Are Newfoundlands good family dogs? This is a question many prospective pet owners ask, and my answer is a resounding yes. However, it’s crucial to be well-informed about what bringing a Newfoundland into your family entails. Understanding whether your home and lifestyle can accommodate such a large and demanding breed is essential. In this article, we’ll explore the unique challenges and immense rewards that come with owning a Newfoundland, helping you decide if this gentle giant is the right addition to your family.
Welcoming a Newfoundland to the Family
In my opinion, Newfoundlands make exceptionally good family dogs. They’re sweet and gentle, active without being impossible to tire out, quiet and serene. They’re also a joy to play with – indoors, in the garden, at the park, and especially at the beach, where they will help you have fun and stay safe too.
However, to successfully integrate a Newfie into your family unit, you’re going to need plenty of indoor and outdoor space, lots of time to spend with them, and you’re going to have to train and socialize them properly.
You’ll also need to prepare any young children and other pets to behave around your Newfoundland, and either get used to lots more cleaning or simply accept that your home will never be tidy again!
If this sounds like the lifestyle you want for your family, then allow me to help you prepare for the next addition to your home by sharing my personal list of pros and cons of life with a Newfoundland.
Why Newfoundlands Make Great Family Dogs
Their Sweet & Gentle Temperament
For every breed of dog, the American Kennel Club (AKC) has an ‘Official Standard’ that describes “the ideal dog” for that breed.
This standard doesn’t just talk about the physical characteristics of the dog, but their temperament too, and in the case of the Newfoundland, it says that “sweetness of temperament” is “the hallmark of the Newfoundland” and “the most important single characteristic of the breed”.
The AKC also scores each breed in various categories, including Family Life. Here, the Newfoundland receives a perfect score, with 5 out of 5 for ‘affectionate with family’, ‘good with young children’, and ‘good with other dogs’.
The Canadian Kennel Club agrees, saying:
“The Newfoundland’s temperament is reflected in his soft expression. The breed is benevolent, intelligent and dignified but capable of fun. He is known for his gentleness and serenity. Generations of children have taken their first toddling steps holding on to this fantastic family dog.”
Canadian Kennel Club
They Have Just The Right Energy Levels
Newfoundland are active dogs, but they’re not too excitable or energetic.
In my experience, Newfies have just the right balance of being willing to interact and play with the children, while not being too much to handle or impossible to exercise enough.
You’ll be able to take them on long family walks, but after their morning exercise, your dog will be just as happy to relax in front of the fire as you are to collapse in front of the TV!
They’re Not Too Loud
While each dog has its own unique personality, Newfoundland dogs are generally known for their low tendency to bark. This trait is often appreciated by owners, as these gentle giants tend to be quiet and only make noise when they perceive something unusual or potentially threatening, such as an unexpected visitor.
When considering how a dog will integrate into your family life, the quiet nature of Newfoundlands can be a significant advantage. A constantly barking dog can disrupt family routines, cause stress, frighten children, and disturb sleeping babies. However, with a Newfoundland, such disturbances are less likely, making them a great fit for families seeking a more peaceful and calm canine companion.
They’re A Great Beach Buddy!
Many families who enjoy beach outings often find that their Newfoundland dogs love joining in on these adventures. Known for their affinity for water, Newfoundlands are famously enthusiastic swimmers and take to lakes, rivers, and the ocean with great joy. Including these dogs in water-based activities can be a delightful experience for both the dog and the family.
As well as praising the Newfoundland as “a fantastic family dog”, the Canadian Kennel Club also describes the breed as an “excellent swimmer with a strong life-saving instinct. There are hundreds of documented water rescues performed by this breed.”
One of these water rescues involved a Newfoundland rescuing an 11-year-old girl who had got into trouble in the water, while a slightly less heroic (and a lot less recent) example was documented in a 1908 edition of the New York Times.
The newspaper reported that a Newfoundland had been deliberately pushing children into a lake. Apparently, the dog has been rewarded with a steak after one genuine rescue, and it decided that staging rescues was a way to earn more treats!
The Challenges of Adding a Newfie To The Family
Having enough space
The most obvious challenge of owning a Newfoundland is having enough indoor and outdoor space.
These dogs can weigh well over 150lbs and even a 10-week-old puppy is likely to tip the scales at around 20lbs.
Females aren’t much lighter, at between 100 and 120lbs, and both males and females are tall. The average male Newfie measures 28 inches tall, while females are just two inches shorter.
