Sailor's Log

New Toys

2011-04-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

I saw a picture on a website the other day of a newfie playing with a very big ball in its yard. He looked like he was having such a good time carrying it around showing it off to whoever was looking on. So, I had to get one for Sailor.

Logging on to Amazon, I found the ball was called a Jolly Ball, and that the size I wanted was a 10". So, I ordered it and a few days later it popped into our lives via UPS. I was thrilled to present it to Sailor, but initially, he hated this gift. He eyed it from afar with disgust, he walked waaaayyy around it in the foyer, and jumped away from it whenever it was tossed in his direction.

Eventually he came around, and got used to it in the house. Then, when we went for his walk, I took the ball along and tossed it around a little in the yard. Soon, he was chasing it and retrieving it with such joy, and so very proud of his new treasure. I just wanted to share this picture with you so that you could be joyful with him as he struts his stuff!

A New Sister for Sailor

2011-03-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

Sometime in April Sailor is getting a new baby sister! We are so excited. In this video are three Landseer Newfoundlands and out of those three is one sister for Sailor. Yea! No one will ever come and visit us again. haha

This weekend we had several old and dear friends out to the house and as I watched I could tell that some of these dear friends were not as excited about Sailor as Donna and I are. wink. Newfoundlands are BIG, hairy and they slobber. This can be a turnoff for some. Donna and I hardly even notice this anymore though, and look forward to another Newfie in the house. Someone once said that having Newfies were like potato chips. No one can have just one. In our case, this is so true.

Our Postal Carrier

2011-02-26T09:14:00.001-08:00

Every day, we head to the mailbox to retrieve any treasures left there for Sailor to bring back home. He sits and stays while I go to the box and bring out his prize, then he comes a runnin' and grabs the rolled up magazine or envelope. He holds his head so high while he prances around me showing me his possession, I grab on to it and let go, and then he's off running. He looks like a blue ribbon stallion in the show ring, oh so proud. He makes me laugh so hard.

When we get back to the house he makes a beeline for his momma dropping his prey at her feet and waits for his peanut butter cookie! Peanut butter is his favorite. Sailor loves his mail carrier job, and we love our mailman!

Bear Feet

2011-02-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Sailor's feet are the largest dog's feet I've ever seen. When we walk to the mailbox and I see his footprints in the wet driveway on the way back to the house I am shocked. They look like a bear has walked along behind us. And, they are so sensitive he just shivered when I touch his pads. Tickle, tickle.

But the funniest thing about those feet is how he shuffles them along on the tile floor. Sounds like an old man in slippers coming into the kitchen! Shh, shh, shh, shh. Absolutely hilarious and endearing at the same time. I love this dog!

Watering the, um, Lawn

2010-05-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you have newfs or other large dogs, you know that the lawn can take quite a beating from the over abundance of urine flow. I learned a little late that I have to water the lawn area every day where he tends to use more for his potty breaks. This dilutes the huge amount of nitrogen so that I don't get as many burn marks in the lawn.

Today it was so hot for Sailor, so my wife Donna let him out of the house while I was watering and from this video you can see that Sailor's coat sucked up most of the water that he wasn't lapping up. He was having the time of his life and sure tickled us to watch. Hope you enjoy the video as well.

Tonight will be spent in front of his fans so he dries out before morning. Then, a big grooming job tomorrow. He won't like that much as he hates to sit still very long. haha. Hope you have a memorable Memorial Day weekend and remember those who have fallen in the defense of our nation, as well as all our loved ones who have gone before us.

A Sailor's Morning

2010-04-21T04:38:00.000-07:00

This morning at 4 a.m. our big boy came over to my side of the bed and with his softest, woof, told me it was time to go outside. Imagine waking up to this huge black nose stuck right in your face and this soft uff, uff waking you out of a sound sleep. Wakes me with a start, but also a big smile at how gentle this mammoth dog can be. So, I climb out of bed and stumble to the door, helped along with this huge nose pushing at my butt, and frying pan size feet catching the bottoms of my pajamas. It literally is a stumble towards the door.

