Newfie owners

[Close2Me]

I have a love for Newfies but would love to know what daily life with them is really like: the good, the bad, and the ugly...anyone?

[EFmom]

DH had one when we first got married. He was the sweetest dog on earth.

He was also filth on paws. He shed incredible amounts of long black hair. We brushed him daily, and would get at least a large paper grocery sack's worth of hair, and still there would be hair eveywhere. The drool was constant and disgusting. There would be a "chair rail" of slobber on the walls that I was constantly wiping down. And the dirt... Whenever he would get up after lying down, there would be half an inch of dirt on the floor where he was. His coat was a dirt magnet.

He was kind, gentle, sweet, well-trained and filthy. Personally, I couldn't do it again. But if you have a high threshold for that sort of thing, they are great dogs.

[silkiemum]

We fostered one for 6 months, and the mess was indescribable. She wasn't much of a drooler, and she was tiny for a Newf, but still: yuck. Hair, mud tracked in, sand, dirt, the oil of their fur, and the difficulty of finding ticks in her dense fur etc. Never again.
The biggest drawback wasn't the mess, it was the general unhealthiness of the breed. She was from a top breeder, had titled and health certified parents, her own hips were perfect, and she still required bilateral ACL repair at almost 7 grand total. I have yet to meet a Newf owner who hasn't had some form of surgery for cherry eye/hips/cruciates/elbows etc. And every single pet Newf I've met has been grossly fat. And they die really early.

So, our current puppy? An Ibizan Hound-as far from a Newf as you can get!

HTH,

Andrea with DH, two DDS, a cat and a puppy and a mountain of laundry to do!

[Close2Me]

Thanks ladies! I'm a clean freak so maybe I'll set my sights elsewhere!

[EFmom]

Originally Posted by silkiemum

We fostered one for 6 months, and the mess was indescribable. She wasn't much of a drooler, and she was tiny for a Newf, but still: yuck. Hair, mud tracked in, sand, dirt, the oil of their fur, and the difficulty of finding ticks in her dense fur etc. Never again.
The biggest drawback wasn't the mess, it was the general unhealthiness of the breed. She was from a top breeder, had titled and health certified parents, her own hips were perfect, and she still required bilateral ACL repair at almost 7 grand total. I have yet to meet a Newf owner who hasn't had some form of surgery for cherry eye/hips/cruciates/elbows etc. And every single pet Newf I've met has been grossly fat. And they die really early.

So, our current puppy? An Ibizan Hound-as far from a Newf as you can get!

HTH,

Andrea with DH, two DDS, a cat and a puppy and a mountain of laundry to do!

Ours had no health problems at all, and he was purebred, with champion parents. He wasn't at all fat and lived to be 11. I've known many healthy newfs, and there is no reason for them to be fat that wouldn't apply to any other breed. But they are all dirty.

[gealach]

I love Newfies. From afar or in short doses.
And I have a pretty high tolerance for pet hair in my home. I'm used to finding golden retriever hairs in my coffee and think nothing of fishing them from my spaghetti. But, Newfies, as much as I love their big furry bear-ness and have adored the personality of every one I've ever met... the slobber and the hair is just too much for me to handle as a live-in companion.

[meowmix]

Originally Posted by Close2Me

Thanks ladies! I'm a clean freak so maybe I'll set my sights elsewhere!

I have a 9 month old Newfie. And I agree, if you're a clean freak, you probably want to look elsewhere. We have a small townhome, 3 kids, 2 cats and a big newfie puppy. I need to vacuum everyday for his shedding. He sheds like mad. I was prepared for hair.... but.. wow. The hair he sheds- even when I am grooming him 3 times a week. He also LOVES his waterbowl and will play in the water if I don't keep a close eye on him. He has a doggy smell to him, he's not one of those dogs that doesn't smell. It's cooler now, but when it was hot he drooled... and when he went swimming he tracked water all over our house. I was constantly washing towels and wiping up water during the summer. Newfoundlands are definitely not dogs for the neat freaks (I am definitely not a neat freak but I do like a clean house and I do vacuum every day now). He will also get a drooly, wet muzzle and shove it on my jeans. Don't plan on looking super neat if you have a newf. He doesn't realize how big he is and when he steps on my foot it hurts!

That said.. I am utterly in love with the breed. He adores my kids, he is good natured and sweet, he loves everyone. He has this special bond with my youngest and she can lay her head on him and relax and he just lays there. He lets the kids hug him, he sits when they ask, rolls over for pets, follows them around. He's laid back and doesn't jump on people. He's sweet but not in a "in your face" kind of way. He's smart but not Border Collie smart. If I say "sit" he smiles and eases on down into his sit. He's not lightning fast responsive. He's STRONG and I have to keep him on a prong because, even though his leash manners are great, when he sees a doggy friend, having some backup is nice. All in all, I would get another newfie in a heartbeat. Most of my friends think I am a little crazy with this enormous dog, though. At 9 months, he's over 100 lbs and often doesn't realize how big he is. He's also pretty low energy considering he's a puppy. He gets walked twice a day for 1.25 miles. He gets some fetch in the house and lots of attention from the kids. He sleeps the rest of the time. He is the best dog ever.

