Newfs and their water drinking

[TwoNewfies]

Like most, my  Newfs LOVE their water to drink, and are funny because they are almost "possessive" of their water bowls. They freak out if there is no water left, and Rocco will bat around the bowl and toss it across the room.  It has been super hot here lately, and I know they are thirsty a lot. But our problem is that we are house breaking Rocco, he's 13 weeks, and I feel bad by limiting his water  intake because of the heat, but if I don't watch it, he'll have accidents all over in the house. We're very patient with him and arent expecting him to be housebroken ASAP, but what do you do? Thoughts anyone?

[Jen]

I can relate!  We adopted a Newfie 4 year old, spayed retired show girl. In her previous home she did not have house privledges, in our home it isn't only  aprivledge but we feel they have a RIGHT to the house, they ARE members of our family, so long story short we had to house train her.  She is a water FREAK too. So what I do is when she is having a bit of a freak out I have a tubberware that measures 4 cups so in addition to her regular water at feeding time, I give her these small 4 cup servings in between.   She loves it and freaks out less. And hasn't had accidents because I know when I give them to her it's time for a stroll in the yard. I must say that when we go out they have a doggie apt with concrete floor that is seperated from the rest of the home and on these HOT days I give them a HUGE water bowl.  I haven't seen any accidents in there but if there was I wouldn't care.  I would rather have a spot on the concrete than a dehydrated Newf!

[NatsaintB]

I think you should go ahead and give him the extra water because that is so important.  This will actually give you more chances to take him out to potty and maybe speed up the whole housebreaking process.   This way he gets more practice and it gives you more opportunities to praise him for doing it.  I guess that's looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty!  Good Luck!

[Jen]

In another breed I would agree but our Newf is different she is a FEIND!  She would drink water every second of every minute so on... We found with our Newf that is the case. I think it's a breed specific thing.  I could be wrong but it is a common issue with Newfs.  Maybe because they water dogs?  I am not sure but our girl will drink herself sick if we don't watch the water supply.  I think if you have a water feind on your hands you need to be the one to control the amount. Extra water is fine but I wouldn't let your water feind have an endless water supply.  I think it's a Newfie thing? 

I think you should go ahead and give him the extra water because that is so important.  This will actually give you more chances to take him out to potty and maybe speed up the whole housebreaking process.   This way he gets more practice and it gives you more opportunities to praise him for doing it.  I guess that's looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty!  Good Luck!

[jabear]

Bear loves to drink his water but is drink enough to fill him up and then he is done. He doesn't drink from a bowl because it is too hard to keep refilling it and he hates to see his drool, so he drink fresh water from the nozzle outside. When he was little we made sure to give him as many potty breaks as he needed but never limited his water intake. It gets super hot here and they need all of the water they can get. Without the water he would not be able to cool off internally in the proper way. In my opinion, don't limit they need but do as Nat says and increase the potty breaks. In regards to possessiveness over the water bowls, try to play with him when he is drinking so that he learns his bowl is to drink from and not something he owns. We taught Bear early on that we could play with his food and water bwl when he was eating and drinking to curb any desire for possessiveness . Even today I hug him and brush him and play with him while he is eating and drinking. 

[Jen]

I have a question.  When you say he freaks out, what do you mean?  And if he does have unlimited water will he take a drink and be done or will he have at it constantly?  Because the answer to those questions would change the advise given.
Sasha our Newf came to us infested with worms, so she never felt full and that is why I beleive she wouldn't stop drinking and freaked out if we limit the water.  I almost forgot how sick she was...shame on me.  If you baby is freaking out BAD like Sasha was you shouldd call a vet.


Question for Jabaer;  he doesn't like to see his drool? Oh that is soooooooo cute! I wonder if that is why Sasha goes back and forworth to each and ever source of water before she finishes with any one.

[TwoNewfies]

Jen,  Good questions!  .." if he does have unlimited water will he take a drink and be done or will he have at it constantly?  Because the answer to those questions would change the advise given.

Rocco would take a drink and be done  and a few minutes later he'll drink again. He only "freaks out", maybe I should say, feels more stressed, when there is no water and will mouth the rug where the bowl is, and will paw at the bowl until its tossed several yards away and will whine a little bit.  I do think that his love affair with water is breed specific. He adores water..any shape or form!  If we are walking in the neighborhood and people have sprinklers on, he puts his mouth over the sprinkler, takes a few  gulps and then gets his head and chest wet to cool off. Its pretty funny. We bought him and Bella a little kiddie pool to cool off in. I think they both think its a big water bowl, because they prefer to drink out of it then get in it!

[pitas]

Hello Everyone!

We have 3 goofy Newfies, two 2 yr. old siblings and a 10 month old half brother. They all love their water.  The boys (Klondike & Kelso) love to drink at first,  then they do the full face wash, jowels and all!  Madison our female thinks her brothers are pigs and if they leave a bit of drool in the dish, she will bark til somebody changes the water!  She also has another water dish upstairs in the bathroom that they boys don't usually find to slime it on her.  It has been extremely hot here in Jersey for the past 10 days or so and they have been inside in the air conditioning.   As soon as we hear somebody at the water dish, we get the drool towel ready and if it's the pup, we take him outside after he is done drinking.  They also love to drink from the hose outside when they are out playing.  Kelso the pup loves to pull the hose all over the place!  Water, water, water, they can never get enough water in our house!  With the summer heat I think they need to have plenty of water.

Anita & the goofy Newfies from NJ

[jabear]

Anita your baby is precious! I will have to put some water pics of Bear up soon.

[shangrila]

When Zoey was a puppy we would limit his water intake some, but she would still get many water bowls throughout the day (with potty breaks after each one - she was lucky enough to have a stay-at-home-puppy-mommy for the first couple months she was with us, so I took her out every half hour). But when I didn't give her water and she was thirsty, she would wander down to the bathroom, climb into the tub, and lick the drain, since she associated it with water from her baths. Now when she's thirsty and the bowl is empty, she scratches at the mat underneath until I fill the bowl, and when I don't respond after a minute or two, she gets frustrated and pulls the mat out and runs around with it flailing. I don't really see it as freaking out though, I see it as her was of saying "hey, help me out I'm thirsty", much like I know that if she goes to stand at the front door it is her way of signaling that she needs a potty break.

[lil rufus]

When Rufus as younger he used to sleep in his bowl...pic attached....I used to go and check on him for fear that he would drown!!!!
We try to get him out to the lake every other week, because he just has the best time...but he can get a little muddy

[jabear]

Oh! I miss those in the water bowl sleepy times. Bear did that and used to curl his entire body around the toilet to be cool.

[pitas]

Hi guys!

Thought I would share Kelso pup when he was only about 12 weeks old, also sleeping in his water and food dish!  Maybe our pups are related!   I just think all puppies are a riot and Newfies probably do so similar things!

Enjoy!

Anita & the 3 Goofy Newfies from NJ