We then brought him home and he met our Retriever, Leon for the first time, to say that they were mates to start with would not be truthful, as Leon took some time to get used to this new upstart in the home. But gradually he realised that Bruce would be an exceptional addition to the family who would mean he would get more walks, would be allowed to swim and get as wet as he liked and even attend Newfie events where lots of them got wet and muddy. He in fact now thinks of himself as a small Newfie and they are the very best of friends, inseparable in fact.

This is the key to our history, because our next Newfie "Shadow" was then purchased from Pam at Mileoak, due to the exceptional way she treated us and now we cannot bear to think of life without Newfies.

Anybody who has had them will know what we mean, they are undescribable in their behaviour temperment and overall attitude to life.

Every Newfie owner I have met has said, "You wont stop with one", and it is so, so true. Put it this way, how many dogs do you know that will come into the bedroom and gently mouth your hand as you sleep, and then to slowly start to tug you out of bed, saying "Mummy, I want a wee". Well Newfies do!!.

How many will come to your side as you read the paper and put their head on your lap, and nuzzle you with so much love that it can bring tears to your eyes. well Newfies do!!

All dogs make you angry at times, you may have had a bad day at work, or you have had little sleep, or you may just be having a bad day altogther and a slobbering dog with mud on his feet might not be the best thing to approach you. But we have never got angry with our Newfies, we just cant, they smile at us, they laugh and love us, they want to play, they are so...."human", but without the bad bits!!!

Again we say, "you just can't describe what they are like, they are truely unbelievable animals and you have to own one to understand".

The only downside to owning a Newfie is that you cant plan a 30 minute walk, because you will have to double the time for every occasion that you will be stopped by other walkers or passers by who cannot help but be all consumed by this wonderful animal which is your Newfie. These animals are truely "BEAUTIFUL"

Between us we have lived with Old English, Retrievers, Labradors, German Shepherds, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Rotweillers, Irish Wolf Hounds and a Corgi. They have all been wonderful in their own right and loved very much, but none has had the profound effect on us than, that of our Bruce and all the other Newfies we have since met.

Due to all the above like we said, we decided to get another, but this time we thought we would go for a Landseer, or a white with Black markings for those who do not know.

Therefore we would like to introduce Shadow (below) or as he is known by the Kennel Club, "Mileoak Shadow of a doubt". Because without a shadow of a doubt he will be another star in our family!!

Shadow arrived, and we joined the Newfoundland Club, and the Northern Newfoundland Club, who both hold regular events and we will always try to get the very best out of our dogs by attending as many as possible.

The Manchester Section of the Northern Newfoundland Club holds water and draught working training and trials throughout the spring and summer and Bruce and Shadow will be attending. (Click here for details)


To give you some understanding of how a Newfie ticks we thought we would give you a pictorial view with comments. Please click here for Bruces Fun Page.

Our next edition to the Barlow household was "Cooper". Cooper is a Newfoundland of around 2 years old (Age not known) who it was reported was locked in a garage in Southport, because the owners stated that he was too big and too hard to handle, couldnt be walked and couldnt be looked after.

We received a call at 9pm at night that Cooper was being taken to a local RSPCA, but if we wanted him we would have to come and get him now. So we did!!!!

We have tried everything we can to identify were he comes from but have been met with lies and deceit all along. We have even checked him for a chip and been in contact with all known breeders who would have had a litter at that time, the kennel club, but none have identified his origins.

As such he has no papers and probably comes from a puppy farm, but he is a gentle sole with a heart of gold. He was easily house trained and can also be walked on a lead with a little effort. He still pulls a little, but I am sure this will go with time and patience.

He seems so happy playing with our boys now, and will sit with you and gently raise his paw to you asking to be stroked. When he arrived he came with a lead and a blanket, beacuse the owners said that this was all he would play with in the garage. This was no doubt a comfort blanket for him on the long and lonely hours locked away!! He didnt know how to play and couldnt even eat his first dog biscuit as he appeared to try to suck it to death... This gave us the impression he had never eaten hard food before and obviously had been used to food that had been soaked or tinned food.

We made the tough decision to throw the comfort blanket away and at first it was hard as he would go into the laundry basket and pull out jumpers, bedding and towels just to lie with and suckle. The perseverence though has worked and now he a plays with all manner of toys, bones, biscuits, treats, other dogs and humans!!

We have included a photo of Cooper taken after his first bath and blast, which he appeared to enjoy. He was very badly knotted when we got him but Julie spent a full day gently combing the knots out before his bath and now he shines like all our boys!!!

"COOPER" (Aged About 2 years)

Shortly after Bruce arrived, we joined the Newfoundland Club, and the Northern Newfoundland Club, who both hold regular events and we will always try to get the very best out of our dogs by attending as many as possible and would recommend these clubs to all new to the Newfoundland breed.