Tag: mini-Australian Shepherd

The King of Texas is Cute

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.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco with Rollo lying on his side on the floor in front of Bronco seemingly asking him for 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 our mini-Australian Shepherd (left) and Daisy our Pug (right) sitting on a white sofa chair.
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.

The head of our mini-Australian Shepherd sticking out from under the covers on our 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.

Our Leonberger Bronco lying in the grass in our backyard with our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. Bronco is to the left and Rollo to the right.
Bronco and Rollo, best buddies. Bronco is quite old and Rollo is quite young.
The photo shows the back of Bronco to the right including his tail, which Rollo (to the left) is pulling.
Rollo is pulling Bronco’s tail.
The photo shows Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd inside a dog play-pen, also including toys and a water bowl and a small bed.
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, our mini-Australian Shepherd, is holding a soccer ball with one of his paws. They are inside the house.
Rollo loves balls. He loves to chase balls, chew balls and roll balls.
Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd is in the backyard biting an orange volley ball.
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.

Photo of Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd, as a puppy.
Rollo as a puppy. Being cute is all that matters.
Photo of our daughter in the middle, with Rollo on the left and Daisy on the right.
Our daughter with Rollo and Daisy.

A Leonbergers Last Car Ride

Three years ago today, our beloved Bronco passed away. We miss him very much. Below is a snippet from my book about his passing. Warning, it might be sad reading.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco at the age of three months. He is wearing a red bandana.
Our Leonberger Bronco three months old

Bronco (our Leonberger) was very old for a Leonberger, and his health had been badly failing him for months, including his first heart failure, as well as other issues. It seemed like the time had come for him to be put to sleep. This is an extremely difficult decision for any dog owner.

Our Leonberger Bronco 12 ½ years old. He is lying in the grass looking into the camera.
Our Leonberger Bronco 12 ½ years old

In the wee hours of the morning on June 16, 2020, Bronco collapsed. He was no longer able to get up or hold himself up even if we lifted him. His legs were like spaghetti, and his breathing was heavy. We called our veterinarian as soon as the clinic opened. She spent quite a bit of time with us over the phone trying to figure out what was going on. The preliminary conclusion was that he most likely was experiencing another episode of heart failure.

We decided, all of us, together with our veterinarian that it was time. Our veterinarian knew Bronco extremely well: she really cared for him, and she was not afraid to tell us how she felt.

Rachel and I would take Bronco to the clinic, where he would be put to sleep. Claudia would stay at home with the other dogs.

Rachel, Claudia, and I lifted him into the car—all 142 pounds of him. It was the first time he could do nothing to help. But once he was inside the car, he was able to rest his head on the center console, between the armrests of the front seats, and sometimes he lifted his head so that he could see out.

He was exhausted but very curious about what he could see out the windows. We had some extra time before our appointment, so we took him for a car ride instead of driving straight to the clinic. He seemed to enjoy it: he was looking at things that seemed to interest him, but he did not make a sound, and he didn’t move much. After a while we turned around and started heading toward the clinic. We dreaded what was coming, but it was time.

Our veterinarian was waiting for us. The staff put Bronco on a stretcher and rolled him inside. Seeing my best friend lying on a stretcher being rolled into a clinic and knowing these were his last moments on earth was surreal. Our veterinarian checked him to verify what was going on. His blood pressure was extremely low, and his heart was not pumping normally. It was indeed heart failure. Rachel was FaceTiming Claudia so she could talk to Bronco. We did everything we could to comfort him.

Our veterinarian and her assistant had taken care of Bronco for around ten years, and we had visited them quite often toward the end of his life. They both knew him really well, and they truly cared for him. The veterinarian had told us that Bronco was the oldest big dog she’d ever treated, and they both said that he had become like family to them; he wasn’t just another patient. The situation was upsetting for them, too. Putting him to sleep was not an easy thing for any of us, but it was the right thing to do.

We all petted him, and Rachel and Claudia spoke to him to comfort him. I was not able to say much—it was just too difficult—but I made sure Bronco heard my voice a few times and that he could see me. The room was somber but peaceful and filled with love. First he got a shot that put him to sleep, and then after he was completely asleep, the veterinarian gave him a drug that stopped his heart. It stopped beating less than fifteen seconds after the injection. Bronco had passed across the Rainbow Bridge. The room was quiet, but human hearts were not.

Paw print in the clouds. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

Bronco was cremated, and we picked up the box containing his remains and his paw print the next day. The veterinarian and her assistant also wrote us a beautiful card that will forever stay with us.

Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt showing our Leonberger Bronco in the middle with our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo on his left and our Pug Daisy on the right. Rollo is saying "they still talk about you". Bronco is saying "I know".