[ElaynesMom]

My parents have a Newfie and he is the sweetest, most disgusting dog I have ever met. They got him when I was 14 and I had to live with him for 5 years. The hair is ..... everywhere. I would get out of the shower, wrap a towel around me and be covered in his hair.It was gross. Or, I'd wake up in the morning and have a hair in my eye, and when I'd go to the bathroom to remove it it would be a loooong dog hair that I was pulling out from behind my eyeball, honestly. He drools everywhere, on the arms of couches/chairs, in your lap, he even shakes his head and flings huge strings of slobber onto the ceiling. He smashes his whole head into his water dish and spills/drips water everywhere. My socks were never dry living at home. When we go over I only dress my dd in play clothes because she just gets so gross because of the dog. Besides that though, he's lovely

Oh, and my parents Newf is going to be 10 years old Christmas day and hasn't had any health problems (except for a club foot he was born with). His eyes, hips, etc have all been fine.

[sparkygirl74]

We have an 11 month old female Landseer and so far the shedding hasn't been bad at all. She gets brushed a few times a week and I get two or three big handfuls of hair. The mud and dirt can be pretty bad though, but that would be the same with any dog...actually I take that back. She can hold a ton of mud in that fur and when it dries it falls right off, leaving me with a clean dog and a dirty house, lol.Because of where we live I need to vacuum just about everyday anyway because of all of the other stuff that gets tracked in so that isn't that big of a problem. She is crate trained and that helps. If the mud is too bad she has to go in the crate for awhile. She doesn't drool but that may come with age. What I wasn't prepared for was the activity level of a newfie puppy. We had to take her on one or two very long hikes with her off leash every day (lucckily we have endless trails in the woods as a backyard.) I don't know how I would have handled her if we lived in a suburban setting where I had to walk her on a leash. She is just now starting to calm down, but still needs quite a bit of excercise. Since it is hunting season right now she is getting a football thrown to her a lot. She is a beautiful dog and is a great watchdog and very sweet and we do love her...most of the time

[SimonMom]

we have a one year old newf. i'll come back and post more. but we have NOT had that exp with shedding at all
he's sheds a LOT twice a year
but it only come out when you brush it
right now there is no hair in our house
it was worse when i had a dalmatian growing up
maybe it's diet

[Magelet]

When I was a teenager, I/we had/have a newfie. (He lives with my mom and sister).

I love his furry self. Sweetest, most loving dog on the planet. Not the brightest of the bunch. Drool like you cannot beleive. (black clothes, white clothes, "oh, parker, I love you too, but honey, I'm trying to leave the house in my fancy clothes cleanish"). Not perfectly well trained, but not bad, and if we (the people) had been better at training, I think he would be better trained. The fur, yeah, its a lot, but with a persian cat and two rabbits, we never noticed it any more than the rest, just vacumed a lot. It only sheds really heavy a few times a year.

If you are a clean freak, probably not the dog for you. They are adorable, bear-like, cheerful, energetic (not highstrung, he would love to run and romp and explore, and also to plop down and lay at your feet for a movie or two or three if your sick), loving, responsive, big hearted dogs.

I'd get another newfie in a heartbeat if we could have a dog, and had a house with yard instead of a tiny apartment without dogs allowed. I also think that he would be better with someone who he could accompany to work, because I don't think he did well being alone all day.

[StarJune]

Bumping for some input.

We are planning to pick up our Newf tomorrow but I am getting cold feet!

[nd_deadhead]

I assume your breeder has told you everything that you've read here, and then some. If not, you need to find a different breeder.

I think you've been given a very clear picture of what it's like to live with a Newf - he's a big, wet, dirty, hairy ball of love. If you can get past the wet, dirty, hairy part, pick up your new baby and enjoy him!

If you are worried about whether or not this is the right breed for you, don't bring him home - or work out a deal with the breeder that you take him on a trial basis, and make sure that the breeder will take him back if you find the work is more than you'd bargained for.

[meowmix]

I posted before when Rez was 9 months old. He's 1.5 years thereabouts now and I still adore him. He still loves the kids to pieces. He's pretty calm but does need to be walked daily. He smells like a big ole dawg. Bathing him is a task in and of itself. It takes forever! In the summer, he gets bathed outside and in the winter, we take him every other week to a do it yourself Dog wash place. He still sheds a lot.

But honestly, I wouldn't trade him for anything. He's big. 130lbs now. He also doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's been a gentle giant. But I am an animal person- I'll admit it.. I kind of like the smell of dog. I don't mind his hair and I don't mind the daily chores that come with a dog (cleaning up poop, walking him, training, etc). Newfs are a very special breed. Congrats on your new puppy! I would love to get another one but alas, I don't think our tiny townhome with no yard will support another huge dog. heh.