I love this pup. He is so tall now that I don;t even have to bend over to pat his back. His head is up over my waist, and those feet! Wow. If he ever grows into them, I will have a VW beetle sleeping at the foot of our bed. He will be 8 months old in a few days and is just now developing his muscles well enough to really run and jump around as he plays. What a happy dog he is, but his courage is definitely more like the lion of the Wizard of Oz than the actual beast. Very brave if he is standing right next to me, but not so much if he is out in the yard and he hears that big noise in the woods. haha

We went to Minnesota last weekend and spent a few days at my folks farm. He is not too sure about those dangerous miniature sheep when they roar "baaaaa." They can definitely cause the heart to pound with fright when they sneek up on you when you're near their fence. Even those lambs when they pounce at you can cause a flight response. He is very brave from up on the deck though and able to woof at them from a greater distance. hahahaha

My Yorkie and I cannot ask for a better companion though. OK, the Yorkie could do without him, but I can't imagine what life was like for us when Sailor wasn't here.

Have a Newfoundly kind of day.

Six Months and GROWING

2010-02-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

Sailor has come a long ways since his bout with the food change right after we brought him home. He is around 85 pounds, 29 inches at his shoulder and just over 5 feet long from nose to tail. I think he's becoming a fine young gentleman.

His coat continues to astound me. He is black, white, brown, grey and some red. What his final color will be when he grows up I can't wait to see. He has been through puppy socialization class and is presently getting his Good Citizenship training from an AKC trainer in Sturgeon Bay, WI. He has been to my wife's school and into several classes with her introducing the breed along with the book "Sailor - The Hangashore Dog." A very loveable story about the gentle bravery of this breed.

He is great with kids and other dogs. He loves to torture the cat by nudging the cat with his nose until the cat growls, hisses and runs away. Snow is king to this boy! If he could stay outside all the time during the day, he would. But at night, there are awful scarey things out there in the woods!

He visited my folks' farm recently and spent time with their Angora goats, Babydoll sheep and their miniature silky goats. He liked the latter the best because they were smaller and less intimidating.

All in all, Sailor is loved and fits into our lives so well. He is just about perfect.

A Reality Check

2009-12-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we've posted a message on Sailor's Log. We have been dealing with some semi-serious health issues with Sailor. When we first got Sailor home we had decided, with help from many other Newfie owners, that we would very gradually change Sailor's food. At the same time, we gave Sailor his first bath, and he began exploring the property with us in an ever enlarging area from our front door.

Shortly after all these things, Sailor began loosing his outer coat. That beautiful black puppy fuzz that we had come to love petting and brushing. He was itching badly and every movement of his rear paw against that fuzzy hair, left tufts all over the house. Sometimes he would just yip so loudly and then begin to itch like crazy. His undercoat remained intact, and there were no rashes, red spots, or hot spots anywhere on his skin. Then his normal puppy hunger stopped dead in its tracks. He just wouldn't eat. So began our nightmare.

After several consultations and visit to his vet and groomer, we have still not narrowed down any reason(s) for Sailor's hair loss, itching, and loss of appetite. Although, the vet had said that he wasn't processing his food right, and that the hair loss was probably caused because he wasn't absorbing the nutrients that he needed, so he was blowing his coat. He recommended a complete change of diet to yet another food.

Of course during his visit to the vet's office he got his 12 week shots. Shortly after these shots, he got watery stool and threw up his foods. We then went to a very bland diet of boiled rice and hamburger to quiet his tummy. We also talked through some of his habits during the day and discovered that he quite regularly visited the area around our "burning bush" next to the corner of our house. On this bush there are some berries that he was nibbling on every time he went out to explore. Could they be causing some of his problems? And, the vet discovered that his lymph glands on his rear legs were swollen. Would this ever stop?

