Newfoundland? Or other giant breeds?

[SmellyToilet]

Thinking of getting either a Newfoundland, St. Bernard, Leonberger or Great Dane.

My main priorities are friendliness. I’d also like a dog that doesn’t need tons of exercise and is reliable off-lead (with training of course).

can anyone recommend?

Bernese Montaigne dogs are absolute sweethearts. The life expectancy of them puts me off though.

bernese mountain even. My phone is obviously feeling pretentious

My friend had a Newfie. Definitely ticked the boxes for friendly. But very stubborn (and quite stupid) with poor recall. Off lead was not possible.
I know of another Newfie locally, not friendly and reactive with other dogs. Never ever walked off lead - owners are pretty careful with it.
Despite this I think they generally have a reputation for being friendly and amiable.

My friend has just acquired her sixth great dane puppy (others all dead). He is an absolute darling, really much better behaved than my labrador was at that age. But she doesn’t take him out to parks much. He has been socialised at home with family dogs visiting.
concersely our local park is terrororised by two Great Danes (litter mates) acquired in lock down and absolute horrors.

There are lots of cons to a giant. Cost of keeping, astronomical insurance, short lifespan, destruction of your house both intentional and not, needing a bigger car, 100 times the filth and grooming of a normal dog and constant hassle from strangers wanting to touch it!

If your fine with all of the above I would say probably a Newfoundland or Saint would be at the lower exercise requirement end followed by Bernese and then Leonbergers. No idea about Danes but I have met a couple of reactive ones of those too.

All (bar the Dane) require extensive grooming.

90% of leonbergers are exceptionally friendly but with any breed there are aloof and reactive ones out there as I’m sure there are for the other breeds too.

Have you met any of the breeds your interested in? The best way to decide is probably to go meet some breeders and choose from there.

I don’t know if it is true of all newfies but those I have met STINK from across a garden. Really awful smell.
The Great Dane that I know doesn’t smell in himself but has oddly greasy coat- a bit like a vizla and leaves smell on bedding and furniture and hands after petting.
This is relative to my labrador rather than me being a non dog person. And both my lab and my friend’s Great Dane are raw fed so similar diet too. But Great Dane still intact which maybe has an impact?
So if smell is a consideration maybe sniff the breeds you like! And do raw feed!

Everyone keeps recommending Bernese Mountain dogs to me … maybe I should start a new BMD thread? 😁

@ChillinwiththeVillains funny you should say that, someone else told me Newfoundland’s stink 🤢 it does put me off a bit I must admit

I met the most adorable 4 month old St. Bernard pup in the park the other day, never seen one in real life before - he was absolutely gorgeous, mad as a brush and quite honestly enormous! I can see the attraction he was super friendly, but my goodness the slobber! I was caked from just saying hello.

Also walk the most gorgeous Bernese sometimes, he is fab - super friendly and loves everyone. His recall is crap though, even with treats. But very person and dog friendly and playful.

Why do you want such a huge dog, rather than something large such as a retriever?

The temperament and the fact that they hardly need any exercise is why I have a giant breed. Not interested in dogs that needs a ridiculous amount of walking or fetch sticks. We are all different 🙂

Past Great Dane owner here, (have had three ,all niches,)sadly haven't got one at the moment. Newfoundlands love swimming, quite a lot of coat to dry off and groom. Slobber needs taking into account, flies all over the place! Danes don't have an undercoat, so feel the cold and hate rain. Plus side of Danes is they don't need too much exercise, are good with children and are very chilled. Still wondering whether to get another!

We have a BMD. She's 7.5 now. We wouldn't have another, she's sweet, low exercise needs but a mountain of health problems have left her uninsurable (for us), they're heavy shedders - think hoovering 2/3 times every day, and she has horrific anxiety, despite someone being at home all the time, she's a bit of a nervous wreck (we had her from pup so not due to history). Do lots of research! I did a lot, and wished I had done more.

Retrievers are medium sized dogs, not large. I like big dogs, as another poster said it’s their personality and character … and energy levels!

Gorgeous dogs, all of these!

not quite giant but would you consider an old English sheepdog? They’re on the “at risk” list as barely anyone is buying them now and would tick a lot of your boxes

I never even thought about that! Can’t remember the last time I saw one! Can you tell me anything about them?

Do the time sums and expenses maths first! I have a large but not giant breed, and now DDog is over 10 we're talking around £3k a year for food, insurance, kennels and sundries. (I have a greyhound which wouldn't suit you as you want good off lead recall - he is walked on lead).

I have seen what it's like with heavy shedders / big grooming needs and am grateful mine is pretty low maintenance - no shedding, short walks.

My friend with the Newfie was paying over £300 a month insurance. Changed it to a different provider (still pushing £200 a month) and dog became unwell before the qualifying period had ended. Costed her into 5 figures for the vet bill and the dog still died..
You need really deep pockets for giants.

The breeder we got our St Bernard from has two aged 11 now. Both very healthy still. Ours is almost 2yo and keeping well. We may have just been very lucky with ours. She's the best. Wouldn't consider another breed now.

I have a large breed dog (Shiloh Shepherd). She’s lovely but is developing hip and leg osteoarthritis at 7. It is much harder and a lot more expensive to travel with large breed dogs, and a lot of kennels won’t take them.

I read somewhere that leonbergers don't tend to have the slobber that many of the other large breeds tend to have. If that's true, it's a big positive.

Bear in mind OP, that there are breed-specific rescue centres that specialise in rehoming these giant breeds. I'm sure they would be more than happy to have a frank chat with you about the pros/cons and realities of their chosen breed.
For instance, I know that newfies are prone to twisted stomachs, which is a medical emergency. The rescue centres would give good advice about breed specific traits to consider. Even if you don't want to rescue, I find that most of these organisations still promote the education. They'd rather educate now than have another dog to rehome down the line, because someone didn't do their homework

Research and calculations are essential when making such a big investment in a new family member!

Thanks for all the responses on this. Must admit it’s given me second thoughts about getting such a big dog. We’re not short of money but don’t particularly want to spend what we do have on constant vet bills.

Back to the drawing board I think.

Along with vet bills you’d have to factor in a hefty grooming bill.

I love grooming though, am I being naive in thinking I could do it myself?

This is probably a stupid question but are bigger dogs more expensive to buy?

We had a Pyrenean mountain dog. He had no recall so could never be walked off lead. Barked the place down, especially from dusk as he thought he was on guard during the evening. Took hours every week to groom due to his double coat. Dug massive holes round the garden wall that he guarded and wouldn't allow to be filled in. He cost a fortune to feed, but was the most fussy eater ever. A kind,loving dog but a nightmare too.