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.
This post features ten Leonberger photos. First there are two photos of our Leonberger Bronco from when he was three months old. Then there are three shutter stock photos of Leonberger puppies, who are probably about two months old. We did not take many photos of Bronco when he was a little puppy so that’s why I am including three puppy photos from shutter stock. Then there are five photos of our Leonberger Bronco between the ages 4-5 months to around one year old. He is bigger in those photos but still not an adult.
Bronco our Leonberger three months old.Bronco our Leonberger three months old.Ten Leonberger puppies. My guess is that they are about two months old. Shutterstock-ID:561107710 by Akbudak Rimma.Leonberger puppy running in the grass. My guess is that he is around two months old. Shutterstock-ID: 629624396 by TOM KAROLA.Two light colored Leonberger puppies playing. My guess is that they are three months old. Shutterstock-ID: 2141564415 by AnetaZabranska.Our German Shepherd Baby is playing with young Bronco. Bronco is perhaps 4-5 months old in this photo. He is getting bigger, but he has not yet filled out and does not have a lot of fur.Bronco less than one years old. He is a Leonberger teenager. He fell asleep on the floor.Young Bronco at the dog park. Our Labrador Baylor is in the background. Bronco does not yet look like an adult Leonberger. He will fill out and get more hair.Bronco is still young, but he is getting close to being an adult. In the photo he just gave me a kiss and he loved to dance on his back legs.Bronco, our Leonberger, is young but not yet an adult, which we can see from his swanky back. Leonberger sometimes have a swanky back before they are done growing. We had a gate to the kitchen to prevent Bronco from raiding the kitchen. The gate lever had a lock on it because he knew how to lift levers with his nose and open gate doors. The hat he is wearing is a pilgrim hat, the kind of hats the pilgrims wore. Well at least that’s what the pilgrims looked like in our children’s books.
Today I received the Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI) Calendar for 2024 and I was reminded of this wonderful organization. LHFI supports medical research that improves the health and lives of Leonbergers as well as other large dog breeds, potentially even humans. They have raised nearly half a million dollars for research into conditions that affect canine health, including osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, glaucoma, cardiac diseases, thyroid diseases, and neurological disorders. Its research also supports healthful longevity and aging as well as population diversity. They have had several successes, for example the eradication of Addision’s disease among Leonbergers.
Front page of the Leonberger Health Foundation International 2024 Calendar
The Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI) was founded in 2000 by Waltraut Zieher and other members of the LCA’s health, education, and research committee to “facilitate the solicitation and distribution of donations given to support health related breed-specific research.” The LHFI also administers a program that collects DNA samples from Leonbergers to share with universities and research institutions.
January page of the Leonberger Health Foundation International 2024 Calendar
All purebred dogs are more or less inbred, which comes with inherent health risks. That is especially true for large breeds. However, Leonbergers, especially those bred in North America, are fortunate compared to other large breeds. The Leonberger breed standard does not call for traits that can be detrimental to health. The precise and restrictive breeding regulations of the Leonberger Club of America (LCA) and other Leonberger clubs, and the work of the Leonberger Health Foundation International or LHFI, have resulted in Leonbergers being relatively free of inherited illnesses compared to other large dog breeds in America. For more information see Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, “Guide to Congenital and Heritable Disorders in Dogs,”
June page of the the Leonberger Health Foundation International 2024 Calendar
One happy event for our family was when Bronco received his Grey Muzzle Award, which is an award given for longevity by LHFI. LHFI bestows the award on any Leonberger who has reached the age of twelve. These Leonbergers are the canine equivalents of centenarians, humans who are at least one hundred years old. The Grey Muzzle Award is also given to breeders, because they are partially responsible for the dogs’ longevity. The Grey Muzzle Award was certainly a happy event in Wikman family. If you have a twelve-year-old Leonberger, simply fill out a form on the LHFI website or send an email to lhfgreymuzzle@gmail.com.
