Author Topic: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie  (Read 4997 times)

Offline Pawn28

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Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« on: February 28, 2008, 03:22:01 am »
Hi, my husband and I just adopted a wonderful 1 and a half year old newfie.  At first when we were contacted about him we were told that he was only in a kennel for 4 months.  When we went to pick him up we discovered that it was more like a year :(
He is a great dog but I'm having to train a 130lb "puppy" which isn't easy.  He is always trying to put his paw on me which I don't like and when ever I come home he tries to mouth my arm.
I wish we knew more of his back ground but we don't, so I am asking advice on how to train such a big dog.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2008, 05:38:43 am by Pawn28 »

Offline Pawn28

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2008, 05:04:09 am »
Ok so his behaviour is normal for his breed....thank s soooo much.  We also have a chocolate lab who is 3 years old and he doesn't do these things.  I guess I was worried about it being a form of dominance.

His name is Dexter and he is black with a wee bit of white on his chest.  He had an ear injury when we got him....I guess one of the other dogs from the kennel bit his ear.

I am going to take more pics of him soon....he looks so much better now.  This pic was taken 3 days after we got him.

Dexter barks alot...I didn't think this was normal for a Newfie?
« Last Edit: February 28, 2008, 05:05:13 am by Pawn28 »

Offline GoldenPyrs

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2008, 06:05:00 am »
Welcome, Dexter is a cutie!  I'm glad that you've been able to give him a good home.  I don't have Newfies, but there are lots of nice Newf people here (and you've already met one!  ;)) so I think that you'll find lots of good info here.  At 1.5 y/o Dexter is a young guy and he has lots of learning to do.  I'm sure that he'll be a wonderful addition to your family.  :-*
Marie

And my pups:
Daisy a 9 y/o Golden/Lab mix
Sammy a 6-7(?) y/o Great Pyrenees adopted 3/07
Cassie a 3 y/o Pyr/Mystery Snuggle Bunny mix adopted 2/07

My angel girls waiting at the Bridge:
Cara 1989-2001 Great Pyrenees
Sally ? - 1993 Dobie(rescued '92)
Halley 2002-2006 Great Pyrenees

Offline maxsmom

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2008, 06:45:02 am »
Dexter is beautiful.  Welcome to BPO.  There are a lot of newf owners here that will be more than happy to help you out with specific info.  Patience and consistency will give you the dog you want in time.  Just keep working with him.
Kathy
Max  2 Irish Wolfhound
Jake  2 Great Pyrenees
Cody   3 Tibetan Mastiff
ChiChi 1.5 Caucasian Ovcharka
John and Nicki Maine Coon cats

Offline pyr4me

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2008, 06:56:59 am »
I don't have a Newf (although I think they are amazing dogs!), but I adopted Jenny, a Great Pyrenees, this past October and she gave lots of paws, which wouldn't have been so bad, except that when it's a big dog's paws, it hurts! What worked for us with this behavior was to turn around and completely ignore her when she pawed, then as soon as she put all of her paws on the floor we lavished her with pets and praise. It worked really well and only took a couple of days.

Jenny also barked more when she first came to live with us, but not so much now. I think dogs need to get used to all of the new noises when thye move into new environments.

Congrats on your new addition and thanks for adopting a dog in need! Oh, and by the way welcome to BPO!  ;D
Jennifer

Tipper (8 1/2 yrs) Golden Retriever/Sheltie mix
Jenny (4 yrs) Great Pyrenees
Gabriel (14 yrs) Sealpoint Himalayan cat
Melanie (11 yrs) Domestic medium hair cat

"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us."
~Robert Lewis Steven

Offline Ouch

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2008, 08:38:52 am »
We've had Sadie since last July and adopted her at 2 yrs.  She still barks when she hears a dog on TV (this can drive you crazy if you leave the TV on when you fall asleep and the "box dog" barks at 3 am)  The paw thing kinda drives me nuts too because normally it's when I finally settled down to watch TV.  I  find that if I splay my hand out on her chest and push back as she lifts her paw she puts it back down .. I just push and say no (calmly) and after a few trys she finds something more fun.
Copper, 12 yr old American Cocker
Emmitt, 7 yr old English Springer Spaniel
Sadie, 2 yr old Newfie
OnryHenry, 17 yr old King Feline of KY

Offline arkydo

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2008, 12:42:10 pm »
This is my take on it

Because he is adopted and young he's probably craving love and attention, I've been around a lot of hunting dogs which get treated like just another gun in the cabinet. When i pay them any attention Then stop they'll hit me with the paw. i think that this is just them telling us they dont want you to stop petting them yet

As for the harmless mouthing where it is a natural behavior it could also be connected with attention seeking

This is just my opinion but i see these behaviors a lot when volenteering at the humane society

Offline Pawn28

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2008, 05:45:15 pm »
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!
I promise to take some pics of the boys this weekend so I can post them :)

I read this article today which said to train your dog to bark on command and once they understand what the word "bark" means to train them not to bark....sounds strange to me but I might give it a try...who knows!

Dexter is fitting right into the family everyone LOVES him...well not everyone.  He was never exposed to cats before and so whenever he sees ours he runs after them scaring them to death :P

Offline Pawn28

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2008, 05:08:25 pm »
Boy is it ever hard to get a good picture of two dogs together!

Offline CrazyLoveRosie

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Re: Adopted 1.5 yr old Newfie
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2008, 10:01:58 pm »
We adopted Rosie at 3.5 years old, so luckily the puppy years were over and she was thankfully decently trained to know basic obedience. Rosie barks on specific occasions, like when a stranger starts to approach her, or when she wants to be let out and her initial 'polite' requests have been ignored.

I would also recommend obedience classes and you should be able to work on basic commands with positive reinforcement (treats) as rewards.
Rosie - Newfoundland