Our 16 Month Old Newfoundland Puppy, Griffin, Is Home!

[NewEnglandLady]

Awww, what a good boy, Griffin!! Sounds like he was really drooling (literally) over that peanut butter!

 

[violet3]

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! he's such a cuddly looking guy

 

[Dee*Jay]

Oh what a precious precious addition to the family! And I love the pill story!

 

[AGBF]

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! he's such a cuddly looking guy

Thank you, violet! He is cuddly! You'd never know that this dog slept alone outside for over a year of his life! While he still sleeps happily outside a lot of the time, when he is inside he demands human companionship. If my father closes the door to the room where he sleeps on the ground floor, Griffin whimpers and gets naughty! So we have to decide whether to risk Griffin getting onto his bed (with perpetually muddy paws) or forcing my father to sleep on the living room couch (since Griffin still will not climb stairs to reach the upstairs bedrooms)! We are working hard on getting Griff to do stairs since it will solve a lot of problems once he will sleep with the rest of the pack up on the second story!!! Everyone is in on the act: me, my daughter, even my daughter's boyfriend, whom the dog adores. He goes up to the sixth step now! Hallelujah!

Deb

 

[iheartscience]

He is too handsome for words and I love all your stories about him! I actually read them to my husband this morning and we were both laughing imagining him standing in the bay window! If you feel like typing up more Griffin stories I'd love to hear them!

 

[AGBF]

He is too handsome for words and I love all your stories about him! I actually read them to my husband this morning and we were both laughing imagining him standing in the bay window! If you feel like typing up more Griffin stories I'd love to hear them!

You'll be sorry you encouraged me! I had to look back at the thread to see what I had said about the bay window! Because a few days ago my daughter and her boyfriend came home one night and saw the dog standing up in the bay window with the curtains closed behind him. (He had climbed up and gone behind the curtains, which had then fallen shut again behind him.) Apparently from the street and the front yard one could see the outline of an enormous black dog standing high up in our window. My daughter said it would have scared any burglar silly! She and her boyfriend couldn't believe what they were seeing! But I hadn't planned to tell any more window stories!

I didn't realize I hadn't told you about the toilet. (I hope I am not repeating myself.)

I used to think that Griffin was attempting to drink out of the toilet. That is because I started to hear a loud thudding sound that I couldn't identify. I eventually decided that it must be the sound of the toilet seat thudding down. My fantasy took me to the realm of Griffin lifting the lid of the toilet he loves so much (in an attempt to drink), then having the lid slam down (the loud thud I kept hearing). I would yell at him, but thought, "No harm, no foul". I couldn't ignore water on the bathroom floor near the toilet, however. I put that down to some men leaving the lid up at times and failing to close the bathroom door.

Eventually the truth dawned. Griffin-The-Strong was not fruitlessly lifting the lid only to have it slam down. Griffin was lifting both the lid and the seat; drinking at will as much toilet water as he wanted while holding them up with his massive head; and then-and only then-letting them fall down with the thud heard round my house!!! That's why I always had water all over the floor near my toilet!!! And that's why the only cure for problem was to keep the bathroom door closed!!

Deb/AGBF

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Hehehe, we also keep the bathroom door closed!

Have you taken Griffin swimming yet now that the ice has melted?? That will make for some fun stories

 

[iheartscience]

HA! That is hilarious, adorable and disgusting all at once! He's too smart and strong for his own good! Bathroom doors closed sounds like a great plan. Hopefully he doesn't figure out how to turn doorknobs and start opening doors!

And I'll never regret asking...more, more, I want more!

 

[AGBF]

I may have to move this thread to, "Who's Who" since it is becoming an "all about Griffin" thread, not just a thread about how Griffin came home! I don't believe we've ever had a canine in, "Who's Who" before!