The Grey Muzzle Award from the Leonberger Health Foundation International
The foundation will ask for some information, including the registered name and call name of the dog; the breeder’s name, kennel name, address, and email; the dam’s registered name; the sire’s registered name; the owner’s name, address, and email; the birth date of the dog; and whether the dog is alive or dead. If the latter, they will want to know the cause of death. In addition, they would like you to write a one-paragraph tribute to the dog and send two (preferably high-resolution) photos—one head shot and one favorite photo. To find out more about the Grey Muzzle Award click here. To see the 2019–2020 awardees video featuring Bronco click here.
Grey Muzzle Award certificate from the Leonberger Health Foundation International
I can add that when Bronco passed away, we sent his DNA to the University of Minnesota to be used in research. This was facilitated by the LHFI.
Familiar faces. Time marches on.
The 2019-2020 Grey Muzzle Awardees. Bronco is on the second row from the top and second from left. Click on the picture to visit the YouTube video.
Video showing 33 2019 & 2020 Grey Muzzle Awardees (Leonbergers)
Many of the owners of very old Leonbergers joined the Double Digit Leonberger group on Facebook (Leonberger 10+ years old) and the owners of the extremely old Leonbergers (around 12 or older) started talking to each other a lot. It was a small group from around the world. This is why I said “Familiar faces” above. I knew many of them, including Pling, a Leonberger in Sweden. I and Pling’s owner talked a lot to each other in Swedish. Bronco and Pling reached about the same age and passed not too far from each other in time.
Our Leonberger Bronco from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020.Our Leonberger Bronco from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020.Pling a Leonberger from Sweden from the LHFI Grey Muzzle Awardee Video 2019-2020.
Note, all royalty earnings from my book (see right) go to the Leonberger Health Foundation International.
On Saturday November 4th Watauga public library hosted an indy author day to which I was invited, and I gladly joined. Wautauga is a small city located between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is closer to Fort Worth. They also hosted an indy author day last year, which I also partook in. We all had a booth where we sold and signed our books. I did not sell a whole lot, half a dozen, but that’s OK. It is a great way to interact with and get to know other authors, and it is fun.
We also read a short passage from our respective books in front of an audience. My reading went very well. I read one of the shorter funny Bronco stories from my book and people laughed a lot. Well, I had practiced, and I was animating the story a bit. I felt like a comedian. I am including the story I read at the end of this post. If you are an indy author and you live in the Dallas Fort Worth area I suggest you participate next year, just for the fun of it.
Me presenting and reading from my book, The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle: Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger.Author group photo. One author had to leave before the photo.Author group photo from last year 2022 (me on the right/blue). As you can see it to a large degree the same people.I did not take a photo of my booth this year, but it looked the same. This is the photo of my booth from last year.
The story I read during reading time (3 minutes)
Bronco’s Hamster Search and Rescue
Back when Bronco was young, the kids had pet hamsters—Moldova and Montenegro. The hamsters escaped from their cages sometimes, but Bronco usually helped us find them whenever they did. Claudia (my wife) would tell him, “Bronco, find the hamsters,” and he would go around the house sniffing until he found them. One time he found them in the linen closet; another time he found them on a shelf in the living room.
On one occasion, a friend of David (our son) trusted us with his two hamsters while he and his family went on vacation. A couple of days later, Claudia noticed that the two hamsters were missing from their cage. The next thing she noticed was that Bronco’s cheeks looked puffy, so she said, “Bronco, drop it!” Out came the two hamsters, both unconscious.
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.
Hamster CPR (illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt)
The question is, Did Bronco try to eat the hamsters? Or did he simply find them and pick them up, intending to alert us to their presence? I’ve asked several people this question, including some who know Leonbergers well. The answer they give is that he tried to save them from whatever danger he thought they might have been in. If he wanted to eat them, they say, he would have tried chewing them. But clearly, he didn’t.
