Jobs for your Newf

[Sugah]

Angela mentioned something interesting in another thread. She said:
"... get him involved in something, teach him a job, even if its only carrying the newspaper!!"

I've heard people say things like that before about the Bernese and never quite understood.

Anyone else do this? What "job" do you give your Newf?

 

[RiverTheNewf]

River carries in the mail from the mailbox, socks downstairs to "daddy," and guards me while I take a shower (not kidding about that one, she takes it very seriously!). Basically I can get her to carry stuff to another person in the house or go upstairs and fetch something for me (that's pretty limited to certain toys, leash, bully stick, brush). They like to "do" stuff, and trust me, they know when they've done a good job!! I think I'm going to start carting with her soon.

Malcolm's job is to be a big doofus, but we love him.

 

[Sugah]

That is a lot of stuff!! Wow.

Perhaps I also should have asked, how do you train them to do things like get the newspaper??

 

[ElvisTheNewf]

Elvis is in charge of bringing in the junk mail. One day I just handed him a catalog and he carried it from the mailbox into the house. It just kind of happened that way.

 

[Angela]

I taught Nicholas to come and carry the newspaper when he was young. We started off with a flyer or two, then progressed to the whole paper.

Sometimes he dropped a bit:lol:
The driveway is 150ft long and he still does that job each day.
Of course, he expects payment at the door, cookies work well.

 

[Angela]

Gracie - don't have pics but her job is to help me carry the recycling down the driveway on Monday and the garbage can on Wednesday.
Even now at almost 12 yr she does this, all before breakfast!

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Gracie - don't have pics but her job is to help me carry the recycling down the driveway on Monday and the garbage can on Wednesday.
Even now at almost 12 yr she does this, all before breakfast!

LOL, we do that too Angela...Zeke is also the keymaster and carries the keys on our walks. They both also back pack. They both can get me specific toys when I request. They both can find dad or the cat when I need them to. I have always got the feeling they just love doing it. Zeke has also be taught to protect me and they both have been taught about fire and to bark. We've done so many things that we probably should write it all down and repeat...and repeat.

 

[mrs big dogs]

Belle and Bentley have a couple jobs, they greet me when I get home and Belle carries in my empty pop bottle and Bentley gets mypurse he actually has his own purse that I keep in my car so mine doesn't get all slimed up, they both carry in the mail and get my slippers and the newspapers.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Oh and when Vin's oldest daughter and grandson were here, they both also were taught to be alarm slobber clocks....lol, and for the days when the grandson wanted to really put up a fight, Zeke would pull the blankets off, jump up on the bed and sniff him and lick him until he said uncle. I MISS THOSE DAYS! Now we need a new routine with Vin's youngest but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

 

[Bucephalus]

Bo's learning to get anything we point to and say 'Go Get It.' He takes toys outside with him all the time, will drop them in the yard and come back to be let in. If the toy he went out with isn't in his mouth when he returns, we don't let him in. We go out and point at the toy and say "Go Get It' and he does, almost every time, then he gets to come back in the house. We didn't consciously train him to do it, we just treated him like a child who had left his toys all over the house - you have to pick up after yourself! We let him get the newspaper once and he shook it apart all over the yard...:uhoh2: so we'll have to try again later on that front.

 

[mareserinitatis]

Oh and when Vin's oldest daughter and grandson were here, they both also were taught to be alarm slobber clocks....lol, and for the days when the grandson wanted to really put up a fight, Zeke would pull the blankets off, jump up on the bed and sniff him and lick him until he said uncle. I MISS THOSE DAYS! Now we need a new routine with Vin's youngest but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

Hmmmm...I have a teenager who could use one of those. :kgo_017:

 

[2Paws]

Bo's learning to get anything we point to and say 'Go Get It.' He takes toys outside with him all the time, will drop them in the yard and come back to be let in. If the toy he went out with isn't in his mouth when he returns, we don't let him in. We go out and point at the toy and say "Go Get It' and he does, almost every time, then he gets to come back in the house. We didn't consciously train him to do it, we just treated him like a child who had left his toys all over the house - you have to pick up after yourself! We let him get the newspaper once and he shook it apart all over the yard...:uhoh2: so we'll have to try again later on that front.

Henry does the same thing and we tell him "go get your toy". He knows exactly what we are asking him. These newfies are scary smart!!!!

Jobs here: Henry: gets the mail every day, picks up his toys, babysits Truman for me and brings me a smile every day. When I weed the flower gardens, he waits patiently hitched up to the wagon and pulls the load for me across the yard and into the woods. We also pick up sticks in the yard while he is hitched to his cart.
Glory : reminds me when it's time to eat, warns us of empending doom when the mailman, UPS man or Fed Ex man drops off packages (almost always for the dogs) and corrects Truman when he gets too cheeky.
Truman: reminds me to get off the computer and come play, gives me kisses when I ask for it and brings me a smile every hour!

 

[ArtfulCharm]

Bo's learning to get anything we point to and say 'Go Get It.' He takes toys outside with him all the time, will drop them in the yard and come back to be let in. If the toy he went out with isn't in his mouth when he returns, we don't let him in. We go out and point at the toy and say "Go Get It' and he does, almost every time, then he gets to come back in the house. We didn't consciously train him to do it, we just treated him like a child who had left his toys all over the house - you have to pick up after yourself! We let him get the newspaper once and he shook it apart all over the yard...:uhoh2: so we'll have to try again later on that front.

Chloe "go get"s lots of stuff. She also learned most things by me just talking to her like a kid and building on things she already knew. I started just talking to her also, saying things like, "where's your toy?" and throw it for her. After she figured out what "toys" were I could say "go get your toy" and she would look around for a toy.