Bronco had a long life and a big heart. He was loving, caring, protective, and brave. So it’s almost fitting that heart disease ultimately caused his death. This calls to mind the legend of Sven Dufva, the fictional Finnish hero who was shot in the heart in the Finnish War of 1808–1809. In the epic poem The Tales of Ensign Stål, Dufva’s commanding general stands over his body and proclaims:

That bullet knew what course to take, it must acknowledged be. . . .

It knew far more than we.

It let his brow be spared in peace, the weaker, poorer part,

And chose the portion that was best—his noble, valiant heart.

A photo of a rainbow by the coast Costa Rica. The white text says "Deat leaves a heartache no one can heal, But love leaves a memory no one can steal."

The rainbow bridge

According to an article in the Washington Post,* the Rainbow Bridge is “a mythical overpass said to connect heaven and earth—and, more to the point, a spot where grieving pet owners reunite for good with their departed furry friends.” It’s also a poem of unknown origin that spawned a pet-bereavement movement and even a worldwide Pet Remembrance Day, August 28. The poem in its entirety follows.

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they each miss someone very special to them who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.

This is a photo of Bronco's obituary as it appeared in the September 2021 issue of the LeoLetter, the official publication of the Leonberger Club of America. Text below: Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle Breeders: Julie & Thorsten Schaffert July 3, 2007 to June 16, 2020 Loved by Claudia, Thomas, Jacob, David, Rachel Wikman Dallas, Texas Our beloved Bronco passed away peacefully last summer two weeks short of thirteen years old. It was sudden but not unexpected. He was old, his heart was failing, and he had other health issues as well, and then when his second heart failure happened on June 16, we all knew it was time. We were with him all the way to the end and we said goodbye. He knew, but he was at peace. It was a heart-rending experience for all of us including the veterinary and her assistant. Bronco had become family to them as well. Our veterinarian said he was the biggest oldest dog she had ever treated. When he came into our lives as a happy, rambunctious and confident puppy he instantly stole our hearts. He became the mascot for our daughter’s soccer team, and he went to every game. In half time the girls lined up to pet him, including the opposing team. He was the main attraction. Each girl got one minute to pet him. He wasn’t scared. He loved every minute of it. He grew big quickly and his size and strength amazed us and everyone in the neighborhood. He loved greeting people and dogs and wanted to say hello to everyone we met on walks. He was not just the greeter in chief at our house but at the dog park as well. He also loved swimming and chasing ducks in White Rock Lake. Bronco amazed us with his intelligence and abilities so many times. When our hamsters escaped from their cage my wife tried to enlist Bronco in helping us find them. He understood and he sniffed them out and he found them. This happened twice. We had a Labrador with diabetes called Baylor. One day Bronco alerted us to the fact that something was going on with Baylor. Soon thereafter Baylor had an insulin shock. No one had taught Bronco to detect this, he just did, and it probably helped us get Baylor to the emergency sooner. On another occasion Bronco saved our Pug Daisy from an attacking loose German Shepherd. He also chased off a trespasser, but Bronco probably just wanted to greet him and lick him, but the intruder didn’t know that. We will never forget Bronco’s loving and trusting eyes, his lust for life, his Leonberger hugs when he leaned into us. He was very social and his love for people and other dogs and especially small dogs was remarkable. He had an enormous patience for rambunctious small dogs, and he took it upon himself to protect them. At the age of twelve and a half he got the “grey muzzle award”, which was a fun experience for all of us. We think of Bronco every day and we miss him dearly. He will forever be in our hearts.
Bronco’s obituary appeared in the September 2021 issue of the LeoLetter, the official publication of the Leonberger Club of America.

When Dogs Trick You

Today our Dog Rollo, a mini-Australian Shepherd who also was a good friend of our late Leonberger Bronco, walked out into the backyard and then he came back a few minutes later. He looked at me a bit funny. He was watching me closer than he usually does, and he lowered his head as he passed me by, and he was tiptoeing quietly. I did not think about it too much. I mean what could be wrong? However, my daughter told me, “That looked very suspicious”. She thought Rollo might be trying to hide something. Therefore, we followed him, and we realized that he had something in his mouth. We told him to drop but he wouldn’t obey us. He was defiant. That’s when my daughter got a glimpse of what was in his mouth. It was a piece of poop.

