This is probably the best short Leonberger book I’ve come across. With short I mean less than 60 maybe 70 pages. It is specifically about Leonbergers and not a generic dog book with a couple of pages of Leonberger information. The author is able to pack a lot of helpful Leonberger information into this book without making it dense. The book feature Leonberger information such as temperament, personality, appearance, and Leonberger history, as well as how to care for, train and feed a Leonberger. The book also explores how to get a Leonberger, and if you should get a Leonberger, the cost, the breeders, and Leonberger health.
The book is well written, well edited, the layout/book design looks nice, and it contains 17 beautiful Leonberger photographs (in black and white). I especially enjoyed the chapter on caring for a Leonberger. One thing I found distracting was that the book focused on Leonbergers in the UK and then it focused on North America when discussing how to choose a breeder without having the same discussion for the UK. I didn’t mind too much since I live in the US, but the UK readers may have missed something. I also reacted to the statement that Leonbergers live 6-8 years. That’s an outdated number. Now a day Leonbergers live 8-10 years and our Leonberger lived 13 years, which is exceptional. Thank the Leonberger Health Foundation International for that improvement.
Unfortunately, in the chapter on Leonberger history the book contains some information that is incorrect. The author claims that Heinrich Essig, the creator of the Leonberger breed, was the mayor of the town of Leonberg. Heinrich Essig was a prominent citizen of the town, and he was a successful businessman, farmer, innkeeper, horse and dog trader, large-dog enthusiast, dog breeder, and town councilman, but he was never the mayor of Leonberg.
The author claims 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. That's where that info originates, but that’s a little different from saying that only five Leonbergers survived the war.
The author also claims that only eight Leonbergers survived World War II. However, that is once again an exaggeration. There was indeed a “genetic bottleneck” of Leonbergers in the 1940s. This was largely because people repeatedly bred the dogs, they thought were the best specimens in a misguided attempt to improve the breed. Scientific pedigree analyses demonstrate that the Leonberger has twenty-two founder animals, or animal ancestors unrelated to one another (ten males and twelve females). Again, that is a little bit different from “only 8 survived”.
I spent most of my review complaining about incorrect statements that I found, but in truth these incorrect statements are not many and not important. This is still a very good book for being a short book. I give it a four-star rating and I recommend it to anyone interested in the breed who wants a quick but helpful read.
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