The Newfoundland Dog - One Breed Two Stories

We picked Koda up at the airport when she was 9 weekd old, out from the crate she walked with her head held high and tail wagging.  She came into my world full of confidence and curiosity, sweet and sensitive, obnoxious and full of pride.  Her first night with us was predictive of her future with us.  We took her out to do her business for the night then put her in her crate next to my bed.  What started out as sweet little peeps to remind us of her presence soon became and all out vocal assault on our home.  We knew from the books that we read that this would be the absolute worst time to give into her demands and so after and hour we decided that if she would just be quiet for 30 seconds we would take her out of her crate and let her sleep in bed with us.  Minute after minute and hour after hour there was no 30 second break, she was going to be a tenascious little lady.

Zacc was picked up at the airport when he was 10 weeks old, and stood in stark contrast to his big sister.  Zacc became part of his shipping crate, or so he thought because when we opened the door to the crate nothing happened.  We expected a greeting like his big sister gave us but there was no sight of him.  Being a nervous Mom as it was I started thinking that something was wrong with him, "did he survive the flight?" "did he die of dehydration" but it was only a three hour flight.  Finally I decided to look into the crate, although the office was very well lit inside the crate itself was dark but not dark enough so that I couldn't see two little eyes staring back at me.  We made all the "normal" doggie noises to encourage him to leave his sanctuary but to no avail, he was held up in there and too scared to move.  I slowly reached in and had to peel his off his crate, he was shaking and nervous and every once of maternal instinct within me kicked into overdrive.  I immediately held him close, rocking him, petting him and softly talking to him eventually he stopped shaking but I don't remember him leaving my arms for at least a few days.

When we were researching what breed of dog we wanted to join our family pack we had come upon a Newfoundland Dog.  They were everything we were looking for: big, sweet, good with people of all ages and loyal.  Sure they had their negatives like the awesome amounts of drool they could produce in a day, their uncanny ability to shed absolutely everywhere in your house and the fact that between their size and fur they require a considerable amount of time everyday for training or grooming.  But we weighed the good with the bad and took into consideration that I had always wanted to do therapy work with my dogs and the newfie temperment was ideal.  We decided that the newfoundland was the perfect breed for us and so we adopted two within 6 months of eachother.

Growing with with dogs my whole life I wasn't exactly a canine newbie but I really had an unrealistic expectation of how my two puppies would act and behave.  I would never discourage anyone from researching which breed of dog they would like to their family, as a matter of fact I don't believe you should be able to adopt or buy a puppy until you have done some research into the breed because that one step can keep many dogs out of shelter or abandoned.  The only problem I found in doing this research is that all the books or articles I read about a newfie generally describes your average adult newfie.  Thats right, average ADULT newfie, that one word that can lead to frustration and unreasonable expectations?

We assumed that our two puppies would both be sweet, outgoing, gentle and calm but I don't think we could have been more wrong.  Koda had an awful mouthing habit that lasted for months, my son would try to pat her and have nothing left but a bloody stump.  She wasn't calm or gentle with kids.  Then we had Zacc who wanted nothing to do with other people or dogs, he was and is a true mammas boy.  He didn't want to get out there to meet new people and he didn't have the confidence to try new things. Neither of our newfs matched up with the gentle and regel descriptions that we had read about, but we wouldn't gve up on them. 

Koda was much better teaching me things than I was teaching her things, I'd like to think that that was because I am smarter but I know better.  She was a lot more consistant in her lessons than I had been in mine.  Slowly we learned how to motivate her because her problem was not that she didn't understand what we were asking her to do, her problem is that she wanted to know what was in it for her.  Zacc, on the other hand, was always very gentle and sweet but really lacked confidence and hated new situations and people.  Zacc and I used to go to the park with a big bag of treats and just sit on a bench watching the kids play.  If (or should I say When) a child or adult would approach and show interest in Zacc I would quickly hand them a treat and let them give the treat to Zacc.  He is still a mammas boy and preferrs to spend his time with me but people are good and give him treats and are not scary monsters as he first believed

I am a strong proponent of doing research before adding a dog to the family but I think it also needs to be stated that while research can give you valuable information on a breed, you MUST remember that they are geralizing about an adult dog.  Puppies, of all breeds, will still be puppies who need training, patience and consistancy in order to really bring out the full potential that the breed has to offer. 

I am happy to say that both of my newfs are not only great ambassadors of their breed but also registered Therapy Dogs.  Koda got over her craziness and mouthing issues.  Koda is the sweetest, most gentle girl you'd ever meet.  She would never dream of putting her teeth on someones skin, and is most gentle when taking treats from someones hand. Koda goes into the nursing and shows that sweet and gentle adult newfie character everyweek. Zacc has conquered his fear of people, places and things and has learned to look forward to company.  Zacc does not enjoy therapy visits like Koda but is always ready for a walk through town to get as much attention as possible.   Although Koda and Zacc are newfoundlands they are still individual dogs with completely individual personalities that need to be nurtured.