Our 16 Month Old Newfoundland Puppy, Griffin, Is Home!

[AGBF]

Fifth photo.

 

[AGBF]

Now I have to explain what took me so long to take the photos yesterday. Griffin was asleep in his hole when I came home and I thought it would be a good time to get some shots of him without him moving, so I went inside to get the (heavy, ancient) videocamera. I got down on the sidewalk on the level I had to in order to photograph him in that hole. When I had everything set up a light started to blink. I had no memory card in the camera!

So I had to haul myself off the ground and go inside and get it out of the computer and try to remember how to get it back inside the videocamera's memory card compartment. Then I got back down onto the sidewalk. But by then Griffin, by no means easily roused, had finally been roused. So instead of taking his picture, we sat on the sidewalk and cuddled.

I had given up all hope of taking a picture, but Griffin, in his own time, decided to return to his hole. So I picked up my camera...and the result is these pictures. For better or worse. At my age, you go with the flow!!!

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Hehehe, drooly, slimy, muddy, adorable, smooshy-faced Griffin!! And I have no doubt he's blowing coat right now as well, which just makes spring more fun!

The boy loves his hole I can just imagine the curse words spewed when it's time for you to brush him! With a face that cute, though, he can get away with it!

 

[iheartscience]

He is adorable, Deb! I love the pictures of him in his hole!

Ha I can't believe he won't climb stairs or get into cars! Not much you can do about it with a dog that big, I guess!

 

[AGBF]

I can just imagine the curse words spewed when it's time for you to brush him!

You're supposed to brush them?

Deb

 

[Cynthadia]

There was a lovely black Newfie this weekend being shown by his breeder/owner at a dog show. They happened to be set up next to us. The Newfie and his owner stayed for only one day of the show because the next day they were heading to their national specialty.

i think the dog's name was Newton. What a sweetheart he was. I just adore the breed.

 

[JewelFreak]

My goodness, Deb, that is indeed a Newfie-sized hole. Just the thing for a young boy. The cutest young boy around! Didn't you know dirt-baths are fun? It's obvious you've never tried one, or you'd know they're irresistable.

The cooling holes are verrrry familiar around here. My Siberians dig them too & drape themselves just like Griffin does -- although not quite with the same, um, special style. The dirt down here is red (they start out looking like gray wolves & end up red wolves). It does not come out of fabrics; every native southerner I know has given up trying. So doggy loving leaves reminders on clothing, and I spend, it seems, thousands on blanket protectors that soon look tie-dyed.

What the heck. Who'd change it with a gigantic teddy bear like that to hug?

---Laurie

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Well, he is simply; beautiful. A living jewel.

cheers--Sharon

 

[mayachel]

Oh my goodness! He is so adorable. I LOVE the dirt hole photos. Thanks for sharing the cuteness.

 

[violet3]

Deb, he is just sooooooo adorable, there are no words!!!

 

[AGBF]

There is another thread in Hangout now about dogs with double coats and what to do for them in the summer. I found that my reading it led to my posting in it and thing2 and aviastar asked me to post some pictures of Griffin with his new, "poodle" haircut, which is the result of his having been away from from a groomer for too long! (I had not planned to cut his fur because I had thought it would protect him from heat and sun in the summer, but he was very matted.)

At any rate, he was clipped on his body, but his legs, head, and tail kept their long hair. His head, a week or so ago when he was first groomed, had a little pouf on top like a poodle's! One woman actually asked my daughter if he was a poodle! Pictures follow.

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Griffin after he was groomed.

 

[AGBF]

He looks like a different dog, doesn't he? He didn't want to go outside! I mean not for hours the way he used to. I think rocks and pebbles and sticks may have irritated his skin! At least that was my hypothesis.

 

[AGBF]

Not only did Griff not look so intimidating, but he took up less space! It was easier to get around him in the house! Sometimes. There were still times when he could block the entire hallway!!!

 

[iheartscience]

Awwwww he really does look like a different doggie! He's adorable and not nearly as big as he looks with all that fur! (Although he in no way resembles a poodle-that woman is crazy! ) Thanks for posting pics!

