Videos Newfoundland Breed Information
Country of origin -
Newfoundland
(pre-confederation with Canada)
Common nicknames -
Newf,
Newfie
Classification and breed standards
FCI:|Group
2 Section 2 #50|Stds
AKC:|Working|Stds
ANKC:|Group 6
(Utility)|Stds
CKC:|Group
3 - Working Dogs|Stds
KC
(UK):|Working|Stds
NZKC:|Utility|Stds
UKC:|Guardian
Dogs|Stds
The Newfoundland is a large, usually black,
breed of dog
originally used as a working dog in
Newfoundland. They are
known for their sweet dispositions, loyalty, and natural water
rescue tendencies.
1. Appearance
Newfoundlands ("Newfies" or "Newfs") have
webbed feet and a water-resistant coat. Males weigh 60-70 kg (130-150
lb), and females 45-55 kg (100-120 lb), placing them in the
"giant" weight range. Some Newfies have been known to
weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). They may grow up to 22-30 inches tall at
the shoulder.
American Kennel Club
(AKC) standard colors of the Newfoundland are black, brown, gray
and landseer (black head and white and black body); The Kennel Club (TKC) permits only black,
brown and landseer; and the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) permits
only black and landseer. The Landseer is named
after the artist Sir Edwin
Landseer, who featured them in many of his paintings. AKC, CKC
and TKC all treat Landseer as part of the breed. FCI consider the Landseer to be a separate breed;
others consider only it simply a Newfoundland color variation.
2. Temperament
International Kennel clubs
generally describe the breed as having a sweet temperament.
They have deep barks, are easy to train and are known as
guardians, watchdogs and good with children.
3. History
The breed originated in Newfoundland from dogs
indigenous to the island. There is some speculation they may be
partly descended from the big black bear dogs introduced by the
Vikings in 1001
A.D. However it is more likely that their size results from the
introduction of large mastiffs, brought to the island by
generations of Portuguese fishermen. By the time colonization was
permitted in 1610, the distinct physical
characteristics and mental attributes had been established in the
breed for all time. In the early 1880s fishermen from Ireland and England
traveled to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland where there were two
main types of working dog: one more heavily built, large with a
longish coat, whereas the other was lighter in build, an active,
smooth-coated water dog. The heavier one was the Newfoundland and
the other was the St.
John's Dog, the forerunner of the Labrador Retriever. The dogs were used
in similar ways to pull fishnets and heavy equipment.
3. 1. Rescues
During the Discovery
Channel's second day of coverage of the AKC Eukanuba National
Championship on December 3, 2006, anchor Bob
Goen reported that Newfoundlands exhibit a very strong
propensity to rescue people from water. Goen stated that one
Newfoundland alone once aided the rescue of 63 shipwrecked sailors.
Today, Kennel Clubs across the United States host Newfoundland
Rescue Demonstrations, as well as offering classes in the
field.
In 1832, Ann Harvey of Isle aux Morts, her father, and a
Newfoundland Dog named Hairy Dog saved over 180 Irish immigrants
from the wreck of the brig Despatch.
And in the early 1900s, a dog that is thought to have been a
Newfoundland saved 92 people who were on a sinking ship in
Newfoundland during a blizzard. The dog retrieved a rope thrown out
into the turbulent waters by those on deck, and was able to bring
the rope to shore to people waiting on the beach. A breaches buoy
was attached to the rope, and all those aboard the ship were able
to get across to the shore.
An unnamed Newfoundland is also credited for saving Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815. During his
famous escape from exile on the island of Elba, rough seas knocked
Napoleon overboard. A fisherman's dog jumped into the sea, and
kept Napoleon afloat until he could reach safety.
4. Health
There are several health problems associated with Newfoundlands.
Newfoundlands are prone to Hip
dysplasia (a malformed ball and socket in the hip joint),
Elbow dysplasia, and cystinuria
(a hereditary defect that forms calculi stones in the
bladder). Another genetic problem is subvalvular aortic stenosis,
also referred to as subaortic stenosis or SAS. This is a common
heart defect in Newfoundlands involving defective heart valves. SAS
can cause sudden death at an early age. Newfoundlands also tend to
slobber copiously, but this is generally more a concern for owners
than for the dogs themselves.
5. Quotes
"The man they had got now was a jolly, light-hearted,
thick-headed sort of a chap, with about as much sensitiveness in
him as there might be in a Newfoundland puppy. You might look
daggers at him for an hour and he would not notice it, and it would
not trouble him if he did." Jerome K. Jerome Three Men in a Boat
"Newfoundland dogs are good to save children from drowning,
but you must have a pond of water handy and a child, or else there
will be no profit in boarding a Newfoundland." Josh Billings
"A man is not a good man to me because he will feed me if I
should be starving, or warm me if I should be freezing, or pull me
out of a ditch if I should ever fall into one. I can find you a
Newfoundland dog that will do as much." Henry David Thoreau Walden
"Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who
possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man, without his
Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed
over human ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of Boatswain,
a Dog." George Gordon, Lord
Byron, Epitaph to a Dog.
6. Famous Newfoundlands
* Adam - Seaward's
Blackbeard - 1984 Best in Show winner at the Westminster Dog Show
* Boatswain - pet of English poet Lord Byron and the subject of his poem
Epitaph to a Dog
* Brumus - Robert F. Kennedy's dog
* Brutus- first dog to complete the Appalachian
Mountain Club's "Winter 48"; climbing all 48 peaks in
one calendar winter
* Canton and Sailor - A female
and male pup aboard a floundering British ship in Maryland that were bred with retrievers to form
the Chesapeake Bay
Retriever
* Faithful - First dog of President Ulysses S. Grant
* Hector - First dog of President Rutherford B. Hayes
* Josh - Darbydale's All Rise
Pouchcove - 2004 Best in Show winner at the Westminster Dog Show
* Lara - First dog of President James Buchanan
* Mother Teresa - The major canine character in
the movie Must Love Dogs
* Nana - dog of the Darlings in Peter Pan
* Pilot - pet of Edward Fairfax Rochester in
Jane Eyre - first described in chapter
12
* Sable Chief -
mascot of The Royal
Newfoundland Regiment
* Sgt. Gander the Mascot of the Royal Rifles of
Canada who was killed in action at the Battle of Hong Kong when he carried a
grenade away from wounded soldiers. For this he was awarded the
PDSA Dickin Medal retroactively in
2000
* Seaman - pet of
Meriwether Lewis
* Sirius - dog of Maggie in the book Star in the Storm
* Swansea Jack-
Dog of the century
* Thunder- from the book Thunder from the Sea
* Jim(Effrijim)- from the book You Slay Me (Aisling
Grey Series)
Copyright (c) 2008 Kitt Killion Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
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