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KatHolly:
For those of you who don't know, I ended up having to wash Holly out because (among other things) of the amount of stress she was showing while out in public places. Even those that she'd been to before. When I adopted her I wasn't looking for a SD candidate, and although it was really hard to wash her out, she's just so much happier and relaxed now as a spoiled rotten pet.

Even before I officially washed her out I was getting pretty concerned about whether she would make it or not, so I did a bunch of research into different breeds for a SD candidate should I need one. I even went ahead and started talking to breeders about breeds.

Well, after a lot of thought, discussing it with my Mom and therapist, and researching breeders, we've decided that Newfoundlands are a pretty perfect fit for me. I have need of a dog that large and solid because of frequent balance and occasional mobility issues (I know not to start training for this until physical maturity), the long, thick fur is a wonderful tool for grounding, and according to breeders, the grooming is very therapeutic. Also, I'm completely in love with the solid temperament, which seems to be the trademark of the breed.

We talked to numerous different breeders, and finally found one that seems to be a great fit for us! We got incredibly lucky because she had just had a litter from her two best dogs. Both have perfect temperaments, both are in excellent health. The female is her heart dog, and very handler oriented, and the male is the 4th best Newfie in the country, and again, wonderful disposition, and handler oriented, though not as much as the female. She usually has all pups reserved, but this litter had one potential puppy owner back out a day before we talked to her. She's had dogs go onto Therapy, and Service work. She socializes them really well, has all sorts of new people over to visit them, exposes them to all sorts of surfaces. She's wonderful!

Anyway, my new pup is now 4 weeks old. She'll be coming home when she's 12 weeks, most likely the 5th of November (unless weather prevents it). The breeder hasn't matched the pups with their homes yet, so I'm not sure which one she is, but she'll be either a black or gray.

I'm SO excited! I'll be working with a great trainer in the area, and hopefully we'll get to attend the local CCI class to help out with socialization. I'm also getting incredibly nervous. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! This is my first time raising any puppy, and I need all the help I can get! :smile:

Roxie:
Congratulations!! I would choose a Newf! Solid dogs!

Make sure you really get aggressive in the puppy training early on.... as they get so big so fast it is really important to not let any undesirable behaviors start!

I'm sure you will be really happy with a Newf!

Rovingrebel:
Dear Kat,
Get and read Before & After Getting Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar. Use and read his website Dog StarDaily. Also I see you are in Washington. Get in touch with The Assistance Dog Club of Puget Sound, they offer task training classes for their members run by Jeanne Hampl a trainer with 30 or so years SD training experience.

KatHolly:
Training and socialization are the things I'll be going overboard on. You're right, they get reallly big, and we'll be sure to nip any unwanted behaviors in the bud.

Thanks Rovingrebel! I actually already read both of those books, which were absolutely fantastic, and I'll go ahead and read through the website too. I'll see about contacting ADCPS. It would be wonderful to know more SD handlers in the area!

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