Newfoundland swimming:
Here’s a flat-coat:
See how maneuverable that flat-coat is in the water? That’s why it’s a gun dog, and the Newfoundland isn’t.
And watch this little golden (“Shuttle” from the header)
I’m pretty sure she could swim circles around a giant dog with tons of bone and hair.
I’m not going to show a Labrador swimming, because Labs are the fastest water dogs you can find. They can outswim virtually any dog, simply because they have a coat like a seal or an otter.
I enjoyed very much Grizzlys style. Very smooth and fluent indeed, almost like big seal swimming. Grizzly swimms very fast and powerfully also, because he don’t use the energy on anything else but swimming – fast.
The flattie has the same clumsy style as pointers, german bird dogs and wizzlas have, due to their long slim legs and very slim body.
What did Newfoundlands look like 50 years ago? I understand they’ve always been bigger, slower, and fuzzier than Labs & Flat-coats, but there had to have once been a working conformation which was at least functional (albeit sub-optimal). I always assumed the trade-off with the bigger boned retrievers was better heat-retention in colder temperatures, and better power in rough waters. Labs do seem optimized for cold-water swimming, but there seems to be a lot of specialization even within the working lines.
Do you want to see what they looked like during the Civil War?:
http://z.about.com/d/history1800s/1/0/Z/0/-/-/custer-dog-62.jpg
Custer captured that one from a Confederate company during the Peninsula Campaign.
George and Pirjetta, the banning doesn’t apply to you at all.
retievers are fast swimmers, they also retrieve dead birds, not drowning humans. also they may be able to swim “rings” around a newf but once they have done this they will have to rest and the newf will keep swimming and swimming and swimming and swimming, even in rough sea. the newfoundland will also be bone dry and warm at the skin when it leaves the water.
You need to not take this to heart, i love my newfies like you love your retrievers, i also think retrievers are lovely dogs. I am glad they are so popular as it stops the wrong type of people owning newfies.
YOU ARE OFFICIALLY BANNED FROM THIS BLOG FOR THE OFFENSE OF TROLLISM.
The flattie looks uncomfortable swimming because she doesn’t have a destination.
I think the Newfie looks pretty good–but just not real fast.
Shuttle has a nice water attitude.
Where’s the Lab? ;)
I found you one:
That’s Angie & Tucker! Angie is a buddy of mine, and Tucker is an awesome dog. Search & Rescue, Cadaver, Avalanche, and vineyard insect detection dog, as well as a great retriever. See Tucker’s page here – http://www.iddogs.com/category.aspx?categoryID=510
I’m so glad to have you back!
A better one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyrRO0a7MeM&feature=related
Now THAT’s nice teaching. I’ll have to look for more Pat Nolan stuff on youtube. A friend has a very nice dog that spent time with him.
I was impressed.
But, is there on e-collar again?!?
Just because an e-collar is on doesn’t mean it’s being used.
Do you see it being used?
I haven’t hit the button on my e-collar more than twice in the last 6 weeks, and that’s with two dogs.
I don’t know what it will look like if an e-collar is used, for I’m from Scandinavia. The most trustables of the retriever/hunter-dog educators of ours, are suggesting to use it only if the dog has the bad habbit to drive hares and nothing else could help.
Are they legal in Finland?
I can say they really aren’t that bad in terms of pain, unless you have them on the highest level of stimulation.
But in general, it’s very hard to stop a dog going into its predatory motor patterns without using something like this.
You can also use a very long leash on your dog and then give a gentle pull on the leash to break the dog out of its predatory behavior.
Or maybe train it as a bird dog, because if they know they are supposed to go after birds, then most dogs ignore fur.
Although in Europe, working retrievers are supposed to retrieve rabbits and hares.
“I don’t know what it will look like if an e-collar is used, for I’m from Scandinavia. The most trustables of the retriever/hunter-dog educators of ours, are suggesting to use it only if the dog has the bad habbit to drive hares and nothing else could help.”
Ah–okay. It could look like a number of things–hm–it could look like a choke or pinch or flat-collar correction, where the dog kind of pays more attentions==or it could be a little flinch, or if the dog has a tendency to make a little noise, it might yip (my younger dog yips at the lowest setting if she’s surprised; my older dog, you might never know unless it’s set pretty high; neither of my dogs run with the collar above the low-middle level, usually_.
