Author Topic: Newfie Pup  (Read 8467 times)

Offline Newfie Tess

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Newfie Pup
« on: April 20, 2009, 10:47:10 am »
Hi everyone.

My name is Neale. I have just brought home my new puppy Tess. She is a Newfoundland and 8 1/2 weeks old. I have been reading some of the topics on this site for a month or two now and thought its time to sign up. I live in Sydney Australia.

I have a few questions.

I read a post that says Newfie pups should not be taken from the litter until 10-12 weeks, is this right?

I am training her to sleep outside. The first two nights I kept her inside but last night was her first out. She did ok only making a lot of noise every 2 hours or so. She doesn't go to the toilet in her crate which is great and she will quiet down once I go out and give her a kibble or two in her crate and pat her a bit. Then I go back inside and I can hear her making a tiny bit of noise before she settles down again. Just wondering if I am doing things right or if anyone has any tips.

I am at work for about 9 hours a day but I have great neighbours who let me know how she has behaved during this time. They say she takes about 15 minutes to settle down and then only makes a bit of noise every now and then. Sometimes it is possible for me to get home half way through the day only for about 5 minutes am I better off leaving her or should I go and give her a bit of attention and some food?

She is only just starting to learn her name. What should the first thing be that I teach her and should it only be one thing at a time? For example should I teach her to sit before attempting to teach her to fetch.

I would appreciate any advice on these few things. Sorry about the lengthy post. I only have a couple of photos here at work with me but when I get home I will try and put some more up.

Thanks Everyone
Look forward to your reply.

P.S. The photos below were sent to me by the Breeder she is about 6 1/2 weeks in the photos.

« Last Edit: April 20, 2009, 11:00:25 am by Newfie Tess »

Offline apple25

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2009, 11:04:47 am »
Hi!

Your baby is a cutie!  I don't know much about Newfs - I have a Bouvier and she is still a puppy too, but I know thatt everyone on this board will give you great advice.

From the little bit I've learned with Petra, I'd suggest to start by teaching her name and praising her when she does something that you want her to do - like being settled, letting you brush her, whatever :)  I also started with sit fairly young - Petra was super smart and learned that right away and then her down.  Teaching her to come using kibble before feeding is another idea you might want to try.

Don't do too much at once - enjoy her, bond with her - let her know how much she is loved, etc.  Have fun!!

Offline Ursa

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2009, 12:17:34 pm »
Hi Neale and welcome to you and Tess!

Esther gave you some good advice.  I'll reiterate that Newfs are very people oriented dogs.  If you're at work for 9 hours and she's outside for 8 at night that's 17 hours for her to be alone.  She's probably never been alone before so that's a huge transition for her.

Do you crate her during the day?  If so, like Esther said, is there someway either you or a friend could come by and let her out to potty?  A puppy that young really needs to go outside every few hours. 

Do I understand correctly that you're crating her outside at night?  If that's the case then I'd move the crate back inside where she can be with you.  You won't get a lot of sleep at first but I get the feeling you already know that!  ;)  If you put her crate outside because she's too hot inside then it's a easy fix to get a floor fan to keep her cool.  Ours like to sleep outside too because they get too warm.  We don't allow it for several reasons - coyotes, hose destruction, digging, fear of them getting loose etc...

A trick I used with mine is to say their name and then treat them when they look at me.  Newfs are usually very eager to learn so Tess will have her name down in no time!
Ruthanna - the Triplets' mom

Ursa, CGC -  11 month old Great Pyrenees
Fargo, CGC - 9 month old Newfoundland
Sadie, CGC - 8 month old Newfoundland

What Now!? - www.muttdog.us

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2009, 12:43:07 pm »
3 Great replies so soon.

Thanks everyone.

KBnewf, I intend on keeping her outside only while we are at work and while we sleep. Her crate doesn't have a door on it so she has no problem coming and going and I have managed to get her to go to the crate and stay there for a couple of hours at a time without her starting to bark to get me to come and see her. When she does bark I try and wait until she stops before I go outside.

Ursa when you put it like that 17 hours is a long time. If I keep her in of a night only taking her out for the toilet will it make her worse during the day or harder to keep her outside when she is older?

This is my second day at work since we have had her and I still feel sick all day worrying if she will be ok and how much the neighbours can take if she is making a lot of noise.

At the moment its not hot inside at all but outside it is quite cool I think last night it got down to 14 degrees celcius (57 Fahrenheit) is this to cold for her?

Thanks for all the tips guys, keep them coming.  :)

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2009, 01:45:46 pm »
Just got a call from my neighbour apparently Tess has not stopped making noise all morning. She has been on her own for 3.5 hours so far. Is this normal?

Sorry for all the questions guys but I just want to make sure Im doing everything right and everything I can.

