My New Newfie/Lab Mixed Breed

Our Newfie/Lab Mixed Breed making herself at home on the hotel bed.

When I was a kid you didn't see people walking around with bags of poop. Who would have ever imagined we'd be picking up dog excrement in little plastic bags and carrying it around with us until we got home or found a garbage can? My daughters and I have always preferred big dogs; I wonder if we had thought about the amount of waste product dogs excrete if we may have changed our minds?

Any parent remembers when their kids were babies how a main topic of conversation around the house involved diaper changes and when the baby had last pooped.

Well, I had forgotten, but it came back to me when we got Sydney. One of the main conversations around the house involves when the dog last pooped.

My oldest daughter has if figured out pretty well. She takes the dog on a walk just long enough for her to pee, but not long enough for her to do anything more. I remember the horror in her face when she first had to pick up a big pile of dog doodoo. She first asked me to do it. No way - she wanted the dog. And then she just kind of kept looking at it and backing away, making teenage girl sounds of discontent - whining. I finally told her to get it over with. It wasn't going to bite her and it wasn't going to go away.

Ok, I think I've covered that topic - but any dog owner understands. And the bigger the dog, the better they understand.

Please support this worthy organization which rescues dogs and trains them to be part of a search and rescue team. The training and care of these animals for a lifetime is $10,000 and the Search Dog Foundation funds all of it. They receive no government funds.

Many of these dogs helped in the search and rescue after the 911 destruction.
Search Dog Foundation

Do you know the difference between a mutt and a mixed breed dog? Well, I had always thought the two were the same. Not so. A mixed breed, (also known as a crossbreed), is a dog of known ancestry, often deliberately mated.

A mutt, (also called a mongrel by some - not me! I think it sounds too derogatory), is a dog of two or breeds of unknown origin. Dogs interbreed freely except where there's a huge size difference. They of course vary in size, shape, and color, which can make it difficult to know what breed they are. Their parents may be of mixed breed, which means a dog can be made up of many breeds. Those can be the cutest!

Now, I've never cared whether I had a purebred, although when thinking about what kind of dog I want, I've always thought of Labs and Golden Retrievers. To some, having a purebred is a status symbol; to others, they want a particular purebred because they prefer that dog's traits and looks. Who doesn't think a Golden Retriever puppy is the cutest thing they've ever seen! Look at all the commercials there are with that type of dog. They do turn into big dogs, and some people simply prefer small dogs.

Well, I got half of what I wanted. Sydney is part Lab, but I tell you, that wavy black coat and fur on her ears that she gets from her Newfie side adds a great touch! And as I've studied up on the Newfoundland breed, I've found that they are a good dog for my family, and similar in ways to the Lab and Goldens, with their easy-going personalities. Plus, purebred Newfoundlands have been referred to as the "Gentle Giant."

I love the Newfie part of Sydney; but I would never have a purebred because these dogs get very large, females up to 120 pounds, and males up to 150 pounds. They better be gentle!

"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

Newfoundlands, also called Newfies or Newfs, have webbed feet and a water-resistant coat. Males weigh 130-150 lb, and females range from 100-120 lb. Some Newfies have been known to weigh over 200 lb. Can you imagine?

Their standard colors are black, brown, gray and landseer, (black head and white and black body).

The official AKC breed description says "Sweetness of temperament is the hallmark of the Newfoundland; this is the most important single characteristic of the breed."

The Newfoundland's country of origin is the island portion of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Geographically, the province consists of the island of Newfoundland and the mainland Labrador.

Everyone has met a Lab, but how many of us have known a Newfoundland? Sydney seems to have a lot of Newfoundland in her personality. The breed is typically calm, and supposedly don't move around a lot while indoors - although they tend to spread out and cover large areas of space. Well, imagine a 120 pound dog needing a lot of space to spread out!

I love Sydney's bark - it's deep and powerful sounding, another characteristic of the Newfoundland. The breed is known for being protective of their owners, but I haven't seen it yet. It is nice having her bark when she hears something at night though; it just makes you feel a little more secure.

