Leonberger – Page 5 – Leonberger Life

Our Leonberger ChatGPT and Google AI

Today I was having fun with ChatGPT and Google AI. I asked ChatGPT the following question : Was there a Leonberger called Bronco?

The answer is shown below

The picture is a screenshot. The ChatGPT answer is below. — I took a screenshot of the answer.

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is the answer ChatGPT gave.

Yes, there was a Leonberger named Bronco. Bronco, officially named Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, lived with the Wikman family in Dallas, Texas, from 2007 until his passing in 2020. Notably, he lived an unusually long life for his breed, reaching almost thirteen years, surpassing the typical life expectancy of Leonbergers, which is around nine years. His story is detailed in the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” by Thomas Wikman, which shares anecdotes of Bronco’s adventures and provides insights into caring for Leonbergers.

I think that sounds right.

Confusing ChatGPT

Next, I asked ChatGPT the following question : Did the Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle rescue Hamsters?

I can add that Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle is a unique Leonberger name. There is a Leonberger database called the Worldwide Independent Leonberger Database featuring more than 172,000 Leonbergers. It covers most Leonbergers in the world back until the beginning of the 20th century and only three of them were named Bronco including Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, which is the only Leonberger named exactly that. As you can see below ChatGPT is confusing our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle with another dog.

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is the answer ChatGPT gave.

Yes, Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, a Leonberger, is known for his heroic act of rescuing a group of hamsters! This event gained attention when Le Bronco, who was living in Germany, saved several hamsters from a fire in 2011. The hamsters were trapped in their cages, and thanks to Le Bronco’s quick thinking and bravery, he managed to alert his owners and helped rescue the small animals.

His actions were recognized as a remarkable act of kindness and heroism, showing the intelligence and sensitivity that dogs, particularly the Leonberger breed, can possess.

I’ve noticed that ChatGPT is sometimes wrong. For example, when you ask questions on a topic for which there is sparse information ChatGPT frequently gets the answer wrong. Another way to confuse ChatGPT and get bad answers is to ask vague questions or ask questions that cannot be answered precisely. ChatGPT relies on internet data and may base its answers on people’s biases and cliches rather than accurate information.

Google AI on Bronco

Interestingly enough, Google AI gave more extensive and interesting answers to my questions, and unlike ChatGPT it answered both of them correctly and provided links to the sources.

First, I asked : Was there a Leonberger called Bronco?

This is what I got :

The picture is a screenshot. The Google AI answer is below. — Screenshot of answer.

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is what the screenshot says.

Yes, there was a well-known Leonberger named “Bronco” (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) who lived with the Wikman family in Dallas, Texas, and was the subject of a book and blog called “Leonberger Life”.

Here’s a more detailed look at Bronco and his story:

As I scrolled down there was more

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is what the screenshot says.

Owner:

Thomas Wikman, a retired automation, robotics, and software engineer, and his wife raised three children, and later lived with their two dogs—a pug and a miniature Australian shepherd.

Book and Blog:

Thomas Wikman wrote a book, “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” and a blog, “Leonberger Life” about his Leonberger, Bronco.

Longevity:

Bronco lived a relatively long life for a Leonberger, receiving the “Grey Muzzle Award” for living longer than 12 years.

Notable Incidents:

Bronco was known for his bravery and protective nature, saving Daisy’s life and potentially Baylor’s life, as well as scaring off a trespasser.

Death:

Bronco passed away in 2020.

On the right side there are references to two of my blog posts and one post by Annika Perry.

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is what the screenshot says.

Thomas Wikman had Bronco, a 167-pound Leonberger who, by all accounts, was an extraordinary dog with a remarkable owner.

This is followed by a link to the People Newspapers a Newspaper that published a review of my book.

How did Google AI do on the second question?

I asked Google AI the same question : Did the Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle rescue Hamsters?

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is what the screenshot says.

Yes, the Leonberger, Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, is known for a story where he “rescued” two escaped hamsters by carrying them in his cheeks, though they were later revived by Claudia, Thomas’s wife, performing CPR.

Here’s a more detailed account:

If the text is hard to read in the picture, this is what the screenshot says.

The Hamster Escape Artist:

The kids had pet hamsters named Moldova and Montenegro, who occasionally escaped their cages.

Bronco’s Unique Skill:

Claudia would tell Bronco, “Bronco, find the hamsters,” and he would sniff around the house until he located them.

Examples of Bronco’s “Rescues”:

One time he found them in the linen closet.

Another time he found them on a shelf in the living room.

On one occasion, a friend of David trusted them with his two hamsters, and Bronco later “rescued” them after Claudia noticed they were missing from their cage, with Bronco’s cheeks looking puffy.

The “Rescue” Incident:

Claudia noticed Bronco’s cheeks were puffy, and when she said “Bronco, drop it!”, two hamsters, both unconscious, fell out.

CPR Attempt:

Claudia panicked and performed CPR on the unconscious hamsters, and one hamster revived right away.

