newfie question

[nobbie]

Hi all..im new to the site ..i have a question for all you newfie owners ..how many of your newfs go upstairs?? im only asking as im getting a newf fur ball next year,and it will need to go upstairs as i live in a flat,i know when they are very young they must not do the stairs but i am having a ramp put in specially for him/her, i owned a part newf and he weighed 9 1/2 stones and he had no trouble,was just wondering how many of you guys allowed ur newfs to climb stairs..thanks alot

sue x

[galaxybears]

Hi Sue,

Non of my Newfs are allowed upstairs at any age! I obviously didn't let them up when they were babies because of their joints, but then when they are older they just don't know what to do with stairs if they weren't allowed up when they were small.

On the odd ocassion when one of mine has vanished upstairs they are so clumsy when they are coming down again that I think they are going to fall and break something... All accept Molly that is, but then our Moll has always been the odd one out!

Good luck with the new pup

[mynameislola]

Can you move if you get a newfie like ours with bad knees who cannot climb stairs or ramps?  If I had to get mine up or down a set of stairs I'd have to tie him to a board and slide him.  0.o

Are you getting your pup from a breeder?  Look for one that does hips, cystinuria and the subaortic stenosis check.

They are the cutest furballs!

[FumbsAuntie]

We were told to esp. not let fumble go up and down stairs as a puppy.. we dont have any stairs in our house so that made it easy. We wouldn't push the stairs on him unless he absolutely had to. But the poor guy has no idea what to do when he sees them. He just obv. fumbles around going up them and then going down is even worse!

[BarkleysMum]

We've had two Newfs now.  Our first, Barkley, came to us full grown and had no problem with stairs.  I did notice that he was always careful on them, and couldn't/wouldn't turn around on them or anything like that.  He had perfect hips and joints when we had to put him to sleep for cancer.

Anna's breeder insists that her pups do no stairs or jumping at all for the first 6 - 9 months of their lives.  When Anna came to us, she was 10 months old and literally leaps up and down stairs two and three at a time - no problem with them, but we do have to watch her to make sure she doesn't injure herself going up or down them too quickly.

Good luck with your new pup!

[arkydo]

Nah keep em away from stairs and climbing, luckily my dogs to lazy to even bother

[nobbie]

Thanks everyone for all your replies, you've all given me some things to think about, i suppose all dogs are different ..i will have to have another think,thanks again everyone

sue xx

[chaos270]

We didn't let Kali do stairs until she was too big to carry.  She learned how to do them with one of us leading her and another below her to catch her in case she fell.  Now she barrels up and down the stairs with no problems. She's also more agile than most newfs and is a bit on the small side so I guess it'd be easier for her than a large male.

[nobbie]

Thanks chaos270..i was thinking of getting the female as they are slightly smaller and lighter ..spoke to my breeder today and she said near enough the same as you,its all about being careful at the end of the day ..thanks again.

We didn't let Kali do stairs until she was too big to carry.  She learned how to do them with one of us leading her and another below her to catch her in case she fell.  Now she barrels up and down the stairs with no problems. She's also more agile than most newfs and is a bit on the small side so I guess it'd be easier for her than a large male.

[Bigdog5537]

You have to watch out if you have wide enough stairs where your newf can comfortably walk next to you. If so, he might try, and mine did for a long time, pulling you up the stairs by your sleeves.  It's pretty dangerous for little kids and the elderly. Also, My dog can't slow down going down stairs.  Every once and a while he'll slide down the stairs.

[nobbie]

thanks for your advice everyone,i shall be very careful with her 

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

Winslow goes up and down stairs all the time, yes, you have to be careful while Training a newf on steps, but you really should get them some experience with steps. You will encounter steps in numerous locations while with your pet and trying to get a 100+ pound stone to do something it doesn't know how to or want to do will be a problem.

Going to the vet, or a groomer, or into a home, or out to the yard. A few steps are always presents somewhere. If you train your Newf they are fine on steps you just need to be sure there is some good traction on the stairs so they can't slip.

Rich

PS you can't force them just praise and encourage them to get up and down on their own. Winslow took a few months and some peer pressure from another dog before he made the first climb.