A close up photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo
Look at those innocent trusting and loving eyes

He is not supposed to eat poop. He is not allowed to. We are very strict about this. We never had to tell any of our other dogs not to eat poop, they just never did, except Rollo. You give him cooked ground bison, ham, and liver treats, specially prepared treats, things he loves, but then he has poop for dessert. Anyway, I got some toilet paper for him to spit in. We told him to drop. He looked at the toilet paper, and he looked at me with his big eyes. It was clearly a very difficult decision for him, and after sitting there thinking hard for a minute, he quickly swallowed the poop. What would you have done? Anyway, remember how he fooled me at first.

The artist poses with one of his creations.

Rollo also loved chewing on shoes when he was younger. Fortunately, he’s gotten over that behavior, but in the process we’ve lost a lot of shoes. One time I forgot that I had left my shoes under a table in our TV room. I was walking around the house when I met Rollo in a hallway holding one of my shoes in his mouth. He gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look, then he slowly turned around and tiptoed back into the TV room. He placed my shoe back under the table, right next to its mate, positioning it correctly so it was just the way I had left it. Then he tiptoed away as if pretending that nothing had happened.

Left to right, our pug Daisy, our Japanese Chin Ryu and our Leonberger Bronco.
Three of our escape artists stand ready for their next adventure.

Our Leonberger Bronco, our pug and Japanese Chin also played us a few times, extorting treats from us by tricking us and they also tricked us when escaping the backyard in ways that we couldn’t figure out. Well actually, we figured out how Daisy and Ryu escaped, and we repaired the hole in the fence behind the tree that we found.

Our pu Daisy and our Leonberger Bronco in the kitchen. They just ate some of a now destroyed gingerbread house.
Daisy and Bronco opening the gate to the kitchen and eating the gingerbread house.

So how do you deal with this? My advice is to be smarter than I am, well at least, try to be smarter than your dog. Being smarter than your dog is very helpful. Watch them, observe them in the backyard. A Leonberger digging frenetically by the fence is soon going to be out roaming the neighborhood. A Leonberger shaking an unlocked gate using his paw, or trying to lift the lever with his nose, is soon going to be out roaming the neighborhood and eating Hors d’oeuvres at a neighbor’s cocktail party.

From Puppy to Old Dog I Will Always Be There

Photo of a Leonberger puppy with a scarf
Bronco our Leonberger at three months old
Our Leonberger Bronco and me. He is standing on the sofa giving me a hug.
Bronco and me. Bronco about one years old.
Our Leonberger Bronco in Claudia’s lap, He weighs 167 pounds in the picture and is a bit overweight, but he lost weight.
Bronco in Claudia’s lap, a little bigger, and chubbier (but he lost weight)
Our Leonberger Bronco lying down in the grass. You can see shaved fur resulting from his toe amputation.
Bronco about nine years old. He had just had a toe amputation.
Our Leonberger Bronco lying down in the grass. He is very old in the picture.
Bronco closing in on 13 years old at the end of his life

With permission from Brend Saito (see comment), in this post I am sharing something she shared on Facebook in memory of her golden retriever, Odie, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 12. The author is unknown.

“A dog asked :

“Tell me, human, why’d you record me? ”

The human replied, “You were so little and cute then and I couldn’t resist”

“But I ate your flowers, peed on your carpet and broke the expensive vase and all your clothes are full of hair from me… never thought about giving me away? ”

Again the man replied:

“I was also upset at first and had more work to do, but then when you sat down on my lap as usual, everything was fine… you don’t give your children to the orphanage because they once are mischievous. ”

The dog looked attentively at his owner and asked:

“But look, now I’m very old and I have my problems too… I cost a lot of money because you go to the vet with me more often and I need special food… I’m not as agile as I was 10 years ago… and i don’t smell like a baby anymore”

The mistress swallowed briefly and struggled with tears for a moment when she then answered:

“My love, you will ALWAYS be my baby, you have enriched my life and given me countless beautiful moments, now you are old and not quite healthy but that doesn’t change how much I love you.

You have always been there for me, comforted me when I was sad and made me laugh, you are my most precious treasure. And I wish we can spend more time together.

I will continue to do my best to make your life beautiful.

I will do everything for you my little darling.. ”

The dog gently placed its paws on his wife’s cheek and licked.

The sun shone in his eyes that shone like opals.

Satisfaction.

H a p p y.

L O V E

Perfection.

Harmony.

Anyone who has and loves dogs understands without words….

Illustration showing our Leonberger Bronco in the middle with a dog on each side. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd to the left and Daisy our Pug to the right. Rollo says "They still talk about you". Daisy says ""I know.
Bronco is in the middle, Rollo left, Daisy right. We still have Rollo and Daisy. We will never stop talking about Bronco. Illustration Naomi Rosenblatt.

