Dog class - Working
Average height - 26 to 30 inches
Average weight - 120 to 165 pounds
Size - Large
Average life span - 8 to 10 years

The Newfoundland is a big, blocky, and powerful breed built for stamina and strength, not speed. This breed was developed as one that could do a lot of hard work under extreme conditions. This dog has a double coat that keeps it warm in the water and it's toes are webbed. The dense coat comes in solid black, brown, or grey as well as a combination of black with white or white with black (Landseer). The temperament of a Newf is usually one of friendliness, but they can be protective of children. The shear size of a 160 pound plus animal is enough to make one realize that these dogs need to be well behaved. Obedience training is highly recommended, and thankfully the Newfoundland is a willing learner. Buying from a reputable breeder will help increase the chances that you end up with a healthy and temperamentally sound pet. The Newfoundland does best when it can be very active with its human family and spend time in the outdoors doing so.

The Newfoundland breed of dog was developed in the Canadian Province of Newfoundland mainly in the 1700's. It is likely that European settlers crossed the various spaniels, bird dogs, Mastiffs, water dogs, and Pyrenean with a large native black dog. In doing so they produced a heavy and very large dog that could handle hard work and cold water. Some of the tasks Newfoundlands were used for include: pulling carts or sleds, hauling in fishing nets, and retrieving lost articles or even ducks that the fishermen shot for food. This breed contributed its genetics to help produce two very popular retrievers; the Labrador Retriever and the Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

The Newfoundland is a working dog and it does like and even needs to "work." This sociable breed loves to spend time with its family doing outdoor things like swimming or walking or hiking. A Newfie will happily carry a pack for you, pull you around in a small boat, or take the kids for a ride on their favourite sled. Of course, you must train your Newfie to do such tasks, but that's the fun part. You can also train your Newf to compete in draft dog events, waterwork tests, obedience trials and tests, and tracking.

In spite of its huge size, this is the ideal family dog. Newfies are very sweet-natured, calm, loyal, sociable, easy-going dogs that are a joy to have around. They tolerate anything a child can hand out, love to play with children and are quite protective of them as well. They want to please their owners and so are usually easy to train. They make the perfect nanny. It is never a good idea to leave small children and any dog alone, however.

Newfies live to be about 8-10 years old. Newfies are generally not prone to many health problems. If present, the most commonly seen problems are hip and elbow dysplasia. Far less common is congenital heart defects such as subaortic stenosis, which is an abnormal narrowing of the aorta artery as it leaves the heart.

Another problem that is rare but can be seen in any large, deep-chested breed of dog is bloat, also known as acute gastric dilatation, or torsion. Bloat is an immediate emergency situation which occurs when food in the stomach starts to rapidly ferment (for unknown reasons) while the opening to the stomach becomes compressed. In some cases, the stomach, which is rapidly filling with gas, twists on itself. The dog is in excruciating pain.

This is a BIG dog. If you like having breakables around, or don't like those big slobber-slinging lips, or if you have a small house, you might not want a Newf. Remember, everything about this dog requires more and bigger. They need more space, food, and water than the average sized dog, and shedding for this dog means it looses a lot of hair. Please don't skimp if you decide to purchase a Newfie, get one from a responsible breeder or you will have a much higher risk of getting a giant dog that has bad health or temperament.

Newfoundland sled-dog teams were used in WWII to recover munitions stranded onboard aircraft in Iceland and surrounding areas.

Further Newfoundland Dog Resources