Newfie Info Please

[melissajean]

Hi,
My name is Melissa. Im interested in perhaps adding a Newfoundland to my family. I have a few other breeds Im looking into also. But I do have some questions about Newfoundland I was wondering if you Newfie owners could answer for me?
1~How are they with children? I have a 4 year old son. I will never leave them unsupervised,andnever let Shane (My son) tease the dog in any way, but I would like a dog that will get along with him and play with him.
2~How are they with other critters?
3~How much exersize a day do they need as adults?
4~What aresome health problems Newfies can have? How do you prevent them,and/or how they are treated
5~What are some pros and cons?
6~What sort of grooming and how often do they need?

Feel free to add anything else you think I should know that I didnt add. Feel free to brag or vent lol
Thank you
~Melissa~

[Newly Newfed]

Hi,
My name is Melissa. Im interested in perhaps adding a Newfoundland to my family. I have a few other breeds Im looking into also. But I do have some questions about Newfoundland I was wondering if you Newfie owners could answer for me?
1~How are they with children? I have a 4 year old son. I will never leave them unsupervised,andnever let Shane (My son) tease the dog in any way, but I would like a dog that will get along with him and play with him.
2~How are they with other critters?
3~How much exersize a day do they need as adults?
4~What aresome health problems Newfies can have? How do you prevent them,and/or how they are treated
5~What are some pros and cons?
6~What sort of grooming and how often do they need?

Feel free to add anything else you think I should know that I didnt add. Feel free to brag or vent lol
Thank you
~Melissa~

Hi Melissa!  Welcome to BPO!  You couldn't have chosen a better breed to consider first.  But then again, I am a bit biased...LOL!  I am having my first experience with a Newf and I honestly can't imagine ever owning another breed of dog.  EVER.  My girl is Sierra, 7 1/2 months old and she is the most amazing animal I have ever experienced.

I can offer my opinions so far, but there are others here who can give you more info than I can...

Sierra has the sweetest temperment.  She truly thinks everyone she meets is her best friend.  We don't have small children in the house, our youngest is 11 yrs old but she can do anything she wants to Sierra and the dog just doesn't care.  She is just happy to be getting the attention.  Kelsey puts socks on her, puts her ears in pigtails and up like a sumo wrestler.  Sierra just follows her around looking for more.  We were at a picnic yesterday, and my 1 and 1/2 yr old nephew was crawling all over her, literally.  She just looked at him every now and then and kissed him whenever he got within "tongue shot".

She has started getting protective of the house and of Kelsey especially.  She's still a baby but some people have given her a second look already before walking up to us.

As for Newfoundland cons?  THE DROOL.  We have drool towels placed strategically around the house so we can grab one and wipe her mouth before she wipes it on someone's pant leg.  I guess their size can be considered a con...Sierra still barrels around the house like she's a smaller dog. Another con, is the hair.  If you don't keep up with it, it will be everywhere!

Hope this helps a little and let us know what you decide!


~ Stephanie

[melissajean]

Thank you
What ever dog I get will defently be a inside dog. Probably the only way my dog will be out sideis on a leash, unless I get a house with a fenced in yard, and Im 100 percent sure the fence is secure.
Im not house proud lol My house is defently messy and clutterd lol. I dont think I could live in a spotless house. I would be afraid to do anything lol. Hair and drool dosent bother me.
Thanks forthe info guys.
What are some problems youve run into with Newfies and kids? If any. And how did you deal with them?
Thanks again
~Melissa~

[ptkennel]

when they are pups they like to use you as a teething ring, but you have to be firm and let them know that that is not acceptable, I squeezed her mouth till she would make a little peep so she knew, not too hard, but enough to let her know that it hurts too, so don't do it.  I only had to do it a few times and she stopped.
My 8 year old daughter hates the drool, and is so concerned about her clothes getting slobber on them that she freaks out.  Of course our newf isn't sure what the heck the prob is.
The tails are also a concern for kids, they can get hit with them when the dog is excited. 

[Newly Newfed]

Thank you
What ever dog I get will defently be a inside dog. Probably the only way my dog will be out sideis on a leash, unless I get a house with a fenced in yard, and Im 100 percent sure the fence is secure.
Im not house proud lol My house is defently messy and clutterd lol. I dont think I could live in a spotless house. I would be afraid to do anything lol. Hair and drool dosent bother me.
Thanks forthe info guys.
What are some problems youve run into with Newfies and kids? If any. And how did you deal with them?
Thanks again
~Melissa~

Not minding a mess is an important factor if you're going to own any big hairy dog.  Maybe it's because she's still so young, or maybe I just got lucky, but Sierra is fairly dry mouthed.  She has her fair share of drool, but to be hoest, I expected a lot more.  The only issues I can think of regarding children have already been mentioned.  The sheer size of Newfies is something to be mindful of and Sierra also used us all as a teething ring.  We used a loud "NO!" and a firm smack on the nose, just enough to get her attention.   The chewing subsided and hasn't been a problem since she got her adult teeth.

No gushing about her today though, I'm mad at her.  She was a bad girl this morning. 


~ Stephanie

[melissajean]

Thanks guys
Drooling and hair all over dosent bother me.
I dont think it would bother Shane being nocked down. Hes always doing something that I assume would hurt him, but he gets right back up and laughes about it. He has a high pain tollerance.
What about grooming? What sort of grooming routeen do you guys have?
What did Sierra do to make you mad this morning?
~Melissa~

[chaos270]

Kali is a little leery of loud children but it's because she wasn't around many kids as a puppy.  Most newfs are fine as long as they were well socialized with kids.  She needs to be brushed everyday pretty much as she hates it so you can only do a little at a time.  But I'd say they need a good brushing every 2-3 days and some spot brushing daily.  They do mat if you don't keep them brushed and make sure you dry them well after playing in water and take off their collars if they're wet as it can cause the hot spots. Kali got them really bad and had to have her entire neck shaved.  It was pretty raw and took weeks to heal.  We found a collar that drys pretty quick so she mainly wears that one now.

But we'll definitely have newfies in the future as well since they are such awesome dogs.  Everyone else has given good advice up above.  Hope this helps.

[melissajean]

thanks
Ive never heard anything about Newfies getting hot spots from wearing there collars while wet. I hope shes ok? Thank you for telling me that in case I get a Newfie.
Thank you again
Oh, what sort of exersize do you give your Newfie daily?
Thanks again
~Melissa~

[chaos270]

She's all better now...it was a thick nylon collar that did it. It was really nasty and poor Kali looked funny for awhile cause it was poofed head skinny neck then poofy body...she was less than thrilled with the haircut.  As for exercise she usually plays soccer for half an hour a day plus my brother takes her out with him while he's doing work outside so she runs around then too. She gets very opinionated (barking) if she doesn't get to go out and play though.

[Leah-n-boy-os]

thanks
Ive never heard anything about Newfies getting hot spots from wearing there collars while wet. I hope shes ok? Thank you for telling me that in case I get a Newfie.
Thank you again
Oh, what sort of exersize do you give your Newfie daily?
Thanks again
~Melissa~

Usually with Onyx, we let "the Herd" into the backyard, and let him determine his own level of play, with our supervision. He's larger than everyone except Apollo, so there's no danger of him being ran over. *LOL* Onyx has a mild heart murmur, so our Vet recommended that we allow Onyx to set his own pace, as he's good about listening to his body, and telling us when he's all done playing.

We take a lot of trips on the weekends, going hiking or off-roading, and the herd is usually with us. For Onyx, he walks with me, as I'm disabled myself, so I get to be the pace-setter (Hah, there are benefits to getting old!) and this allows me to watch him carefully for signs of stress of tiredness.

Mostly I've found that they're content with a good walk a day, (more if you can possibly spare it, because they love to be gawked at by other folks on the street!) and some dedicated play on the weekends. Swimming is one of the best things you can do for them, great for their joints, and it appeals to their inner nature.

Cheers!

[melissajean]

Thanks
We live by lake Superior, and go there alot in the summer and fall. It would be great to get a dog that loves swiming as much as we do
~Melissa~

[Newly Newfed]

What did Sierra do to make you mad this morning?
~Melissa~

My 11 yr old dug up some flowers that were dying outside and re-planted them in a pot.  They were growing like crazy and in the 5 minutes it took me to get Kelsey to her school bus, Sierra tore the plants apart.  The pot was broken and there was soil, plant pieces and petals EVERYWHERE.  She must have took it and shook her head because it was all over the couches, on the TV and end tables.  And spread across the beige carpet.  Then she got all riled up and started rolling in it, pushing it into the carpet. 

Every time I think she's a good girl, she pulls something like this.  Rotten dog made me late for work.


~ Stephanie

[Newly Newfed]

And yet, all she has to do is look at me with that face and I'm a goner.

I don't know if I'm more mad at what she did or the fact that I can't stay angry at her.  And I think she knows it.


~ Stephanie

[melissajean]

Well she does have an adorable face. So cute and fluffy, I dont blame you for not being able to stay mad lol.
~Melissa~