Breed Profile

DESCRIPTION

The Newfoundland is a beautiful, large, stately, strong, and massive dog with a broad heavy head. It is elegant, harmonious, agile and hardy. It loves to swim; its feet are webbed for better swimming. The Newfoundland is an outstanding instinctive water rescue dog. It has been called the St. Bernard of the water. This breed is courageous, generous, and devoted. It is an exceptionally patient dog; it fits into any type of household.

TEMPERAMENT

The Newfoundland is a dog with an outstanding temperament. This breed is patient, mild mannered, and gentle. This dog is very devoted, loyal, trustworthy, and sweet. It can become so attached to its owner that it cannot adapt to a new home. It is patient, playful, and loving with children; it is a born babysitter. It is intelligent enough to act on its own when needed. It makes a very good watchdog. It can recognize a dangerous situation and will generally act if the family is threatened. This breed is generally good with other animals, though some males may be aggressive with other males. This breed may be slightly difficult to train; it needs calm, patient, balanced training. This dog is very sensitive to the tone of your voice. The Newfoundland loves to swim. The Newfoundland drinks a lot of water and may be messy about it, as it loves to get wet. It tends to drool, though not as much as some other giant breeds. Although as puppy it requires a lot of food, an adult Newfoundland eats only about as much as a retriever. This is a huge dog and tends to move rather slowly; take this into account during training. This gentle giant was used for hauling in nets, carrying boat lines to shore, retrieving anything which fell overboard and rescuing shipwrecked and drowning victims; it was also used to haul lumber, pull mail sheds, deliver milk, and carry loads in packs. This breed will benefit from regular moderate exercise, it should have frequent opportunities to swim and frolic.

GROOMING

Flat, dense, and coarse textured double coat; oily and water resistant. Outer coat moderately long, straight or slightly wavy. Daily to weekly brushing of the thick, coarse, double coat with a hard brush is important. The undercoat is shed twice a year in the spring and fall and extra care is required at these times. Avoid bathing unless absolutely necessary, as this strips away the coat's natural oils, instead, dry shampoo from time to time.

HEALTH

Hip and elbow dysplasia, genetic heart conditions, skin allergies, and hypothyroidism.

EXERCISE

They need regular, moderate exercise even though they would love to laze around. The Newfoundland loves to swim and they should be given the opportunity whenever possible.Not suited for apartment living, as they need lots of room. A large fenced yard is essential. If possible, they should have access to a pool of water, even if it is a kiddie pool. They are more suited to colder climates than hot climates, as they have a heavy coat. The best owner for this breed would be an easy going owner who is not fastidious, who is living in a rural or suburban environment.

TRAINING

A calm and balanced manner of training is needed, as they are a very sensitive breed who will listen to the tone of your voice.