I don't have a Newf (although I think they are amazing dogs!), but I adopted Jenny, a Great Pyrenees, this past October and she gave lots of paws, which wouldn't have been so bad, except that when it's a big dog's paws, it hurts! What worked for us with this behavior was to turn around and completely ignore her when she pawed, then as soon as she put all of her paws on the floor we lavished her with pets and praise. It worked really well and only took a couple of days.
Jenny also barked more when she first came to live with us, but not so much now. I think dogs need to get used to all of the new noises when thye move into new environments.
Congrats on your new addition and thanks for adopting a dog in need! Oh, and by the way welcome to BPO!