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.
Tag: The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle
Today (well actually yesterday by now) was the Eurovision final (from the UK) and Sweden won. For those who don’t know, Eurovision is the largest song contest in the world. Countries compete against each other, and the final typically has as many viewers as the Superbowl, about 200 million. You are allowed to sing in your native language or in English. Not all participating countries are European, for example, Turkey, Israel, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus are frequent participants, but they are not European countries, and this year Australia participated, The Eurovision is a huge cultural phenomenon that is not well known in the United States. I’ve noticed that the natively English-speaking countries often miss out on big worldwide cultural phenomena that are not entirely based on English. Typically, famous music groups do not participate, but many famous music groups got started or were propelled by the Eurovision, for example, ABBA (waterloo 1974) and Celine Dion (1988).
Anyway, this is a Leonberger blog but sometimes I post about other things and my home country Sweden winning the Eurovision is a big deal for me, so I made a post about it. I am also posting number two (Finland) and number three (Israel). Which one do you think is best? I won’t be offended if it is not Sweden.
Sweden in the Eurovision
Sweden, Eurovision 2023
Finland, Eurovision 2023
Israel, Eurovision 2023
Russia was banned from participating this year, and some other countries that usually do like Turkey, Bulgaria, and Hungary did not participate. These were the top seven.
Sweden
Finland
Israel
Italy
Norway
Ukraine
Belgium
Finalists in green, participants not making it to the final in red, in yellow countries that typically participate but didn’t.
Left to right, Labrador called Baylor, Leonberger puppy called Bronco, and German Shepherd called Baby.
I should say Baby was a rescue dog who came to us via my wife’s sister. She had allegedly been abused in her previous family, as well as dumped at the shelter. For being a German Shepherd, she was anxious and did not have strong self-confidence. She did not like the dog park, which you could see because she tried to be by herself, and she was drooling while at the park. She was very smart, obedient, and easy, but she seemed depressed.
Baby at the dog park.
Even though Baby was a shy and anxious dog at first, once we got Bronco, her personality changed. She loved Bronco, and she took on the job of being Bronco’s adoptive mom. She played with him; she watched him; she was fiercely protective of him. Bronco was her puppy. She seemed rejuvenated, as if she had found an important job to do—a purpose, if you will. It was beautiful to see her take care of Bronco and play with him. She became happier and more confident, and Bronco loved her.
As an example of her protective behavior, once our daughter Rachel put a bucket over Bronco’s head. She was young and she was just playing. Baby barked at her in a gentle way so that she understood to take the bucket off. She told me later she did not feel threatened by Baby. She felt corrected, like a mother saying, “don’t do that”. Baby liked our daughter Rachel. Rachel was the first one to pet her when she joined our family.
Bronco, at the age of four or five months, would soon outgrow his playmate Baby.Bronco at the age of three months
What follows next is a scary story
One day I was out walking with Baylor, Baby, and Bronco. Bronco was very young, maybe four months old. We met a man walking two medium-size black dogs off leash. Suddenly, one of the dogs attacked us. There was nothing I could do. As I watched helplessly, the black dog made the monumental mistake of going for Bronco. If the dog had attacked Baylor or Baby, either dog would certainly have put up a courageous defense, but going after Bronco was nearly suicidal, not because of Bronco himself but because of Baby.
I heard a loud explosion of barks that lasted only a few seconds, and then I saw the black dog flying five or six feet up into the air. Baby had bitten him in the side and tossed him skyward. It was surreal. I almost couldn’t believe what I was witnessing.
The black dog lay in the street. The man knelt before him and started crying. He said his dog’s back was broken. I was mortified, and I said, “I am so terribly sorry.” He said, “It’s not your fault. I was the one walking my dogs without a leash.” It was gratifying for me to hear that under the circumstances, but it was no less tragic.
Then, to my astonishment, the black dog stood up and quickly walked back to the other side of the street. The dog was in shock, but he was fine. The man calmed down, and we said goodbye to each other on good terms.
It wasn’t the only time Baby protected Bronco, but it was the most memorable. Thinking about it still sends chills down my spine. Years later, after Baylor and Baby passed and we got our small dogs, Bronco would take on the role of their protector. He would save lives.
Bronco and Baby at the dog park. Bronco was still very young and did not yet look like an adult Leonberger. He was gangly and not very muscled yet.