Interestingly–if you’re going to stop a dog from chasing something it really wants to chase, that is often the UGLIEST of collar corrections, and the collar is best used to teach and reinforce a really great recall under all conditions, rather than as an aversive to chasing something if a dog doesn’t have a great recall (at least the way those I know who use it as their leash-free correction tool for field training use it).
It’s actually less traumatic than it would be for us. Having been shocked a time or two on deer fences. The worst part of being shocked is thinking about it. Dogs don’t brood about being shocked.
hi, retrieverman, you dont like newfoundlands much do you?! and you deffinatly dont like people disagreeing with you its quite funny how frustrated you get.
Newfoundlands may not be super speedy in the water, but theay are agile, gracefull, and they SAVE LIVES!!!
they are the best water working dog in the world.
I don’t like when people disagree with me and have no evidence.
However, I do have evidence!
http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/a-newfoundland-retrieving-a-duck/
Lots of it.
The historical evidence is overwhelming that Newfoundland dogs were used as retrievers.
However, their influence was bred out of them because they couldn’t swim as fast as retrievers. They also are far less maneuverable.
I have nothing against the Newfoundland. I just don’t want golden retrievers to develop their conformation, which they are, bit by bit.
Here is a book that both of you should read if you want to understand the history of your dogs. It’s where I got a lot of my info:
A Dog's History of America: How Our Best Friend Explored, Conquered, and Settled a Continent
Also check out this from early retriever trialer George T. Teasdale-Buckell: http://books.google.com/books?id=LlxDAAAAIAAJ&dq=the%20complete%20English%20shot%20buckell%20zelstone%20worst%20cross&client=firefox-a&pg=PA188#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Read the first full paragraph.
Tell that to the Labrador people.
oh dear, your getting all beside yourself lol
newfs are not retrievers, they might have been used as retrievers at one point in history, but know they ar water working and draught dogs.
they excell in the water and are agile and so at ease when swimming its amazing.
Actually Newfoundlands and retrievers have a very interwoven history.
But since you are impervious to all the evidence and reason, I bid you a good day.
Everything you are throwing at me is weak sauce. Just bromides and poppycock.
You need to learn how to argue better.
You remind me of Bill O’Reilly.
You cannot argue people out of their breedism. I have had people argue with me about whether long hair all the way down the leg impedes the movement in a running afghan hound. Put on a pair of loose pants and see how much it interferes with your running movement, then tell me it has no effect on an animal with twice as many legs.
People are funny.
It is amazing.
It also reeks of sock puppetry, which is a tactic for, um, well, trolls.
That video about Grizzly swimming confirmed me they are real water animals. I think my 34kg labbie should really fight to win him in a swimming game. I still think Grizzly would win. In the water, many times the bigger ones are the fastest ones.
But many times I my hungarian wizla wins the labbie in the water. He just doesn’t have the will enough to win. And he is also very equal, socially, gives and takes, half & half.
On the land, a neuf is nothing but a slow motion, if motion at all..
They are draft horses, both in the water and on land.
That’s right!
Do you know what? I bought a horse-like-collar to my lab.
All nice, quality finnish handicraft, thick black leather.
I will rapport from our progress in months to come.
I don’t ever want to owe a car, I want to present something else. Even if it would be just “advertizing”. And I am serious.
So, to sum up this conversation:
retrtrieverman: “Newfies are slow swimmers. They aren’t the best retrievers.”
triggerhappy newfie lover: “OMG how dare you say anything negative about my favorite breed! Newfies are great! They can do anything!.”
RM: “I don’t dislike them, I’m just saying they are too big and slow to make good retrievers.”
THNL: “Why do you hate my favorite breed! They save people’s LIVES!”
RM: “Newfies are big and strong and slow, therefore they’re not great retrievers.”
THNL: “You’re stupid! Newfies rule!”
Um. Did I get it all?
That sums it up.
It’s kind of like talking to furniture.
From the looks of my referrers on the blog, they have ganged up on me from Facebook.