Giant breed puppies -Newfy

[behindanothername]

Hey everyone, very excited that we have a Newfy bitch puppy joining us in 2 weeks who is going to be called Maggie. I have had medium size dogs before but any hints and tips that may not occur to me due to the size difference would be hugely appreciated! Also recommendations for grooming equipment, travel, toys etc that are robust!!

Oh lovely! I’ve got a male Newfie, had him since he was 18 months though rather than a puppy.

If you’ve got this far then I’m sure you don’t need warning about the slobber, hair and smell! Only piece of kit I’ve had catastrophically fail is a leather collar which snapped while out on a walk. Decent insurance is imperative because vets fees are insane. Get a prescription for wormer/flea treatment and buy online because buying it at the vet will cost a fortune. And read up about the signs of bloat/GDV because as giant, deep-chested breeds Newfs are prone to it. I nearly lost my lad when he was 4 to it, but you do have the option with a bitch of straightforward preventative procedure at the same time as she is spayed which is something to talk to your vet about when the time comes.

I have been reading that harnesses aren't best option as they pull against them and am looking at car travel and best options too. Thank you for the info. Someone said higher cost fixed insurance for life is a better option too. How often are you worming/flea protecting? I hadn't heard of prescription ones I will look into it.

We are going to bell train for front door and I have already set out an area for toileting which I am also going to create a sunken septic waste bin for :)

I dont have a newfie but I have a tibetan mastiff cross, so also v. large and v. hairy with a double coat.
Make sure you have a handle on any jumping up and pulling behaviour straight away while shes small and almost manageable, my pup is smaller than a newfie (a mere 40kg at 8 months) and can knock me off my feet. When I stagger and yelp and try to hold on to him he thinks it's great fun and I'm joining in the game. When they're this big the advice to 'just ignore them' is far easier said than done.
Keep counter tops clear and uninteresting because it wont be long before she can reach the back.
Get a solid 'leave it' and 'drop it' asap because in a couple months time you wont be able to wrestle anything away from her.
Be careful with stairs and jumping because it's hard on the joints, make sure not to over-exercise for the same reason (learning tricks and playing sniffy games are just as tiring as physical exercise). Lots of off-lead wanders on grass or other soft ground are great fun and mean she can go at her own pace. Stair gates and play pens are great ideas and everyone will recommend them - mine could get over them by 12 weeks so we sold them without even using them.
We taught ours to give paw very early on, so this is one of his favourite tricks. Sometimes when hes not sure what you've asked for or if he just wants a treat he'll thwack you with a right hook on the off chance, because he knows that sometimes he gets a treat for it. I currently have a lovely black eye.
Get ready to say 'no' to lots of people - everyone loves puppies but massive, floofy puppies are especially attractive. I dont even know how many times I've been working with my pup on ignoring distractions and someone tries to call him over or comes over and shoves their hand in his face. They're very lucky hes actually a well socialized pussy cat.
Dont waste your money on cute puppy toys or soft dog toys they'll last about 5 minutes if you're really really lucky. Bits of rope for tug, piping, yaker chews, coffee wood, antlers etc are all good. Mine has an old protein shaker he likes to carry around and chew on (under supervision) and he likes ripping up paper and cardboard. The kong tennis balls are quite resilient (the squeak doesnt last long) but you'll go through hundreds of them if you get her interested. My pups favourite game is when we hide bits of sausage in a big towel and scrunch it up and he has to sniff them out. It really helps tire him out too.
You'll need an undercoat rake and a dematting comb, as well as a normal brush. We got an 8l mud daddy at christmas and it's been a lifesaver - took a lot of work and sausage to get him comfortable with the water but with that and a comb I no longer cry when he comes back from his morning off lead walks, and we're down to mopping inside only twice a day! We have a robot vacuum, a cordless shark and a v. powerful miele vacuum. It may seem excessive - it's not. We've introduced 5-10 mins of brushing every day as part of a calming down routine in the evening, which works quite nicely to stay on top of the hair and helps him settle.
Take lots of pictures and video because big dogs change and grow unbelievably fast. For the next few months she'll be putting on over a kilo a week and you'll be so busy dealing with puppy mayhem you wont have time to notice!

I have no advice as my girl is only 26 kg but would love to see a photo.

Syrrup - I almost spat my coffee out laughing:
Sometimes when hes not sure what you've asked for or if he just wants a treat he'll thwack you with a right hook on the off chance, because he knows that sometimes he gets a treat for it. I currently have a lovely black eye. Would also love a photo

West Paws, ZOGOFLEX dog toy. Indispensable and indestructible for large breed dogs.

I love large, hairy dogs! As long as you are laid back about slobber and hair, then they are the very best.

I would second being very firm about jumping up and pulling from day one . I got the jumping up bit right but miserably failed at first with the pulling. I tried harnesses, but the thing is that a big, strong dog will just pull harder which will beef up their muscles whilst wrecking yours. I had to get a personal trainer in the end and we worked on walking one step at a time and the least pull - stop. It took three weeks of hour after hour of this - there was no short cut - but it was worth it in the end. I really wish I had known about this method straightaway instead of trying with useless harnesses.

And be prepared to spend £££££££ on vacuum cleaners. Unfortunately only the really heavy duty corded vacuums can cope with copious dog hair. One actually blew up!

Another tip: I regularly buy old towels from the charity shop. You can never have enough towels to cope with the mud. It really makes me sad when I see a dog on a lead and the owner says, "I don't want them to get dirty". My dog looks very smug at this as he romps around with half a swamp festering in his belly hair which he plans to leave all over my walls...