Newfoundlands

tinkerbell

Hey all,

We used to have a female Newfoundland but she died about 5 years ago My folks were heartbroken and it's only now that they have decided to get a new one. So my dad arrived home with a male NFL over a month ago.

The female was quite big, but the puppy we have now is HUGE! He's nearly the size of the fully grown female already, and he's not even 5 months old yet!!! Everyone has been telling us that the males are much bigger than the females. At the rate he's growing, he'll be the size of an elephant by the time he's an adult I remember seeing a male NFL a few years ago, and his paws were the size of my hands, but that still seems insanely big?!

When we got the female, she was 2 yrs old so we've never had a puppy NFL before ... he is quite hyper and bounds (I say bounds coz that's how he runs!) around the place. He has to put everything into his mouth (e.g. your hand - but he doesn't bite, shoes - he absolutely loves shoes, etc.) He is so nosy as well, always going investigating EVERYTHING! He is about 3 stone now (does that seem correct for a 5 month old?). He's quite strong as well, he dragged the big sack of spuds there away from my mom over the Christmas. He's hilarious though, he's constantly sticking his head into the bin (it looks so funny!) and he can jump up high enough now to reach the handles on the doors (I do imagine he will actually open the doors in the next few months).

Any thoughts n such that people want to share? He's very intelligent! Lovely puppy, he's so cuddly and fluffy. Oh I read an old post on NFLs here and someone said that they would run when you wanted to bath him. He just stands there and lets ya wash him. I think he just loves any sort of attention He's gorgeous, I wouldn't get any other breed after having a NFL, you just can't beat them

peasant

Just one bit of advice;

Be careful about not letting a giant breed like the Newf grow too fast. If he's too heavy while still young, his developing bones and joints might not be able to cope with the weight and strain of a heavy pup "bounding" as you put it ...resulting in painful illnesses later on.

Have a word with your vet regarding food and diet. The general "wisdom" about large breed is to "starve" them into adulthood. Give them all the nutrition they need, but never too much. They will still grow to be big and impressive dogs, but at a much slower, healthier rate.

I have no idea, whether 3 stone at five month is or isn't a good weight for a male Newf, just have a chat with your vet about it and see what they think ...maybe some sort of diet food might be a good idea ...maybe I just scared you for no reason at all ...but better be sure.

Huggles

well said peasant.

We had a Newfie caleld Rudy, he died at 12. Was the most amazing dog we ever had. I laughed out loud at your stories about your fellow.

I remember a few times my mother come in from shopping and put the goodies on the kitchen table, a few minutes later Rudy would be down the garden eating a pull pan of bread. We also had a Bernese mountain dog at the same time, same age as Rudy, they acted like a tag team. Sam would grab the metal bread bin and run down the garden while Rudy stole a large roast beef lol.

They drove us mad but dont regret a minute of it! I wish you the very best of luck with your puppy.

tinkerbell

Hey, thanks for your replies! My folks have been bringing him to the vet regularly since we got him (to get all those puppy injections etc), so they have been well informed of the food to give him. The vet told them not to feed him any of the dog nuts you get from the supermarket as they lack certain vitamins etc and so the dog will grow too fast. So, with the advice of the vet, the doggy is on Science Plus. He only gets three cups of it a day (it comes with a measuring cup so they know how much to feed him). I think he's 24kg now (which is roughly 3 stone) and the vet said he's coming along well for his age.

We were gonna buy a dog house for him but the vet said that a garden shed would probably be better!! And then we were gonna buy a bed for him, and the vet said a small swimming pool would be best. He is huuuge! I can only imagine how big he will get when he's fully grown.

Seems to be working well! He is so hilarious though, he's so full of energy, he was chasing me around the kitchen table the other day for ages! He's so gentle, he'd lick you to death!! He absolutely loves shoes! He took four of my brother's shoes the other day and brought them all down to my dad in the other room, tiz hilarious He's very playful at the moment, would he get quieter as he's older? He insists on being involved in everything, you can't leave him on his own!

The thing is, I'm not living at home anymore so only get to see the puppy every three / four weeks or so. Instead I'm ringing my folks up every day asking how he's getting on

Jules

would love to see some pics of your "little" guy. 24kgs at 5 months is pretty big..... one word for you though...Insurance!!!! please it will give you such piece of mind! yes they do have higher premiums than other breeds but i handle all the insurance claims for my practice and it is silly how much vet care costs and especially with a dog that size.. better to be safe than sorry!

yes he will get a bit quiter as he gets older but just to note he is a puppy till he is 2 years old! also neutering him will help to control his silly male tendencies! if you are gonna breed him be warned they can get very whiney after, and not just NFL.. all male dogs!

I would also suggest a large kong toy.. very very durable and a good replacement for shoes you can also put treats into them and they have to work at getting them out. My Bro has a 60kg rottie and he loves his kong.. and the 60kg is all muscle not a bit of fat, well ya know what i mean!

And again INSURANCE!!!!!!!!!!! your vet will be able to advise you if not..

http://www.allianzdirect.ie/

click the pet insurance part! duh i know but you would be surprised!

lightening

Sounds all to familiar. I have a two year old Weimaraner. Although not half as big as your pup, he was a pain in the ass, destructive, loud, couldn't walk anywhere, ran everywhere, robbed everything, chewed mobile phones, remote controls, opened doors, jumped on peoples heads... After about a year and a half he just changed in to a well trained polite dog.

Don't panic, it can only get better, he will settle in, find his place in the family and calm down.

(we got him neutered as well)

tinkerbell

Hey, thought I'd update you all with the adventures of our "puppy".

Hadn't seen him since Christmas, am home now for a few days and my god - the dog is a DINOSAUR!!!!!!!!!!! He's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!!!!!!!!!!

He's out of control with the excitement! Last night he started rearranging the kitchen furniture by pulling out one of the chairs into the middle of the floor. He also took the bag of onions from the vegetable rack and threw them all over the floor and ate one (yes his breath stunk) and he ate four peppers (this all happened while we were out at dinner). He has never done this before, I dunno what possessed him???

HE brought me n my mom for a walk today rather than us bringing him for a walk, he was trotting along, happy out. He's so strong, he's the size now of our fully grown female Newfoundland that we had a few years ago. It's scary to think what he will be like when he is an adult. He's still lovely and cuddly though I just got him to sit there and stay while I had a doggy biscuit in my hand. The drool was brutal, my jeans are destroyed!

SURELY he'll get quieter as he gets older!!!

Ruu_Old

Your puppy is within the weight anyway (i am going from your original post), infact he is actually a tad underweight. He is a puppy and is obviously curious re: going into the bin, etc. You will just have to draw the line somewhere though. He will get quieter but you'll have to teach him that you are the leader.
He probably went in your kitchen and moved your furniture because he was bored when you were gone. Give him something to do like a bone to chew and he will be less likely to get in trouble. Good luck.

tinkerbell

Hey Ruu, not sure what weight he is now, I think he may be closer to the 30-35kg mark now. Just asked my dad there. He is big now, he's a mammoth!

tinkerbell

I posted in another thread there by accident, meant to reply to this thread! Anyway we bought him a Kong. My dad actually got him the extra large red one unfortunately, but since he's not fully grown yet we are letting him have it for the time being. We have the black extreme one ordered from the vets though. He LOVES the kong! Takes him only a few minutes to get all the food out. First day he had it, he kept bringing it up to the doorstep as if to say "I love this toy, fill it up again!!"

ripcurl

A great way to make the Kong last longer is to freeze it before you give it to him;)