Second Hamster’s Revival:

The CPR didn’t seem to work on the other hamster, but Claudia put both back in their cage, and soon the second hamster also woke up.

Keeping the Secret:

They decided to keep the incident to themselves, as “hamsters don’t squeal”.

Google Search for Leonberger

Finally, I did another experiment. I typed in “Leonberger” in Google Search and my blog came up on the first page following the Wikipedia entry for Leonberger, the “People also ask” section, the American Kennel Club web page on Leonbergers, the Things to Know section and the What people say section and then comes my Leonberger Life blog followed by 7 more sites on the first page. Interestingly my blog is ahead of PetMD, the Leonberger Club of America and the United Kennel Club.

The screenshot shows the entry for Leonberger Life … The Origins of the Leonberger Dog …. The Leonberger breed was originally created by — The screenshot shows the Google result for “Leonberger”

In conclusion, I was not that impressed by ChatGPT but I was impressed by Google AI and thought the Google search of Leonberger was fun to see.

Additon : A blogger friend of mine, Miriam Hurdle found the following information, which explains the result. Thank you so much Miriam.

Google AI has a larger database of all the information out there. Probably that’s the reason it has the details of your book and your blog. BBasically Google indicates that ChatGPT is good at idea generation and writing, etc. I think that’s why it doesn’t know the details of your book.

The Life and Times of Le Bronco Von Der Lowenhohle

I started this blog three years ago to spread the word about my, at the time, upcoming book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. To celebrate the three-year anniversary of my blog I decided to have a little promotion for my book. The price for paperback version of the book is normally $19.95 but Amazon lowered the price to $17.95 several months ago and I cannot set it back. My guess is that some store somewhere is selling it for $17.95. They have a lowest price policy. Instead of complaining about that I decided to roll with it and to lower the price of the Kindle version as well, to only $2.99. I will keep that price until April 1^st. The prices in all other countries, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, etc., are lowered by the same amount.

Before I continue, I would like to highlight a few important facts about my book.

The book is about our late Leonberger dog Bronco von der Löwenhöhle and his crazy and amusing adventures and his heroic deeds.
Bronco saved the lives of other dogs and protected out neighborhood.
In the book there is information about Leonberger dogs, the breed standard(s), history, Leonberger organizations, training and care, and health.
The book has lots of photos, illustrations and it is in color.
All proceeds are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International
It is a book for all dog lovers not just Leonberger lovers. It is intended to be both fun and educational.

The gold and beige book cover features the face of our Leonberger Bronco and the text "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger." — This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click here or on the image to go to the United States Amazon location for the paperback version of the book.

The back cover in gold and beige features a photo of a Leonberger in a snowy forest and an introduction to the book. — This is the back cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click here or on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the kindle version of the book.

The endorsements say “A wonderful tribute to the author's beloved Bronco. The stories are heartwarming as well as informative - a true glimpse into life with a Leonberger. D'Nae Wilson, President, Leonberger Health Foundation International.” and “A lovely tribute to Bronco, with lots of resources for general Leonberger information. Julie Schaffert, LCA breeder since 1992.” — These are the endorsements for the book. Click here or on the image to go to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.

Canadian Leonbergers with my Book

A Leonberger is lying on the floor, and my book is leaning against the dog. — Hachi a Canadian Leonberger featured with my book. He was one year old when this photo was taken by Brenda Saito and her husband. Click here or on the photo to visit the paperback version for the book on Canadian Amazon.

Photo of a Leonberger lying on a leather sofa with my book leaning towards his chest. — A Canadian Leonberger called Mak with my book. Photo by Debbie Ireland. Click here<<Link-5>> or on the photo to visit the page for the book on Chapters Indigo.

Getting My Book in Other Places

You can also get my book in many other places including Amazon in every country where Amazon exists, Chapters Indigo, Apple, etc. To see most of the options visit my Book Page by clicking here.

A Leonberger Story

The book features a lot of stories about Bronco as well as other dogs. Below is one short story.

Bronco’s Hamster Search and Rescue

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

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

An illustration of a Leonbergers face 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 of a hamster lying in woman hand. The hamster is receiving CPR from the finger on the woman’s second 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.

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

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

Important Note : I am going on a ski vacation early tomorrow morning and I will take a one-week break from blogging as well as a break from reading other people’s blogs. I will try to catch up when I get back.

3 Years Anniversary with 25 Leonbergers

Today is the 3 years anniversary of my Leonberger blog. I am celebrating this anniversary with another post with the “25 Leonberger photos” theme. It is another 25 Leonbergers. The post feature Leonbergers looking into the camera or whose faces you can see, as well as one portrait of our Leonberger Bronco. Most of the photos in this post is of our late Leonberger Bronco but there are a few other Leonberger photos as well. Below is a list of the previous posts using the theme 25 Leonberger photos.

Also don’t forget to check out my new blog if you haven’t done so.

