Goofy Newfy

I should blog about our Newfoundland puppy. We have had several bad experiences with dogs. Mostly dogs that aren't so wonderful with children. Especially non dog savvy children like mine are. We finally decided that buying from a breeder would be our best bet in getting a dog with a more stable temperament and a known lineage. So then it came down to researching breeds. I wanted a dog that was larger, would love kids, would be able to live with cats, wouldn't be super high energy and would basically be a good first dog. I don't mind hair. I don't mind drool. I can provide basic training and exercise. Everytime I researched breeds, Newfoundland dogs came up as a #1 choice. So we found a breeder near us and, after months of looking at the breeder website and speaking with the breeder, we brought Rez home! His full name is Reznor (yea, Nine Inch Nails fan here) and he is a big sweetheart. So far he has been a GREAT puppy. As of 5 months he is housebroken, knows "sit" "wait" "down" "settle" (most of the time), "give" "leave it" (at home) "rollover" and walks with a loose leash MOST of the time. He is ok with the kids distracting him, he is ok with commands on the trail where we usually walk but he is still learning in other places. But I think he's perfect for 5 months!

As for Rez with the kids, he is fantastic. He isn't bothered by their screechy "AWWW!" noises they make around him. He loves when they put their heads on him while he's laying down- he will roll over on his back for belly rubs. He does all the normal puppy things, too. He plays keep away with their toys, he eats shoes, whether you are walking by or if the shoes are in the hallway. He is supremely lazy- like ultra lazy. His routine usually involves him getting his food from a Buster Ball in the morning. Then he gets a mile walk. Then he sleeps and sleeps and sleeps or chews his chewie toys. He wakes up around mid afternoon and wanders around and makes mischief or plays fetch or hide and seek with the kids, or just watches us as we go about our day. He goes for an evening walk for a mile and then he zonks out for the evening around 8pm. I am trying to get him swimming more, too, as he is turning into a water dog. The first few times we showed him the water he wasn't thrilled with it. Now he *loves* it. We walk him by the streams and he often tries to drag me over to them so he can wade in the water, though he would rather swim than wade now.

Yesterday we took him to Riverbend Park in Great Falls to go swimming in the Potomac. Here are some pics and a video.






Here's a video of Rez swimming. We have him onleash because he is still a baby and we don't want the current taking him away and I don't want him wading up on one of the rock outcroppings and not coming back in!



Here's another one of him swimming: