How naughty is your newfie?

[maggiesmom]

Hi all, I was wondering just how naughty the breed newfie really is.  My girl went through puppy kindergarten and learned some good behavior but she will eat anything that is not nailed down. Her favorite is paper of anytype but is not particulary partial to paper. We had a brand spanking new house when we got Maggie and now,the house needs painted (need to get washable paint on the walls instead of the builders paint), molding needs to be replaced on our stairs from being chewed up, brand new dresser in bedroom chewed.  We have to watch where everything is --- she never bothers my cell phone but has eaten my dad;s cell, the remote, many new pairs of shoes and when we got her from the breeder, I was chit chatting about my garden and she said "oh, garden really, well you wont have that next year!".  We tried the crate early on but houdini escaped each time we left her - she is so smart, she will open the latches and the last time, got out between the rails so we stopped putting her in there because i was afraid she would strangle herself trying to get out. She and Sophia are not left alone long but when they are, they are very good.  My naughty goofey newfie is just bad when we are around.  Is this typical behavior and does it change over time... she is almost 16 months old now... We just newfie proof everything now but wondered if this would change...

[jesday]

Welcome to the world of Newf puppyhood. Same problems as normal puppies only on a much larger scale.

At 4 months our bubs managed to eat the inside insulation of garage door - 5 to 6 months discovered their brand new custom dog house was a giant chew toy complete with stuffing.

They liked chewing holes in the sheet rock of the garage, baseboards, steps, carpets. Various other opportunities.

You will definitely need to fence your garden. We are going to try a Fido shocker around our decorative landscaping for a few weeks this spring in hopes they will learn to stay out of those areas. They love to dig.

The good news is they do grow out of most of it, and are really smart and fast learners - Mine are very sensitive. Sophie jumped on the counter the first day we had her and all I had to do was say "SOPHIE OFF!" in a loud voice and she never did it again. Syrus will take advantage if something is left too close to the edge but has never jumped up. "Geez mom, if it's right there, don't I get to have it?"

And it is amazing how fast they can get into trouble, so I know what you mean when you say they are not left alone for long. We have a routine of what we close off before they come in. They don't eat the house anymore, but anything in a wicker basket if free. Happens that their toys are kept in one so they figure wicker = toys.

She will mellow but I agree with Melissa, girls are more naughty. I'm convinced Syrus has been led down many a wrong path by our little "Eve"

[lookingfornewf]

Not sure I can help much other than to let you know we have similar problems. Clifford is also 16 months old. Clifford does know to behave when I'm home. As soon as I'm out the door there are no rules apparently. He immediately checks the kitchen counters when we leave. Last week he knocked off a tea pot to the floor, broke it of course, pulled a plate out of the sink and dropped it on the floor. If we aren't good about putting things away he has taken a frying pan and spatula out his doggie door and left them in the yard, husband's slipper too out the doggie door. He has always had a paper fetish and will eat paper towels, kleenex, napkins, also plastic containers.
I can't leave him any toys out because my Jack Russell destroys them.
A big part of it is training us to remember to put everything away. He is the sweetest most loveable dog I have ever known and I'm just amazed at how sweet and gentle he is with small children. Some of his bad stuff is just laughable like when he ran around the house with a bar of soap he stole in his mouth.

[jesday]

He has always had a paper fetish and will eat paper towels, kleenex, napkins, also plastic containers.

I know. What is it about Newfs and paper? They love it! Must be very satisfying when tearing and shredding. I will give Sophie a wadded up paper towel when waiting in the vet's office to calm her down and give her something to do. My usual vet and staff are used to it, but when I took her to the surgeon he walked in and was like, "What the H - - - is all this?" He thought it was funny once I explained.

[Ursa]

Wow!  I don't think that mine have done anything that could rival wedding dress consumption - but they're still youn!

Paper products are a favorite toy around here too.  We keep the bathroom doors shut all of the time.  We're thinking about installing some of those occupied/available signs like you find on airplane toilets so that friends don't get to know us better than they ever wanted to!   

Dad's shoes and hats are another favorite thing.  He can't leave anything unattended or they've got it and are gone!

Worst ever?  They ate a 4 foot tree in the backyard.  Actually ATE it.  Not a twig was left.  That was a fun trip to the vet.   

[jesday]

Oh!  This is fun re-living all of Winston's destructive memories!!!!  When we moved from Denver to Indy, we had to live with my parents for a couple of months before finding our house.  We decided that Winston was probably old enough to stay in the bedroom, if we removed all the things we knew he loved to chew (Yep! Paper products....bo oks, kleenexes, photo albums,etc.).  But, don't think that stopped him....he decided to EAT OUR BED!  No exaggeration.. .we came home to a mess of shredded fabric and springs!!! 

When we moved into our new house, we thought we found the "perfect" room for Winston and Champ...we had nothing in it except his bed and toys....so Winston decided to eat the carpet!!!!!  So, we have a HUGE ripped hole in the middle of that room. Fun. 

The ultimate WORST thing was when he got out of the crate one day and ate the top layer of my wedding dress.  For that one, I couldn't even speak.  My eyes just welled up and I pointed to the backdoor....th at's all I said and Winston RAN!   

Winston is now 2.5 years old and we have just started this month leaving him out of the crate, but locked in the bedroom.  So far, so good, but I know he's got tons of naughty newfie left in him!!!!!  

Oh Liz, not your wedding dress! Winston has no idea how lucky he is to be a Newf. Any other dog may have not have made it to the back door.

[maggiesmom]

Wow, sounds like I will continue to have my work cut out for me.  THe intersting thing with Maggie is that she knows that she is not supposed to do what she is doing.. she will grab something and have it half hanging out of her mouth, come where I can see her and then run like h*ll when I want to get it out of her mouth.. and boy can her mouth hold some stuff.  We have quickly figured out that you have to search the mouth because it is so big she hides things in the back when taking in more.  She now has the chow doing the same thing when they are playing.  The chow does not get in trouble unless the newfie is getting in trouble....  And oh my gosh, to think of the wedding dress, that is beyond words. 

This weekend I was out in the yard picking up after the girls and I could tell who's poo poo was who's by what it contained.  One time, Maggie walked in with at least 2 feet of rope hanging from her back end.  I guess she got it out as far as she could so I Slowly pulled and she had completely eaten a large rope toy and at least 6 feet of string came out of her.

Now,she is big enough to have her head above the counter so we are always worried about what she will get off the counter. We are very careful with nonfood related items like medications, etc -- the food may make me mad but will likely not kill her.  When I am in the kitchen now cooking, I will see a head come up between my body and my arm with the nose pointing toward the counter, If I  move, she moves right along with me, like we are attached, It is hysterical.

Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it.  We just love our goofey newfie and her sister... we have so much fun with them and they are the best part of our day.  To get the newfie look right into your eyes will melt you away but just looking at the droopey eyed, drooling, HUGE puppy that she is, you just know from the look just how naughty she can be!!

Patti

[ozzysma]

i have to say i have been extremely lucky!! although ozzy now 4  was and still is very active for a newf he has really not wreaked anything. my little girl stevie 1, we have only had for 4 months did get into the toilet and newspapers when we first got her, now is extremely good. we can leave food out on the counter for hours and they will not touch it. i love to hear the stories though!! best of luck!!!LOL!

[KylieMay]

Love this thread!!
I named her Mayhem for a reason... Besides the Newfie paper fixation (she is a working dog, so I let her carry junk mail from the mailbox and shred it as a reward!), one of her favorite activities is chewing up all the tubing in our automatic watering system (installed at great expense, soon to be doubled). Maybe we could put Tabasco in Vaseline and smear it on the new tubing we'll have to put in this summer. ? Do you think that would work?

No counter-surfing yet, but she's small so can't reach much!

[KylieMay]

Hahaha - maybe Clifford likes spice??! I had big hopes for the hot sauce solution, but maybe I'll have to come up with a plan B. And C.

[jesday]

Love this thread!!
I named her Mayhem for a reason...  one of her favorite activities is chewing up all the tubing in our automatic watering system (installed at great expense, soon to be doubled). Maybe we could put Tabasco in Vaseline and smear it on the new tubing we'll have to put in this summer. ? Do you think that would work?

If he is anything like Clifford, not a chance! To stop Clifford's counter surfing I was advised to put Bitter Yuck spray on toast and leave it on the counter. Yum Yum, that was a good treat. Next try was tobasco. I soaked bread in it and left it on the counter, in the sink and drainer. He found all of them, once again, yummy, thanks for the treats. My husband thinks the drool just washes anything down without him tasting it.

We had a Newfie mix once who just loved tobasco. One trick finally did stop the counter surfing. I may have mentioned before. String a bunch of empty soda cans together and attach a bit of hot dog or some equally yummyness to the end. Place yummy on edge of counter and push cans back out of sight. Bub grabs the yummy and as he leaves the counter the horrible devil cans chase him wherever he runs with the string in his mouth. They came from the counter so must be very baaad place. Must stay away.    This has worked on more than one of our dogs. Good luck!

[maggiesmom]

I am so thrilled that  I am protected by the remote, cell phone, paper towels, toilet paper, my pillow -- imagine my scary life if I still had all those things around terrifying me.  What would I do without my goofey newfie and my silly chow chow?

[newfsie]

OMG..... ........I have owned many newfies in the past thirty years and I do not have stories like yours to tell.......... .And I am glad.......... ..The only difference might be that we are very active dog trainers. Our dogs love it and are happy when we have a session nearly every evening. we also go to training twice a week. Our dogs live inside and often stay in the house when we go out. Especially when it is too hot or cold to be in their outdoor run. we never use crates. we do however feed a lot of bones, which i think satisfies the chewing action all young dogs have.Please do not give newfies a bad name, by implying that they are destructive. We have had rescue newfs and puppies and I have found newfies very intelligent, easily trainable, well mannered and great to be around.
 

[Viking Lady]

Gosh.....that's too bad that you got that impression from the posts on here. When I read the stories about people and their Newfs, it makes me want one. 

[DenverFurKiddos]

Please do not give newfies a bad name, by implying that they are destructive.
 

Huh.  I never thought about it from this standpoint, as I never wanted to imply that newfies are a destructive breed.  Similarly to any breed of puppy, they will go through their own stage of chewing and shennanigans! I think what makes newfies different is that they ARE such intelligent creatures, so they can figure out things (e.g., how to open a closet door, escape a crate, etc.), then their puppiness just takes over!!

As for me, I love everything about my pups, even the trouble that they get themselves into.  I also acknowledge my own responsibility when things have gone awry.  Lastly, I LOVE being able to share my experiences with others and to be able to laugh together about our goofy newfies.  This thread was meant to be humorous and a means to unite us even more... I'm sorry that you took it the wrong way.