Doors, windows and Newfs...some questions about the naughty moments....

[JLStorm]

As some of you know, due flooding from a leaky water pipe we are redoing what will be the Newf holding area after coming inside when dirty, wet, as well as the feeding room, etc. Also, the room used to keep the Newf when we leave the house during the period in which he is old enough not to be crated, but not quite trustworthy enough to have free roam of the house.

The room has two windows and two doors to the rest of the house, as well as an exterior door with windows. My concerns are as follows:

• The interior doors to the rest of the house are the standard inexpensive hollow doors, I was wondering if these need to be replaced with solid doors to keep a determined Newf from breaking through to the other side?
• Should I consider putting up 3/4" plexi glass with ventilation holes or bars on the inside of the windows and over the glass of the exterior door to keep him from possibly hurting himself on the glass if he breaks it while trying to get to whatever is on the other side that may interest him??

Any other unforeseen issues you can think of???

 

[Ursa]

We have a dog room as well and we've never had any problem with ours trying to go through the window. We do keep the blinds closed most of the time to keep the heat down in the room. Our dog room looks out onto our fenced backyard so maybe there just hasn't been anything of interest going on out there!

We never ever shut the door to the dog room - we babygate them in there. In fact, we're considering removing the door completely and installing a tall, metal, walk through gate to replace it. Could our dogs jump over or break through at some point? Possibly. But better that they jump the gate or knock it down than eat my door! We have an interior door only so I'm no help on your exterior door question.

My opinion - if company doesn't want to see my dog room then they probably aren't the kind of people I want staying long anyway!

 

[KodysGrandma]

I can't speak to Newfs and interior doors but many years ago I came home to find a small pile of rubble in my hallway, a Big hole in the hollow core door and the Bull Mastiff on the bed in the lap of luxury. Also, I might add the 6' windowsill was gone in one huge splinter. Clamped her teeth on one end and twisted her neck. Bye Bye windowsill.

 

[Yogi & Cordelia's Erin]

Okay,
I had a lab go through my front windows once summer. Twice. In two weeks.
Fortunately both times the windows were open, so she only destroyed the frames/screens.
I've never heard of a dog going through glass, but I imagine it would only do so in times of extreme duress (I'm thinking something horribly like fire).

I would not use a hollow interior door, as I lost two of them to the same lab.

 

[Ivoryudx]

I highly recommend a CRATE instead of making the room a jail cell. Yes a Newf will and has went through windows and doors. There have been a few turned into Rescue for just that reason. One I recall having a huge cut that needed sutured.

My own boy has broken (not went through) two different windows in my house trying to run off the mail carrier. Yes he has always been successfull in making the mail carrier leave at least for 24 hours. No, he wasn't hurt, and NO he will never be trusted again with that freedom. He has always had the idea that going through was easier than going around and I should have known better. As a puppy he would literally move the couch with his shoulder instead of stepping to the side to go around. NONE of my other Newfs have ever done this. So they are all different and until you know for sure, your better off investing in a good crate. Its good anyway to have them be comfortable in a crate in case they ever have to spend time at a Vets office, or rehab. It makes it less tramatic.

 

[LiquidBlue]

While its really great that you are planning for the worst possible scenario and being realistic about the possibility of a destroyed house...I think its kind of like getting that license plate...are you tempting fate by preparing for a monster dog? You just might get one (I'm kidding)

That said, if you are really worried about the dog going through the door or the window, establishing boundaries that your dog respects might make you feel better. We used to live on a street that had little vehicle traffic, but heavy pedestrian traffic...people and dogs...Our NN (no newf at the time) respected the door boundary so much that she could lay on the floor with the front door wide open and watch all the people and dogs walk by. She would only go through the door way with a human escort....same thing for the font porch...the only time she violated the boundary was when my human family members visited.

She had a dog room too...she never went through the windows, but she did eat the blinds...

 

[suzsmile]

You really won't know what to expect until you have the dog. Right now, we are very lucky with our Lab and with Maddie. Neither one is destructive and they both pretty much leave things alone, except for the occasional chewing of newspapers. We keep them upstairs with a baby gate, just propped at the top of the stairs. Both of us and our kids are tall and we can all just step over baby gates.
Now on the other hand, our first two Labs were awful! One chewed the kitchen chairs, drywall, and the kitchen floor. DH was against a crate at first, but after these two, he realized that crates are the way to go. We always use a crate until we see what the dog is like. Some of them have stayed in crates, when we are gone, much longer than other ones. When we used gates with these two, that had to be secured because the one was an evil genius and could get through just about anything except his crate.

 

[JLStorm]

Maybe I am overdoing it...I dunno. The only things I remember about puppihood in the past are the really good things and the really bad ones. I also remember how expensive it was to replace things, especially when you werent planning on replacing them...so I guess thats why Im trying to think of everything while we are in the act of redoing this room. It would save me money to not put a new door in, but at the same time if the dog gets out when Im not home, the other side of that room is either my office or the all of the nice wood trim in the house, both of which would make excellent and expensive chew toys.