I had to share a story my daughter told me about her walk with Griffin today. There is one stretch of their walk in which they walk by a lot of houses with relatively small front yards. Many of the people who live in these houses seem to have dogs. Whitney says that some of the dogs are very small and that one can see them in the front windows and hear high pitched barking indicative of very small dogs. Today a Beagle came running out of a garage barking ferociously at Griffin, who, of course was on the street being walked on a leash. The Beagle was confined by an electric fence, but Griffin didn't know that. He was terrified and started to whimper and back away across the street. My daughter, I am afraid, was amused. She had some empathy for poor Griffin (who does get scared by some pretty funny things...like objects that move suddenly), but she really couldn't help laughing at him! He is just so gigantic, and the idea that a Beagle could scare him is so ridiculous! One of our brawny UPS men stopped wanting to come inside the yard now that we have him, and he is gentle as a lamb! It was our former dog-the Lab-that bit people!!!

Deb/AGBF

 

[VapidLapid]

Griffin's instincts may be right in this case. My Napoleonic pug Murry is an angel with every one and all dogs, except for dogs that are bigger than him. Being a pug it happens quite often. Years ago he took a chunk of fur off a Bernese Mountain Dog down the street. Ever since then that Bernese crosses the street when he sees Murry.

 

[AGBF]

Griffin's instincts may be right in this case. My Napoleonic pug Murry is an angel with every one and all dogs, except for dogs that are bigger than him. Being a pug it happens quite often. Years ago he took a chunk of fur off a Bernese Mountain Dog down the street. Ever since then that Bernese crosses the street when he sees Murry.

You forgot the electric fence!

Deb


PS-Griff makes a Bernese Mountain Dog look like a peanut and he has twice as much fur given that he has a double coat. I do think it might sting to have it yanked out of his flesh, however! So I hope that we can protect him from marauding pugs, Beagles, and chihuahuas!

 

[Cynthadia]

I've always loved the giants, Newfiess and Pyrs, especially. Some years ago I saw my first Landseer. Watching that dog on the move was sheer poetry. You'd think that a big boned dog such as the Newf would move somewhat clumsily, but in a well-bred dog that's not the case.

Now, with summer fast approaching, you should think about taking your Griffin boy to water so that he can learn to do what he was bred to do. Frankly, I think your boy should have a job. What better job for a Newf than being a lifeguard. Afterall, they're hardwired for the profession.

Regards,

Cynthia

p.s. Had it not been for the shedding and having to carry around a drool rag, I might have very well considered showing Newfs. Who can resist that steadfast, sweet temperament that is a hallmark of the breed? Instead, I opted for another breed.

p.p.s. If you don't already have one, I suggest that you go out and buy an x-pen. It's a great training aid for housetraining dogs. Alternatively, you could try a belly band, at least in the interim. I don't recall if you said he was marking or just peeing for the hell of it. If he's marking, then you must stop the behavior ASAP before the behavior becomes ingrained. If you don't give the dog the opportunity to pee in the house, then he never gets to experience the wrong behavior - hence the x-pen.

p.p.p.s. Another alternative is to teach Griffin to pee on command. Yes, it can be done. Load him up with water , put him in his crate or x-pen for about 10 minutes. Then take him outside with his lead. Tell him "get busy." He won't understand what that means at first, but you can reinforce the command fairly easily. As soon as he lifts his leg, reward the behavior: good boy, a small (one bite) cookie, and give him the command to urinate. Pretty soon, before you know it, as soon as you say "get busy," the dog will pee. Think in terms of an age-old dog training axiom: reward the behavior you want, and either correct or prevent the unwanted behavior. Take my word for it, it's better to prevent than correct.

p.p.p.p.s. I speak from experience. I spent 20 years breeding and showing dogs. I started out showing in obedience and then got hooked in the breed ring. I've bred 9 AKC champions and put a few obedience titles on dogs.

 

[JewelFreak]

I LOVE GRIFFIN!!



Cynthadia, what did you show & breed? I showed Siberians & yes, agree w/you about Newf movement. (Sorry, threadjack).

