Big Paws Only Dog Forums

19 inches already, wow, big boy!

Congratulation s, he is adorable!

Agree with Patrick on the chewing, that's just a puppy thing. You do want to be careful when playing with him/moving him around, don't let him jump on/off anything high or go up/down stairs when he's this small.

There are some good books out there. I found The Newfoundland: Gentle Giant to be a nice helpful book to start out with. There are lots of others. I found mine on www.dogwise.co m which is a great website with lots of resources for training and owning dogs.

There are also good websites; I like this particular breeder's site because I think she's clear and keeps it simple for a good start. She does advocate the raw diet, though, so you'll probably need to find your feeding info elsewhere.

http://www.denalinewf.com/care.html

Do you have a good vet who regularly cares for giant breed dogs? Is there a Newfoundland Club of America chapter in your area? You may want to contact the nearest one to gather local resources on vet, training, supplies etc. and also just to say hi and introduce your beautiful new Landseer boy!

Good luck and keep us posted!


Mary

Have a look at the 'Newfie Howl thread".

That's IT! OMG I am laughing right now because Cooper does all those things in his sleep - he chews, "runs", kicks out his back legs, wags his tail, barks and more. Thanks for the thread, reading that made my day.


Mary

I am so sorry to hear this.


Mary

Hi all,

Cooper has been with us a month and has been totally great. Until this week, my daughter had the flu and husband was out of town so Cooper didn't get as much attention/long walks etc. as he's used to. He still got lots of petting, but a few romps in the backyard/day were all I could get for him since I could not leave a small child with 103 temp alone in the house for more than a few minutes at a time.

So, he chewed a shoe, started stealing stuff off the tables/counters, and peed in the living room. I'm attributing this stuff to bored/annoyed young dog behavior and am not terribly concerned.

My daughter was better yesterday and my husband home, so I took him out for a good long walk/playdate with doggie friends and to obedience class at night, in addition to romps in the yard.

Last night around midnight the whole house was awakened by howling/crying from downstairs. It was Cooper and he sounded really distressed. I FLEW downstairs and found him, standing, prancing, wagging his tail by the gate. I checked him all over and he seemed fine, nothing was amiss in the room. He immediately lay down at my feet in a ball.

I took him out to see if he needed to go, and he lay down in the yard (pretty typical for him, even when raining, lol). So I brought him back inside, grabbed my pillow and blanket, and slept on the couch. There was no more whining or crying.

He may have been asleep when he cried? He does have, uh, vivid dreams, with lots of paw movement, chewing, tail wagging and the occasional bark (lol).

I can't figure it out. He's not quite himself, but he is eating, sleeping, playing, pooping and peeing. The only things he has swiped from tables has been food and nothing bad for dogs (a couple of crackers, a lick of chicken soup, and a bit of vanilla ice cream). I just can't figure it out.

Just looking for suggestions or thoughts, I guess. I'm a worrier!


Thanks all,
Mary

You just might have to switch foods in the bag until you can re-educate hubby!!

LOL!

I hope it's not overstepping but I'd be beyond ticked at DH if he threw me under the bus like that in front of someone. It's one thing if he says to you in the car on the way home that he didn't know, maybe you could help him understand/suggest some reading or talk more about why you chose raw, etc. but in front of the vet just .... ugh!

So sorry that happened to you. My vet had a fit that I feed Cooper a raw bone once a week. Concerned about bacteria, illness, the dog getting food poisoning from raw meat (!?!?!), etc. It's so annoying.

I agree, try to find a new vet. I called around to find one who would do titers and limited vaccinations and found this one, though I may have to change again if we decide to do raw diet.

Good luck!


Mary & Cooper

Cooper won't do the stairs in my house (steep but carpeted). I am more afraid of how he will get down than how he will get up. 

Outside, he is quite willing to follow his doggie pals up and down steps in a park or on and off of a friend's deck in their backyard. He also does our garden steps easily, though at first (we brought him home at age 2) he followed along the side of the steps in the garden beds. He soon learned that these steps were not slippery.

At my work, we have slick wood steps and he will have nothing to do with them, so I second the suggestion of treads or carpeting or something else that makes them less slippery and also less visually intimidating.

Good luck!

Mary

Congratulation s! What a wonderful story!