This blog is primarily about Leonbergers and Leonberger books but sometimes I review books about other dog breeds. Today I am reviewing Lab Tested: The Layman’s Guide to Living With A Labrador – June 16, 2022 by Nick Embrey. I got the paperback version on Amazon. It currently cost $8.99 and the Kindle format cost $2.99. It is 168 pages, weighs 5.9 ounces, and the size is small with dimensions 5.06 x 0.38 x 7.81 inches. The ISBN number is 978-1739631307 and the ASIN number for the Kindle is B0B4B631S8. The book is comical reflections on the life with a Labrador, and you can find the book here.
In this book the author is ruminating, with humor, on his life with a chocolate brown Labrador called Dudley. The pages are filled with fun discoveries, hilarious analogies, clever turns of word, and as a result laughter. The writing style comes across to me as very British and as I was reading the book, I imagined Hugh Grant narrating it in my head.
We’ve owned several dog breeds including a yellow Lab called Baylor and I definitely recognized Dudley’s voracious appetite, apt food thievery, and the sometimes less than palatable choice of nutriment. However, Dudley was worse than Baylor. Dudley and Gordon Ramsey would definitely have a disagreement. Our Leonberger Bronco also had a voracious appetite. Once he finished off 5lbs of roast beef meant for a dinner party. However, the difference between Bronco and Labradors such as Dudley and Baylor is that he left broccoli, carrots, and dip for the dinner guests whilst dogs like Baylor and Dudley wouldn’t have.
Like Dudley our Baylor loved swimming (see picture below) and so did our Leonberger Bronco. I knew that Leonbergers had webbed feet and are double coated but reading this book I learned that so do Labradors. In fact, several dog breeds do. I guess I did not pay attention to that. That explains why our Baylor and Bronco were our best swimmers.
Like Dudley our Baylor was mischievous, but I have to say that Dudley takes the cake. The always hungry and rambunctious Labradors can cause quite a bit of commotion, or as some call it “acts of dog”. I’m not trying to brag when I say that our Labrador was not as bad as Dudley. I just wanted to point out that’s how you get good stories. I highly recommend this witty and very entertaining book. I don’t have a photo of Dudley, so I am including a photo of our yellow Labrador swimming.
Leonberger Life 