I did actually teach her "bowl" and "go get your bowl" to help with her take and hold for water training. She got it pretty quick though because she already kind of knew what I meant, she just didn't know the word "bowl" yet. Also I made her get her bowl for breakfast and dinner, so it was very exciting!

After she got "go get your bowl" down really well, now I can have her "go get" almost anything. It is very useful for things left out in the yard. I go out in my bare feet a lot and don't want to go out on the lawn in case I step in a poop She also gets the remote for me if I ask. I dont ask very often so sometimes it takes her a while to figure it out what I want but she tries really hard! She gets really excited and will try everything she can find! All of this helps A LOT for water training too if you are interested in doing that in the future.

If your dog is old enough (over 2) you can try carting. They are really smart and can learn so much! Its not in an obvious way like a border collie or something, its more that they really try to understand you. Chloe is always listening to me whether I know it or not. She knows so many things that I never set out to teach her, she just knows the way I think and what I want. Like when shes lying in front of the door, I just say "excuse me" and she gets up right away. I guess I say that a lot? I just realized one day that she knew what I meant, it was very cool! My dad will say "come on, get up, lets go", etc. while hes pushing her with the door, and she takes forever to get up. But if you just say "excuse me" she gets right up

 

[R Taft]

All ours do all sort of jobs around the place that involve carrying or pulling, or just holding ropes.
Katy also carries a bucket around now at certain event to collect money. And most people give paper money, because it is lighter for her :lol:
Our dogs help with the firewood, though Tess always looks sad when the log (small) goes into the fire.
We give them the horse halters and leads to carry after putting horses back in the paddock. And certain horses they can hold the leads when we move the horse. Indy and it used to be Johnno our Clydy..
I have put special handles on our feed buckets so Katy can carry the empty ones back to barn..Annabelle always leaves them somewhere
They help with the mail, shopping, purse or anything we carry from the car or the gate.
Katy carries her drool towel at the kennel club and a small grooming kit when we go to shows. I just like keeping their mouths occupied. I have always done it and have found my dogs hardly chew or bite even as puppies.

We also cart( for the fun of it) and Annabelle always puts away the Rally-O stuff at obedience with her cart at demo's or even some of the pegs and such. We also use this to give out stuff for kids. She loves that and is very proud of herself, with her cart. Very much the Princess at events
Katy now pulls kids in Wheelchairs, she just gets so much fun out of that. We use one of our cart harnesses and have put a Guide dog for the blind type tug on it. The kids hold it and she pulls.
We also have taught to open doors and fridges (should never have taught that one). Pick -up anything you drop and go and get stuff, because I work with Assistance dogs......One day when I get my website going (finished) I will put those on. It is a happening thing still...one day.
Once you teach one thing, it just snowballs.........Right now Katy does nothing, because she is in season and has gone very dumb :lol: ........She is very precious and sookie when she is in season
It is my favorite thing training little jobs, I just love it.

 

[Erika]

Gigi collects her stuffies) babies) from the yard and after a walk at the end of the driveway we say go home Gigi , she grabs her leash and leads the way home, Gunther holds his leash during his walk, all we have to say is Gunther working now, , Greta is the pack messenger when its time for carrots, she goes to the fridge to beg for the gang, she also is the water bowl chimer, she beats the daylights out of the water bowl when its empty, Gandolph dont have a job, hes spoiled by his sisters but he does sing for us during dinner......" A wooooo wooo a woo woo" is his song.lol When he is outside he checks the perimeters of the yard before the pack goes too far to make sure there is no boogiemen out there.....lol

 

[newflizzie]

Lizzie brings food bowls, gets the paper, carries the boys backpacks home, picks up her toys and puts them in the bin, stacks fire wood, and picks up most things that we drop. Magic is a bit of princess at the moment letting Liz do the work, but I've started working on it! Lizzie thrives on doing her jobs.

 

[BLCOLE]

Calza keeps the deer from eating the bushes in the yard...

 

[Sugah]

I LOVE all your stories! You've inspired me to start teaching her to do some work around the house... I know she's smart enough.

Funny thing, I never thought much of it before but when Molly and Moosh play fetch there is a distinct order to the game. Molly our Setter runs and retrieves the ball and about halfway back, Moosh takes it from her mouth (Molly just gives it up) and brings it to me. It's like a dog division of labour based on skill.

This is awesome:

I taught Nicholas to come and carry the newspaper when he was young. We started off with a flyer or two, then progressed to the whole paper.

And I totally need help with this:

Gracie - don't have pics but her job is to help me carry the recycling down the driveway on Monday and the garbage can on Wednesday.

SO great. Seriously:

Lizzie brings food bowls, gets the paper, carries the boys backpacks home, picks up her toys and puts them in the bin, stacks fire wood, and picks up most things that we drop. Magic is a bit of princess at the moment letting Liz do the work, but I've started working on it! Lizzie thrives on doing her jobs.

 

[ArtfulCharm]

Love the pictures of the Newfs doing their jobs. Lizzie is great, that is a heavy load she's carrying! I have one pic of Chloe getting her bowls, so Im going to try to share a picture for the first time!

She was REALLY hungry this day, and thought she needed two dinners!

 

[chumleysma]

My Chumley takes out the garbage too...

Unfortunately, I've had a hard time getting him to put items in his mouth on command. He doesn't have any chore that I could come up with, but he gets into trouble when bored. So, I walk him every night...which helps. I also let him come with me in the car during wintertime if I have a quick errand to run.