Note: Unless they bought my book, they probably still don’t know what happened
If you own a Leonberger, or are interested in Leonbergers, and you live in North America you likely know about the Leonberger Club of America, or the LCA for short. You are about as likely to find a Leonberger at Petland/Puppy-Mill as you are finding an Elephant for sale there. LCA is very protective of the Leonberger breed and of Leonbergers in general. You typically buy/get a Leonberger dog from an LCA certified Leonberger breeder or from the Leonberger Rescue Pals, and if you don’t that might be a problem.
We bought our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) in 2007 from Julie Schaffert, a certified LCA breeder since 1992.
There are only about 3,000 Leonbergers in North America and about 2,000 Leonbergers in the United States but the Leonberger Club of America has more than 1,000 members. They publish the Leo-Letter, a quarterly Leonberger magazine. So, the Leonberger Club of America has a very prominent place among Leonberger owners. Click here to see a summary of the Leonberger Breed Standard.
Leonbergers have a long history in North America and the United States—despite the fact that until 1985, there were only seventeen Leonbergers known to be living in the United States.
See: Lusby, Leonberger, page 15.
Leonberger, Special Rare-Breed Edition, A Comprehensive Owners Guide, Madeline Lusby. Click on the image to see my five star review for this book.
In the 1870s, Leonbergers were brought to Newfoundland to invigorate the stock of Newfoundland dogs. Around the same time, two Leonbergers named Caesar and Sultan were purchased from Heinrich Essig’s kennel (founder of the Leonberger breed) and transported across the ocean to join the Wellesley-Sterling theater company in the United States as the stars of their productions. Then in 1879, Caesar and Sultan visited President Ulysses S. Grant, who called them the largest and most magnificent dogs he had ever seen and presented them with gold medals. During the years between World War I and World War II, a New Jersey family, the Wolfs, opened their home as a temporary refuge for Jews fleeing Germany: they also imported Leonbergers. Unfortunately, this introduction of the breed into the United States did not last, and it would be another fifty years before the Leonberger appeared in America again.
Leonberger, A comprehensive guide to the lion king of breeds, Caroline Bliss-Isberg. Click on the image to see my five start review for this book.
During the late 1970s and the 1980s, a few families—Waltraut and Klaus Zieher, Brian Peters, Manfred and Sylvia Kaufmann, Keri Campbell and Melanie Brown, and Mary and Reiner Decher brought Leonbergers to the United States. The Dechers had started a breeding program and were looking for a mate for their first dam, Viona. By chance their neighbor discovered through a newsletter that there was another Leonberger in the United States, and that led to the families’ finding and connecting with one another. I should add that the Dechers were careful to conform to the German breeding regulations and performed hip X-rays that they then submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Viona became the first OFA-certified Leonberger in America.
See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 152.
On Saturday, November 2, 1985, eight of these Leonberger enthusiasts met at a hotel in Denver, Colorado, to found the Leonberger Club of America (LCA). This group of founders, which has since been dubbed the Denver Eight, appointed a registrar, formulated a breeding acceptability checklist, and instituted various policies, including the requirement that OFA certification is mandatory for breeding. LCA membership grew: it held social gatherings, began publishing LeoLetter, and imported an increasing number of dogs. Now the LCA has thousands of members across the country, and Leonbergers receive high ratings on health tests relative to other large breeds. For example, in 2000, the OFA reported that only 14.6 percent of Leonbergers tested positive for hip dysplasia, compared to 47 percent of Saint Bernards.
Another important historical event was the founding of the Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI), in 2000 (it was just called the Leonberger Health Foundation back then). According to its website, the organization was founded by Waltraut Zieher and other memers of the LCA’s health, education, and research committee to “facilitate the solicitation and distribution of donations given to support health related breed-specific research.” The LHFI also administers a program that collects DNA samples from Leonbergers to share with universities and research institutions, and of course it administers the Grey Muzzle Award (long living Leonbergers). Our Leonberger Bronco was a recipient of the Grey Muzzle Award, and we provided them with his DNA.