The Fiercest and Most Dangerous Dog in the World

The video below from animal watch feature 15 fierce and dangerous dogs including Dogo Argentino, Rottweiler, the pit bull and others. But which dog is the most fierce and dangerous dog? There is a dog that is more fierce and powerful than any lion; the most dangerous dog in the world, the #1 on the list, the lion dog, it is the Leonberger. Yes, if you read some of the posts on this blog you will laugh. The most dangerous dog in the world is the goofy, friendly and happy Leonberger, the big teddy bear that every child loves to hug. There is some truth to it though, Leonbergers are very strong and powerful and will protect you and your home fiercely. Our Leonberger Bronco saved the neighborhood from a peeping Tom terrorizing the neighborhood. This is a long video but to see the segment on Leonbergers fast-forward to 19:38. That’s just one and a half minute.

The fiercest and most powerful dogs in the world. Which one is #1?

Like the video says, if bored they tend to chew on things and they have very powerful jaws among the most powerful jaws in the dog world. We lost our wedding album. My wife was so mad that our Leonberger chose to destroy the wedding album instead of let’s say encyclopedia Britannica.

To be honest though, I think that the most dangerous dog in the world is our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo (see below). Don’t mind the stroller, that’s just to avoid scary snakes and frogs. Wouldn’t you want to avoid scary snakes and frogs? Quacking ducks scare him, but not much else. OK maybe everything else scares him too, but he is still the fiercest dog according to some opinions.

Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd sitting in a pet stroller.
Pet strollers are great for safety.

Photos of a Leonberger and His Friend a Mini Australian Shepherd

This post is mostly photos of our late Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. As you may know Bronco was a remarkable and brave Leonberger who saved the lives of our other dogs on two occasions, rescued run away hamsters, and liberated my wife and the women in our neighborhood from a nightly peeping Tom. Well, he also did a lot of less desirable but funny things. Bronco lived a long life for a Leonberger and was therefore awarded the Grey Muzzle Award and the Leonberger Health Foundation International wanted his DNA.

We got Rollo four years ago. Our little Rollo and Bronco were best buddies. Rollo climbed all over Bronco, bit his tail and even dangled in it like a swing one time. Rollo wanted to play with Bronco all the time and Bronco was very accepting of his rambunctiousness. Unfortunately, Rollo lost his buddy when Bronco passed away. Things have not been the same since then, but Rollo is still thriving. Below are some photos of them two.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) at the age of three months.
Our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) at the age of three months.
Photo of our Leonberger Bronco at a young age, jumping up to give me a hug.
Our Leonberger Bronco at a young age, jumping up to give me a hug.
Photo of our Leonberger Bronco sitting in Claudia’s lap.
Bronco is all grown up and sitting in my wife Claudia’s lap.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo when we picked him up at the breeder when he was just a little puppy 8 weeks old. We were picking him up. The other puppy is an English Bulldog.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo when we picked him up at the breeder. 8 weeks old. The other puppy is an English Bulldog.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo on our lawn, minutes after he arrived home. Still a bit afraid.
Rollo is finally home, still a bit scared.
Photo of our Leonberger Bronco welcoming our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo home. They are both in our backyard on our lawn.
Bronco welcoming the new puppy.
Photo of our Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo. They are in the kitchen.
Bronco and Rollo in the kitchen.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo.
Rollo
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo lying sideways in front of our Leonberger Bronco. He wants to play.
Rollo wants to play with Bronco.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo jumping up and biting the tail of our Leonberger Bronco.
Rollo jumping up and biting Bronco’s tail. Once he even dangled in it like a swing. Luckily Bronco was tolerant.
Photo of our Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo as well as two of our children in the sofa.
Two of our kids and two of our dogs.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and my shoe, which he chewed up.
The Artist and his Art. Those were my nice shoes.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo playing with an orange volleyball.
Rollo with a volleyball.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo playing with a soccer ball.
Rollo with a soccer ball. Rollo rolls things.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo lying on his back in the sofa wanting a belly rub.
Rollo wants a belly rub.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo wanting to play with our Leonberger Bronco.
Rollo (grown up) wants to play with Bronco.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo kissing our Leonberger Bronco.
Rollo gives Bronco a kiss.
Another photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo kissing our Leonberger Bronco.
Rollo gives Bronco a kiss.
A third photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo kissing our Leonberger Bronco. This time Rollo covers Bronco’s face for the camera.
Rollo gives Bronco a kiss.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Leonberger Bronco in our backyard, both of them walking on the green grass.
Rollo and Bronco in our backyard.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Leonberger Bronco lying on the green grass next to each other in our backyard.
Rollo and Bronco in our backyard. That’s my grill to fly off in a tornado a few months after this photo.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Leonberger Bronco lying on the floor in our house. Bronco has a bandage on his foot because he just had a toe amputation because of Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Rollo and Bronco lying on the floor in our house. Bronco has a bandage on his foot because he just had a toe amputation because of Squamous Cell Carcinoma.
Our Leonberger Bronco is having a bandage change. He had a toe amputation because of Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd and canine nurse is overseeing the process.
Rollo is overseeing Bronco’s bandage change. Rollo was extremely interested in everything that happened during the bandage change.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd on the sofa.
Rollo on the sofa.
Bronco, or Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle is standing in our backyard with a sunray shining down on him. He is St. Bronco because he rescued our runaway hamsters, saved our pug Daisy’s life, sniffed out an oncoming insulin shock in our Labrador Baylor, and saved the women in the neighborhood from a peeping Tom.
St. Bronco in our backyard. He is St. Bronco because he rescued our runaway hamsters, saved our pug Daisy’s life, sniffed out an oncoming insulin shock in our Labrador Baylor, and saved the women in the neighborhood, including my wife, from a nightly peeping Tom.