25 Leonberger Faces

A photo of a Leonberger puppy wearing a red scarf. — This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco when he was three months old. I included this photo in my last Leonberger Faces post too. I am using it a lot, but it is a good photo.

Painting showing our Leonberger Bronco’s face. Like all Leonbergers he has a black mask and fluffy hair. — The portrait of our Leonberger Bronco was drawn by Veniceme at Etsy (Natasha Dall’Ara) and it is based on one of our photos.

A young gangly Leonberger with a bandage on his knee is next to a little Chihuahua. The two owners of the little dog are a lady in blue jeans and a lady in white pants. The lady with white pants is also wearing a bandage on her knee. — Our Leonberger Bronco at the White Rock Lake dog park at about five/six months old. He is wearing a bandage on his knee because at the time he had a condition from growing too fast. The two ladies are the owners of the little dog.

The Day Our Leonberger Was Bad

The illustration below depicts when Bronco had a bad case of squamous cell carcinoma and had to have a front toe amputated. Bronco’s entire leg was put in a cast, to be replaced by a bandage after ten days. We were instructed to keep him inside during those ten days and keep him as still as possible. We were to make sure he wouldn’t bump the cast. This was, of course, almost impossible to do, but we were going to try.

However, Bronco really wanted to go out, which he showed us in various ways, such as scratching at the front door. After a week or so, Claudia suggested that we take him outside a little bit, just in our driveway. I agreed. When I handed her the leash, she said, “He can barely walk; do you think he’s going to run off without it?” We laughed, and I agreed that it didn’t seem like we needed it this time. So Claudia walked out with Bronco slowly limping beside her.

Less than a minute had passed when I heard shouting outside. I opened the door and looked outside to see what was going on. First, I saw our neighbor and his two corgis running down the street as fast as they could. Our neighbor was screaming at the top of his lungs, “Get him off me! Get him off me!” Behind him, Bronco was running with his cast going kabonk-kabonk-kabonk as it hit the sidewalk. Behind Bronco ran Claudia, who was also screaming at the top of her lungs. “Bronco! Sit! Stay! Stop!” Finally, Bronco stopped, and Claudia grabbed him. Holding his collar, she led him back in.

Colorful illustration showing a big dog wearing a cast on his front left leg and running with it. — This is an illustration showing Bronco running down the street while wearing a cast. He was not supposed to bump the cast. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

Continuation of 25 Leonberger Faces

The photo shows a Leonberger standing and looking into the camera. — Bronco our Leonberger is standing in front of our hallway. He is pretty old in this photo.

Photo shows our Leonberger Bronco standing in the backyard as a sun ray shines down upon him. — Bronco saved our pug’s life and possibly our Labrador’s life. He is a saint.

Photo shows our Leonberger Bronco standing next to my wife Claudia. She is holding the grey-muzzle award. — Bronco lived very long for a Leonberger. The typical lifespan is 8-9 years. The Leonberger Health Foundation International gives out a grey-muzzle award to Leonbergers who have lived 12 years or longer. Here Bronco is receiving his grey-muzzle award.

The Grey Muzzle Award states “For Leonberger longevity is presented with gratitude by the Leonberger Health Foundation Internation To Bronco for Offering Hope and Potential for longer Lives for Leonbergers throughout the world.”. — The Grey Muzzle Award.

The photo shows our big Leonberger on the left and our little pug Daisy on the right. — Bronco and our pug Daisy.

A Leonberger swimming in lake water — Our Leonberger Bronco swimming in White Rock Lake.

Bronco our Leonberger is standing in lake water — Bronco is standing in the water in White Rock Lake. The water looks muddy, but it is clean.

Leonberger standing in a blue kiddie pool — Young Bronco (maybe one years old) standing in a kiddie pool.

Leonberger dog in lake water. — Bronco in White Rock Lake again.

The photo shows a Leonberger in a bathtub. — The Leonberger in the photo is Digory and he is Jen O’Keefe’s Leonberger. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.

The photo shows a Leonberger standing in water. — Swimming time for Digory Jen O’Keefe’s Leonberger. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.

The photo shows two Leonbergers sitting next to each other. — Digory got bone cancer, had an amputation, and this photo is two years later. He lived long for a Leonberger with this condition. Here is with a Leonberger friend. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.

A Leonberger standing in beach waves. — Leonberger on the beach. Stock Photo ID: 1110805445 by Lolostock

Two Leonbergers swimming next to each other. — Two Leonbergers swimming. Stock Photo ID: 1989806678 by Taibomaus.

Leonberger standing in water. — Leonberger standing in river. Photo by Stephanie Lucero on Unsplash.

A Leonberger puppy standing in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2390810457 by VeronArt16.

Ten Leonberger puppies sitting on a sofa. They are brown with black face masks. — Ten Leonberger puppies. My guess is that they are about two months old. Shutterstock-ID:561107710 by Akbudak Rimma.