I have had a number of dogs in the past, some rescues, some not. But my list of things that I remember which I would prefer to forget are:

• Chewing through a wall to the other room
• Chewing through the waterbed mattress (on the second floor of the house, which resulted in a swimming pool on the first floor)
• Chewing threw the couch
• Chewing the couch cushions
• eating all of the wood banisters
• injuring of felines
• chewing of cabinet doors
• pooping all over the house out of spite
• putting many chew holes in a leather couch
• and of course putting a whole through the bottom panel of a two panel door

For the record, I think all of the animals that have done this have been black labs, except the waterbed, that was a weimaraner.

 

[LiquidBlue]

I think the crate is the most practicle suggestion and training classes ASAP. I have a 7 month old Newf who just realized she can chew on anything she likes when no one is looking...she chews on anything that is mine or my daughters...the book I'm reading, my shoes, and all of my daughters cups and toys...As soon as my bank account rebounds from Christmas I am going to follow the advice from Open Paw (thanks to Nessa for posting the link in another thread: http://openpaw.org/Pet_Basics/basics.html ) on inappropriate chewing and the magic of chew toys. She is not in puppy classes (not until we get her poo under control, cleaning puddles of poo in public really sucks) but I think if she were we might not even be having this problem.

She has not been nearly as destructive as my AM Bulldog was as a puppy though. Liloo ate the decorative wood in the rented Victorian we lived in, EVERY SINGLE PAIR OF JEANS I OWNED, my undies, four of five sets of blinds, every stuffed animal in the house, several books and blankets, part of the floor...Having a dog room didn't help, but having a crate did

 

[victoria1140]

instead of changing the doors can you put a childs stairgate in front of them as we use this technique with ours and then you could leave the door open and it may help settle your pet when you get it as it wont feel so confined and can still hear you if you are home at the time

 

[NinaA]

Personally, I think you are overthinking this. Making a jail cell is not a good idea. Neither is anticipating the worst. Trust me, my son recently spent about $8,000 on a cell for his two labs and a mutt. Result. They hate it in there. You want your Newf with you, even as a puppy. Put a crate in the room for when you're gone and a gate on the door for when you want him out of the way for a while, but all the bad things you're talking about are coming from a bored dog who is alone - or an out of control puppy. JMHO

 

[JLStorm]

Personally, I think you are overthinking this. Making a jail cell is not a good idea. Neither is anticipating the worst. Trust me, my son recently spent about $8,000 on a cell for his two labs and a mutt. Result. They hate it in there. You want your Newf with you, even as a puppy. Put a crate in the room for when you're gone and a gate on the door for when you want him out of the way for a while, but all the bad things you're talking about are coming from a bored dog who is alone - or an out of control puppy. JMHO

I just dont feel comfortable leaving a dog in a crate for say 4 hours. I think that is a jail cell and I view it as cruel. I know many love crating and I think it has its place for sure. I think crating is a valuable training tool and excellent for behavioral training. I do not think a crate is a proper place to keep a 100 pound dog for a few hours when a bigger space is available. When we are home the dog will be with us, so thats not an issue, but I think that a room is much less of a jail cell then a crate is.

I guess in my mind, just because cannot be home for a few hours doesnt mean that the dog should be penned up in a tiny crate, its not his fault I cannot be home, its my fault. I just view a room a much more pleasant place to be locked up than a crate would be, at least he could move around in a room and decide within reason where to sleep or where to play.

 

[Baloo]

I'm lucky I guess....Baloo is trusted completely in the house and has been for about a year now (he's 17 months). The only time I wish I had a seperate 'dog room' for him is when he is wet.

 

[JLStorm]

I'm lucky I guess....Baloo is trusted completely in the house and has been for about a year now (he's 17 months). The only time I wish I had a seperate 'dog room' for him is when he is wet.

Well thats mostly what this will be actually. I am installing a bathing station and its the first room he will enter from outside so he can be bathed, groomed and dried in this room prior to entering the rest of the house.

I dont recall ever having a dog that could be trusted alone for longer than about 30 minutes to an hour who was under 2 years old. I have had some rescues that could never be trusted alone due to separation anxiety

 

[jane]

Personally, I think you are overthinking this. Making a jail cell is not a good idea. Neither is anticipating the worst. Trust me, my son recently spent about $8,000 on a cell for his two labs and a mutt. Result. They hate it in there. You want your Newf with you, even as a puppy. Put a crate in the room for when you're gone and a gate on the door for when you want him out of the way for a while, but all the bad things you're talking about are coming from a bored dog who is alone - or an out of control puppy. JMHO

My thought exactly...