Newfies are supposed to be known for their prowess in water; they are well-known for their water rescue skills. However, you wouldn't know this by my part-Newfie. As a matter of fact, she's part Lab too, so she should really like the water, right?! We haven't had her long so we haven't had lots of opportunity to test it, but the one time I took her to the lake, she was afraid of the little lapping waves. Hmm... I can blame it on her former owners - you can do that when you adopt a dog! But really, she just doesn't seem as though she's been socialized as well as she could have been.

But she did play with another of her toys the other day, so we are making progress. It's fun to see her becoming our dog.

"Good-tempered, very agile. Excellent nose, soft mouth; keen love of water. Adaptable, devoted companion. Intelligent, keen and biddable, with a strong will to please. Kindly nature, with no trace of aggression or undue shyness."
-UK Kennel Club standard

The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, and is the most popular breed of dog (by registered ownership) in the United States.

Labs are believed to have originated on the island of Newfoundland, now part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The breed is not indigenous to the Newfoundland area. It is thought to have descended over time from the St. John's Water Dog (no longer in existence), a crossbreed of native water dogs and the Newfoundland dog (to which the Labrador is closely related).

There are three recognized colors for Labs: black (a solid black color, with a touch of white on their chests), yellow (anything from light cream to gold to fox-red), and chocolate (medium to dark brown).

A Lab's fur is usually fairly short and straight, and their tail is quite broad and strong. Their otter-like tail and webbed toes make them excellent swimmers. Their interwoven coat is also relatively waterproof. Male dogs weigh from 65 to 80 pounds; females weigh from 55 to 70 pounds.

Labradors are fairly mellow, although when young or during play, can be quite rambunctious. As a rule they are not excessively prone to territorialism, pining, insecurity, aggression, destructiveness, or hypersensitivity, and they are not particularly noisy. They make an excellent family dog (including a good reputation with children of all ages and other animals), and are usually very easygoing and trusting with strangers.

Most Labs are tireless in play and love retrieving a ball, both in and out of water. They thrive on human attention, affection and interaction. They have a reputation for having big appetites, (they're pigs! I can barely get the food in Sydney's bowl before it's gone). Labs have a propensity for chewing, but I've been lucky as Syd only chews on her own toys. Although I do find the cat's bowl in the living room quite frequently.

Labs are well known for their ability to learn which makes them an ideal breed for search and rescue, and therapy work. I've always thought she'd make a good tracking dog as she loves to sniff the ground; so many good smells out there.

Rescue Dogs

Well, wouldn't you know that as soon as I got done writing about how good Sydney was about not chewing, she brings me my daughter's sandal! And..this morning, I find a pack of cards that has been nibbled on. It's as if she read what I wrote and decided to prove me wrong. I know she's smart, but...

Hmmm..I haven't learned everything about her yet...but...

All responsible dog breeders will screen their dogs for genetic/health problems specific to the breed. A dog which has a particular genetic flaw should not be used to breed. Not breeding dogs with a specific health disorder doesn't guarantee the offspring will not have the disorder, but it will reduce the chance of the disorder being present.

Certainly, if the dog is screened and found to have a health issue, there is a higher chance of the puppy having the same problem. Before choosing a purebred puppy, find out what health issues are common to that breed. Ask the breeder which health problems the parent dogs have been screened for, and what type of guarantee they offer.

Three of the most common health issues concerning Newfoundlands are:

Hip Dysplasia: Thought to be an inherited trait, dysplasia is a common problem in many large-breed dogs. In general, hip dysplasia is described as improper or abnormal bone, muscle, tendon or ligament growth or development. Most commonly dysplasia refers to hips that don't fit the socket properly.

SAS is an acronym that stands for Sub valvular Aortic Stenosis. It too is an inherited disease. Stenosis means "narrowing." Sub valvular Aortic Stenosis is basically a smaller than normal escape for blood from the heart into the Aorta. Your Newfie will tire more easily as blood pumping through their heart is restrictes. Proper diet and exercise can help a dog cope with the disease.