However, as Bronco grew older Baby slowly grew out of the role as Bronco’s protector, especially when he wasn’t that well behaved himself. On one occasion when I was walking Bronco and Baby, we met a man and his dog walking on the other side of the street, heading toward us. Bronco started barking at the dog, and the other dog responded. Both dogs worked themselves up into a frenzy. Bronco began pulling on his leash and even jumping. Baby remained quiet. But with all his carrying on, Bronco accidentally bumped Baby into a storm drain, which we happened to be standing right in front of.
To save Baby, I lay on my stomach and grabbed her around her abdomen with one arm—all while holding Bronco’s leash with my other hand. He continued pulling, jumping, and barking as I gradually dragged Baby up out of the drain. The guy on the other side of the street looked at us with big eyes, as if he had seen an evil clown peering out from the storm drain. He lifted his dog up in his arms and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
Me holding onto to poor Baby while also holding young and misbehaving Bronco. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Meanwhile, Bronco had calmed down, and I was able to drag Baby back onto the street. She loved Bronco, but after this incident she showed us in her own way that she’d rather not take her walks with him. We respected her wishes, and I walked them separately from that point on. It was safer anyway.
There is much to dislike about Facebook, but one neat Facebook feature is that it reminds you of old memories, such as, “you posted this three years ago” or “you posted this five years ago”. Below I am listing the memories Facebook showed me of Bronco for the month of April. Except for the first picture the date posted is the date I took the photo. I copied the original comment as is from Facebook. It was difficult not to become a bit sentimental.
Waiting for snack : photo uploaded to Facebook April 7 2016, but it is likely much older, maybe 2009 or 2010I accidentally used the word “dinner” and boom! This is what happens. He jumps up right in my face : April 17 2016, Bronco is 8 years 9 1/2 months, that’s already old for a Leonberger.Bronco on his first walk since the surgery. I put a plastic bag over his bandage while walking : April 11 2018, Bronco is 10 years 9+ months.Get off the Sofa, I’m hungry : April 12 2018, Bronco is 10 years 9+ months.I am grilling and the boys are waiting for me to be done : April 12 2019, Bronco is 11 years 9 months.Bronco : April 12 2019, Bronco is 11 years 9 monthsRollo caused more mischief than Loke this morning and Daisy is exhausted. April 12 2019, Daisy is 9 1/2 years oldBronco is saying have a good evening : April 26 2019, Bronco is 11 years 10 monthsToday’s walk with Bronco and rest stop : April 18 2020, Bronco is 12 years 9 1/2 monthsMcDonald’s run again. Bronco in the backseat. McDonald’s seem to be running out of stuff. Two different McDonald’s only have a partial menu. I wonder what’s going on? Luckily they had the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwiches our dogs like : April 18 2020, Bronco is 12 years 10 months.
With this post I just wanted to say a few words about the book I wrote “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. This book features several dozens of funny or astonishing dog stories centered on our late Leonberger Bronco, as well as information about Leonbergers and an extensive Leonberger resource guide. The book contains a lot of color photographs and colorful illustrations depicting Bronco’s adventures. The book is intended for all dog lovers of all ages or anyone who loves to read fun dog stories. It is also intended for those who are looking for information on Leonbergers.
Bronco our Leonberger was an extremely affectionate dog.
Bronco wasn’t our only dog, but our world wouldn’t have been the same without him. For instance, he once saved the life of our pug by fending off an attack from another dog. He probably saved our Labrador’s life, too, by sniffing out an impending insulin shock before it happened. Bronco’s hamster search and rescue operations gave us some great stories to tell, and it kept our hamsters safe. Then there was the time he chased off a nightly stalker, well a peeping Tom who’d been terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood. The private detectives I had hired could not catch him but Bronco did.
Bronco is no longer with us, but even in his passing he was distinctive. Leonbergers tend to live less than nine years—but Bronco came very close to reaching his thirteenth birthday. In fact, he received an award for longevity called the “Grey Muzzle Award.” We already knew he was a special dog, but we sent his DNA to two labs for research anyway.
The front cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the book.The back cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com kindle location for the book.These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to go to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.
Below are four selected book spreads.
Page six and seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. His initial birth certificate was faulty stating his name as “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.” This came about when we were told that his first name “Bronco” could not start with a ‘B’, it had to start with an “L” and my wife said “Let’s do…”. You can figure out the rest.Page twenty-four and twenty-seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. That’s my wife Claudia behind Bronco. The second picture feature Bronco carrying two hamsters in his mouth (they were fine but somewhat frightened).Page ninety-two and ninety-three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. In this spread Bronco was wearing a full leg cast he was not supposed to bump. Let’s just say he was bumping it all over the neighborhood.Page one hundred and two and one hundred and three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd frequently tested old Bronco’s patients, climbing on his, and even dangling in his tail once, as if it was a swing.
