Tag: Rollo

Leonberger Facebook Groups Are the Nicest Dog Groups I Have Found

I’ve been, or am, a member of several Facebook dog groups. I’ve found that most of them are awful. Take for example the Pug groups. I’ve joined a few Pug groups so that can post about Daisy. What I’ve found is that almost all of the Pug groups have preapproval turned on for all posts. Most other groups (Leonberger groups, beer groups, discussion group, etc..) do not. It would not be a bad thing if it wasn’t for the fact that the administrators/moderators of several of the Pug groups take weeks before they approve a post, all while shamelessly doing constant self-promotion, promoting products, and spamming the group they are supposed to moderate. I am a moderator or administrator in several groups, and I certainly don’t behave that way.

Another thing that annoys me is that they copy the photos that members post and then repost them in multiple places and multiple groups without attribution. Look at my photo from Daisy’s birthday below. That photo was copied (not shared) without attribution in lots of groups, multiple times, receiving several thousand reactions and thousands of comments, which is something I only found out about by accident. Who knows how far and wide the photo was spread. Unless someone explained it to you, you would think that it was their pug and that it was they who took the photo. I assume they do this because they want to get attention and be social network influencers. I’ve never complained, that probably would get me banned from the groups in question. However, I don’t think that is the way to run a group. I have not yet found a decent Pug group.

Photo of our Pug Daisy being fed a pupcake.
Photo from Daisy’s 15th birthday on October 22. This photo has been spread all over Facebook without attribution.

This brings me to the seven Leonberger groups that I am a member of (there are many more). I’ve listed them below. Only one group does post pre-approval and they typically approve posts within a few hours. None of moderators/administrators of these groups spam their groups, try to push products, or copy members photos/posts without attribution. People have friendly informative discussions, and they get to know each other. The Leonberger community is smaller, and the owners/administrators/moderators of the groups are more mature and responsible. I think it makes a difference that Pug groups tend to be run by attention seeking youngsters. I wish I could find a Pug group that was more like a Leonberger group.

  • Leonberger’s All Colors Worldwide
  • LEONBERGER
  • Leonberger Double Digit Double Club
  • Leonberger Forum
  • Global Leonberger Lovers
  • Leonberger Lovers
  • Frontier Leonberger Club of the Southwest

I think my favorite Leonberger group is the Leonberger Double Digit Club. It is a group for Leonberger owners with Leonbergers who ten years are old or older. Leonbergers tend not to live very long so that is why this is an exclusive club. It was one of the former administrators (and founder) of this group who suggested to me that I write a book about our Leonberger Bronco.

Below I am posting a few screenshots of my posts from the Leonberger Double Digit Club.

Photo of our Leonberger Bronco and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo in the lower right corner. Both close up to my face.
Our Leonberger Bronco standing in the kitchen. Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is behind him.
This photo is from Bronco’s 12 years and 8 months birthday. He demanded a greenie by slamming his paw in the floor. Daisy our Pug and Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd are looking on from behind.
Bronco our Leonberger just got his grey muzzle award, which is given to all Leonberger (who’s owner apply) older than 12 years old. Being older than 12 years old is rare among Leonbergers. The photos show Bronco with my wife holding his diploma.

Jacqui pointed out to me in a comment below that you can take action when people are using your stuff without attribution. A photo that took me a second to take may not be a big deal, even though it is bit rude to use it as if it is yours. However, when people copy artwork, as had happened to a few commentors below we have a more serious situation. So anyway, here is the link that Jacqui posted in her comment. (You can also visit the comment).

Send them a DMCA take-down order (https://www.dmca.com/FAQ/What-is-a-DMCA-Takedown) or turn them into Facebook for copyright infringement.

Changing the Bandages on a Leonberger and Why Rollo Could Be a Nurse

October 2019 was a tough month for us and especially for our Leonberger Bronco. He had a toe amputation due to a cancer growth on his toe, mysteries sores on his paw that wouldn’t heal for a long time, a tornado destroyed our neighborhood and damaged our house (cost $50,000.00), and then Bronco had a heart failure. All in one month.

Bronco, our Leonberger lying on the basketball court / runway by our broken fence. He has a bandage and a plastic bag around his back right foot.
Bronco lying in front of our fence, which was damaged by the tornado. His paw is in a bandage and there’s a plastic bag around it. I can add that we only put the plastic bag on while he was outside. If you keep it on longer than 15 minutes you may have problems with condensation.