Two sand colored Leonberger puppies playing in the snow. The play seems to be a little bit rough. Like all Leonbergers they have a black facemask. — Two light colored Leonberger puppies playing. My guess is that they are three months old. Shutterstock-ID: 2141564415 by AnetaZabranska.

On the left, our Japanese Chin Ryu and our pug Daisy. On the right is our Leonberger Bronco. — Our Leonberger Bronco with our Japanese Chin Ryu and our pug Daisy.

On the left, our pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo. They are in a dog bed. On the right is Bronco our Leonberger who is lying on the floor. — Our pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo in the little bed and Bronco our Leonberger is lying on the floor.

The photo shows our big Leonberger lying behind our little mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. There is also a dog toy in the photo. — Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. Rollo and Bronco loved each other. Unfortunately, Rollo has a hard time with other dogs.

25 Leonberger Faces

This is another post with the “25 Leonberger photos” theme. This time the theme is Leonberger faces. The post feature close ups of Leonbergers looking into the camera. A lot of the photos are of our late Leonberger Bronco but there are many other Leonberger photos as well. Below is a list of the previous posts using the theme 25 Leonberger photos.

25 Leonberger Photos and Illustrations
Another 25 Leonberger Photos and Illustrations
25 Waterberger Photos (Leonbergers in water or swimming)
25 Leonberger Puppies and Other Puppies for National Puppy Day
25 Photos of Leonbergers with Other Dogs
25 Photos of Leonbergers in Nature
25 Photos of Young Leonbergers
25 Photos of Old Leonbergers
25 Leonberger Puppy Photos

Also don’t forget to check out my new blog if you haven’t done so.

25 Leonberger Faces

About half of the photos of Leonberger faces below are mine, mostly of our Leonberger Bronco. There are also several photos by Jen O’Keefe and Leonberger community friend. There is also a photo by Brenda Seito and one by Debbie Ireland, and the illustration of Bronco’s face was made by Naomi Rosenblatt.

A photo of a Leonberger puppy wearing a scarf. He has his tongue out. — This is a black and white photo of our Leonberger Bronco when he was three months old.

The photo shows an old Leonberger dog lying on green grass. He is looking into the camera. — Bronco our Leonberger dog is taking a rest during a walk. He is twelve and a half years old.

Our Leonberger dog Bronco is standing in front of me and looking straight into the camera. I am sitting in the sofa. — Our Leonberger dog Bronco is coming up to me. He wants my attention.

A photo of our Leonberger lying on our green lawn. There are trees and bushes in the background. — Bronco taking a resting in the grass in our backyard. He is pretty old in this picture. For a Leonberger he lived very long.

A photo of our Leonberger dog wearing a blue party hat. — It is Bronco’s 11^th birthday.

Bronco is standing at the kitchen entrance, and our new little dark brown and white puppy is sitting in front of him. — In this photo our Leonberger dog Bronco is eleven and a half years old and we have acquired a new puppy, a mini-Australian Shepherd by the name Rollo.

A photo of our old Leonberger lying on the sidewalk — Bronco is taking a break during a walk. He is very old for a Leonberger. Leonbergers typically live 8-10 years. This is a common problem with giant breeds. In this picture he is 12 years old and 10 months.

Bronco’s face has puffy cheeks. — Our Leonberger Bronco was great at finding run away hamsters. This illustration depicts Bronco’s with puffy cheeks in which he is holding two run away hamsters. He saved them! Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

The photo shows our pug Daisy on the left and our Leonberger Bronco on the right. They are both looking into the camera. Pieces of the gingerbread house are lying on the floor. — Bronco our Leonberger with Daisy our Pug in the Kitchen. Bronco says, “look what Daisy did to the gingerbread house that stood on the counter”. Actually, what really happened was that Bronco grabbed the gingerbread house and shared it with Daisy.

Two Leonbergers standing next to each other and wearing party headwear typical for a carnival. — Digory and Obi are two Leonbergers. Digory was a very brave Leonberger who fought cancer. He was featured in the Leo-Letter a Leonberger Magazine Photo by Jen O’Keefe. Jen is a friend in the Leonberger community.

Close up of two Leonberger faces. All Leonbergers have a black face mask. — Second photo of Digory and Obi. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.

Five Leonbergers lying in the grass. They are wearing hats showing the American flag. — Five Leonbergers including Digory on 4^th of July 2023. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.

Photo of seven Leonbergers on the sand on a beach. — Digory with Leonbergers friends on the beach. Photo by Jen O’Keefe.

Six Leonbergers with celebration hats are looking straight into the camera. — Six Leonbergers from left to right: Caspian (Obi’s nephew), Austin (Obi’s son), Delfi, Obi, Digory, and Rilian (Obi’s son). Photo by Velvy TheLion.

Amie, a female Leonberger is standing on top of a wooden bench on a mountain top. — Amie was a Leonberger that we met in northern Sweden. We met her and her owner on a mountain top that we had hiked up to. It was a strenuous hike so the Leonberger and her owner must have been in good shape. The name of the mountain is Skule Berget, or in English, Skull Mountain.