If you would like to learn more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click on the cover images above to buy it from Amazon. All royalties are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. I can add that all illustrations were done by Naomi Rosenblatt.
I recently finished reading “My Patronus is a Leonberger”, January 16, 2023 by Alex Luther. The dimensions of this paperback are 6.34 x 0.56 x 6.34 inches, and the weight is 11.8 ounces, ISBN 979-8373947503, and it currently costs $17.99 on Amazon in the US.
Front cover of “My Patronus is a Leonberger” by Alex Luther. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
In summary: “My Patronus is a Leonberger” contains 111 pages of text and 111 pages of black and white photos plus advertisement and links to places where you can buy mugs and T-shirts. None of the 111 dog photos feature a Leonberger and the word Leonberger is never used anywhere in the book. It has funny photos of various small dogs though. However, the book has nothing to do with Leonbergers. In my opinion that means that putting Leonberger in the title is a bit misleading.
Below is my review of My Patronus is a Leonberger by Alex Luther. I made minor improvements compared to the Amazon review. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book three stars.
Cute Dog Book That Never Mention Leonbergers
“My Patronus is a Leonberger” features 111 black and white photos of dogs paired with 111 black pages featuring 3 to 36 words long wisdom words or sayings in white text. The sayings are typically related to wizards and sometimes to Hogwarts. They are of varying quality but some of them are cute. The dog photos are cute and feature mostly small dogs often wearing glasses, real or photoshopped, wands and human clothes. At the end of the book there is an advertisement for dog merchandise from the company the author represents.
It is a cute little book for children or adults. However, there are no photos of Leonbergers, or any giant breed, and the word Leonberger exists only on the cover. Considering that the photos are not in color, that the sayings were just OK, and that the title of the book is potentially misleading to buyers I cannot give the book a high rating. Imagine someone buying this book for a friend owning a Leonberger thinking it contains Leonberger related writing or photos. Then when his friend opens the book, he sees nothing but pugs, Pomeranians and cats, but no Leonbergers or any mention thereof. I think he would be disappointed. I give it three stars.
Back cover of “My Patronus is a Leonberger” by Alex Luther.
I recently finished Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger: How to Make your Leonberger to STOP Chewing your Shoes, Pee on Your Bed, Pull the Leash, Jump Over People, Bark a Lot and Bite People Paperback – November 26, 2021 by Mark Mendoza. The dimensions are 6 x 0.19 x 9 inches, and the weight is 6.4 ounces, ISBN 979-8774384570, and it currently costs $19.99 on Amazon in the US.
Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger by Mark Mendoza. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
In summary: Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger, is a short Leonberger book that is a fairly generic dog behavior book and not really about Leonbergers. In addition, the book needs an editor, it does not have page numbering, no pictures, and considering that it is also a short book I don’t think the price $19.95 is justified. That last statement may not be appropriate for an Amazon review.
Below is my review of Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger by Mark Mendoza. I improved it a bit over the Amazon review. Click here to see my original Amazon review. BTW I gave the book three stars.
Good Advice on Hyperactivity in Dogs But There Are Issues With The Book
This is how the book begins; “My name is Mark Mendoza, and if you are reading this, then probably you know a few things about me;”. Well, I did not know anything about the author when I started reading this short book, which makes me wonder if I was the intended audience. As the title implies, this book is focused on dog training, specifically how to handle hyperactivity in Leonbergers. The author states that he is not a trainer but that he has a lot of knowledge of dog psychology. After reading this book I tend to agree, he does know what he is talking about, and I think he takes a very sensible and modern approach to basic dog training and how to handle hyperactivity and stress in dogs and how to prevent a dog from running away. We could certainly apply this knowledge to our somewhat hyperactive mini-Australian Shepherd.
However, I also had some issues with this book. I am a former Leonberger owner, and I saw no information in this book that applied specifically to Leonbergers. You would think the history section might contain some Leonberger specific information, but the word Leonberger was never used in that section. The book is a generic dog training book with the word Leonberger frequently used instead of the word dog. Making it seem like the book is specifically for Leonbergers when it is not, is not OK in my book. In addition, the sentence structure is frequently faulty, which makes me think the author is not a native English speaker, and there are also a lot of typos. The book needed an editor. There is also no page numbering, and the text is large resulting in less content than the stated 83 pages would imply. There are no pictures. Considering that the book is quite short and has not pictures I also think the price is too high. Therefore, despite the sensible approach to dog training and the handling of dog hyperactivity I am giving it three stars.
Back cover of Secrets To Deal With An Hyperactive Leonberger by Mark Mendoza.