Deb, you must be having such a wonderful time with your boy! Newfs are so goofy & such fun, and like all working dogs, think for themselves, which is not always for the best human convenience, though from a dog's point of view makes perfect sense. Good for laughs as you tear your hair, however!

I liked the pill story too. Sweet. My dogs gobble pill and peanut butter w/out problem -- but absolutely refuse even a "chewable" pill without the pb. They look at me cynically: "Trying to pawn this tasteless thing off on me, huh? Fat chance."

--- Laurie

 

[Cynthadia]

I LOVE GRIFFIN!!



Cynthadia, what did you show & breed? I showed Siberians & yes, agree w/you about Newf movement. (Sorry, threadjack).



Jewel Freak:

I bred and showed Standard Poodles. And yes, I too am sorry about the threadjack, but I can't help it

Every breed has its challenges. For the giants, the challenge is lifespan - the larger the breed, the shorter the lifespan. Just look at Danes. They're consideered old at 5 years, and long-lived if they make it past 7. If that isn't bad enough, most of the Danes have been prophyatically gastropexied.

Then look at the Bulldog. They're all AI'd and none of them are free whelpers any more.

The Bedlington almost become extinct. Copper toxicosis was a huge genetic problem for the breed. When a gene test was developed to test for carriers, breeders culled dogs right and left from their breeding program, thereby dramatically reducing the gene pool. Yeah, Bedlington breeders eliminated CT, but then found themselves faced with other genetic anomalies for which they had very little clean breeding stock from which to choose.

The Saluki was saved only because the Saluki parent club managed to convince the AKC to open the stud book.

The Standard Poodle has had its own share of health issues. Genetic diversity is a real problem because most SPs are descendants of 3 North American founder dogs. Trying to find anything that isn't related to the 3 founders is impossible, and I'm speaking worldwide.

Okay, now I've gotten that out of my system., I'll try not to threadjack again.

Cynthadia

 

[JewelFreak]

Threadjack Cont'd with Big Apologies!

Cynthadia, You're in CT -- did you know Janet Minor? She died a few years ago -- trialed Standards in OB & Agility. I'm with you on the genetic problems! I don't show anymore but stuff is coming up in Siberians too: epilepsy, juvenile cataracts, bad temperaments. I've decided it's a death knell for a breed to be admitted to AKC. My sister has bred working GSDs for 30 yrs, AKC-registered but that's all the contact she has w/them -- because her dogs can actually walk on their feet, not their hocks. We all know the problems w/that breed. Floods of tears from her over the years -- and she does not use U.S. or western European stock, tries to stick to East Europe because for so many years they were cut off from western gene pools, less tainted but not much less. People are such idiots.

Deb -- the toilet story is hilarious! Bathroom doors here are closed too. Not only because of the dogs -- one of my cats has learned to open cupboards, I could strangle him! He loves to make nests in toilet paper rolls & I'm afraid he'll get into cleaning chemicals. I had to put baby locks on kitchen cupboards to keep him out!

Does Griffin ever sleep on your bed? That's a picture, struggle for space!

Do you have more pics? Please please!!

--- Laurie

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Cynthadia, I'm continuing the threadjack (sorry), but just wanted to chime in about how much frustration there is, even within the breed clubs. I have two newfs--one black, one landseer--and navigating through all of the breeders, even within the local breed club, was very hard. I showed our landseer for about a year before I decided to give up...his movement was amazing--great head, great front and rear construction, but loose eyes and his tail is about an inch short. I do think he could have gotten his championship, but it would have taken some time and travel. The New England circuit can be very cut-throat.

Also, I'm a huge proponent of the working lines. Too many newfs are bred to be big couch potatoes and I've found that there are only a handful of breeders who focus on energy and stamina. This is personally why I truly love landseers--I've been to dozens of water rescue events and in my opinion, the landseers are the stronger performers. Byron (my black newf) is landseer recessive and in his day, had an incredible amount of stamina. To this day, he's the only newf I've known to climb Mt. Washington. Bo is my water-rescue addict--he will swim for hours at a time--he swims every day. It's hard to find a great landseer breeder today--they don't tend to do well in the ring and as a result, many breeders have phased them out.

