Teacher-Authors: What’s Happening on my Writer’s Blog

In this monthly column, I share the most popular post from my writer’s blog, WordDreams. Why? Because a lot of teachers are also authors. This one is from a while ago, but it’s about dogs. If you love these critters the way I do, you understand:

Today, Thomas Wikman,  proud owner of a Leonberger named Bronco, author of the definitive book on this breed, The Life and Times of Le Bronco, and I, soulmate to my fictional Canis-dog Ump, sometimes star of the Dawn of Humanity trilogy, will compare stories about our massive dogs. Despite that Ump passed on about 2 million years ago and Bronco more recently, the two huge furballs have gotten to know each other over the mythical Rainbow Bridge, the passage that carries pets to their Life Ever After. Though Ump is more wolf than domesticated dog (akin to the extinct Borophagus) and Bronco is a Leonberger, one of the largest dog breeds in the world, the two have a lot in common.

Here are the questions Thomas and I will answer:

1. Quick one-sentence intro to our dog friend
2. Tell about life with a large dog
3. How do they hunt?

I’m taking the first three. You’ll have to click through to Thomas’ blog for the last two! I do have a wonderful large dog named Casey…

but for the purposes of this blog, I’m focusing on the proto-wolf Ump (to the right below) who stars in my latest trilogy, Dawn of Humanity while Thomas is sharing his wonderful Leonberger, Bronco (on the left below). Here they are together;

One-sentence intro to our dogs

Ump: Ump is about 150 pounds, the feralness of his proto-wolf genetics blended perfectly with the loyalty of an animal who understands the human who saved his life. She is now Alpha and her tribe, Pack. Nuff said.

Bronco: A Leonberger, which is a very large rare working dog and companion dog originating from Germany. For a Leonberger, he lived an unusually long life.

Describe life with a large dog

Ump: Large is critical in the feral world of our ancestors. Lucy (the 1.8 myo female star of Ump’s trilogy, Dawn of Humanity) doesn’t view Ump as a pet, but as a tribe member responsible for hunting and protection, just like any other tribe member. In Lucy’s view, there is no difference.

Bronco: Leonbergers are very large dogs. A male Leonberger weighs between 120-170lbs. They are also very athletic and strong, and they are considered to be great carting dogs. Their pull is very large, in my estimate 2-3 times that of a German Shepherd. Therefore, they need to be well behaved and the person handling them need to be physically fit. When they stand on their back legs their paws can reach the shoulders of an average sized adult. That combined with their weight makes it important that they don’t jump up on people, which unfortunately Leonbergers love to do, just to be friendly.

They are intelligent enough to open cabinet doors, and their powerful jaws, reach and strength enables them to destroy furniture, doors, and wedding albums. If you can reach something in the kitchen, so can they, making them expert counter surfers. Therefore, training and taking precautions for their size are essential. They need a lot of space so if you live in an apartment a Leonberger may not be a good choice.

How do Ump and Bronco hunt?

Ump: Ump considers Lucy’s tribe his pack so he hunts exactly as he would if traveling with his proto-wolves. They hunt in a group, sniff out clues, communicate with each other with huffs and yips, and instinctively know who protects and who attacks. Because of Ump’s speed, developed senses of smell and hearing, tearing claws and teeth, he is a valuable addition to Lucy’s tribe.

Bronco: Bronco loved chasing rabbits and he wanted to chase cats and coyotes. However, we wouldn’t let him. It is too dangerous to have a 140lbs muscular dog running lose in the neighborhood. He was able to chase rabbits once when he got lose. He was fast but not as fast as the rabbit. What he was good at was sniffing out rodents, like hamsters. Leonbergers have a very good sense of smell. On a few occasions he sniffed out the location of our runaway hamsters. Bronco’s hamster rescue operations gave us some amazing tales to tell.

Here’s the sign-up link if the image above doesn’t work:

https://forms.aweber.com/form/07/1910174607.htm

---

---

---

Copyright ©2024 worddreams.wordpress.com – All rights reserved.

“The content presented in this blog is the result of my creative imagination and not intended for use, reproduction, or incorporation into any artificial intelligence training or machine learning systems without prior written consent from the author.”

---

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

–photo credit Deposit Photos