energy levels

[chris nanney]

Just curious about the energy levels and stamina of young Newfs while at play with other breeds, or other young Newfs.

For instance, if you have other breeds of dogs, or were at a park or with friends with other dogs off lead, how well do your young Newfs keep up in terms of speed, energy, general athleticism, ability to turn and corner, stamina, etc...

Will Newfs romp and rough house and chase? Can they keep up with athletic, medium sized breeds, even if just for a short burst? Do they quickly tire and flop down and watch, or will they maintain their play for longer periods?

And by young, I would say 9 months to 3 years of age as a young dog.

 

[charlieinnj]

Yes, I've definitely seen Newfs (mine included....) be able to keep up with many other breeds in an all-out sprint. However, the fear of cruciate tears made me give up the dog parks, etc. I'm in the 'controlled exercise' camp when it comes to Oliver.

 

[Ursa]

Our two Newfs don't even try to keep up with our Pyr or any other pup...even at the dog park. Fargo just sort of rambles along. Should he decide to really run, he just sort of gallops along. It's quite humorous! He does like to get out and play with the other pups though.
Sadie usually doesn't do much at the dog parks. She's a daddies dog and might venture 10 or 15 ft away but after a quick sniff will come right back to where her daddy is sitting and lay down.
At home in the backyard or in the house, Ursa our Pyr has way more energy than the two Newfs. They will usually tire out and Ursa will stand by them and bark at them to get them to play more.
When they are in full play mode, the newfs can easily handle their own. Sadie will just tear after whoever they are playing with, while Fargo likes to hang on the outskirts of the skirmish and wait for the right moment to throw his weight onto whoever he is playing with.

 

[godbout]

Atlas' two best friends are a flat coat retriever and a golden. They are all the same age (plus or minus a week (now 15 months)). And when Atlas was young there was nothing that he could do to keep up with them in terms of speed, athleticism, etc. But as he aged the tables have quickly turned, not that he is faster in an all out sprint (he does dominate in deep snow) but he has developed techniques to allow him to keep in the action (cutting corners while running in large circles, getting jumps on ball throws, etc). Also he uses his size to his advantage when wrestling (the others no longer have a chance!). He has become MUCH more athletic/coordinated over the last 4 months probably because we now go for much more challenging hikes. He runs out of gas a little before his buddies (the flatcoat especially) but he is still much more of an athlete than I ever expected Newfs to be... and higher energy, they seem to adopt the required level that their owner/buddies place on them...

 

[BluwaterNewfs]

This is an individual thing, I have 1 young one (13 months), I nick named the energizer bunny or hurricane depending on what she is getting into. She almost never settles down, she can keep up with the best of them. Her mother is 5, her 1/2 sister who is 2 and her littermate brother all seem to keep up pretty well.


My other 2 are older, both over 8, so they have slowed down.

 

[ozzysma]

ozzy (4) is a very hyper type newf he can keep up with most dogs at the park except the super fast. he also will never drop until the fun is over!! even stevie who is 1 cant keep up to him.

 

[eckybay]

Marley is about 2 and a half...it takes hours of playing for him to be completely worn out. He may not be able to run as fast as some of the other dogs, but he's willing to play just as long....

 

[baudkm]

When Neko was really young (5months and below) she always had a good amount of energy but could never quite keep with with her lab friends (pretty sure it was the fact that if she would run any faster she would trip over her back legs) In summer we would have to take her on two long walks a day just to keep her from destroying the house with so much energy. Usually the only thing that would wear her out was a whole afternoon of swimming.

Since winter came (and the bitter Wisconsin temps we've been having) Neko gets out less and her energy level is somewhat affected by it (she is more lazy and can go without having a walk and our house still stands) However bring her to puppy class or the dog park and she is back to her normal self.

She can now keep up with the labs and border collies for the most part but will tire more quickly and usually starts to run out, stops, and waits for them to come back. (typical smart Newf, why waste more energy then we need). We also have her starting a basic agility class and she does great in that as well. She looks just as fast (ok maybe no as agile) as all the other dogs in her class (mostly hearding breeds). All the trainers know her as the over energetic Newf!