Bronco’s Grey Muzzle Award, which he received for being an unusually long lived Leonberger.
LHFI’s global biobank contains DNA samples from more than nine thousand Leonbergers. Among the organization’s notable achievements are the eradication of Addison’s disease among Leonbergers and the raising of nearly half a million dollars for research into conditions that affect canine health, including osteosarcoma, hemangiosarcoma, glaucoma, cardiac diseases, thyroid diseases, and neurological disorders. Its research also supports healthful longevity and aging as well as population diversity. Another success is the fact that since 2011, no Leonbergers with two copies of the LPN1 gene mutation (which causes Leonberger polyneuropathy) have been recorded in LHFI’s biobank. LHFI is one of my favorite charities.
The end of the twentieth century marked not only the end of the Cold War but also the beginning of what I call the Dog Wars of America. In 1985, the American Kennel Club (AKC) registry comprised one-third of the world’s known dog breeds. But the AKC had recognized only a few new breeds since 1887—a period of ninety-eight years. So, the organization decided to change that policy, but this did not always go smoothly. The members of rare-breed clubs often did not want to be part of the AKC. For example, the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) was very reluctant to join, so a relatively small splinter group, the United States Australian Shepherd Association, was formed and designated the official member club of the AKC, which was not welcome news to the ASCA. The border collie is another example. Charles Krauthammer, the late political columnist, called the AKC the politburo of American dog breeding.
See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 159.
Similarly, in 2003, a new Leonberger club was formed—the Leonberger Club of the United States—with the goal of becoming the Leonberger member club of the AKC. This essentially forced the LCA’s hand, so they applied for membership in the AKC, a process that took years to complete. But ultimately the AKC approved the LCA as members in 2010: Leonbergers would officially become part of the Working Group. Fortunately, 90 percent of LCA breeders agreed to continue following LCA regulations regardless of whether the club would remain independent or become part of the AKC. Also fortunately, AKC membership afforded more opportunities for Leonbergers to participate in dog shows, which is important to many owners.
See: Bliss-Isberg, Leonberger, page 187
For information on the history of the Leonberger starting in 1830’s see this link
Three weeks ago, I made a post about our late Leonberger Bronco (and my book) being featured in a local Dallas magazine called the Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. This magazine has 47,000 subscribers. In that post I posted screenshots of the printed version. Today they posted the free online version of the magazine. Click here to see the article about Bronco, my book and me. Click here to see the front page of the online version of Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. The headline of my article can be found on the front page.
The page showing the article in Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. Click on the image to see the front page of the free online version of Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine.The article in Preston Hollow Peoples Magazine. Click on the picture to go to the article in the free online version of the magazine.Bronco and me
On Amazon my Leonberger book has 13 ratings including 11 reviews and on Goodreads I have four reviews and on Bookbub and Barnes & Noble none. All the reviews are wonderful and supportive five-star reviews. I am extremely grateful for this .💖
However, with this post I would like to shamelessly request additional reviews. The vast majority of readers do not write reviews. I know, I am the same way. It is hardly something you expect. But if anyone out there who has read my book and has not written a review somewhere, is willing to do just that, I would be very grateful. I would like to stress that the review certainly doesn’t have to be a four-star, or five-star review and they don’t need to be elaborate or wonderful or long. Short honest reviews between one-star and five-star would all be very helpful to me.
If you go to the Amazon page for my book and you scroll down until you see “Customer Reviews” on the left-hand side, there is a white button below “Customer Reviews” bars that says, “Write a customer review”. You can also get here by clicking on the small blue text near the top that says, “13 ratings”. Once you click on the “Write a customer review” button you will see four fields “Overall rating”, “Add a headline”, “Add a photo or video”, and “Add a written review”. “Add a photo or video” is optional, and I admit I have never used it. You can either type something in the “Add a written review” box or copy from, for example, Microsoft Word. Note that Amazon takes a few days to publish a review after it has been submitted.
