Groom Training Your Newfoundland Dog

Grooming is an essential practice for Newfoundland dog owners. When you have a newfie puppy you can begin to train it for grooming right away. Doing so early in the dogs life will keep it practicing these habits throughout it’s lifetime. Follow these simple steps for groom training your newfoundland dog. Groom Training A Newfie … Read more

Training Your Newfoundland Puppy Early

Training your Newfoundland Puppy early, is so important. It might be hard to imagine your fluff ball turning into a gentle giant. Newfoundland dogs grow to average weights of 100 to 150 lbs. It’s one thing to have undesirable behaviour from a small dog, yet they get ignored or excused more easily. A large dog … Read more

Merrie is loving the Scruffs Cool Mat

Who would have thought the first summer we have Merrie would be the hottest we can remember!! Newfoundlands are not known for their love of hot weather, in fact she would probably prefer the snow and rain, luckily, the very kind people at Scruffs had the perfect answer for keeping her cool, a  Scruffs Cool Mat … Read more

How to Train Your Dog to Be Calm

Most dogs are very spunky with lots of energy prancing with joy everywhere they go. But sometimes, these levels of energy are not normal and may pose behavioural problems in your dogs. If you have a dog that is hyperactive, it is important for you to train them to be with society. While this may … Read more

Is a Newfoundland Dog Right For Me?

If you are thinking about having a dog, of course, one of the first questions is what kind of dog is right for me? A lot of dog lovers now have a particular dog breed in mind. If you are considering Newfoundland dog breeds, here you will find basic information about the dog breeds. The dog was originally bred as a water dog, and they are big fans of swimming and enjoying taking the advantage of the family pool or the local beach.

Newfoundlands are usually black, or black and white (known as Landseer) they also come in grey or brown. One of the characteristics of Newfoundland that makes it more attractive as a family dog is its wonderful relationship with children. In fact, a Newfoundland will usually name himself as the guardian of any young person in the family, obedient, intelligent and eager to please. Viggo our 4 year old uses her like a pillow!

A new study found that average dog owners walk 22 minutes more per day compared to people who do not have dogs. The benefits of walking include a lower risk of heart disease and premature death. Consider it an opportunity to exercise if you are a proud owner of a Newfoundland because any reluctance in going for a walk often comes from the owner and not this breed. You will need to be ready to buy thick winter jackets suitable for cold frost days and water resistant clothing for wet and rainy days.

Having any type of dog will have great health and social benefits by having a walk with your dog many times a week. The benefits include improved cardiovascular fitness, stronger muscles, and bones (built up by walking regularly), lower blood pressure and decreased stress, so what’s not to love!

A regular walk is vitally important for your dog’s health as well. Obesity in a dog is associated with a number of health complaints including osteoarthritis, liver disease, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.

Newfoundlands have an outstanding temperament in the sense that they are good, generous, courageous intelligent and loyal. They are also very patient and good with the guests. Newfoundland’s are protective, although they show it by standing between the intruder and its owner instead of barking or growling. Several years ago, in Newfoundland, this bread of dog swam lifelines to save shipwreck victims, pulled carts, and pulled out kids from the water and helping the fishermen pull in their heavy nets. Even though the dog is not usually quite that much of a workaholic nowadays, he still tends to enjoy swimming and hiking.

Newfoundland’s are stubborn dogs, but fortunately, they are very simple to train, but of course when they want to! It is important to understand the mind of the dog and be patient and logical from the beginning. Having a good sense of humour and good analytical skills are the personality that will be most useful to you. A Newfoundland dog is a very good working dog and is very simple to train when you get the correct motivation tools for your dog: whether a treat or toy, although they grow big and fast and Merrie has already cleared the stairgate with ease and every time we make the stairgate taller she jumps over it! If you are extremely house proud, this breed of dog is not for you. If you have a limited budget, maybe consider something smaller as these dogs eat LOTS, and with their size comes bigger bills and inflated costs.

I am extremely biased as I have never considered another breed, but they really are the most wonderful, family friendly giant. Merrie comes on the afternoon school run with us every day, and there is always a huge queue of children waiting to give her a hug or a tummy rub, the only problem we find is that she now takes up the entire pavement!

Merrie takes a trip to The Pets at Home Groom Room

Pets At Home Groom Room with a 5 month Newfoundland

Newfoundland’s need a lot of grooming! Thankfully Merrie seems to enjoy being brushed, if she has a toy to chew on, not the brush! Pets at Home got in touch and asked if we would like to take Merrie to a Groom Room for a Puppy Pamper, which of course we said yes!

With the Newfoundland having a double layer coat, it is extremely important to ensure they are groomed regularly, either at a Grooming place or you can learn to do it yourself, which will work out much cheaper, but its sometimes difficult to bathe a 59kg dog in the winter! It might be wroth considering having a professional groom once every three months and then doing the daily grooming yourself, it will be required more often when they are losing their old coat, it’s not unusual for us to have enough fur to make an entire Newfie floor statue!

The Puppy Groom is specifically for puppies aged 3 – 6 months and includes

  • a bath
  • brush through of the coat
  • gentle blow dry
  • eyes and ears cleaned
  • paw tidy if needed
  • Nail Clip

All of this for just £20 regardless of the size of the puppy, which I think represents fabulous value for money.