Leonberger dog looking into the camera, like a portrait. — Big dog Leonberger portrait in the studio Stock Photo ID: 193024763 by Csanad Kiss.

Fluffy dark faced Leonberger looking into the camera. — Old Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 2342234815 by theimagebooth.

The photo shows the face of Leonberger lying down. — Closeup of old Leonberger Stock Photo ID: 1942925251 by Wirestock Creators.

Old Leonberger lying on the ground. There are snowy mountains in the background. — Leonberger in Norway Stock Photo ID: 1779931691 by Britta Paasch.

Leonberger puppy running through green grass. The puppy has its mouth open, and he is looking straight into the camera. — A Leonberger puppy that is probably around two months old. Shutterstock-ID: 629624396 by TOM KAROLA.

A Leonberger on a white sofa in front of blue and white windows with snow. — A Leonberger puppy Asset id: 763087333 by Liliya Kulianionak

Close up of two months old Leonberger puppy lying on the floor. — Leonberger puppy in front of white background Asset id: 1910154892 by cynoclub

Leonberger Activism

I try to avoid politics on my blogs but considering the circumstances I think this is OK. The picture you see above and below is from Trine Helen Løken. Thank you for letting us use it, Trine. It was passed around in various Leonberger Facebook groups and other Leonberger places back in 2022 and now it is in vogue again. It is to show the Leonberger community’s support for Ukraine. I added a couple of somewhat less artistic photos using a couple of photos of our late Leonberger Bronco and a Ukrainian flag that I got from pexels.com Photo by Engin Akyurt.

The picture is an illustration of a Leonberger running and holding a Ukrainian flag in its mouth. — Art by Trine Helen Løken. This picture is popular in the Leonberger community.

Our Leonberger Bronco is looking into the camera. There is a Ukrainian flag in the picture. — Our Leonberger Bronco

Our Leonberger Bronco is standing in our backyard and looking into the camera. The sun in shining behind and above resulting in sunrays through the picture and on top of Bronco’s head. There is also a Ukrainian flag in the picture. — Our Leonberger Bronco, the hero. He found runaway hamsters, saved our Pug Daisy from an attacking dog, and detected an oncoming insulin shock in our Labrador.

Rollo the Politician

Rollo, our mini–Australian Shepherd is not easy to walk. Sometimes he sits and refuses to walk and sometimes he barks his head off at other dogs. Therefore, we started bribing him, and this works. On several occasions, I asked Claudia, my wife, “should I bribe him?”. So, he ended up learning the word “bribe”. Now when you say the word “bribe” he comes running hoping for a handout. In other words, we accidentally taught him to be a politician. Below are a few photos of Rollo.

Rollo is sitting facing left and there is a toy duck next to him. — Rollo, our mini–Australian Shepherd as a puppy.

Rollo is standing on a grey carpet holding a toy duck in his mouth. — Rollo with his duck toy.

Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd is lying on our bed in between the pillors. — Rollo loves sleeping in our bed, especially on my side. He is taking over.

Finally, a dog and cat comic

25 Leonberger Puppy Photos

This post is another themed 25 Leonberger photos. This time the theme is Leonberger puppies. Below is a list of previous themed 25 Leonberger posts I’ve made.

Also don’t forget to check out my new blog if you haven’t done so.

Below are the 25 Leonberger Puppy Photos

A black-brown German Shephard is playing with a young Leonberger lying on his back. — Baby (German Shepherd) is playing with our four months old Leonberger Bronco.

Ten Leonberger puppies sitting on a sofa. They are brown with black face masks. An adult Leonberger is lying in front of them. — Ten Leonberger puppies with mama. Shutterstock-ID: 561107650 by Akbudak Rimma.

A Leonberger puppy with pink roses. — Leonberger puppy Stock Photo ID: 561111403 by Akbudak Rimma.

A Leonberger puppy running in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2056502327 by Nikky de Graaf.

Leonberger puppy giving a Chihuahua kiss, but the Chihuahua does not look happy. The Leonberger puppy is much bigger than the Chihuahua. — Leonberger + Chihuahua Stock Photo ID: 2166660069 by cynoclub.

A very young Leonberger puppy sitting in front of a Christmas tree. — Leonberger Puppy Stock Photo ID: 2233375083 by VeronArt16

Two brown Leonberger puppies lying on a wood floor. — Two Leonberger puppies. Shutter stock Photo ID: 2294202331 by Olga Shusters.

A Leonberger puppy running in the snow. A second one is behind him in the distance. — Two Leonberger puppies running in the snow. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 2390810463 by VeronArt16.

It is a close up so the white sofa is not obvious. It is just a white background and then the pink flowers are on the left of the puppy who is looking into the camera. — Leonberger puppy on a white sofa sitting next to pink flowers. Asset id: 561113224 by Akbudak Rimma.

