StormTrooper

Wow- what great ideas. Thank you so much everyone I really appreciate it - you have given us some great ideas.

Our two newfies need a big drinking bucket as they destroy the plastic buckets we give them. Can anyone recommend a type of drinking bucket appropriate for a large breed such as a newfoundland. I haven't been able to find anything appropriate at the pet shop. Thanks in advance

the bleeding was a few months ago & my husband said he hasnt seen anything since then so i am guessing she is not on heat on the moment. The breeder knows that she is not desexed, so hopefully we won have to worry about that. No the situation at the moment isnt ideal, obviously - but it will change in a few months - even though i wont have much time i can still play with her briefly during the day & i can try the crate idea inside (we have a crate that she goes in downstairs sometimes) so at least she will near us until she learns to settle down a bit more. Its just that circumstances change (we didnt plan tp have another baby so close together) & unfortunately we dont get to spend as much time with her as we can at the moment - but the pregnancy is the main issue & that comes to an end in a couple of months. She is walked everyday & my husband plays with her briefly in the morning before he goes to work - i imagine this is the same scenario for most dogs whose owners work - so her life isnt that bad, but i agree its not ideal at the momtent - we love her & want to do whats best for her - which is why i was on here getting advice from everybody. I am sure in the very near future things will be much better. anyway, i am swaying towards just focusing on getting through the next few months somehow & then slowly introducing her to be inside more & more rather than trying to fix it all by getting her a friend. You are right, having two dogs outside might be worse than one that will eventually be inside - thanks for everyones advice i really appreciate it. I will look into the k9 training, i tried to find a behaviourist when she was a puppy & most of them told me to wait until she was older & the one we did get wasnt the right fit - so i am willing to try & find another who can give us some tips. She isnt naughty though, its just that she is so excited to see us that she gets carried away - other than that she is very well behaved, she only eats once we give the command & she sits & walks well. She is never let outside of our yard (fort knox) unless she is being walked & then she is on a lead so there is no issues with her getting pregnant. Thanks again for everyones advice.I am sure my newfie would say thanks if she could.

my husband has noticed blood - he looks after grooming her etc, & we thought that might be part of the process but we werent sure. But apart from that i would not know any other signs to look out for. we have had a behaviourist come in a few times, but to be honest it didnt really help us that much. I might look into the one that is mentioned by baby dragon, the one we had was a waste of money & all he wanted to do was have us come to group training sessions instead of focusing on us in our home. He came here once & then every other time he asked us to come to group training instead. Our dog is well looked after by my husband, so he is pretty switched on with how she is physically, but neither of us has had an undesexed female dog before so that part of it is a bit new. She has regular check ups at the vet & we know what stuff to look out for with regard to grooming & keeping her clean etc. We have a baby gate up, but its at the top of the stairs (the only place to really put it as our upstairs area is all open plan - so its very uncomfotable for her to sit on the top stair & watch us. After reading everyones posts, i am reconsidering getting her another dog as a friend - there is obviously alot of things to consider with having two dogs that i wasnt aware of & i really appreciate everyone giving such great advice. i have taken it on board. We will have a look at the other dog & think it through - but i think the idea of having her crated here with me in the house might also be a good one - but i cant do that until i am no longer pregnant as she gets so excited she jumps all over me & i cant risk any accidents being so pregnant at the moment. I have considered a dog walker for the day & i might look into this again. Just until the baby is born & then i cant start to think about having her inside in her crate. Thanks everyone - you are all very helpful.