Bloat is a disease specific to large-chested dogs, such as the Newfoundland. There is no known cause. Gases and fluids are unable to escape the dog's stomach resulting in a rapid increase in the size of the stomach. Blood supply to the stomach and surrounding organs is cut off. Untreated it is always fatal.

Always see a vet if your dog is displaying unusual behavior or seems to be in pain. When in doubt, see your vet!

Unfortunately, Labs are somewhat prone to hip dysplasia, just like Newfoundlands. Again, this is not infrequent in large dogs. Elbow and knee problems are also common. We will have to make a point of keeping her in shape, not adding additional weight for her bones to carry. Not necessarily an easy task as labs will eat just about anything.

The Labrador's large body frame combined with their playfulness, especially fetching, can place additional stress on their joints. Well, I think we've got that one covered. Sydney is not a big player or fetcher. We've finally gotten her to fetch, but she doesn't act like a typical lab that goes and goes non-stop. When she wants to go, however; she is Fast!

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA):a disease involving the gradual deterioration of the retina, and ear infections are common health issues in Labs.

Give to the ASPCA

Have you ever wondered if a pup of two black labs can be any color other than black? Well, I did some searching on just that subject. I've always had an interest in genetics.

There are two sets of genes that determine a Lab's color. One set determines whether the dog is dark or light; dark being chocolate or black, and light being yellow.

A genotype of EE or Ee will be dark.
A genotype of ee will be light.

The second set of genes comes in to play when a dog is dark, black or chocolate.

Remember a genotype of EE or Ee will be dark.
A genotype of EE/Ee that is BB or Bb is black.
A genotype of EE/Ee that is bb is chocolate.

So what is the genotype of a Yellow? You know that it will be ee. Because the second set of genes has nothing to do with the light colored Lab, the Yellow's genotype will be ee/BB or ee/Bb or eebb.

Let's figure out what color pup 2 black Labs can have..
1st, a black dog can have the combinations of EEBB / EEbb / EeBB / EeBb - therefore the pup can be any of the three colors.

Sydney is a new dog. As a friend commented, "She's found her inner dog." When we first got Syd, she was a bit boring; she didn't play; she didn't listen, and she was quite stubborn!

We almost have a new dog. She'll chase a ball, and run around in circles in her crazy dog way while nipping at my ankles and knees. She'll come barreling at me full force, and then make a turn at the last minute, before possibly knocking me off my feet. She doesn't sit down in the middle of the street and not move anymore, and best of all, I can let her off leash and she stays close.

A male friend had the nerve that I didn't to take her for a walk and let her off leash. She ran and ran till she couldn't any more. While off leash, when she met up with other dogs, she'd simply do dog stuff, like stiffing and such, and then continue on her way. My friend took her for a few off-leash walks before I had the nerve to do it myself, and boy, is it great! I can take her to a park and let her run, or even just walk with her to the end of my block where there's a park, and she stays just a few feet ahead of me. Interestingly, she will not let me get too far away. I try to get her to run, but I have to sneak away because she won't leave me to run, but she'll run to get back to me!

She loves the snow. She puts her nose in it and barrels through like a snow plow. She bites it and rolls in it.

The one naughty thing she does is get into the garbage if there's anything interesting in it, like food. I've left garbage out a couple times and she's spread it all over my living room. I now have orangish blotches all over my light grey carpet. She can take small cat food cans and squish them flat. Unbelievable. So, as long as I remember to keep garbage away from her, I won't have any problems.

Her favorite toys are ones that squeak. I just love watching her play with them. We've come a long way. She listens to me, because she knows who is boss, and she rarely does anything that makes me mad. The girls have given her baths, which she does not care for, but puts up with. She needed one the other day after I took her for a walk along a trail with woods on each side that follows a river. She tromped through the puddles and shrubbery and ran into the water - not too deep, though. She likes to splash through it, not swim. We met up with several dogs that she sniffed, and she played with a small dog who loved being chased. What a great walk, and what a great dog!