Leash laws – Unless your pet is in a designated off-leash area, he or she has to be on a lead at all times. That’s the law in Dallas, Texas and in many other places. Dogs must be on a leash when outside except for, for example, dog parks. It doesn’t matter how good and obedient the owner thinks his dog is, it does not matter if the owner thinks he’s got perfect control over his dog. It is the law for a reason. Accidents happen, of course, and our dogs escaped on a few occasions. However, we all need to make an effort.
In my Leonberger book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” I describe three dog fights resulting from off leash dogs, but we experienced many more, dozens, and it is ugly.
Our Leonberger Bronco (Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle) grew up with several dogs, one of them being our Pug Daisy, which we still have. Bronco and Daisy were good friends and on one occasion Bronco saved Daisy from an attacking lose German Shepherd. We’ve owned a very well-behaved German Shepherd, our Baby, they are good dogs, but this one was young and aggressive.
Our Pug Daisy with our Leonberger Bronco
Bronco stepped in between the German Shepherd and Daisy and got bitten in the leg in the process. Leonbergers are about double as strong as German Shepherds and almost double as massive and they have more powerful jaws. However, Bronco was old and had just had surgery in the leg in which he was bit, so it was certainly a sacrifice on his part. I was mad and I ran after the German Shepherd and tried kicking him and between mine and Bronco’s efforts he ran off. I cursed at the owner of the German Shepherd for letting him run lose in a public space. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but in the end Daisy, our innocent sweet Pug, was alive. What a day that was.
Photo of Daisy that I took a few minutes ago. She is alive today, thanks to Bronco. She is 14 ½ years old.Bronco our saint who saved Daisy.
Another spontaneous dogfight happened before we got Bronco, when two dogs attacked our Labrador Baylor, who later would welcome Bronco into the family.
Baylor our sweet Labrador. He was a rescue.
Baylor was a sweet dog but could defend himself when he needed to. One time, as he and I were walking down a long straight road in the neighborhood, I turned around and saw two dogs running out of an alleyway around half a mile behind us. Right behind them came a woman, and she was running as well. The dogs were racing toward us and barking, and the woman behind the dogs was screaming at them. It was obvious that they had snuck out of a house and were ignoring their owner. For a moment I thought that maybe we should be running as well, but I decided against it. I would not be able to outrun the dogs, even though Baylor could, and letting him loose would be a bad idea. I decided to keep calm and continue walking.
A few seconds later I turned around to look again. The dogs were coming closer. I could see their glistening teeth and their faces full of rage as they charged toward us. The woman behind them was going as fast as she could, but she couldn’t keep up. Both dogs were around the size of Baylor. One of them looked like a pit bull, and the other looked like a golden retriever. I braced for the worst, and Baylor and I positioned ourselves for a fight.
Then the dog who looked like a golden retriever stopped and sat down. He seemed to be less aggressive. But the pit bull came right at us as if he wanted to kill us. There was a violent clash. Baylor fought back valiantly, and he was able to control the situation, despite being on a leash. (Well, I gave him all the leeway I could.) There were loud growls and snarls and sharp white teeth snapping and biting.
The woman finally arrived. Her face was red, and she was sweating profusely. It didn’t look like she was in good shape, and she had just sprinted half a mile without stopping. Breathing heavily, she grabbed her aggressive dog and apologized. I didn’t respond, even though I felt sorry for her. I knew the whole thing was probably an accident, but after that experience I couldn’t spare much sympathy for her. Luckily, there were no serious injuries.
After it was all over, I felt proud of Baylor for defending himself so well. He was a lot stronger and feistier than I expected, yet he was a very friendly and loving Labrador. If you want to read about the time when our German Shepherd Baby defended Bronco when he was a puppy, click here.
I recently finished The Complete Guide for Leonberger: The essential guide to being a perfect owner and having an obedient, healthy, and happy Leonberger Paperback – September 15, 2021, by Bailey Lopez. As far as I can see there is only a paperback version, which is 133 pages. The dimensions are 6 x 0.34 x 9 inches, and the weight is 9.1 ounces, ISBN 979-8477891214, and it currently costs $15.23 on Amazon in the US.
Front cover of the book The Complete Guide for Leonberger by Bailey Lopez. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is another strange Leonberger book. I believe the information in the book is very helpful and interesting assuming you are looking for a book on dog behavior, concerning any type of dog. Even though the word “Leonberger” is used quite frequently there is not much Leonberger specific information in the book.