Our veterinarian’s office had been destroyed by the tornado, so we took Bronco to the veterinary surgical center (where he had his toe amputated) for bandage changes (amputated toe and mysterious sores). After a few visits, the technicians suggested that we do it at home to save time and money. More important, it would be easier on Bronco. So, they gave us instructions, and we started doing it at home.

Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt of Bronco running with a cast. He is looking very excited.
Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt of Bronco running with a cast.

But changing Bronco’s bandages wasn’t as easy as just rolling out some gauze and tape. First, we had to clean the sores with chlorhexidine, an antiseptic solution. Then we had to apply a healing ointment, such as manuka honey or QuickDerm. This involved spreading it on an Adaptic pad (breathable and nonstick), then wrapping the pad with a Telfa pad (or gauze pad). After that came the soft bandage, then the outer bandage, then something sticky to hold it all together. The latter was necessary because bandages easily slip off dog hair.

Two dogs on a brown blanket. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd on the left. Le Bronco our Leonberger on the right.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd on the left. Le Bronco our Leonberger on the right. The outer bandage is purple in this picture but we also used green.

I did most of the bandage changes, but my wife Claudia and the children helped, and even Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd helped. He was very curious: he stood by and watched everything I did as if he were checking to see that I didn’t forget anything. He loved Bronco’s bandage changes and seemed to think that they were very interesting. He followed every move I made with my hands and it seemed like he wanted to help. It was never a problem—except for the time he drank the chlorhexidine.

Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd is standing next to Bronco our Leonberger. He is looking at Bronco and the bandage equipment.
Rollo carefully inspecting the bandage change.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd is standing next to Bronco our Leonberger, and he is looking at the bandage equipment.
Rollo making sure I don’t forget anything.
Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd is standing next to Bronco our Leonberger. He is sniffing the Hypafix tape.
Rollo thinks the Hypafix tape, chlorhexidine and manuka honey is very interesting.

Therefore, I think that Rollo was a little bit like a dog nurse.

Todays Wag the Dog Adventure

Walking our Pug Daisy and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is often an adventure and so was today’s promenade. Daisy, who is fifteen years old and has arthritis walks very slowly and cannot walk far. Therefore, I let her sit in a pet stroller on our walks. However, I let her walk a little bit, go to the bathroom, well the grass, and sniff around a bit. She also has incontinence problems and wears a dog diaper inside the house. I take it off for our walks.

Daisy our pug in her blue and black pet stroller
Daisy in her pet stroller

Rollo our mini–Australian Shepherd, on the other hand, is very energetic and fast, and unfortunately very misbehaved. He is the worst behaved dog that we’ve ever had, and he growls and barks aggressively at every dog we meet. Yes, I know that is our fault and we need to fix this problem, but it requires some time and discipline. He also does not seem to understand that he is too small to take on large dogs like Bernese Mountain Dogs. Perhaps, he acquired that belief because our Leonberger Bronco was so patient with him.

Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd bites our Leonberger Bronco's tail. Bronco just ignores him.
Rollo pulling Bronco’s tail. Once he even bit it and swung in it like a swing. Bronco’s patience with him was great.

So, what happened today?

During our walk I stopped to let Rollo go to the bathroom and I also let Daisy down, who also went. Right at that moment a woman with her two Bernese dogs approached us and Rollo went crazy. He barked loudly and the Bernese dogs barked loudly back. As Rollo ran towards them Rollo’s leash got stuck around the stroller wheel and he tipped the stroller over. As I tried to fix it, I made it worse, and the stroller tipped upside down. Luckily, when the woman saw this, she turned and went a different way.

Our neighbor Dave, who is a nice guy, had watched the commotion from his window and came out  to help. As he ran towards me, he shouted, “Thomas are you OK?”, “are you OK?”. I thanked him and I was able to turn the stroller over and I put Daisy back in the stroller. As I did this Daisy peed all over me, but other than being wet and in need of a shower, I was back in business. I was annoyed with Rollo, but I did not say anything. I wonder what will happen on tomorrow’s walk.

Finally, a few words about Daisy’s pet diaper. It is a diaper with a hole for the tail. I think it is a great idea. Dogs eventually get old, and they may have bathroom problems. You cannot get angry with the dog when they pee on the floor or the carpet, they already feel bad about it. A diaper will solve the problem and make them feel better about it. They will quickly understand how it works. However, one problem with the diapers is that they easily slip off and to solve that we got suspenders with Velcro holding the diaper. You can buy this stuff from online pet stores, Amazon and many other places.