A young Leonberger puppy, maybe two months, is running on grass in front of some bushes and trees. — Leonberger puppy running on green grass Asset id: 629624387 by TOM KAROLA

Maybe three months old Leonberger puppy looking straight into the camera. — Close up of Leonberger puppy Asset id: 1835879938 by Sarah Hatton

Two months old Leonberger puppy standing on a white floor. — Leonberger puppy in front of white background Asset id: 2511987683 by cynoclub

A Leonberger puppy sitting on a white floor. — A Leonberger puppy in front of white background. The puppy is maybe three months old. Asset id: 2526895887 by cynoclub

A Leonberger puppy standing on a white floor. — Leonberger puppy in front of white background. It is a little older, maybe four months. Leonbergers aren’t fully grown until they are close to two years old. Asset id: 1973707379 by cynoclub

Young Leonberger on a white background. — Young Leonberger, maybe 4-5 months old. Stock Photo ID: 2170918265 by cynoclub.

Young Leonberger standing on his hindlegs putting his paws on a woman’s shoulders and giving her a hug. — Young Leonberger, less than a year old. Leonbergers aren’t fully grown until they are close to two years old. Stock Photo ID: 2089116934 by cynoclub.

Wolves and Dogs and Leonbergers

Image above by Kevin from The Beginning at Last

This is a submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

Canis Lupus Familiaris

Canis Lupus Familiaris, the dog, is a close relative of the grey wolf. Dogs and wolves share a high percentage of DNA and are in fact the same species. They can mate and produce offspring referred to as wolf dogs. However, keeping wolves or wolf dogs as pets is not recommended. Our late Leonberger dog Bronco was in fact accused of being a wolf by a little boy and he was accused of being a bear by a neighbor. The boy was very close to being right.

The left-hand side of the picture shows a grey wolf looking into the camera and the text underneath says : Canis Lupus, the grey wolf is a fearsome and courageous hunter in nature. The right-hand side of the picture shows our Leonberger dog Bronco looking into the camera and the text underneath says : Canis Lupus familiaris, a close relative of the grey wolf, is sometimes also brave. This specimen bravely protects the life of smaller dogs and hamsters. — Leonbergers are big dogs, and little boys may think they are wolves, but Leonbergers are very friendly.

Are Big Dogs Wolves ?

The short stories below are from my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger”. A Leonberger is a large type of dog, a so-called giant breed, closely related to Saint Bernards, and allegedly also Great Pyrenees dogs Newfoundland dogs. Bronco weighed 140 pounds when he was not overweight.

Bronco was a big dog. Once when I was walking Bronco around the neighborhood, a neighbor who always let his black Labs run loose saw us. He shouted to his wife, “Honey, get the dogs inside! Someone is walking a bear out here.” I guess letting your large dogs run loose isn’t a problem until someone walks a dog much bigger than yours.

On a number of occasions, we’ve met people who said to us that Bronco is the biggest dog they’ve ever seen. However, there are bigger dogs. We’ve met bigger English bullmastiffs and bigger Great Danes.

One day I took Bronco into PetSmart, and after I did my shopping, he and I were standing in the checkout line. Bronco was very quiet and well-behaved, but a boy ahead of us in line became quite alarmed when he saw us. He shouted, “Look! A wolf, a wolf, a wolf!” He pointed his finger at Bronco. His mom tried to calm the boy, but he would not stop shouting. He didn’t seem to be afraid of Bronco, but he was really concerned that there was a big wolf in the pet store. I tried to explain to the boy that Bronco was not a wolf. He was just a big dog.

Since our neighbor called Bronco a bear, I am including a second image from Kevin’s post that I think illustrates what our neighbor saw as I walked passed his house. Well, I had only one Leonberger/Bear and I don’t have antlers or a beard, and our neighborhood does not have that many trees. Other than that, it is spot on.

AI generated image showing an old man with a long beard wearing antlers as he is walking his two Grizzly Bears through a dense coniferous forest. — Walking my bear through the neighborhood. Image from Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

Nordic Wolf Lullaby

Finally, a beautiful Nordic Lullaby sung by Jonna Jinton. Jonna Jinton is a Swedish singer who lives nearby Örnsköldsvik in northern Sweden, which is the town where I am originally from (now I live in Dallas, Texas). So, if you watch the video, the nature you see is from my old neighborhood.

The Lullaby is about a wolf who is hungry and cold, but he can’t have the singer’s baby for dinner. But she could offer a pig tail. What some may find remarkable about the Lullaby is that the mother being threatened by the wolf shows the wolf empathy. The existence of the stomach creates conflict between us creatures. To see the English translation turn on subtitles.

Big Events In 2024

This post is about big events that happened to me or my family during 2024 and that I blogged about. I selected six events that stood out to me. They are sort of my 2024 blogging summary. Our pug Daisy died at the age of 15 ½ and we still miss her a lot. On April 8, 2024, we experienced the event of the year, the total solar eclipse. Dallas (where we live) was in the path of totality and the weather was clear. It was spectacular. Then the largest newspaper trade association in the United States the National Newspaper Association (NNA, 2,300 newspapers) awarded a Dallas magazine that had written a review for my book “Le Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” an honorable mention for best book review of the year. That was fourth place out of thousands of newspapers and magazines.