Thanks

Offline Ursa

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2009, 02:15:26 pm »
Too cold for her?  Not sure about tiny Newfs because ours were a little older when they came to us but by 4 months old I can tell you it's never too cold! 

From my puppy experience that's totally normal.  I'm guessing that Tess is your only dog?  Is that right?  If so then she's all by herself for the first time ever.  That's gotta be a bit unsettling.

IMHO I'd get a crate with a door for inside the house.  If that's not doable right now do you have an area that you could babygate off to keep her confined during the day?  An area with easily cleaned floors would be best.  I have an unused bedroom that I converted to a room for my dogs to stay in while I'm away.  An inside crate helps a lot with general training as well.  It gives you a safe place to park Tess when you can't supervise her but allows her to be close to her family at the same time.

Once you have a place to keep her safe and out of trouble in the house can you do some extra playtime with Tess in the morning before you leave for work?  A tired dog really is a good dog.  Then when you leave, maybe give her a treat toy like a Twist n Treat or a Buster Cube.  Don't put too much food in it because you don't want to overfeed or make it harder for her to hold it while you're gone.  Perhaps just put part of her regular breakfast in there?  Add in some appropriate toys for her to play with and chew on to stay busy. 

I can't promise that she'll stay quiet for the whole day - she's just too tiny for that - but at least you'll be doing your best to keep her boredom from getting her into trouble!

Ruthanna - the Triplets' mom

Ursa, CGC -  11 month old Great Pyrenees
Fargo, CGC - 9 month old Newfoundland
Sadie, CGC - 8 month old Newfoundland

What Now!? - www.muttdog.us

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2009, 02:18:29 pm »
Ursa, Thanks heaps for both your replies each one makes me feel a little better. I will pick up a toy like you suggested and a door on my way home this afternoon. Thanks again for your great help.

P.S. Yes Tess is my only dog. I don't mind converting a spare room for her to stay in but will this affect her when I try to move her outside once she is a little older and settled in? or should it just be a room for night time?
« Last Edit: April 20, 2009, 02:22:18 pm by Newfie Tess »

Offline Ursa

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2009, 02:23:44 pm »
You're very welcome!  I'm sure there are others here that will have wonderful advice for you as well!  Keep us posted on how it goes.  The puppy stage is a lot of fun but it can be tiring too.  Before I got my 3 (long story how THAT happened) it had been years since I last had a puppy so my advice is a result of learning from my mistakes!

btw - don't forget more pictures!
Ruthanna - the Triplets' mom

Ursa, CGC -  11 month old Great Pyrenees
Fargo, CGC - 9 month old Newfoundland
Sadie, CGC - 8 month old Newfoundland

What Now!? - www.muttdog.us

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2009, 02:32:04 pm »
I will keep you guys up to date, and will post some pictures up as soon as I have tired her out this afternoon. I finish work in 4.5hrs. Can't wait!

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2009, 02:43:30 pm »
Hi Lori, Yeah she is great I think it helps that the neighbours know how cute she is. I find it very hard to leave her yelping all the time especially when I am home, but have been told if I go to her while she is yelping it will only make her do it all the time to get me to come to her.

You have lots of pets. I have Tess and 2 Goldfish.

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #10 on: April 20, 2009, 09:29:13 pm »
Thanks for the good info KBnewf. I have brought her crate into our bedroom and will take everyones advice and leave it there for a while. Does it matter if I move the crate around depending what room we are in? or should it stay in our bedroom?

Im glad you told me about the feeding schedule to work out when she needs to poo because I am sitting here worrying now that she hasn't done one all day and thinking it is going to come anytime now on my carpet.

We are about to bath her. I will take some more photos and put them up when we are done.


Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2009, 10:50:16 pm »
Here are five pics.

They were given to me by the Breeder but I'm not sure if they are Tess or not.

Offline Newfie Tess

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Tess Pics
« Reply #12 on: April 20, 2009, 11:06:40 pm »
These next 5 are some Brenda and I took of her.

Offline Newfie Tess

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2009, 09:33:27 am »
Hey guys, yeah she is great we kept her in our room last night and she behaved well, just have to try and get her to go to the toilet in the right spot when I take her out now. She seems to hold it until she is back inside.

Offline Ursa

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Re: Newfie Pup
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2009, 11:54:17 am »
Love the sleeping in her bed pic and that last one!  Tess is adorable!

We had that same pottying problem with Sadie.  We ended up taking a couple of treats outside and giving one to her (along with a huge amount of praise) when she went in the appropriate spot.
Ruthanna - the Triplets' mom

Ursa, CGC -  11 month old Great Pyrenees
Fargo, CGC - 9 month old Newfoundland
Sadie, CGC - 8 month old Newfoundland

What Now!? - www.muttdog.us