Daisy our pug standing on the wood floor wearing a blue diaper and her suspenders.
Daisy in her diaper with suspenders holding it.

Today Is Daisys Birthday

Today is Daisy’s fifteenth birthday. She is indeed a little old lady. She spent her first 12 years with her big brother, our Leonberger Bronco. Bronco saved her life one time, when a very aggressive lose German Shepherd attacked us and went after Daisy. Bronco stepped in between and saved her life. She also grew up with a Labrador, Baylor, a German Shepherd, Baby, a Japanese Chin, Ryu, and now Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd. Everyone loved her and wanted to protect her. We no longer have Bronco, but we still have Daisy and Rollo.

Bronco our Leonberger dog and Daisy pur Pug is on our leather sofa. Daisy is walking past Bronco.
Bronco and Daisy in our leather sofa. Daisy decided that Bronco was taking up too much room and moved.

Today we visited my wife Claudia’s parents where we celebrated Daisy’s birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to Daisy. Daisy and Rollo ate pupcakes and hot dogs.Today we visited my wife Claudia’s parents where we celebrated Daisy’s birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to Daisy. Daisy and Rollo ate pupcakes and hot dogs.

Below are some photos from today’s celebrations.

Our Pug Daisy is sitting in Claudia's lap while Claudia is feeding her pupcake and hot dogs.
Daisy sitting in Claudia’s lap eating some pupcake.
Daisy our Pug is sitting in Claudia’s lap. Claudia is feeding her pupcake.
Daisy sitting in Claudia’s lap.
Our Pug Daisy is sitting in Claudia's lap while looking up at her.
Daisy in Claudia’s lap.
A family photo. We are singing Happy Birthday to Daisy. Claudia’s mom is on the left holding our Pug Daisy. Claudia's dad is on the right holding our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo. They are both sitting. Claudia is standing up in the middle.
We are singing Happy Birthday to Daisy. Claudia’s parents are sitting. Claudia is standing up.

Below are some photos from previous birthdays

The picture below has a story to it. We were celebrating Daisy’s 13th birthday and we had visitors from Los Angeles who came with their dog Oslo. Unfortunately, Rollo had not been socialized well when he was little (our fault) so he does not like dogs he does not know. Oslo came over to me and I made the mistake of petting him, which prompted Rollo to attack Oslo. We handled the situation, but it was an unpleasant surprise. I guess in his mind, I committed petimony. “You shall not pet any other dogs but me, well Daisy is OK”. We tried telling Rollo to behave but Oslo was obviously afraid of Rollo. Later, when the dogs were sitting around the table eating their pupcakes, Rollo was growling at Oslo who just looked away.

Three dogs around the table, celebrating Daisy's birthday. From the left to right, Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd, Daisy our Pug, and then Oslo a mixed breed.
Daisy is telling Rollo to behave.
Daisy our Pug is in the middle of the picture. She has a blue hat on. Bronco our Leonberger is on the right.
This photo is from Daisy’s 11th birthday. Bronco was celebrating with Daisy. We did not yet have Rollo.

Below are some other photos featuring Daisy

Daisy our Pug hanging her paws over the sofa
Daisy after an exhausting day of doing nothing.
Daisy our Pug is laying on her back sun bathing
Daisy loves sunbathing. She lays out in the hot sun and soaks in the sun rays.
Daisy is old and has arthritis so when we walk the dogs, we let her sit in a stroller. In this photo we are outside and she is sitting in the stroller.
Daisy is old and has arthritis so when we walk the dogs, we let her sit in a stroller. We lift her out so she can sniff.
Daisy our Pug wearing a nurse hat
Daisy as a nurse, helping to nurse Bronco back after a toe amputation.
Daisy our Pug and Bronco our Leonberger are standing in the kitchen and they are sharing a smashed gingerbread house.
Daisy and Bronco sharing a gingerbread house that Bronco grabbed.
Photo of our Japanese Chin Ryu and our Pug Daisy sitting in our red suitcase.
We are going on a vacation, but Ryu and Daisy didn’t like that. This is their protest.
Daisy our Pug and Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd are standing on the sofa and barking out the window. The joke goes: - Daisy: Rollo do you want to hear a joke? - Rollo: OK - Daisy: Knock! knock! - Rollo: Woof! Woof! Woof! - Daisy: Woof! Woof! Wooof!
Daisy’s and Rollo’s knock knock joke

Today Is Rollos Birthday

Today is Rollo’s fifth birthday. Rollo grew up with his big brother the Leonberger Bronco, but we lost him three years ago and now it is just Rollo and his sister Daisy the Pug. Today they both had a so called pupcake, a cupcake especially made for dogs. Unlike some other pupcakes, it was soft, like a human cupcake and the dogs liked that, especially Daisy who is 15 years old and missing half her teeth.

Photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd with a plate with a pupcake in front of him. There is a candle in the pupcake.
Rollo with his pupcake. We are singing happy birthday to him, and our daughter is holding him. Daisy participated but is not in the picture.
Rollo’s birthday last year. He has the same blue clown hat on but a Happy Birthday Bone Cookie instead of a pupcake
Rollo’s birthday last year (4th birthday, coincidentally also on October 12).
Two dogs. Daisy a pug to the left. Rollo a mini-Australian Shepherd to the right.
Another photo from Rollo’s birthday last year, with Daisy.
Rollo almost five years ago. He is in our backyard. He is a mini-Australian Shepherd and very small in this photo.
Rollo almost five years ago, at his new home.
A close up of Rollo's face and eyes.
Rollo almost five years ago, at his new home.
Photo of our big Leonberger Bronco in the kitchen with little Rollo (mini-Australian Shepherd) in front of him.
Rollo almost five years ago, meeting his big brother Bronco.
Rollo around four years ago. He was biting Bronco's tail and even hanging and swinging in it. Bronco was our big Leonbeger.
Rollo around four years ago, terrorizing his big brother Bronco.

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.

All American Pet Photo Day with Leonbergers and Other Dogs

I almost missed it! Earlier today I found out that today is “All American Pet Photo Day”. So here are some photos of our dogs, past and present.

In this photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Pug Daisy, Rollo is in front and Daisy in the back. They are sitting on a white sofa chair.
A photo of our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Pug Daisy that I took this afternoon.
Our Leonberger Bronco, three months old, wearing a scarf.
Young Bronco (Lenberger) with me. Bronco is standing on a sofa giving me a hug.
Our Leonberger Bronco, 167 pounds at the time, sitting in my wife's lap.
Our Labrador Baylor
Our German Shepherd Baby at the dog park
Rachel with our young Japanese Chin Ryu. They are dancing.
Our Japanese Chin Ry and Pug Daisy protesting that we are going on a trip leaving them. They are sitting in a suitcase preventing us from packing.
Our Pug Daisy, Japanese Chin Ryu and Leonberger Bronco.
Our Labrador Baylor (left) and German Shepherd Baby (right)
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo as a puppy. He is looking straight into the camera.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo biting our Leonbergers tail and pulling it.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo is playing with an orange volleyball
Our Leonberger Bronco lying in the grass. He is very old in this photo. Almost 13 years old. We were out for a walk.
Our daughter Rachel is petting our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Pug Daisy
Our Leonberger Bronco is lying in the grass in the front yard
Photo of Bronco our Leonberger and our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo in the grass in our backyard.

Also, as a reminder, the eBook version of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” is temporarily $2.99 (until July 20th).

New Texas Law Allow Dogs To Drive

On February 29 the Texas Legislature passed HB64 and SB14 and thus Texas became the first US state to allow dogs to drive. Any dog of any breed is allowed to drive a car as long as they are two years or older and are facilitated by a DDAD, a dog drivers assistance device. A DDAD is a device that reads traffic signs for the dog and takes cues from the dog’s body language to turn the car and control it in other ways. DDAD utilizes a multi layered neural network (deep learning style neural network) that has been trained using several thousand dogs that included all of AKC’s approved dog breeds as well as 100’s of mixed breeds.

Rollo is our first dog to officially have a driving license. In the picture below he is coming back from a visit to grandma and grandpa.

Photo of our dog Rollo in the drivers seat. He is coming back from a visit to grandma and grandpa.
Rollo coming back from a visit to grandma and grandpa.

The dog driving license is not without controversy. Some people have concerns with safety and others feel that dogs should not be able to drive if they are not, as Walter Ericsson who lost his driver’s license due to a DUI pointed out.

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.