 

[AGBF]

This is a close-up of Griffin's collar. You could see it in other photographs, but not well. I wanted to get him a bubblegum pink collar like that of one of the female dogs shown on the Blocky Dogs website, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I know that Griff is a dog and wouldn't know that he was wearing a pink collar, but I felt it would be a betrayal of him to do it behind his back. If a Greenwich guy wants to wear a pink shirt to be preppy, he can choose to do it. It just isn't fair to do it to your dog. Pink and green at least seemed more...I don't know. Average in a preppy town like this?

Deb/AGBF

 

[isaku5]

I liked Griffin's 'look' before the grooming, but now I can see what a handsome boy he really is.

 

[JewelFreak]

Awww, Deb, what a guy! Poodle, my eye. Nobody could mistake him for anything but what he is, a honey Newfie. Isn't it a stitch how much less of them there is without all the fur? Hard to get used to at first. When I first strip undercoat from my Siberians in spring, neighbors ask if they're sick: "He's lost so much weight!" No, just so much hair.

Love the collar. Fits him perfectly & I applaud your respect for his dignity in not getting a pink one. Yeah, it would be ok in Greenwich (we lived there) but only with a Lacoste or Lauren logo.

--- Laurie

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Awesome. Supermodel!

cheers--Sharon

 

[iheartscience]

Ha, I would love it if he had a pink collar but it's very nice of you to respect his possible feelings on wearing pink. Plus I bet people would assume he was a girl if he had a totally pink collar.

He is such an adorable big fella! I know it's a different breed altogether, but big dogs always make me think of when I was a kid and our neighbor had a Great Dane. She actually used to let me and my twin sister ride on his back and we loved it! I was probably 3 or 4 but I can still remember it. I'm sure it's not a great idea to let kids ride on a dog's back, but we were very small for our age, so I don't think it did the poor dog any harm!

 

[AGBF]

He is such an adorable big fella! I know it's a different breed altogether, but big dogs always make me think of when I was a kid and our neighbor had a Great Dane. She actually used to let me and my twin sister ride on his back and we loved it! I was probably 3 or 4 but I can still remember it. I'm sure it's not a great idea to let kids ride on a dog's back, but we were very small for our age, so I don't think it did the poor dog any harm!

Well, we don't put a saddle on him and hire him out for rides, but my daughter was out walking him and, with a mother's supervision, gave two young children a "ride" on Griffin's back. They were a family of three children with a chocolate Lab and the children , who were very young, came running out completely fearlessly to Griffin (asking if he was a dog) and hugging him. The mother was very mellow and a ride (or rides-I wasn't there) ensued. It was all very brief. As in your case, thing, the children were young and light. Griff is young and has no joint problems. When my yellow Lab was young he was muscular and 110 lbs. I am sure I allowed very small children to sit on his back. I am equally sure I wouldn't allow older children to do it. Nor would I have allowed it (not that anyone ever suggested it) when he developed arthritis or once he had had knee surgery!!! I remember a few short rides when he was about two years old, then they stopped.

I assume that Griffin would prefer to pull people by their arms using his mouth! My daughter has seen YouTube videos of Newfies who insist on "rescuing" their owners from their swimming pools by that method!!!

Deb/AGBF

 

[iheartscience]

He is such an adorable big fella! I know it's a different breed altogether, but big dogs always make me think of when I was a kid and our neighbor had a Great Dane. She actually used to let me and my twin sister ride on his back and we loved it! I was probably 3 or 4 but I can still remember it. I'm sure it's not a great idea to let kids ride on a dog's back, but we were very small for our age, so I don't think it did the poor dog any harm!

Well, we don't put a saddle on him and hire him out for rides, but my daughter was out walking him and, with a mother's supervision, gave two young children a "ride" on Griffin's back. They were a family of three children with a chocolate Lab and the children , who were very young, came running out completely fearlessly to Griffin (asking if he was a dog) and hugging him. The mother was very mellow and a ride (or rides-I wasn't there) ensued. It was all very brief. As in your case, thing, the children were young and light. Griff is young and has no joint problems. When my yellow Lab was young he was muscular and 110 lbs. I am sure I allowed very small children to sit on his back. I am equally sure I wouldn't allow older children to do it. Nor would I have allowed it (not that anyone ever suggested it) when he developed arthritis or once he had had knee surgery!!! I remember a few short rides when he was about two years old, then they stopped.