It works similarly on Barnes & Noble but here you have a blue button towards the bottom on the left. On Bookbub there is a red button towards the bottom left and on Goodreads there is a black “write a review” button in the middle halfway down.
By clicking on any of the pictures below you can visit my book on Bookbub and Goodreads.
This is a photo of our late Leonberger Bronco lying in the grass in the front yard soon after a toe surgery. Click on the image to go to the Bookbub location for the book.This is a photo of our Leonberger Bronco at 3 months old (left) and at almost 13 years old (right). Click on the image to go to the Goodreads location for the book.
Recent dialogues at the Wikman residence concerning our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.
Rollo loves belly rubs.
Rollo: laying down on his side, opening his legs a bit and barking once. That’s how he asks for a belly rub.
Thomas: Honey, can you give Rollo a belly rub? I’ve done it several times today.
Claudia: No, I am cooking. You do it.
Thomas: I walk over to Rollo to give him a belly rub. He loves it, turns over and kicks his legs, and he looks like he is laughing like a child being tickled. Then I stopped.
Rollo: One loud bark. That means he wants more.
Thomas: continues giving a belly rub.
Rollo is asking our Leonberger Bronco for a belly rub. Unfortunately, it is not easy for one dog to give another dog a belly rub.
Rollo wants to sit where you are sitting.
Rollo: I am sitting on the sofa and Rollo comes over and taps me twice on my knee. That’s the command Rollo gives when he wants to sit where you are sitting.
Thomas: I move over.
Rollo: jumps up and sits where I sat.
Claudia: Thomas do you remember the trainer who said that Rollo thinks he is in charge and that we need to fix that?
Thomas: Yes, but he is so cute.
Rollo and Daisy in sofa chair.
Rollo wants to sleep on the bed but not alone.
Rollo: I am sitting on the sofa and Rollo comes over and scratches me on my knee while leaning backwards as if he wants to leave. That’s the command Rollo gives when he wants to go to bed but he does not want to go alone.
Thomas: Honey can you go lay down in the bed with Rollo. I am busy reading.
Claudia: No, I am not doing that anymore.
Thomas: stands up and follows Rollo into the bedroom and lays down on the bed as Rollo jumps up on the bed.
Claudia: Thomas you should not be doing that either. Remember, it is not good that Rollo thinks he is in charge.
Rollo: falls asleep while Thomas reads a book on the bed.
Rollo tucked in under the covers on our bed.
Rollo and Bronco
Rollo and Bronco (our Leonberger) were best buddies. We no longer have Bronco, but we have Rollo who is the worst behaved dog we’ve ever had. It already started while we were still having Bronco. Rollo walked all over Bronco, like he did with people. If a few people were sitting on the sofa, Rollo would just walk from one end of the sofa to the other, stepping on everyone’s legs or bellies in the process. He still does that. He frequently bit Bronco’s tail and even swung in it as if it was a swing. Bronco was extremely patient and did not get angry, except one time when Rollo stole his toy. Bronco’s loud booming bark scared Rollo and he let go of the toy. However, to be on the safe side we put Rollo in a playpen, or baby jail, as we called it. Rollo came to love his baby jail.
Bronco and Rollo, best buddies. Bronco is quite old and Rollo is quite young.Rollo is pulling Bronco’s tail.This was Rollo’s Baby Jail
Rollo’s other commands and peculiarities.
Rollo scratches doors he thinks should be open, which is basically every door, and if no one comes to open the door, then he barks. When he wants to play with a toy, he barks at the toy box with one loud bark until I give him the toy he wants. He barks at balls that roll in under sofas and beds and expects someone to get them for him. Rollo loves balls. I should say, naturally, we have commands for him as well, such as sit, stay, come, and shake, and he obeys them most of the time. But he has commands for us too. He sleeps in our bed, typically in the middle, surrounded by his subjects, me, Claudia and Daisy.
Rollo loves balls. He loves to chase balls, chew balls and roll balls.Rollo is ball crazy.
