not contain a lot of specific information about Leonbergers. but there is some. Unfortunately, that information is incorrect a little bit too often considering it only covers a few pages. She claims that Heinrich Essig, the creator of the Leonberger breed, was the mayor of the town of Leonberg. Heinrich Essig was a prominent citizen of the town, and he was a successful businessman, farmer, innkeeper, horse and dog trader, large-dog enthusiast, dog breeder, and town councilman, but he was never the mayor of Leonberg.

She claims that only five Leonbergers survived World War I. It is true that World War I was tough on the breed, but it was not quite that bad. After the war, Karl Stadelmann and Otto Josenhans, worked hard to save the breed, and they were able to find twenty-five Leonbergers whose owners were willing to cooperate in reestablishing the breed. Of these, only five were suitable for breeding. That’s where that info originates. However, that’s a little different from saying that only five Leonbergers survived.

She also claims that only eight Leonbergers survived World War II. However, that is once again an exaggeration. There was indeed a “genetic bottleneck” of Leonbergers in the 1940s. This was largely because people repeatedly bred the dogs they thought were the best specimens in a misguided attempt to improve the breed. Scientific pedigree analyses demonstrate that the Leonberger has twenty-two founder animals, or animal ancestors unrelated to one another (ten males and twelve females). Again, that is a little bit different from “only 8 survived”. I found other errors as well.

The book design could have been better. The text is sometimes left adjusted and sometimes centered and the chapter titles are sometimes by themselves on the page preceding the actual text. It quite frankly looks like a mess. In addition, the pages are not numbered.

I am giving the book two stars instead of one because of the color photos and the external links section at the end, which feature links to great Leonberger websites.

Photo of the back cover of the book Leonberger (Divine Dogs Online) by Mychelle Klose.
Back cover of the book Leonberger (Divine Dogs Online) by Mychelle Klose.

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. It is beige and brown and has an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is 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.
Categories
Book Reviews

When to Raise Your Eyebrows At Your Leonberger Breeder

That’s a strange title but bear with me. In this post I am reviewing a book containing some strange language and I am just pointing that out. The book I am reviewing is Leonberger: The Complete Leonberger Manual Leonberger Care, Personality, Grooming, Feeding, Health And All Included Paperback – October 18, 2021 by Dr. Aaron Abdul. The paperback is 38 pages, ISBN 979-8499345672, item weight 3.2 ounces, dimensions 5 x 0.09 x 8 inches. You can buy it from Amazon, as a paperback, or e-Book. The paperback version is currently $7.99 on Amazon, and the Kindle version is $2.99.

Photo of the front cover of the book Back cover of the book Leonberger by Dr. Aaron Abdul. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Front cover of the book Back cover of the book Leonberger by Dr. Aaron Abdul. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.

Below I am posting my Amazon review of Leonberger: The Complete Leonberger Manual Leonberger Care, Personality, Grooming, Feeding, Health And All Included Paperback – October 18, 2021 by Dr. Aaron Abdul. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book two stars.

If the Breeder Refuses, Raise your Eyebrows

This Leonberger book has a lot of issues including typos, poor grammar, poor punctuation, the wrong choice of words, incomprehensible sentences, unfinished sentences, frequent repetition, and there are a lot of large random gaps between the words. Several lines begin with one word, and then there is a large gap followed by the second word in the sentence at the very end of the line. Basically, the book design is a mess. My guess is that the author does not speak English well and did not hire an editor. My review title refers to this sentence regarding asking for a visit to a breeder; “T 1 If the breeder refuses, raise your eyebrows”. The “T 1” at the beginning I assume is a typo. “Raise your eyebrows” I guess is a mistranslated metaphor. The high frequency of mistakes made it difficult to read the book.

The book contains no pictures or illustrations. The book contains this sentence regarding hip dysplasia “The Leonbergers account for 13% of all cases”. What I believe the author intended to say was “13% of all Leonbergers are afflicted with hip dysplasia” but the sentence reads differently seemingly stating the impossible considering that the Leonberger is a rare breed. I can add that hip dysplasia is more common in other giant breeds.

The book title states, “The Complete Leonberger Manual…”. As you can understand there is nothing complete about a book containing 30 pages of content, written in large print, and with words separated by large random spaces. However, the choice of facts and topics is good, even though the topics are discussed too briefly, and I did not see much incorrect information, which is why I am giving the book two stars instead of one star.

Photo of the back cover of the book Leonberger by Dr. Aaron Abdul.
The back cover of the book Leonberger by Dr. Aaron Abdul.

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. It is beige and brown and has an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is 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.
Categories
Book Reviews

A Leonberger Book for Children

In this post I am reviewing Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue (Puppy Academy, 4) Paperback – August 29, 2017 by Gill Lewis. It is illustrated by Sarah Horne. It is the fourth and latest book in a children’s book series featuring the adventures of different dog breeds at the Puppy Academy. In the Puppy Academy dogs learn a job. In this book the main character is the Leonberger puppy Murphy. Considering that Leonbergers are a rare breed this is a nice surprise. The other books in the series feature a German Shepherd puppy, a Border Collie puppy, and a Labrador. The reading age is 7-9 but I believe it is OK for younger ages as long as a parent is doing the reading.