 

[jane]

Like Joan said...Every newf is different. My Merlin is 2 and has an unbelievable amount of energy. It is never ending. He move's as fast as most dog's at the dog park. He's very agile, and gets off the ground w/no effort. I sometime's call Merlin "gazelle". My Roger is 4 and is active, but no where's as active as Merlin. He'll play a little and then go lay down and watch.

 

[Denise A]

Interesting question! Here is what I've seen with my pack. (3 goldens ages 4,5, & 6 yo, and 2 Newfs ages 15 & 18 mos + 2 foster Newfs ages 6 & 9 1/2 yo)

Speed: The older two goldens can out run the newfs everytime, but it doesn't stop ANY of the newfs from keeping up (or trying to keep up) with the chase.

Energy: 18 mo newf is a couch potato and is good for about an hour of energy per day. The 15 mo Newf has never ending energy! He can tire them ALL out and still be ready for more. The 6 yo Newf has just a TAD less energy. The 6 yo newf has way more energy than the 6 yo golden.

General athleticism: Varies by dog, but I'd say they are all about the same.

Ability to turn and corner: One golden rules in turning and cornering, but the Newfs are smarter and will wait to pounce!

Stamina: Varies by dog, but the newfs will keep up with the goldens, but the newfs usually don't last as long as the goldens.

Romp and rough house and chase? It's never ending here, but some of it depends on the dog. What I've found interesting is that 2 out of 3 goldens generally won't rough house with the newfs, but they will with their own breed. So we usually have the goldens in one romp and the newfs in another, then the winners take on each other!!! The smallest golden (who only has 3 legs) LOVES to rough house with the 18 mos newf, but not any of the other newfs. I think this is more of a trust issue as we've only had the 15 mo newf for a few months. Now, I will say that the minute the goldens start doing anything, the Newfs are right there wanting to join in the game but the goldens will stop the minute the newfs get in. Now when the newfs go out exploring (especially inclement weather), the goldens are right behind them!

Can they keep up with athletic, medium sized breeds, even if just for a short burst? Mine can and do.

Do they quickly tire and flop down and watch, or will they maintain their play for longer periods? Depends on the dog.

 

[R Taft]

I always thought newfs were slow ans fairly laid-back..............All my previous newfs were. UNTIL.............Annabelle, she is one active over the top in full control of all her limbs newfoundland. She runs along at a beautiful gallop and has this amazing three-beat canter , which lasts forever. I have never seen this gait change in any of my previous dogs (newfs). She will happily run along with our Golden cross Tessa. But this will go for about thirty minutes and she will then dive in the pond and just swim, we call it her cool down. And off she goes again. She loves running along with other dogs. We are lucky, that she is not a charger. She hardly ever bowls into other dogs, she runs beside them and does not seem to do any of the hard turns some of our previous newfs used to do. Those turns used to worry me. She does however run into people occassionally :lol:, Mainly me. No rough-housing allowed in the house. Only head to head footsie play is allowed. it can go on for quite awhile.
She waits till the cooler times now that we are so hot, but she still has her blasts and as active as Tessa our golden cross. So I think it depends on the individual newf.........

 

[zennewf]

I've had mellow newfs that peter out quickly and very athletic newfs. Right now, Winston is very athletic and wrestles and runs as much as the other dogs at the park. However, he is not as fast as the little, light guys.

Millie, who is seven, can gallop along very fast when she wants to, but that's rare. Either she is sitting by my feet or trotting along exploring. She's just learning to "Play" and wrestle with some dogs that are more her speed and size (she's a small, small newf, only eighty=three pounds, and short).

Liz

 

[victoria1140]

Beau is a really high energy newf now, since we managed to get all his excess weight off there is no stopping him. In the last 10 months he has gone from only just managing to walk around the block to running and charging around with our alsatians.
He can keep up with them fairly well and despite an hour a day of fairly rigorous exercise is still always ready to go.

 

[Brody the Newf]

Brody (almost 3) thinks he's a Border Collie.