The size of a Newfoundland can be intimidating to some small children. However, this isn’t usually a problem if you buy the dog as a puppy and, even when introduced to a fully-grown adult, most children quickly learn that the Newfoundland is a gentle giant.
Training a young Newfoundland
Because of their size, Newfoundlands can be disruptive and even destructive, whether they mean to be or not. This often involves knocking things over while running around, jumping and bumping into things, and using their large paws to dig big holes in the garden.
It’s therefore important to train your Newfoundland well, and train them early, while they’re still relatively small.
However, training won’t necessarily be easy. Newfoundlands can be strong-willed – particularly young males – and they will need lots of time and positive reinforcement before they learn the right behaviors.
Teaching and supervising children
As well as teaching your dog how to behave around the family, you may also need to teach your family how to behave around the dog.
Young children are often tempted to climb on a large dog, try to ride on its back, or pull the dog’s hair, tail or ears. Newfoundlands have such a good temperament that they’re unlikely to get aggressive even in these circumstances, however, they may give the child a warning nip, particularly if startled.
It’s also best that children don’t encourage Newfoundlands to roll around with them and wrestle, as they could easily get accidentally injured by the much larger and heavier dog.
Finally, you should be cautious when taking food or toys away from your dog, and even more cautious about going near their puppies, as all dogs can get territorial and protective.
For all of these reasons, it’s important to educate your children about the dog’s behavior and always supervise their play.
Socialising Newfoundland
Socialising means introducing your Newfoundland to people and animals in order to get them used to being around them.
It’s usually easy to socialise your Newfie around people, as it’s simply a case of spending lots of time with family and friends. However, some Newfoundlands – particularly young males – can be aggressive towards one another.
To overcome this, it’s best to introduce your Newfie to other dogs at a young age (ideally before 14 weeks) and to schedule short and frequent socialisation sessions where you offer lots of positive reinforcement for good behavior.
Keeping a Clean House
When you have children, maintaining a clean and tidy house can be a challenge at the best of times, but it gets even more difficult when there’s a Newfoundland in the family.
Not only are Newfies prone to shedding hair and drooling everywhere, they also love swimming, splashing in mud, and bringing all of that mess back into the house!
Separation anxiety
An important consideration when thinking of bringing a Newfoundland into your family is how much family time you will be able to spend together with the dog.
Newfoundlands often suffer from separation anxiety, where they become stressed and unhappy if their owners are away for a long time.
If you’re away a lot then you may want to consider whether the Newfoundland is really the best breed for you. This is particularly important, as travelling with them isn’t an easy option either.
Traveling as a family
Solving the issue of separation anxiety by taking your Newfie with you wherever you go isn’t as simple a solution as it first appears.
To travel with a Newfoundland, you need a lot of space, both while traveling and at your destination. You will also need to stay somewhere that accepts large, messy dogs, and you will probably have to spend a lot of time cleaning up their mess before you leave.
As if that’s not enough, the Newfoundland’s thick double coat means they get uncomfortable as the temperature rises. So you may need to avoid travelling to hot places too!
Finding time for exercise
The final challenge of living with a Newfoundland is their need for plenty of exercise.
While Newfies aren’t the most energetic dogs in the world, they are still large animals that need plenty of activity in order to stay fit and healthy. Play and general activity will provide some of the exercise they need but, as with all dogs, you’ll need to put aside some time for walks too.
For Newfoundland dogs, approximately an hour of exercise daily, ideally divided into two walks, is often a good routine. This amount of physical activity tends to suit their energy levels and helps maintain their health and well-being.
Should Your Family Get A Newfoundland? My Advice…
Many believe that Newfoundlands can be a wonderful addition to the family when the circumstances are right. This view is supported not only by personal experiences of numerous Newfoundland owners worldwide but also by reputable organizations like the American and Canadian Kennel Associations. These gentle giants are known for their loving and friendly nature, making them a popular choice for families.
Yes, they come with their challenges; from accommodating their sheer size and giving them enough attention to cleaning up their hair, drool and muddy paw prints. But, all of that is worth it for their sweet temperament and loving and protective behavior around children.
Sadly, like most larger dogs, Newfoundlands aren’t one of the longest-living breeds. However, for the 9 or 10 years they are likely to spend alongside you, your Newfie is sure to be part of the family and will undoubtedly create treasured memories that last a lifetime.