Thanks dancinbcs for the info on the cost - the breeder seems to have alot of integrity so i assumed it would be a fair price, but on the same token i wanted to hear from someone in the know just to be on the safe side. I have been a bit niave in the past with other things so that information & the other stuff you posted helps alot. Thanks persephone for all the other information - i am starting to figure out there is alot to learn. I wouldnt even know what to look out for with regard to comming on heat. the reason i say that i thought it would solve some problems is because when we bought her i had a young baby, but i planned that even though i would have restricted time with her during the day it would only be until the baby was a bit older & she was trained enough not jump etc around the baby. So i always made sure i spent at least an hour with her everyday while the baby slept. She couldnt come upstairs where our main living area is because i was told it would be bad for her bones so she should stay away from stairs for at least nine months - so long story short while she was young she couldnt really be around me all day & only had limited time with me & a walk with my husband every night. I thought this would only be temporary and then i fell pregnant again - this time she kept jumping up on me so i had to restrict playing with her during the day & she has only had my husband walking her every night for the last 4 months or so. We have taken her to obedience training but i am guessing that what she needs is me teaching her not to jump up regularly - which is hard for me at the moment due to my pregnancy. So basically, for a breed that loves to be around others i feel like i have let her down. I want to be with her during the day & i will be able to once the baby is born - but then i wont have as much time with two babies - so i feel i owe it to her to get her a friend so she has some company during the daytime. Our house is a bit strange, i.e it is on a hill & you walk directly in to the upstairs living area & then downstairs we have a whole other living area that leads onto the backyard. So the dog doesnt come inside during the day (due to her jumping all over me when she is near me) so she stays outside during the day & then when my husband gets home he walks her & spends a bit of time with her. he sees her in the morning as well, but only for a little while. If we had two dogs they would both be outside during the day most days, but my ultimate goal is to have them inside more & more. I dont know what else to do, i feel responsible because i bought her knowing they love company - but it has turned out that she seems lonely in the daytime & i want to fix that if i can. I thought that if she had a friend she would be occupied during the day & then they could both have walks at night & then soon i'll be able to spend time playing with them during the day...........i just feel like i have let her down. i know i have asked alot of questions, but i am going to ask one more; considering that she is alone during the day until my husband comes home from work, & it will remain this way for the next 2 & a half months at least - is it fair on her to have her alone for such a long period (6am to 7pm). Once i have this baby then i can try to have much more contact with her during the day - but my time will still be restricted. if i can get the jumping under control she can be upstairs with me alot more. The alternative is to have her spend more time outside, but with a friend.

thanks for all the input. Especially all the info on what to check with hips etc. And everyone's info it really helps me out alot. This is my second baby, & yep there will be two under two so it will be chaotic. I was thinking that having another dog would solve alot of problems, i.e a friend for her but it sounds like i am really going to have to be careful about a few things, such as desexing both of them & checking him out for other defects. He has won some stuff last year, apparantly they are good titles - But i take on board titel doesnt = well behaved etc. The price is a bit concerning for two reasons, firstly i want to make sure we are not being ripped off as another poster has said as money is a bit tight at the moment (my obstetricians fee is due in two weeks & its over 5k) & we only just found out about him & his cost 1 week ago - so i wasnt prepared. Secondly, even though i have a newfie, i really dont know much about how much it would cost to buy an adult dog, & part of me feels that if we were being ripped off with the money then maybe there were other things relating to the dogs health or nature etc that were also a bit dodgy considering she wants to sell him i.e are there issues we dont know about. So i sort of thought if others had any idea of what kind of cost would be involved in the exercise & if this value seemed legit then i am sure everything else is above board. I suppose I am not very trusting, even though i know the breeder is has a good record with winning dogs & our dog is wonderful - sometimes it just helps to get a bit of advise from other dog owners who might be a bit more in the know than me. We only found out about him last week so i have had a week to absorb the idea of it all. One thing is for sure, if its the right thing to do i.e his temperament is good, they get on & he is a dog i can consider safe for my kids when they get a bit older then i dont mind paying the money, getting the right dog & playmate for our dog is paramount - the last thing i want is to have issues & then find a new dog has to be rehomed. i just wanted to see what others thought about it. Our newfie is my first dog in a long time so i am a bit rusty, but learning as i go. In my ignorance, i did think show dogs would be trained but it seems i was mistaken. I dont think we want to have puppies, infact the breeder told me that we cant have puppies because she was sold as a pet & if we want to have puppies then we have to register her as a breeding dog etc. Does anyone know how much it costs to desex a male dog of this size? I have thought about rescue dogs, but the whole temperament issue comes into it & knowing how gentle this breed is (even though they are huge)puts my mind at ease a little bit. Our newfie does jump up alot, but she is totally loving with no aggression whatsoever - i was hoping because he is from the same breeder that he will be equally as loving. Does anyone know where we could find out if there are any newfie's that need to be rescued - just in case things dont work out with this dog? Either way - i really appreciate everyone taking the time to help me out - we are meeting with the breeder on monday so i just wanted to make sure i get as much info & advice before i go - i really dont want to jump in to a decision as it would only be worse for the dog.