Merrie was also treated to The VIP Treatment, which is an upgrade on the service for an extra £10, this includes

  • Application of teeth clean gel and fresh breath foam
  • Paw Wax
  • SPA Blueberry facial
  • Luxury or Natural Shampoo (Merrie chose luxury of course!)
  • Hydrating Butter Treatment
  • Spritz of fragrance
  • Free Bandana.

It was the first Merrie had been for a groom, she has been used to brushes since she was old enough to be brushed and we have our own blower, so she had experienced those before.

When we arrived at Pets at Home in Lowestoft, Merrie was immediately at home as the lady on the desk gave her a treat! The Groom Room in Lowestoft is located upstairs, there is a lift to take you up there, but Merrie decided she would tackle the stairs!

We were met by Chloe and Joelle, the reception area is bright and clean, with lots of jars of treats, that Merrie found in all the secret places! Merrie had a good explore around the area to get used to it, we filled out the paperwork and then went through to the bathing area. I obviously went through with Merrie to record, but usually the owners leave their dogs to be groomed and return an hour later, the Pets at Home is situated on a large industrial estate with various shops and supermarkets, so plenty of places to go for an hour!

Merrie happily went into the bath, and enjoyed her bubble bath.

 

After she had been washed and shampooed, she gave a big shake, then it was time for a towel dry, before she was given a blow dry. They placed a cover over her ears to dry out the excess moisture from her ears and to block out some of the noise from the dryers.

Pets at Home Groom Room

After she was fully dried and extremely fluffy, she had her nails clipped and her pads shaved, a good clean of her ears and lots of pampering products applied, which smell wonderful.

As part of the VIP treatment she was given a bandana (extra large puppy one I think!)

 

 

We had a brilliant time at The Groom Room and Merrie managed to stay clean for at least a day, but she smelled delicious for five days!

To see exactly what went on, take a look at our little video!

* We were provided with a Puppy Groom and VIP Treatment package free of charge for the purpose of this review, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

If you have a puppy under 6 months Pets at Home offer a full puppy groom for just £20 not only is it great value for money but it gets your puppy used to grooming.

 

Keeping Your Newfoundland’s Ears Clean and Healthy

Tips On keeping Your Newfoundland’s Ears Clean and Healthy

Newfoundlands are great dogs true workhorses; they have real lifesaving instincts in the water and are a master in long-distance swimming. They are big and strong, and have a thick fur and a thick undercoat to shelter them all through rescue work in freezing water. Their grooming requirements may change due to the season; they needed extra grooming during fall shedding periods and also during spring. Their ears should be cleaned and nails clipped every 4 to 8 weeks.

As a dog owner, one of the most important tasks for grooming your dog is to keep the ears clean and free of hair and dirt. Dogs have very sensitive ears and this function can be a challenge for many dog owners who perform this procedure alone. In this article, we will discuss the proper way to clean your dogs ears and why it is very important to your puppy’s overall health.

Dogs enjoy having their ears rubbed, but if they are tender from an injury or infection, your dog will most likely pull away from you disinclined to have them touched. Therefore, softly massaging your pup’s ears is the first step in verifying their condition. If you observe that your dog is sensitive to your touch, it is time to take a closer sniff in the ears. Yes, I mean sniff your dog’s ears. Healthy ears have no odour. Get used to sniffing their ears, starting from the puppy stage, so you know how they smells naturally. If the ear smells like yeast or downright stinky, it is likely that a bacterial or yeast infection is developing.

Ear infections are very common in Newfoundland’s. Therefore, it is a good strategy to trim the hair around your pup’s ears so that air can circulate freely. Making it a habit to examine your dog ears will help avoid serious infections. Dog ear cleaner should be used regularly,and can be purchased from an online pet shop, I love the Frontline Ear Cleaner,  it is recommended to clean your dog’s ears weekly or monthly with ear care to ensure there are no ear problems that may need the attention of your veterinarian. The amount of times your dog ears are cleaned depends on how much time they spend in the water.

Keeping your Newfoundland's ears clean

Clean your dog’s ears if they have a mild odour and occasionally when you observe them shaking their head. That may help stop an infection before it takes root. You should also clean your dog’s ears if the wax appears dirty grey instead of gold or if your dog’s ears seem waxier than usual. When a lot of wax builds up, it can prevent airflow in the ear and cause a bug in the surface ear canal.

To clean your dog ears, tip the dog’s head downward with one hand, and spurt a vet recommended cleanser gently into the ear, filling the canal. Keep the ear closed; give it a good massage, squishing the cleaner all over the ear. This will soften any substance inside. Now take a step back and let the dog shake. Clean any residual cleanser with a soft or dry cloth or tissue; don’t let it go any further than your finger’s first knuckle.

That is all you have to do. Do not mess roughly with cotton-tipped applicators. They can carry dirt deeper into your pup’s ear. Do not clean your dog’s ears with witch hazel or alcohol. They dry the dog’s ear and may sting if the dog has scratches inside its ear. Take your dog to the vet if the odours or the signs persist or worsen after cleaning the ears. It may require deep cleaning and a drop of antibiotic or ointment to resolve the infection.

 

We were provided with products from Petshop.co.uk, all thoughts and opinions are our own.