 

[KatieB]

Murphy hasn't been crated or confined since he was 5 months old roughly. Bella has had free roam of the house since about a year old maybe sooner....we really haven't had many issues aside from the occasional diarrhea issues. Our dogs are exercised often given plenty of attention and toys to keep them busy while we're away. That being said...creating a cell like room is not a whole lot different than a crate. I don't share your view on a crate. It sure sounds like in the past you've experienced some damage to your home, what you don't seem to realize is that your dog can get into things while you are gone that can be deadly. So is a crate the place I'd most love to put my dogs..NO...but it's where they go until they're able to be trusted to be out in the house. Because it keeps my house safe and most importantly it keeps my DOG SAFE!! They aren't chewing through walls, breaking glass windows and potentially harming themselves or eating some cleaning supplies or massive amounts of harmful food in the kitchen pantry. Your dog won't be 100 pounds right away...I would say right now Mojo is using 1/3 of his crate..he's more than able to turn around and pick a variety of sleeping positions (loves to sleep like a frog or on his back) and he sure has room to play because he wakes me up around 4 am every day playing with his Henrietta chicken toy.

I honestly do think you're seriously overthinking this. They are dogs...yes large hairy drooly dogs but still honestly dogs. They don't need giant fortresses added onto your house... a simple crate until you teach your dog appropriate manners and it is trustworthy is more than enough. If you want to put in a bathing station for a wet dog that's great...but putting in new windows, doors, molding and padded walls so your dog doesn't chew through your whole house is a bit ridiculous. You should be teaching your dog what types of behaviors are appropriate and if you aren't watching your pup you should put them in a safe place (crate or pen). It's going to make potty training really damn hard if you don't crate and you can't be home 24/7.

Not trying to be rude but I think you're certainly overthinking things. Sounds like you had labs in the past that perhaps didn't get enough exercise or mental stimulation who destroyed your home...perhaps a crate would've been a wise purchase back then. Mojo and Bella love the crate....we've left it up for an entire year simply because Bella likes to sleep in it and goes there to relax during the day. I've come home to find her sleeping in it while we were out...and Mojo goes in there on his own to nap too. Certainly not a place that they think is horrible and cruel.

So perhaps put in some dog friendly flooring and maybe some darker baseboards or something so you don't have to wipe down too much and a tub...but dogproofing with the expectation that they are going to chew through doors seems a bit much...I'm sure some newfs have done that but certainly not the majority and if they're getting plenty of exercise and enough mental stimulation I don't think it should be much of an issue.

 

[JLStorm]

Keep in mind the additions Im speaking of will cost about $300.00, the reason Im thinking about it now are just because Im redoing the room anyway. But hey, if there is no reason to make the changes it still saves me $300.00.

 

[ardeagold]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're trying to think of everything to make sure the dog doesn't destroy anything OR get anything dirty .... ever. Ergo the bathing room. This is a quote

I am installing a bathing station and its the first room he will enter from outside so he can be bathed, groomed and dried in this room prior to entering the rest of the house.

Newfs collect a ton more dirt and take it inside. Especially a Newf's coat. Leaves, sticks, dust, pebbles, burrs, mud, etc. If you plan on bathing the dog every time it gets "dirty".... plan on it every time he/she goes outside. And it takes about 2-3 hrs just to dry them once you've bathed them. That doesn't count the combing/brushing. You won't have time for anything else. A bathing room is a great idea, but the way you stated it is that he'd be bathed before being allowed to enter the house.

It's very difficult to be a clean freak and own a Newf. No matter how much you bathe....your house will still be covered in fur, drool, etc.

A dog is a dog. They chew, scratch, break things. Some are worse than others, but no Newf we have is as bad about causing collateral damage as the Retrievers have been.

I understand trying to protect your home ..... but as everyone has implied, it sounds like you're going overboard. Are you sure a Newf is the right dog for you?

 

[Ohana Mom]

Instead of spending all of this money on this room -I'd invest in a really good vacuum if dirt etc is an issue. (i.e Dyson)
Katie said it best - you are over thinking this. Get your Newf, train it, and then adjust to your individual needs....

 

[JLStorm]

Perhaps I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're trying to think of everything to make sure the dog doesn't destroy anything OR get anything dirty .... ever. Ergo the "washing room" at the entrance of the "house" so he won't bring dirt in and can be allowed to be with you.

A dog is a dog. They chew, scratch, break things. Some are worse than others, but no Newf we have is as bad as the Retrievers about collateral damage.

On the other hand, Newfs collect a ton more dirt and take it inside. Especially a Newf's coat. Leaves, sticks, dust, pebbles, burrs, mud, etc. If you plan on bathing the dog every time it gets "dirty".... plan on it ever time he/she goes outside. And it takes about 2-3 hrs just to dry them once you've bathed them. That doesn't count the combing/brushing. You won't have time for anything else.

I understand trying to protect your home ..... but as everyone has implied, it sounds like you're going overboard.

I probably am going overboard...I tend to overdo and overbuild everything. As far as the dirt, we only have two bathrooms with tubs in the house and to get to either we would have to walk through the entire bottom floor of the house, up the stairs down a long hallway. It just makes too much sense to have a bathing area in the "mud room" so that the rest of the house doesnt have a trail of mud to get to the bath, plus this way the bath and dryer can be in the same room (small bathrooms). We have a pool, a pond, wetlands and a number of lakes withing a few miles...so I plan to have an extraordinarily wet, smelly, muddy Newf on a number of occasions as I am outdoors a lot in summer and winter. I dont mind dirt and I dont mind drool or hair, I do however mind pond scum and smelly wetlands mud...yuck.