In August I launched a new blog, superfactful (please feel free to follow) and in September my oldest son and his wife and me traveled to Sweden and Norway where we saw a lot and encountered magical creatures. On October 21^st, 2024, NBC news interviewed me about a tornado that ravaged our neighborhood five years ago.

We miss our Pug Daisy

On April 5th, 2024, our beloved pug Daisy took her last breath. She was 15 ½ years old. She had an enlarged heart, her back legs were giving out, and she had breathing problems. She took lots of different medications. Yet, the breathing crisis she had that morning came unexpectedly. Our veterinary told us it was time. It was a dark day for us, and we still miss her dearly. Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo also seems to miss her and now he is alone. To read the tribute post I made for her click here.

Our pug is leaning on vent located close to our wood floor. — Daisy liked to sit in front of the vent when it was cold or alternatively too hot.

Total Solar Eclipse in Dallas

On April 8^th, 2024, there was a total solar eclipse and Dallas, where we live, was in the path of totality, and we were lucky with the weather. A total solar eclipse is a totally different experience from a partial solar eclipse. Despite knowing this beforehand, and having seen a partial solar eclipse, I was amazed. As you approach totality you will have a partial solar eclipse, so you’ll experience both. The partial solar eclipse portion lasted for a few hours and totality lasted only four minutes, but during those four minutes the sun and the moon put on a spectacular show. For the event we had prepared a little party on our backyard patio.

A partial solar eclipse is interesting too. The shadows change during a partial solar eclipse. The shadows of the tree leaves look like moon crescents, but it is not dark, it is still daylight. The sun will look like a bright crescent if you are wearing solar eclipse glasses, but the light is too strong for you to see anything without glasses, and trying to look at the sun during a partial eclipse is dangerous.

When the total solar eclipse happened it suddenly got dark, but not midnight dark, more like late twilight. The stars came out, the birds and the crickets got quiet, Rollo hid under the table, it felt colder, and straight above us Venus came out bright and shining. You usually see Venus in the west soon after sunset or in the east before sun dawn, not above your head in the middle of the day. You could take off your solar eclipse glasses and look straight at the sun, because it was no longer very bright. What you saw was a big black circle surrounded by wispy foggy lights about as bright as the full moon, maybe a little brighter. That was the sun’s corona, which is only visible to the naked eye during a total solar eclipse. To read more about this event click here.

Black circle surrounded by a wispy white fog like light. That’s the sun’s corona. — We took many pictures (see below) but this is a good stock photo. Solar Eclipse Stock Photo ID: 2344355767 by aeonWAVE

Preston Hollow People Magazine receives a National Award for a Book Review of my Leonberger Book

In September 2023 a Dallas journalist wrote a half page positive book review for my book “Le Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. In 2024 her and the newspaper/magazine received an honorable mention for Best Book Review (that’s 4^th place) at the annual National Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest organized by The National Newspaper Association (NNA). NNA has 2,300 members (newspapers and magazines). I can add that Preston Hollow is an area in north Dallas. To read more about this, click here.

The book review of “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Including photos and text. — This is a photo of the page of Preston Hollow People Magazine where the review appeared. If you click on the picture (or click here you can see the online version of the book review in Preston Hollow People Magazine.

Launch of the Super Facts Blog

On August 5, 2024, I launched my new blog superfactful url https://superfactful.com. The goal of this blog is to create a long list of facts that are important, not trivia, and that are known to be true and yet are either disputed by large segments of the public or highly surprising or misunderstood by many. These kinds of facts are special because they are important and at the same time there is a lot of confusion around them, or they are shocking. Therefore, I call these facts super facts. I should say that in addition to super fact posts I am also posting about other interesting and fun information. My first post “Bamboozlement Misunderstandings, Big Surprises and My Journey” was not a super fact post. To read more click here .

Image showing a disintegrating brain — Smashing our old beliefs with new surprising facts, super facts. Expand your mind and teach me some unexpected truths. Shutterstock ID: 1685660680 by MattL_Images.

I can add that this site certainly needs more followers so feel free to subscribe. The subscribe button is on the right on a PC and at the bottom on a mobile device.

Scandinavian Adventure

In September 2024 I visited my native country Sweden and Norway with my oldest son and his new wife. We visited Stockholm, Uppsala, Oslo and Norwegian fjords. We saw palaces and castles, the old city in Stockholm (800 years old city on an island), we saw many museums including the Vasa Museum featuring an extremely well-preserved Swedish war ship that sank in 1628. We encountered a Huldra, a female magical creature, in the Norwegian mountains (OK this was a tourist ploy, but a fun one). To read more about our adventures click here, or here, or here.