I assume that Griffin would prefer to pull people by their arms using his mouth! My daughter has seen YouTube videos of Newfies who insist on "rescuing" their owners from their swimming pools by that method!!!

Deb/AGBF

HA that image made me laugh out loud! Those kids sound brave-did they hug him before or after they determined that he was a dog?

And I'm going to search YouTube right now to see videos of the owner rescues!

 

[AGBF]

Those kids sound brave-did they hug him before or after they determined that he was a dog?

I'm not sure. In another encounter, a child asked if he was a cow. I suspect that the child was not country bred.

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

Griffin had seemed under the weather for two days. He was not eating and, during his "morning" walk (which often took place in late morning, more towards noon), he was sitting down and refusing to go on.

I called the vet and she and her husband (also a vet and her partner in practice) came to house to examine Griffin. By then he was better. Of course.

She examined Griffin thoroughly and relieved my mind about there being any emregency. (If he has a tick-borne illness, it hasn't affected his joints or spleen yet.) I decided not to have her do bloodwork on the spot, but to see how he was today. During her visit, he was jumping into the air. ( By the way, they thought the heat might be bothering Griffin during the walk and recommended walking earlier or later in the day or hosing him down if we had to walk midday.)

After she left, my daughter and I decided to play with a him in the yard. He was full of beans and, while playing with a black foam football, he showed his mastiff ancestry by taking me down in the front yard! (I have read that they were bred-mastiffs, that is-to take down poachers without killing them.) Well, either his mastiff background shone through or the football game inspired him, but he knocked into me so hard that I went down before I realized I was going down!

My daughter, who saw it all, was initially alarmed, but saw I was OK. Then she thought it was funny because she said Griffin immediately lay down beside me on the ground and then turned over on his back so that I could rub his tummy. I looked up to see the two vets who had just left standing at my picket fence with an invoice for me while I lay on the front lawn!

Deb/AGBF

 

[violet3]

Oh wow! so glad Griffin is feeling better, but sorry he tackled you! The "summer" cut is what we call the short hairdo at our house. My king charles spaniel has long hair, but we keep him short for the summer months - he gets matted too. Honestly, I think that he is much more comfortable with his short hair and we don't have to brush him every day, which is a bonus for us. I love Griffin with his short hair - it really brings out his face!!!

 

[AGBF]

When I say, "This wasn't my idea!", I speak for both Griffin and myself! I never knew Griffin had worn this hat until I saw the photo of him wearing it. Frankly, I think it's a perfect candidate for the booklet entitled, "Why Dogs Bite People"! My daughter sent it to me via e-mail telling me that Griffin was a, "guido". (She watches. "The Jersey Shore". She does have a real life Italian father and is enamoured of all things Italian even though I e-mailed her an article about how cold a welcome the cast members of the show got in Florence, Italy when they went there to film their television series!) At any rate, the hat, which is apparently designed by someone called Ed Hardy, relates in some way to the television show. Don't ask me how! (Or Griffin.)

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[AGBF]

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

​

(My daughter is, once again, the spirit behind Griffin's hat!)

Deb/AGBF

 

[AGBF]

I don't usually post photos of myself or family members on the Internet, except baby pictures of my daughter that I figure no one will connect with the way she looks now. (If I went to a Pricescope GTG, I'd be one of the ones asking not to be photographed for the 'net.)

I figured that this picture of my daughter and Griffin was "safe" to post, however, since the big lug is totally obscuring her face! She had wanted me to photograph the two of them together, but he was feeling affectionate. That big pink thing is his tongue, not her chin. She is more than a tad obsessive and kept asking me if people who saw the picture (she plans to show it to friends) will think something is wrong with her chin!

He was weighed recently and is 142-143 pounds. The groomer said he was bouncing around on the scale, so they couldn't tell which!

Deb/AGBF

 

[Skippy123]

Great pic!!! Love Griffin

 

[yennyfire]

Oh, he's such a love!!