Todays Dog Stroller Mishap

I don’t think there are any pet strollers that could accommodate a grown Leonberger, but there are certainly pet strollers that accommodate pugs and mini-Australian shepherds. We bought a stroller, for our old pug Daisy. She’s got arthritis and in addition she easily get tired. Our mini-Australian shepherd Rollo frequently wants to sit in the stroller too but not because he is tired, its because he heard a strange sound and feels safer in the stroller.

Left: Wolf who is not sitting in a stroller. Right: Rollo sitting in Daisy’s stroller. The photo contains text. Text on the left: Canis Lupus, the grey wolf is a fearsome and courageous hunter in nature. Text on the right: Canis Lupus familiaris, the dog, a close relative to the grey wolf, is sometimes less brave. This specimen prefers to sit in a stroller when he hears strange sounds.
Left: Wolf who is not sitting in a stroller. Right: Rollo sitting in Daisy’s stroller.

This morning our stroller broke. The front wheel suddenly caved, and the stroller took a nosedive with Daisy in it. Daisy slid from the back of the stroller to the front but luckily, she did not fall out. She was fine. Rollo, who was watching the misadventure, was not fine. Seeing the stroller capsizing with Daisy in it really scared him and he let out a scream, eeeeek!

Photo of a pug (Daisy) in a pet stroller
Daisy in her stroller at a time when the stroller was in better shape

I left the broken stroller on the sidewalk and walked home with the dogs, carrying Daisy part of the way. After I dropped off the dogs, I took my car and returned to where I left the stroller to pick it up. However, it was gone. Who would steal a broken stroller? I had been gone for maybe 15 minutes. I had also left a bag of dog feces in the stroller basket. I always pick up after my dogs. So, I don’t think the stroller thief got a good deal.

Daisy and Rollo both like to sit in the stroller, but the stroller is really for Daisy.

Our Pug Daisy is Now 14 Years Old

Yesterday was Daisy’s 14th birthday. We did not get around to celebrating it until today. Without our Leonberger Bronco it might never have come to pass. That’s because he saved her life from an attacking unleashed German Shepherd a few years ago. Bronco got in between him and his little sister Daisy. In the process he got bit in the leg where he had just had surgery, but he saved her life, and here we are.

Photo of our Pug Daisy with her princess crown and Happy Birthday Cookie.
It is Daisy’s 14th birthday. Look at her princess crown.
Photo of our Pug Daisy and her brother Rollo a mini-Australian Shepherd. They are sharing the Happy Birthday Cookie.
Daisy and Rollo (mini-Australian Shepherd). It is Daisy’s 14th birthday.
Another photo of our Pug Daisy and her brother Rollo a mini-Australian Shepherd. They are sharing the Happy Birthday Cookie.
Daisy and Rollo. It is Daisy’s 14th birthday.
Photo of Daisy our pug from four years ago when she had her 10th birthday. We had our Leonberger Bronco then and he is right next to her. They had hot dogs back then.
Daisy’s 10th birthday, four years ago. Bronco our Leonberger is celebrating with her. This was before we had Rollo.

Below is a snippet from the book that is about Daisy. I should add that at the time we did not have Rollo, but we had another small dog, Ryu, a Japanese Chin who loved both Bronco and Daisy.

All our children were allowed to choose a dog when they were growing up—but only when they were old enough to understand that it’s a big responsibility. Jacob picked Bronco, Rachel picked Ryu, and David, our middle child, picked Daisy, a pug. However, our dogs were never just birthday presents. We made sure everyone understood that getting a dog is a years-long commitment that cannot be reversed. We needed to make sure we could give each dog a good life before we would consider making this commitment.