The greatest quality that someone could have.
What is the greatest quality someone could have? Is it intelligence? Is it knowledge? Is it wisdom? Is it charm? Is it beauty? Is it courage? Is it strength of character? Is it work ethics? Is it honesty? Is it integrity? No, it is none of that. The most important thing in the world is that you are cute. That is why Rollo is the King of the House, in fact the King of Texas. But seriously, Rollo is spoiled, he sleeps in our bed, he does not like other dogs (except Daisy), and this is our fault. Before we can get another Leonberger we must work on certain bad habits. However, his cuteness and his innocence make this harder.
Rollo as a puppy. Being cute is all that matters.Our daughter with Rollo and Daisy.
I recently finished reading “Leonberger: Dog breed overview and guide Paperback – July 8, 2023”, by Nina Pultova. I bought the paperback version from Amazon, and it is 94 pages. It currently costs $9.99. There is also a kindle version, 74 pages, that costs $2.99 but if you have Kindle Unlimited it is free. The dimensions of the paperback are 6 x 0.22 x 9 inches, and the weight is 5 ounces, ISBN 979-8851501135.
Front cover of “Leonberger” by Nina Pultova. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
Briefly, the book had some strongpoints but also some significant weaknesses. The author has written 192 dog breed books in a fairly short time. Impressive but that might explain why it was felt so generic. It was obvious that she did not have much experience with Leonbergers. I gave the book three stars. Below is my review of Leonberger by Nina Pultova. Click here to see the original review on Amazon.
The Well-Being and Happiness of Your Leonberger
The author, Nina Pustova, is a Ukrainian veterinarian who without question has a lot of knowledge of dogs. She is undoubtedly doing wonderful work for dogs in Ukraine under some very difficult circumstances. In this book she gives great advice on caring for and training dogs and the book has a positive and warm feel. It is well edited with respect to the English. I did not see any typos. The book is in black and white and contains no photos except for the beautiful Leonberger photo on the front cover. Nina Pustova has written 192 books on different dog breeds, which is quite an accomplishment.
Unfortunately, the information she presents in the book is pretty generic. Any book on a specific dog breed is bound to contain a fair amount of information that applies to dogs in general. However, if you are looking for in-depth Leonberger specific information this book does not provide much of that kind of information, even though there is some. It seems to me that the author does not have a lot of personal experience with Leonbergers. The book did not contain a lot of incorrect information, but I noticed a couple of noticeable errors. The author claims that a distinctive feature of Leonbergers is their double dewclaws on the hind legs. I think she is referring to Great Pyrenees here, not Leonbergers. She also states that they may have a black mask on their face. Well, that is a breed standard requirement, not just a “may”. They all have black masks.
I also found the “Myths and Misconceptions Debunked” chapter at the end of the book a bit peculiar. As an example, the first myth she is debunking is “Leonbergers are aggressive and dangerous”. Leonbergers are in general certainly not aggressive and dangerous, but no one thinks so either. It’s like debunking the myth that “Chihuahuas are large dogs” or “Canadians are impolite”. People don’t think so in the first place. The same applies to all her alleged myths. There are, however, real Leonberger myths. For example, one myth is that Heinrich Essig, the founder of the Leonberger was the mayor of the town of Leonberg. This is stated in a lot of Leonberger books and websites including Wikipedia, even though it is false information.
The biggest issue for me was the layout of the book. First there was a lot of repetition of information as well as overuse of certain words and phrases such as “…well-being and happiness of your Leonberger”. Secondly, the layout / book design made the book feel like a long list. Each page had a few subtitles on gray background followed by one paragraph written as a command or a fact, and this pattern was repeated throughout the book. Every now and then the subtitle would be at the bottom of a page and the associated paragraph at the top of the next page, which doesn’t look nice. I think this list pattern would work in a blog post but not in a book.
So, this book has some great strengths but also many weaknesses and therefore I am rating it three stars.
Leonberger Life 