yes, i think 2k is alot also, but when we bought our newfie as a puppy she cost 2k - so i suppose that is why she is charging us this amount. I wish ours was only $250..... Its alot of money & money we need as we have another baby due in 10 weeks, but part of me thinks - well we would have paid the same amount if we bought a puppy & we dont have all the hard work involved with a puppy & iassume he is trained as he is a show dog......but the other hakf thinsk OMG 2k for a 2 yr old dog. What do others think of the price thing? Are we being silly paying that much - i have no idea how much other newfies cost.

thanks for all the replies. So, we are going on monday to meet him where he lives & we are bringing our dog along - i wonder if that is a good idea as it is not neutral territory? He lives with many other dogs though as his owner is a breeder so i am hoping he is well socialised. I am guessing he is not desexed as was an australian champion & i am guessing they normally breed them - but the breeder has since bought a new male dog & so the opportunity for us to buy him has some up. Our dog (i hate the word b*tch, so i'll refer to her as a dog) is not desexed, will this cause a problem???Apart from the obvious one of puppies:) I think its easier to get males done isnt it, so maybe its a good idea just to get him done. I havent had him checked for hip or other issues - do i need to do that & if so how do i tell? She gave us papers with our dog when we bought her as a puppy, so i am assuming we get papers for him. I have never bought a mature dog before so i really am a bit nervous about it but i think its the best thing for our girl. I think $2,000.00 is ok considering he is an australian champion, & he will therefore hopefully have a good tempermant (or am i wrong about assuming that?). But has anyone else any info on buying a mature dog pricewise that is. Geez, sorry for all the questions - i just dont want to make a mistake thats all - i have two little babies & i want to be reassured this big male dog will be ok with them when they eventually want to play with the dogs. Thanks for everyone's help & i will definitely post some pictures soon - of my girl that is - & if we buy the male i'll make sure i post pictures of him as well.

Our 1 yr old female newfoundland is a bit lonely during the day & we thought we might get a friend for her as this breed loves to have company. The breeder who we bought her from has offered us one of her male dogs ($2,000) - he is 2 yrs old & has won a couple of championships etc. The breeder is a good breeder & we thought this solution might be a good one because at least we wont have to go through the puppy stage & it could be dangerous with such a big dog leaving her alone with a puppy. My question is, has anyone else done anything similar & can anyone offer any advise when introducing two dogs etc.

hey thanks everyone. I really appreciate all your advice. i am going to look at those kennels in the link a bit more - they seem quite big which is good. And I am also going to hunt around for a second hand cubby to see how they compare. Thanks again - i appreciate all your advice - & so will my dog i am sure

thanks, the cubby house is looking like a good idea....never would have thought of it myself.

thanks poodlefan. At the moment she sleeps on the back verandah which is covered & she has a bed there, it has brick walls on either side but open at the front & i think she might prefer having something that keeps the cold out now that it is getting cooler.

Hi All, first post & hoping someone can offer some advice. We have an 11 month old Newfoundland Female. She sleeps outside & its starting to get cold (i know she had alot of fur, but it gets pretty cold where we live) so I want to get her a kennel. But as she is a giant breed I need to get her something quite substantial. Can anyone tell me where i can get a kennel for a breed of her size? We live in western sydney. Thanks.