It's funny, when you're a kid, you don't think about what to feed your dog - you feed them whatever your parents have bought. And before you have your own dog, you figure you feed them what they like. Dogs are not like cats. My cats have always been finicky eaters. My cat, Nicki, only eats Friskies or 9 Lives with either chicken or fish in it. She doesn't like anything with meat or meat by-products. So that's what she gets, otherwise it sits in her dish until it has green stuff on it. As far as dry food goes, she likes a variety of flavor but if I choose something she doesn't like, that too will sit in her dish and until it's stale. And cats just will not eat stale food.

Now dogs are different. They are less finicky. They eat just about anything; the ones I've known, anyway. They'll eat all sorts of people food too. However, people food doesn't have the proper nutrition dogs need, so it's important to buy them healthy DOG food. Unless you're really dedicated and make their food from scratch - that can be good for them too if you make if with the proper ingredients. But why bother? The pet food industry is a multi-billion dollar business and they make healthy food for your pooch.

So getting back to what to feed your dog, did you know that corn holds no nutritional value for your dog? That's a good lesson. Because, vegetables, like corn, are good for people. So remember, just because a food is good for you, being a human, doesn't mean it's good for your pet. Look at the first five ingredients in dog food before you buy it and make sure corn is not one of them. It provides absolutely no nutritional value for your dog. Especially when concerned about a large dog that tends to have hip problems. Keep them healthy and make sure corn is not one of the top five ingredients. Meat is best for your pooch, so even though it may be more expensive, and it is, you want your doggy friend healthy right? As they age, the health of their hips becomes even more important, so start them from a young age with the proper nutrients.

Who would have know there were so many names for the various dogs that aren't purebreds? When I think of a mixed breed dog, I think of a dog whose parents are two or more different breeds and I use the word synonymously with mutt. However; that's not so; it goes further than that. The terms "random breed" and "mixed breed" usually refer to a dog of unknown gene pool. A "cross breed" is a dog whose parents were purebreds. If two cross breeds mate, their offspring are also mixed breeds. Now you may have as many as four breeds combined in one dog and at that point it's hard to tell what traits will show in the dog.

So with those definitions in mind, Sydney is not a mixed breed, but rather a cross breed.

Hmmm... I don't like the term mongrel. It sounds like some unsavory character, and don't you dare tell me my mixed breed dog is unsavory! There are several terms for non-purebred dogs, many I'd heard, but few I really knew the meaning. So let's talk about the actual meaning of the different terms used for a mixed up dog.

The American Kennel Club registers more than a million purebred dogs of 150 breeds and varieties of dogs.

Crossbreeds - a mixture of two different purebred dogs
Mixed breeds - dogs that may be of a recognizable type but with parents of mixed heritage
Mongrels - dogs of unknown parentage
Pariahs or curs - medium-sized generic dogs

Offleash Dogs Web Ring
Power By Ringsurf

Purebred dogs are more predictable as their personality traits and health issues are more well known. Purebreds may be less hardy than mixed breeds, both physically and often emotionally, as a result of inbreeding. Mixed breeds are also often less subject to the behavioral extremes seen in many of the purebred dogs. Some questions you might ask are whether you are interested in a particular look, are medical issues a worry, what type of personality traits are you looking for, and how much are you willing to spend?

You will be pretty certain what your puppy will look like if you get a purebred, but if you find a cute mixed breed, they can be just as cute and endearing. Part of the fun might be the uncertainty of knowing what your dog will look like when it grows up.

The AKC divides the breeds into eight groups that essentially reflect their backgrounds: sporting, non-sporting, hounds, working dogs, herding dogs, terriers, toys, and a small miscellaneous class. The dogs within those groups all have similar personalities and characteristics so you have some idea of what to expect.

With a mixed breed you don't know if you're getting the best traits from each dog, or the worst, or a combination of both.

Purebred dogs are specifically bred to other dogs of the same breed. This selective breeding has led to some small genetic pools, which results in an increased risk of certain genetic disorders. generally speaking, purebred dogs are more prone to certain illnesses than mixed breed dogs.