Photo of Daisy when she was younger. She has her tongue out. For Daisy, it’s tongue-out Tuesday every day.
For Daisy, it’s tongue-out Tuesday every day.

Daisy arrived the year after we got Ryu. Like Ryu, she was purchased at Petland (not good, see book). Daisy is now thirteen years old and in good health at the time of this writing. She’s an easygoing, funny dog with an unusually long tongue, and everyone loves her, dogs as well as people. When it comes to being liked, she doesn’t have to try—she’s a natural. Ryu and Daisy would become best friends, but they also got along well with our other dogs. Daisy loved to follow Ryu around, and together they often trailed Bronco wherever he went. Pugs are not very energetic or fast, but they have easygoing and cheerful personalities. When the other dogs were being annoying, she liked to hide under chairs and tables to avoid getting involved.

Daisy is a bit of couch potato—a very sweet couch potato. She sits on the sofa most of the day, watching TV or looking out the window. She barks at dogs on TV or passersby outside, but other than that she doesn’t move much. She likes to snuggle, sit in your lap, and sleep with her head resting on your leg or arm. What with our beds, the dog beds, the sofas, and our backyard, she sure has a lot of places to relax. The only thing missing is her glass of wine.

Photo of Daisy hanging on the sofa looking exhausted.
Daisy rests after an exhausting day on the bed and sofa, not quite finished doing nothing.

Ryu used to get jealous when other dogs gave Daisy attention, or so it seemed. For example, he would become hostile to any dog in the dog park who began playing with Daisy. What can I say? She’s Miss Congeniality.

Daisy is the only dog I’ve met who really enjoys sunbathing. Our backyard isn’t exactly Playa Grande, but she frequently goes outside and lies down on her back. While our other dogs easily get too hot outside, she just soaks up the sun.

Daisy our pub sunbathing on the pavement.
When it’s hot outside, Daisy loves to sunbathe.
Daisy our pug sitting in front of a heating vent.
When it’s cold, she sits in front of the heating vents.

Other than following Ryu out on an adventure a couple of times and running out to say hello to Lily, a pug mix who used to live across the street, Daisy will not wander off. On the few occasions she did, we just called her back. She likes being home; she likes the couch and the safety of our house. And while our other dogs sometimes ignored our commands, Daisy never does. Another thing that’s different about her is that she doesn’t like cheese.

Ryu, too, loved the security of the house. In fact every time we made preparations to travel, he and Daisy seemed to sense it. As soon as we so much as took out our suitcases, they knew what was going on. You could see it in their faces and in the way they behaved. They were a bit sad.

One time, as we were packing our bags, we turned around and saw the scene I captured in the photo on below. How would you interpret this? Was it a protest? Did they want to come with us? Maybe both.

Our Japanese Chin Ryu and our Pug Daisy sitting in our red suitcase. It looks like they are protesting.
Ryu and Daisy didn’t want us to leave for our trip.

In what may have been a sign of anxiety during our absence, we once came home from a brief family outing and Daisy greeted us at the front door with a tissue box over her head. While we had been gone, she had somehow gotten her head stuck in it and couldn’t get it off. She was still running around barking. We laughed because it was such a funny sight, but she probably didn’t enjoy the experience. We removed it quickly.

Photo of our pug Daisy with a tissue box over her head
We still don’t know how Daisy managed this feat.

Rollo From Baby Jail to Four Years Old

Today it is Rollo’s 4th birthday. Our late Leonberger Bronco welcomed him into our family when Rollo was just a 9-week-old puppy. Rollo is a mini-Australian Shepherd. They became very good friends and Bronco was very patient with the rambunctious puppy who climbed all over him and played with his tail, even hung in it. Well, we no longer have Bronco, but we have Rollo and his 14-year-old pug sister.

This is a photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. It is his birthday so he has a birthday hat on. Rollo did not like the hat, so he took it off right away.
Rollo did not like the hat, so he took it off right away.
Photo of our pug Daisy left and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo (right). It is Rollo’s 4th birthday.
Rollo and Daisy. It is Rollo’s 4th birthday.
Edited photo of Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd. He has a hat on, a steak, and candles. It is Rollo’s 4th birthday.
Rollo’s 4th birthday.
Photo of Bronco our Leonberger welcoming Rollo to our house. Bronco is very big. Rollo is very small.
Bronco our Leonberger welcoming Rollo to our house.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo when he was just a puppy.
When Rollo was just a puppy.
This is another photo from when Rollo was just a puppy.
Another photo from when Rollo was just a puppy.
Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd playing with a ball.
Rollo playing with a ball.

Next, I am including a little snippet from the book. This snippet is about Rollo.

