THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG
The Newfoundland Dog is one of the giant breeds weighing between 55 and 75 kg as an adult. Male Newfoundlands average 28 inches at the shoulder and weigh around 150 pounds. Females average 25-26 inches tall, and weigh around 115 pounds. Individuals vary in size and symmetry takes precedence over size.
A Newf’s eyes should be tight to keep out water and infection with no haw, the drop ears also keep out water and droopy upper lips allow them to breath while carrying something as they swim.
Around 80-85% of Newfs are black with about 5% being brown. Solid colours may have splashes of white on the chest, toes and tail. Another colour combination is the Landseer, named for artist Sir Edwin Landseer, who featured this striking white and black dog, with a black head, black on the rump extending onto the tail and an evenly marked black saddle over the back. The Landseer accounts for between 10-15% of Newfies.
With great strength both in the water and on land and with natural life saving instincts in the water they were once used by fishermen in North America to trawl nets and rescue sailors who fell over board in the sea. The Newfoundland has a dense, oily outer coat of moderate length and a fleecy undercoat to adapt to the harsh climate of its home island and helps keep them afloat. The oil repels water. A Newfoundland can swim for hours yet remain completely dry and warm at the skin. The breed has completely webbed feet and swims with a breaststroke using all four legs instead of a doggy paddle.
The hallmark of the breed is the sweet and gentle temperament, which is why they are known as ‘gentle giants’. This combined with his devotion and eagerness to please his owner makes the Newfoundland the best working dog of the giant breeds.
They can pull boats in the water by holding a rope in their mouth, save victims by holding onto the arm or hand, carry a life ring to a person in difficulty, jump from boats and quays and, in France and Italy, are being trained to jump from helicopters into the water to people in trouble.
Because they are so strong they can also be used on the land, for example to pull carts and they are also excellent at tracking.
In 2004, a Newf named Josh defied the odds and won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in America. Josh beat many of the country’s top dogs for the honour
HISTORY
Born as a canine seaman, the Newf was a standard piece of equipment on every fishing boat in Canada’s maritime province that gave the breed its name. Fishing has always been Newfoundland’s chief industry; the dogs hauled fishing nets out to sea and back to the boat and retrieved objects or people who fell into the sea. Equally at home in water or on land, the Newfoundland was large enough to pull in a drowning man or to break the ice as he drove into the frigid northern ocean. His lung capacity allowed him to swim great distances and fight ocean currents.
At the end of a day’s fishing, the day’s catch was loaded into a cart and the dog was hitched up to haul the load into town. Other Newfoundlands pulled wagons to deliver milk and mail throughout the island.
The origin of this working breed is disputed and there are many different versions. But Vikings and Basque fishermen visited Newfoundland as early as 1000 AD and wrote accounts of the natives working side by side with these retrieving dogs. Some say that the breed as we know it today was developed in England, while the island of Newfoundland nearly legislated the native breed to extinction in 1780. Tracing the remote origins of a breed of dog is not an easy task and some of the various theories about the origins of the breed appear more believable than others and each individual appear to drawn their own conclusions from the information available. Shortly after World War I, a magnificent dog (named Siki) became not only the most famous show Newf in history but also the most famous stud dog of the breed.
There are many legends of Newfoundlands saving drowning victims by carrying lifelines to sinking ships. The dogs were kept in the “dog walk” on early sailing ships. If the sea was too choppy when land was sighted, the dog carried a line to land. A Newfoundland named Seaman accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition, and Nana, the children’s “nurse” in the original Peter Pan, was a Newfoundland.
THE LEGEND OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG
There is a land where the waves explode upon the reef in a boiling foam, there the legend was born.
As the story is told, God turned one day to contemplate all of his creations and saw on that Newfoundland Isle, flailed by storm a small nation of fishermen, whose rough, weather-beaten people fought courageously against the impervious elements of nature as the freezing cold winter and the unforgiving coastline took its toll, and the sea often asked the sacrifice of human life. Nevertheless, they remained deep-rooted, these men of Newfoundland with the stubbornness as great as their courage.
God saw, and in his infinite compassion, thought how he might alleviate their suffering. He searched among the creatures of his creations but found none that would serve. It was then he decided to create one anew.
He took the body of a bear, whose bone structure lent well to such arduous labours and whose thick fur would resist the bitter Newfoundland cold. Then he thought to sweeten this silhouette with the lithe, flexuous lines and movements of the seal, with all it’s prowess to swim and speedily slip between the waves.
Now turning to the sea, he saw the playful dolphins happily following the ships, their sweet, joy-filled eyes revealing their serene temperament, and more; they so love man that they often rescue them, saving them from the sea. Yes, they too would be part of this creature.
When he had done the moulding and casting, there suddenly appeared in his creative arms, a superb animal with glistening black fur; powerful and sweet in the same moment.
This new being, however, had to have an allegiance and faithfulness, tried and true, to be able to live beside man and be ever ready to offer his life for his master. It was at that moment that the Lord opened and placed in his chest, the heart of a dog, and the miracle was complete.
From that day onward, those men of the sea had beside them, their courageous companion ever strong, ever faithful the, Newfoundland Dog.
(Reprinted in translation from the book Il Cane Di Terra Nova by Emmy Bruno, editor Mursia-Milano)
THE DAY WE WENT TO GRANDMA'S
The day went to Grandma's,
Oh what a fuss she made,
Wipe those feet and dry your paws,
That carpets just been laid.
Gran put me in the garden,
So I had a sniff around,
I pulled up all her flowers,
Till there were no more in the ground.
Gran just started shrieking,
She really got quite mad,
So I gave her some of the flowers,
To make her feel less sad.
Later on that evening,
All warm and in my bed,
My tummy started rumbling,
It's time that I was fed.
I went into the living room,
But they were watching telly,
"come on nan" I barked out loud.
"its time to fill my belly".
I went into the kitchen,
To see what I could find,
"Oh wow I whined", "a loaf of bread"
I'm sure that they won't mind.
Look left, look right,
the coast was clear,
I love the smell of bread,
I gabbed it quick and hurried out to eat it in my bed.
Now for a drink to wash it down,
But my bowls outside the door.
I go back to the living room,
and pace up and down the floor.
Grandad got the message
And let me out the back.
I shot straight past my drinking bowl,
And headed down the track.
There was something in the garden
That a Newf just can't resist,
An ornamental pond of course,
With lots of pretty fish.
After clearing out the pond for nan,
I went back to the door,
pushed it open, went inside.
Dripping pond onto the floor.
Nan she started yelling,
Grandad, well he just laughed,
She said that I was stinking
And had to have a bath.
Cleaned and dried and let back in,
I tried to sit with nan.
"Get off me lap you silly dog,
You're bigger than I am"!!
I got back down and left the room
and went back to my bed,
Two pairs of shoes and a slipper later,
Time to get those zzzzzzzzzzzz,s.
Breakfast at Grandma's is great,
As I get tea and toast,
But after I was still not full
So I ate the Sunday roast!
I couldn't understand them,
But I knew that I'd been bad.
F's and B's were mentioned
Time to look real sad.
I looked at them with big bown eyes,
My head held down quite low,
It did the trick - it always does
I'm still their little Beau.
We didn't stay as long as planned,
As my Dad he got quite stressed,
Having chased me out the pond again, he thought it for the best.
I kid you not, it's how it was.
I'm telling you the truth.
The day we went ot Grandma's
She got well and truly NEWF'D!!!
P.S. They're coming to us next time.