If the title of this book had been “The Complete Guide to Dog Behavior” I would have given the book a four or five star rating. The book gives a good overview of dog behavior and psychology, puppy behavior, adoption issues, training and commands, and a few health tips. I found some good tips in the book that we are going to implement for our mini-Australian Shepherd. I also think that there is some enlightening information in the book that I have not seen in other dog books (Leonberger books or not). The author also understands dogs and their behavior well. He is a true dog behavior specialist.
Unfortunately, it is not really a breed specific book despite the frequent use of the word “Leonberger”. Replace “Leonberger” with “dog” and the veracity of the information does not change, which means that it is not a Leonberger book. On a bit more than half a page he is explaining how to interpret the movement of ears, for example, “ears stretched upwards may also show dominance”, etc. The problem with that is that Leonberger ears are floppy, fleshy, hanging down and they can’t point up. Interestingly he points out at the end of the ear section, essentially invalidating everything he just wrote. The book is missing Leonberger specific behavior, Leonberger characteristics, breed standard stuff, Leonberger history, genetic illnesses common in Leonbergers, life span, nothing about Leonberger organizations, Leonberger awards, sports or activities, and anything specific about Leonbergers. It is all missing and there is not a single picture of a Leonberger in the book. The book also has a substantial number of typos.
I would think a book like this would sell well if it were marketed as a dog behavior book. Why pick a rare breed and essentially replace the word dog with the word Leonberger everywhere? I am glad I read it because of what I learned about dog behavior, but you won’t learn anything specific about Leonbergers by reading this book, which is why I am rating it three stars.
The back cover of the book The Complete Guide for Leonberger by Bailey Lopez.
I bought the paperback version of the book Leonberger Dog Information: Everything You Need To Know About Basic Leonberger Dog Paperback – November 16, 2022 by Bao Reives. It is a short book. The paperback version is 55 pages, the dimensions are 6 x 0.14 x 9 inches, and the weight is 4.8 ounces, ISBN 979-8364129697, and it currently costs $10.74 on Amazon in the US. The Kindle version is 110 pages, ASIN B0BMNBL7CV, and cost $5.44 and is written by Matthew Marrow. They are not linked on Amazon, so you have to search for the kindle version separately.
Front cover of the book Leonberger Dog Information by Bao Reives. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.
This is a strange Leonberger book. There’s a Labrador on the front page. The book is directed at a UK audience in some parts and an American audience in other parts. Yet it is otherwise a decent Leonberger book filled with Leonberger specific information and 16 black and white Leonberger photos. It is as if it was written by two different authors who have a good understanding of Leos, but the book designer screwed up massively. With 16 good Leonberger photos in the book, how did a Labrador end up on the front cover? How would you rate that?
A thought occurred to me that someone copied the content of two other Leonberger books, text, photos and all, and just mixed it all together. That would be bad and I am not sure it is even possible to do, so I am not assuming that.
Short Leonberger Book with Some Good Information and Some Issues
Despite the photo of the Labrador on the cover of this book it is actually a Leonberger book. The book contains some good information on Leonberger care and training and where to get one and who should not get a Leonberger. I think it was good that the author pointed out that Leonbergers love to be with the family, are very large and energetic and need space, and therefore a Leonberger is not a good dog for someone living in an apartment. I also thought it was good that the author pointed out that you should find a breeder who is rigorous about genetic testing. The book contained 16 black and white photos of Leonbergers.
However, I also found a few problems with the book. Starting with the incorrect claims in the history section. The author claims that Heinrich Essig, the creator of the Leonberger breed, was the mayor of the town of Leonberg. He was a prominent citizen of Leonberg, a successful businessman, innkeeper, dog breeder, large-dog enthusiast, and town councilman, but he was not the mayor of Leonberg. It is claimed that only five Leonbergers survived World War I. It is true that World War I was tough on the breed, but it was not quite that bad. After the war, Karl Stadelmann and Otto Josenhans, worked hard to save the breed, and they were able to find twenty-five Leonbergers whose owners were willing to cooperate in reestablishing the breed. Of these, only five were suitable for breeding, which is different from saying that only five survived. In addition, the book claims that only eight Leonbergers survived World War II, which is even more incorrect.
The beginning of the book is written for readers in the UK, and later on it switches to North American readers (Leonberger Club of America), only to switch back to the UK again. It is if two different people wrote the book. Add the wrong dog breed on the cover and the somewhat funny book page design and I got the feeling that this book was put together haphazardly. It contains mostly good information, but it was not put together well, with the pieces perhaps originating from different sources. It is a quick read, it is not bad, but there are better Leonberger books out there. I give it three stars.
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.
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.
Leonberger Life 