Rollo often pushed his luck with Bronco—climbing all over him, sitting on him, and stealing his possessions. Bronco was very patient and protective of little Rollo, but we were afraid he would lose patience with him one day when we were not present. Therefore, we put Rollo in a playpen whenever we left the house.

Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo playing with our Leonberger Bronco’s tail. When he was a puppy he even hung and swung in it. Naturally, we stopped it as soon as we saw it.
Rollo often played with our Leonberger Bronco’s tail. When he was a puppy he even hung and swung in it. Naturally, we stopped it as soon as we saw it.

The playpen had a door that swung open and could be locked. Soon he learned to go through the door on his own when we asked him to. We would say, “Rollo, playpen,” and he would march right in. We made sure that the playpen contained water and toys and that the door was locked behind him. Of course, we didn’t leave him there too long. Experts recommend a maximum of two hours when the puppy is two months old and a maximum of three hours when the puppy is three months old. Even when Rollo was older than that, we never left him in the playpen longer than four hours.

Rollo’s relationship with his playpen was interesting. When Daisy tried to walk in, Rollo would get angry. The playpen was Rollo’s, and no one else could enter. It was his little house within a house. Sometimes he would walk in even if we didn’t ask him to, and he would just sit there for a while, as if he needed some alone time.

Photo of Rollo in his playpen called Baby-Jail. When Rollo was in his playpen, we were sure he would be safe in case Bronco decided he had had enough of his younger sibling’s antics. To read more about Rollo click on the photo.
This is the baby jail. When Rollo was in his playpen, we were sure he would be safe in case Bronco decided he had had enough of his younger sibling’s antics. To read more about Rollo click on the photo.

Our son David’s girlfriend, Meranda, came up with a great name for Rollo’s playpen: baby jail. So that’s what we called it, and Rollo seemed to like it. When we told Rollo, “Rollo, baby jail,” he would march right in, just as he did when we called it a playpen. Even though he didn’t seem to mind it, he was always eager to come back out when we got home. He would stand on his hind legs, jump up and down, and bark. Then we would rush to greet him and lift him out of his baby jail.

To read more about Rollo click here.

Rollo Rolls In

Bronco grew up with several other dogs, a Labrador (Baylor), a German Shepherd (Baby), a Japanese Chin (Ryu), a Pug (Daisy), and finally a mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. The book also describes some of the adventures of Bronco’s siblings and his interactions with them. This post is focused on Rollo and Bronco’s great patience with Rollo.

Picture of a mini-Australian Shepherd puppy on grass.
A frightened puppy at his new home.
Mini-Australian puppy on blanket.
None of us could resist Rollo when he was a young pup.
Bronco the Leonberger and his new little mini-Australian puppy.
Bronco and Rollo

Six months after the passing of our Japanese Shin Ryu, we decided to get another dog. Rachel really wanted a miniature Australian shepherd, so we got one from a breeder in East Texas. We named him Rollo, after the Viking who was the first ruler of Normandy. In 885–86 CE, Rollo led the Viking siege of Paris but was fended off by Odo, the count of Paris. Our Rollo may not have been quite as brave as the medieval Rollo (or Odo), but he was cute and full of energy.

Rollo was not a big puppy, and at the beginning he was afraid of everything and everyone. However, he quickly warmed up to both Daisy and Bronco, and he was potty trained quickly. Rachel was the one who did most of the training: she stayed with him at night and put a bell on the door to the backyard, which he rang whenever he wanted to go outside. Every time he went, he got a little treat and praise afterward. It made him happy and proud.

We also tried to take him for walks, but he did not understand the concept right away. He would lie down on his back or stand on his hind legs and stretch his paws up, wanting to be carried. So we held him in our arms as we walked him around the neighborhood with the other dogs. He was happy up there in our arms, and he contentedly chewed on his leash and harness.

But even after he started walking on his own four feet, he was still a bit anxious and easily frightened. If we saw a cat, we had to turn around and walk straight back home. If we heard a truck engine-braking on the main road a quarter mile away, we had to turn around and walk straight back home. If we saw a man with a little dog, we had to turn around and walk straight back home. If we heard a duck quacking, we had to run for our lives back home. Ducks make strange sounds that can be very scary to little puppies. Whenever we walked or ran back home, I was right behind him as he pulled the leash.

There was one thing Rollo was not afraid of, and that was Bronco. Bronco was the biggest dog Rollo had ever seen—not to mention the biggest dog many people had ever seen—yet Rollo was continually testing Bronco’s patience. One time Rollo and I were sitting on the sofa, and Bronco was sleeping at our feet. Suddenly I saw Rollo stepping off the sofa and onto Bronco’s back, then walking across Bronco’s back down to the floor. Bronco was grumbling a bit, but he let Rollo literally walk all over him.

Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd loves belly rubs even from Bronco
“Please, Bronco, I want my belly rub.”

I also noticed that Rollo liked to play with Bronco’s tail. One day Bronco began barking at me intently, as he did when he wanted me to do something or pay attention to him. I couldn’t see anything amiss at first, but then I saw something going on behind him. I took a closer look and saw Rollo dangling from Bronco’s tail. He was biting it and using it as a swing. I got Rollo off right away, of course, which is exactly what Bronco wanted. He was being very patient with Rollo, but Rollo wanted to play.

Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo pulling our Leonberger Bronco's tail.
To my astonishment, Bronco didn’t react angrily when Rollo swung like Tarzan from his tail.

Of course, the dogs often go in the backyard to do their business (I don’t mean the kind of business that’s taxable). This requires me to do pickup duty. On one occasion I was walking up and down the lawn, looking for poop and picking it up, when Rollo ran over to my left side and pushed me with his nose and nipped my shoes a little bit. Then he ran behind me and did the same thing on my right side. Then he ran behind me again and repeated the process, and so it went—over and over and over. Then I realized that to him, I was a sheep, and he was having fun herding me. He herded me down the lawn and back up again until all the poop was picked up. We were a team: he the herding dog in charge and I the pooper-picker-upper sheep. We performed this ritual several times. Claudia and I thought about taking him to one of those farms where you can let your shepherd dog herd sheep just for fun, but we never got around to it.

Rollo soon found something else he seemed to enjoy even more, and that was playing with balls—chasing them, fetching them, chewing them, pushing them, rolling them, kicking them, jumping on them, and biting them. It is a truly amazing sight. There’s so much energy and joie de vivre involved. To this day, whenever a ball rolls under a sofa, Rollo gets upset and barks at the sofa. Then you have to bend down and get the ball out. You better do what he wants or he’ll wail like a toddler.

Our mini-Australian Shepherd playing with a volley ball.
Rollo plays with one of his favorite toys.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo with a soccer ball
Rollo with another ball.

Rollo also loved chewing on shoes when he was younger. Fortunately, he’s gotten over that behavior, but in the process we’ve lost a lot of shoes. One time I forgot that I had left my shoes under a table in our TV room. I was walking around the house when I met Rollo in a hallway holding one of my shoes in his mouth. He gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look, then he slowly turned around and tiptoed back into the TV room. He placed my shoe back under the table, right next to its mate, positioning it correctly so it was just the way I had left it. Then he tiptoed away as if pretending that nothing had happened.

Rollo could be quite an artist when it came to shoes. Maybe we should have framed his work instead of throwing it away. Maybe we should have established a little chewed-shoe museum so people could have paid admission to see it.

Our mini-Australian Shepherd with one of his creations, an artistically chewed up shoe.
The artist poses with one of his creations.

Rollo is also pretty good at finding weird things in the backyard and bringing them into the house—snails, lizards, strange-looking larvae and worms, caterpillars, and creatures that might have been space aliens. I’m not sure: I mean, I’ve seen Men in Black, and some of the stuff he brought in could have been small versions of the creatures from that movie. Our backyard looks like a typical backyard on the surface, but Rollo made us realize that it’s actually an amazing world full of amazing creatures.

One day as I was walking Daisy and Rollo, we saw a frog, or perhaps it was a toad. It was jumping ahead of us. Both Daisy and Rollo had been looking down, sniffing the asphalt and the grass. As the frog jumped in front of us, the dogs became very curious. They sniffed and looked closely at the frog, and then, for the first time, Rollo looked up at me, straight into my eyes, questioning. What is that? I got the strange feeling that he wanted me to explain.

I told Rollo, “It’s a frog.” Even though he doesn’t understand English—or at least I don’t think he does—it seemed like he wanted me to say more, give him some indication that this unfamiliar life form wasn’t dangerous. Then Rollo gently touched the frog with his paw and patted it a bit. He was enjoying himself, but the frog may have felt differently. The world is full of wonders when you’re a puppy.

It’s also full of things that can seem threatening. So even though we got a stroller for Daisy, the dog who I think uses it the most is Rollo—although not because he gets tired walking. On the contrary, he seems to have endless energy. But Rollo is a bit of an anxious dog, and he feels safe in the stroller.

Canis Lupus, the grey wolf is a fearsome and courageous hunter in nature. Canis Lupus familiaris, the dog, a close relative of the grey wolf, is sometimes less brave. This specimen prefers to sit in a stroller when he hears strange sounds.