Coat is a huge issue between the working-dog proponents and the show breeders. Newfs who are taking titles have way too much coat to be effective in the water. Bo has this issue--like I said, he swims every day, but his coat is very full and very soft. Most owners who do a lot of water work do prefer a coarser coat.

I'm still thankful that our breed club is small enough to effectively work toward improving the breed. When I first started researching newfs, which was only 10 years ago, all you heard about was hip dysplasia. The breeders have worked very hard to tighten up the hips. In fact, in both Byron and Bo's contracts, I agreed to radiograph them at 2 years (which I'm happy to do--and they both received a grading of "very good" from the OFA). In just a decade, newfs' hips have really tightend up....but now you see all of these cruciate tears, so the breeders are worried they're too tight.

Anyway, I find talking with breeders to be interesting. I've made a lot of friends. I've even made a couple of enemies, but it's always interesting.

 

[AGBF]

Today Griffin tried to eat an entire loaf of ciabatta from Whole Foods. He found it, freshly baked and wrapped in plastic, on the kitchen table. My daughter's boyfriend informed me that there was some bread on the living room floor. Not only was Griffin not man enough to finish the entire loaf (he left around 4 or 5 small slices)...yes, I'd had it sliced, but he also didn't eat his dinner later. He may not be the dog I thought he was. My Lab, Biscuit, could have done it. Eaten all the loaf of ciabatta and then had dinner. Of course he might have been sick later, but he'd have given it the old college try. In the name of Labs everywhere. I am starting to wonder about Griffin's credentials. First there was the Beagle incident and now this.

It was a very large loaf of ciabatta, though.

Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

Give him time, Deb. He's still young -- may yet build up the cojones to do the job right! With luck you'll see him move on to steaks & the whole pot roast thawing on the counter.

--- Laurie

 

[AGBF]

Give him time, Deb. He's still young -- may yet build up the cojones to do the job right! With luck you'll see him move on to steaks & the whole pot roast thawing on the counter.

Oh, Laurie, I miss being able to make a smiley out of a : and a ). You are an experienced dog owner!!!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[JewelFreak]

Yep.

Hugs back at ya.

--- Laurie

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Great thread! Love your stories, Deb! Griffin is beautiful!!!

 

[AGBF]

My daughter came back from walking Griffin today with a story that she assured me I would really love. She made a big production out of having me sit down and making sure that I had nothing to distract me when she told me this tale. The only background you should have is that on the day of the blizzard, while my father was moving his snowblower out of the gate in the fence, Griffin got out of the gate. My father woke me up. I dressed in a panic, but I had to put on many layers of clothing, including boots. (There was a blizzard in full swing!) On the plus side: there was little traffic due to the weather, so Griffin was unlikely to be hit by a car. On the minus side: we had been unable to find a collar big enough to fit him in the regular pet store, so he wore no identification tags. (When we walked him he wore a heavy Sprenger chain, training collar, but that came off unless he was being walked or trained.) He has a micro-chip implanted in him, but we certainly hoped he wouldn't be lost for more than a few minutes! My daughter was in a panic that morning. I remember her saying that we wouldn't be able to find him. I remember saying, "That black dog in a snowstorm?" for he surely stuck out!!! By the time I was dressed, the dog had come home. So he was only gone for about 20 minutes, 25 minutes at the very most.

OK. That's the background. I may even have posted about this day.

Well today my daughter said a man stopped his car and called out to her, "I met your dog the day of the blizzard!"

He then told her a long story. She said he was a great storyteller and had a way of telling things that made you laugh.

He said he was walking along at the elementary school near where we live the day of the snowstorm and ran into a male acquaintance who was out with his three year-old daughter enjoying the snow. Suddenly Griffin appeared behind them! He said, "Jeff, I don't want to alarm you, but there's a bear behind you!"