This paperback is 128 pages, ISBN 978-1627798044, item weight 4.8 ounces, dimensions 5.21 x 0.36 x 7.82 inches. You can buy it from Amazon, as a paperback, hardback or e-Book. The paperback version is currently $9.52 on Amazon, and the hardback is $12.94. The Kindle version is $9.99.

Normally I don’t read children’s books. OK maybe I do, but I read this one because it was about a Leonberger. I sent it friends of ours with young children (our children are grown up). I think this book was very well written and it is filled with life lessons and practical advice ideal for children. It is also quite useful to parents.

Photo of the front cover of the book Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Front cover of the book Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.

Below I am posting my Amazon review of Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue. I made some minor updates. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book five stars.

A Leonberger learns important skills and as well as life lessons.

I bought this book for the children of friends of ours, but I read it myself first because it looked so interesting and the main character of the book, Murphy, is a young Leonberger, and we used to have a Leonberger. I couldn’t help myself, so I read the whole book, but I did not bend the book, so it is as good as brand new. Anyway, a Leonberger is a very large furry dog with big, webbed paws. They are great swimmers, they are protective and sensitive, and they are truly great family dogs.

Murphy is a member of the Puppy Academy where dogs train for all kinds of jobs. Murphy’s specialty is water rescue. In this book Murphy and his friends Scruff, Pip, Star, Major Bones, Boris, Professor Offenbach and Rodrigo are participating in some great water adventures and they are learning some great life lessons, especially Murphy.

The book is teaching children about water safety, the dangers of sea water, jelly fish, rip currents, how get out of a rip current, large waves, etc. The book also teaches children about envy and how to handle such feelings and to not compare yourself with others, and instead focus on learning and improving yourself. Above all, don’t play dangerous games or try to trick people. The book contained one oversimplification referring to Newfoundland dogs as the ancestors of Leonbergers. The St. Bernard is probably the main ancestors of the Leonberger but Newfoundland dogs and Pyrenee dogs are involved too, but that is not important.

I believe this is a really fun book for kids and it was interesting reading for me too. The story is great, and the information is useful and important. I highly recommend this book.

Photo of the back cover of the book Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue.
Back cover of the book Murphy and the Great Surf Rescue.

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. The cover is beige and brown and it has the face of an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is 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.
Categories
Book Reviews

The Winding Road Is a Story About Survival and Courage

This blog is primarily about Leonbergers, especially our late Leonberger Bronco, or Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, which was his full name. I also review Leonberger books and sometimes I review books that are not about Leonbergers but that I love and want to promote. This post is one of those. I am reviewing The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival Paperback – July 30, 2022 by Miriam Hurdle. This paperback is 148 pages, ISBN 979-8842330812, item weight 9.9 ounces, dimensions 6 x 0.34 x 9 inches. You can buy it from Amazon, as a paperback, hardback or e-Book. The paperback version is currently $6.99 on Amazon, and the hardback is $25.26. The Kindle version is $1.99 or free if you are part of Kindle Unlimited.

This book is a gripping story of Miriam Hurdle’s fight to survive an aggressive cancer. She is a skilled author, and she was able to tell her traumatic story with clarity and honesty.

The front cover of the book The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival by Miriam Hurdle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Front cover of the book The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival by Miriam Hurdle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.

Below I am posting my Amazon review for The Winding Road.

One Woman’s Encounter with Aggressive Cancer Told with Intelligence, Clarity and Honesty

This book describes the journey of survival of a woman, Miriam Hurdle, who was diagnosed with Melanoma in an internal organ. Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer that usually does not appear in internal organs, at least not initially. This made the situation both unusual and quite dangerous. The cancer was discovered by chance during a hysterectomy.

Survival was not the only thing that she had to fight for. There was insurance, her work situation, finances, etc., that weighed heavily on her mind and the minds of her family. Add to that the brutal but necessary treatment. Luckily things worked out for her, and her family and her community gave her a lot of support. The book makes it clear how important this is in this kind of situation. The people around you can make a big difference making sure you don’t lose hope.

My mother got multiple myeloma and it was not discovered early, and she died at the age of 56. So, Miriam’s story resonated with me because I recognized a lot things from her story even though their cancers were not the same and the outcome was not the same. What Miriam went though is extremely difficult. I am originally from Sweden, which has national healthcare. Insurance is an additional burden that every American cancer patient must deal with that we were spared from. So, in that regard our journey was easier. Unfortunately, it did not end well for us.

Miriam is a great writer who writes with clarity, intelligence, and honesty about a very traumatic situation. I think this book can serve as a great help to anyone who may face this situation. In fact, cancer is so common that we are all likely to be touched by it at some point. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to everyone in order for all of us to learn something about the journey before facing it.

Photo of the back cover of the book The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival by Miriam Hurdle.
Back cover of the book The Winding Road: A Journey of Survival by Miriam Hurdle.

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Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. The cover is beige and brown and it has the face of an old Leonberger in the middle. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is 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.