"Saved"

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Landseer

Edwin Landseer was a painter. The above photo is a copy of one of his paintings, it is titled “Saved”. The dog is said to be either a Newfoundland or a Newfoundland mix.

Some say he painted a real black & white Newfoundland dog. Others claim that all Newfoundland Mastiffs, at that time, were black.

But that a solid black dog is hard to paint, so he must have either painted a Newfoundland mix, or simply used artistic license to paint a black dog as a two color dog.

Whatever Mr. Landseer himself did, his paintings became popular, and people wanted a “Landseer Newfoundland” – a newfie that was both black & white.

The fact that the two color Newfoundlands were named after a painter, makes me wonder if the two color Newfie did originate in art, and then dogs were cross bred to look like the painted dogs.

For many years, the black and white Newfoundlands (the Landseers) were longer legged than the solid black Newfoundland dogs – another reason to suspect they were cross-bred, which would be a good thing, since too much in-breeding tends to have a bad effect on a breed.

The black & white Newfoundland dogs didn’t drool as much as the shorter legged solid color Newfoundland dogs. Some people even drug their show type Newfoundland dogs so they wouldn’t drool as much.

There are also bronze colored Newfoundland dogs, which are a beautiful reddish chocolate color. The breed name is often shortened to “newfie”.

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Champ Venus

Another photo of a painting by Edwin Landseer. Modern day Newfoundland dogs, tend to be heavier and larger headed. This newfie looks more agile.

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Distinguished

Another photo of a painting by Edwin Landseer. We have it so easy today, we just snap a photo. Back then a painter had to dab bits of paint onto a cloth. But Edwin Landseer did a good job.

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Common sense

Use common sense, if you live in Alaska, don’t buy a Chihuahua or a hairless dog. If you live in a hot desert or the deep south, don’t get a Newfoundland – they don’t like the heat.

If you don’t want a very large dog, that sheds lots of fur, and drools, fall in love with some other breed than a Newfoundland.

These dogs will be uncomfortable in the heat of the summer. If it is hot enough that your house is air conditioned (or you wish it were) then it is too hot to leave them outside. Brought inside, they shed and drool in the summer.

They love the water, they want to swim – which then means that you have a big wet dog, that still needs to come inside, is that a situation you really want?

Would you get better off with a short haired dog? One not so large and bulky?

If you live where winters are cold, a heavy coated dog like a Newfie makes sense. And a big heavy dog holds his heat better than a small thin dog – another reason to NOT to have a newfie if you live where summers are hot.

Newfies tend to be very gentle dogs with a sweet temper. But they require a cooler summer environment – like inside. They shed, they drool: they are huge. But they are usually nice dogs.

Before you get a big heavy drooly dog, watch the Tom Hank’s movie “Turner and Hooch” – no the dog in the movie is NOT a newfie, it’s a French Mastiff called a Dogue de Bordeaux, they have short hair and a red color, but are not always as gentle as a newfie.

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