His friend looked over his shoulder at the huge, furry black creature and noticed it had a white spot on its chest.

He said, "Arthur, that's not a bear; it's a dog".

No one wanted to approach it, but after Jeff and his child left, Arthur parked his car in the school lot and followed Griffin. He got some pictures of him with his cell phone and then approached him. He told my daughter that Griffin let him sit down right next to him and was the biggest sweetheart in the world, but that he had no collar on. He didn't know whom he could call about the dog. So he went home and showed his wife the pictures and she was angry that he hadn't called some authorities about the dog.

He told my daughter that he still had the pictures of Griff on his cell phone and that if he saw her walking him again he'd stop and show them to her. He is a dog lover and he said he'd never seen a dog like that and that although the dog looked like a dog today, in the snow it really looked like a bear!

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

OK. That's the background. I may even have posted about this day.

I did a search and found that I did post about the day that Griffin got away! Here is a link to the thread in which I meantioned his getting out of the gate!

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/small-snow-expected-should-this-be-mentioned-in-the-winter.155374/#post-2834502#p2834502']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/small-snow-expected-should-this-be-mentioned-in-the-winter.155374/#post-2834502#p2834502[/URL]

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

My daughter made a sign in front of Griffin's bed saying, "Griffin's Home". His bed is now higher than it was, because we took out the crate and put the bed on top of the pad that used to be inside the crate. He looks adorable curled up inside his bed, but the light didn't favor those photos.

Deb/AGBF

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

What a gorgeous pooch! Oh Deb--love your stories! (bear indeed!)

cheers--Sharon

 

[Haven]

He is so handsome! I came back to this thread in search of more photos, and I was not disappointed!

One of our neighbors has a new Newfie puppy, and she is already 30 lbs at only a few months old. I cannot wait until she is a full grown lady and I can bury my face in her!

 

[AGBF]

I took some pictures of Griffin yesterday. I am not sure which of the five pictures is going to pop up on the screen (nor am I sure which size it will be). I had some adventures taking the pictures and many adventures trying to get them onto my computer then trying to find them there! Griffin is adorable and photogenic and if all this came easier to me, I would update this thread far more often with many more amusing photos. None of these do his antics any justice, believe me! He is completely housebroken, but still will not climb stairs or get into a car. To be fair, we stopped working with him on trying to get into a car. First the weather was bad, then he had, "a hot spot" for which I had to give him antibiotics and bathe the area twice a day. (That was after he had vaccinations and was de-wormed by veterinarians willing to come to the house.) So we've been busy!

I can't say no one warned me that Newfoundlands were dirty. I knew they drooled. A lot. But now I notice that even the poster dogs on their calendar have muddy chests. Like Griffin. They are dirty every minute of every day. As in muddy.

The man who was putting up our fence asked if they dug. Our breeder said yes, but not to tunnel out. They dig holes to be cool. (I guess the term, "fox hole" has its origin in in a similar type burrow.)

Well...Griffin loves to dig! He has started many holes for us in the lawn. (Thanks, Griff.)

I took some pictures of him yesterday in his favorite hole up against the front of the house where we keep the garden hose. The container that looks like a picnic cooler is there to hold the Christmas lights that he chewed through when we had them up. (He's got very good teeth, if you were worried about that.)

But back to the dirt. After he digs in the dirt, he becomes coated with dry (if t hasn't been raining) dirt. Then he has a long drink of water that goes mainly on his chest. Then he visits me and nuzzles me all over. Then I am well-coated in mud. Then his chest has its usual soaked-in-mud, drizzled with mud, look, the look of the Newfies in the calendar. I am amazed I didn't notice how dirty their chests were before I owned one!

Well...on with the photo show!

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[AGBF]

Second photo.

 

[AGBF]

Third photo.

 

[AGBF]

Fourth photo.