Three people standing on a boat on the fjord. Left to right, me Thomas Wikman, my son Jacob and his wife Ashley. — From a cruise in Sognefjord, Norway. Left to right, me, my oldest son and his wife. Click on the image to visit my post titled : “Tourism in Scandinavia on World Tourism Day”.

An image AI-illustration of a Huldra — Imagining how a Huldra would look like. Stock AI-generated image ID: 2400845203 by Shutterstock AI Generator. Click on the image to visit my post titled : “Scandinavian Folklore”.

A Tomte wearing a red hat in a snowy winter forest | Scandinavian Folklore — An illustration of a Tomte another Scandinavian mythical creature. Shutterstock ID: 2060057882 by PLIMPLUM.

The NBC Interview with me about Dallas Tornado

October 19 and October 20, 2024, I got phone calls from NBC Universal. NBC Universal is a large media company that is a merger between NBC news and Universal Studios. I ignored the phone calls, because why would NBC call me. I thought it must be spam or a scam. Then I listened to the message they left, and I realized it was not spam. The NBC journalists had been reading my Leonberger blog, specifically a post I had made about the tornado that hit Dallas and ravaged our neighborhood on October 20, 2019. They wanted some of my photos and they wanted to interview me. You can read more here and you can listen and see the interview here. It is at one minute and ten seconds.

A photo of my TV above the fireplace. I am on the TV screen. — Seeing myself on the TV was a bit surreal. Click on the image to see the interview. My interview starts at 1 minute and 11 seconds.

A neighbor’s house with the roof ripped off. — NBC used this photo. A neighbor’s house the morning of October 21st, 2019. Again, click on the image to see the interview.

Below are some additional photos in from these events in the form of a photo collage.

I wish everyone a peaceful and wonderful 2025

Menu Update

Above this post there are Menus “About Me”, “Home”, “History”, “All Posts”, “The Book”, “Contact”. Today I updated the content of the menu called “All Posts”. This page lists all my blog posts that I’ve ever done. I added headers to the nine categories as well as a banner style image to every category. Below I am illustrating the first category “The Adventures of Bronco and his Dog Friends”. Please check out the new page – click here. What do you think?

The Adventures of Bronco and his Dog Friends

Illustrations and photos of our Leonberger Bronco

Again check out the updated page and any opinions are welcome. Click here to see the page.

Holiday Book Promotion and the Leonberger Health Foundation

The Price Has Been Reduced

Amazon lowered the price of the paperback version of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” from $19.95 to $17.95 some time ago and I cannot set it back to $19.95. I am guessing that it is because of Amazon’s lowest price policy and that another bookstore somewhere is selling it for $17.95. So, I am thinking, why not roll with it and have a holiday promotion. I also just lowered the price of the Kindle version from $4.95 to $2.99. The prices in all other countries, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, etc., are likewise lowered by the same amount.

I would like to add that the reason I tried to set the price back to $19.95 is not because I want more money. I am donating all royalties to the Leonberger Health Foundation International, which is a great organization that supports health related breed-specific research. However, the research frequently improves the health of other dog breeds as well. You can read more about the Leonberger Health Foundation International below.

In this book you’ll read about some of Bronco’s amazing feats: the night he scared away a prowler; the day he performed a hamster search and rescue; the time he stumped the Geek Squad; and the late night he snuck into the kitchen and ate a two-pound bag of dog treats, a box of pastries, a loaf of bread, a grilled chicken, and a Key lime pie, all in one sitting. You’ll also read about his unflappable calm during a north Texas tornado and his stoicism as he endured health challenges in his later years.

In addition to entertaining stories, these pages contain a wealth of practical guidance, including:

a history of the Leonberger breed;
advice for the care of very large dogs;
breed-specific health and genetic information;
training and feeding tips;
suggestions for finding a breeder;
the official breed standard; and
an extensive resource guide.

Below is a list of places where you can get my book.

The Leonberger Health Foundation International

The Leonberger Health Foundation International is an organization that supports science and research impacting Leonberger health, longevity and breed preservation. Examples of research they’ve supported include research on Addison’s Disease, Inherited Leonberger Polyneuropathy (LPN), LEMP research, the Rabies Challenge Fund, Osteosarcoma, Hemangiosarcoma, genetic causes of male (dog) infertility, Cryptorchidism, study of cruciate ligament repair, Glaucoma, cardiac diseases, thyroid disease, neurological disorders, longevity & aging, population diversity, juvenile renal dysplasia, anal furunculosis, the EGFR Immunotherapy Project, and Leonberger inherited Arrythmia. As mentioned above, a lot of the progress applies to other dog breeds as well.

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 more than $650,000 for research into conditions that affect canine health. 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 does other things as well. LHFI grants an award called the Grey Muzzle Award to Leonbergers who reach the impressive age of 12 years. Leonbergers and other giant breeds tend to live short lives, something LHFI is trying to solve and they have made progress. One of the recipients of the Grey Muzzle Award was our Leonberger Bronco.