St. John’s water dogs were used to haul loada. Traditional accounts claim that only the Greater Newfoundland was used as draft animal, but in Bay of Spirits, Farley Mowat mentions how useful the “black water dogs” were in hauling loads of wood into the outports of Newfoundland in the late 50’s and early 60’s. In earlier years, vast numbers of the dogs were used to haul cod and other fish from the harbors to the salting plants.
In the later years of the breed, the dogs were not used for fishing. Instead, their utility was as draft animals and as “meat dog” retrievers. The people in the outports shot a lot of ptarmigan, ducks, and sea birds when they were not going to sea, and the dogs worked as blue-collar retrievers.
Don’t get caught up with the size. If you look closely, this dog is standing beside a child. The dog is probably no more than 80 or 85 pounds in weight.