As any dog lover knows, purebred dogs are much more expensive, but once bought the cost of caring for your pet is basically the same.

Visit Pet Place for further details and lots more information on pets in general.

At Train Yourself toTrain Your Dog you will learn the effective way to communicate with your dog. Even if you've owned a dog your whole life, you may not be aware of the proper commands to teach your dog. Try out the first chapter for free and if you find it helpful, buy the book for a small price. There's a 100% money-back guarantee so you can't lose.

If you have a pet you know how expensive a simple visit to the veterinarian can be. Why not check out Pet Insurance to decide if it's right for you - before you get stuck with a large unexpected bill.

A dog is truly a man's best friend.

If you don't believe it, just try this experiment.

Put your dog and your wife in the trunk of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, who is really happy to see you!?

If you've been reading, you'll note that when we first got Sydney she was rather a holy terror around other dogs, and then once we let her off leash she got a lot better. Well she's doing just great still. She can even go to the dog park. We have an excellent one about 15 minutes away; it's a huge park where dogs can run free and there's lots of water where they can swim. Syd just LOVES it. She runs and plays and sniffs and sniffs! She's still, surprisingly, not much of a water dog; she mostly likes splashing or just sitting in water up to her belly. She'll find a puddle no matter where we are, and we live near Seattle, so we have plenty, and just sit, (or lie) in it. She's a sweet, happy dog. She does love to chase squirrels and bunnies which I'd prefer she didn't. I don't know that she'd hurt them except that she's just so much bigger that just running into a small animal would not be good. I also worry that she'll dash off into the street unexpectedly. But besides that, I really couldn't ask for much more from a dog! Lucky us to have found her!

All you Newf Lovers out there, make sure you check out the Newfoundland Club of America site where you can find out about Newfs in the News, Newfoundland History, Literature, and Art, The Breed Standard, and whether the Newf is the right dog for you. Check out their downloadable pamphlets on General Puppy Information, Health Information for Puppy Buyers, and The Newf and You Booklet.

Newfoundland Club of America

Check out this informative site on All Dog Breeds and learn more about...

Dog Training
Dog Illnesses
Dog Breeds
Dog Pregnancy

And lots more about All Dog Breeds

At LabradorRetriever.com you'll find loads of information on what else??? - Labrador Retrievers! Find clubs throughout the US and extensive information on breeders, Lab health issues, rescue organizations, and so forth.

Sydney is five years old and we've had her for more than two years now. No regrets; she's my pal, definitely a mama's girl! Since I am her primary care-taker, she spends most of her time by my side. I'm the one who feeds her most of the time and I do nearly all the walking or taking her to the dog park. My daughters are teenagers and have busy lives. No excuse, but that's how it is. Sometimes I tell them I'm going to take her back to the shelter where we found her, but they kinow I would never do it, so they ignore that threat!

Syd is a good dog! She's well-behaved for the most part - she will get into the garbage if it's available and if you leave anything edible within her reach, you may find that it's gone - most of the paper wrapping is still there, but the food is gone. She ate a whole box of granola bars the other day. They hadn't been opened and she figured out how to do it.

She doesn't let me out of her sight when we go for a walk. I walk her at safe off-leash areas and she stays in front of me looking back frequently. Sometimes I'll hide; yep, a grown woman playing hide-and-seek with her dog!. She dashes back to find me as soon as she notices I'm missing. She still doesn't like to swim much, although in summer, if my daughters go into the water, she will follow them. Mostly she still enjoys just wading, sitting or splashing through the water. She's gentle with people and children - her face is right at a small child's face, and she has never been annoyed with any small person. I watch carefully though as she can easily knock them over in her exuberance. That's one of the reasons why I love the dog park; people are there with their own dogs and don't freak out if your dog acts like a dog. She will chase a ball sometimes, but mostly still just wants to chase the dog that's chasing his ball! So, we've been lucky - she's easy to care for - it is important that she gets time to run outside or she can get very antsy - but that's ok, I enjoy our walks and we go no matter the weather.

She's my girl and I love her!