After a week of the bland diet, we began introducing his new food to him mixed into the rice and burger. Success at last. He was eating, and his weight was beginning to climb slowly. And, although his outer coat continues to fall out, his beautiful "milk coat" is growing out and filling in the gaps nicely.

During his daily inspection, we began combing his hair aside to reveal his skin in the areas he itched the most and dropped some hypoallergenic baby oil onto his skin. This quickly reduced and relieved his itching. His groomer has now given him another bath and used a natural moisturizing conditioner on him. Almost all itching has stopped, and he has quit the hair loss. He is looking very unique though, black patchy fuzz and the grayish undercoat peeking through in the areas where the fuzz is gone. Check out this link to see a video of Sailor and his "big" brother" wrestling. You can clearly see the patches of hair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ8WjeclWy4

At 14 weeks, Sailor has gained his way to a much better weight of 40 pounds. And, at 15 weeks, he is at 42.5 pounds. Our breeder had said that he would gain about 2.5 pounds per week, so we believe (keeping our fingers crossed) that he is on his way to recovery. His lymph nodes actually shrunk back down to almost normal.

Keep Sailor and his family in your prayers as we continue the journey of absolute love and devotion given to us by this wonderful new member of our pack. He is the sweetest little guy, and we have just hated that he has been so sick.

New Food and a Play Date

2009-11-14T17:07:00.000-08:00

Sailor LOVES his new food. He can't get enough of it, but we are very careful to keep him to his allotted amount and on his feeding schedule. Good thing that he can have a snakerel or two to keep the hunger pangs at bay. haha

Even though the food smells a little fishy, his breeds natural need for fish is definitely an attractive plus to Wellness Core Ocean, a grainless food with moderate protein and fat content, but so healthy for him we believe. He sure is growing well on it.

Today Sailors nephew King came out for a visit and they played so well with each other. And, the went on great walks together that were easy strolls with lots of activities along the way, By the end of the day, Sailor slept soundly for 2 straight hours before he even made a peep. He really enjoyed his play date.

Inch by Inch, Step by Step

2009-11-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

Sailor is having a little trouble with the potty schedule. Or, should I say, I am having a little trouble with the potty schedule. We've had a few setbacks today starting with first thing this morning and lasting into the evening hours. It seems I am just not quick enough to satisfy him. Oh, well, inch by inch, we'll get it together.

His walks have increased in tempo a little though. I have to step it out pretty good or he is stepping on my feet from behing. He is such a good boy though, and never gets ahead of me. He always wants to be right by me wherever I am. Mr Mann is not pleased with this at all, so he has to be even faster to get to my side quicker. Quite the sibling rivalry I must say.

Sailor's Momma will be home tomorrow finally after 4 days being away to spend time with her Mother and Dad. She won't even recognize her boy for all the growing he has done. In just those few days he has amazed me.

His new food arrived today and even though I only added about an 1/8 cup to his regular food, he was so happy with it. I've never seen him clean up his food so good. He was wanting more, but his tummy was so full. Good think I soak the food ahead of time or he would bloat himself.

All is well here, hope all is well with you dear reader. We look forward to sharing more with you another day,

Man and the Moon

2009-11-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

Can't you just feel the love from our cat Dee? Not much joy that this new boy is here. haha

My how Sailor is growing. I have followed the breeder's feeding instructions to the letter so that he doesn't grow too fast for his own good, but I think he's put on about 5 pounds since we got him a week and half ago. I am only guessing at that, but he has really jumped up in height and weight.

We have been doing some leash training and a little bit of walking around the place. Not too much, but enough that he feels like he has worked a little bit for his supper. He loves it outside, and frolics freely with our Yorkie, Mr Mann. There is a cartoon character I once saw while I was in Japan, I think she is here too, named Sailor Moon. I often call our guy Sailor Moon because of that. So with Mr Mann, we now have the Mann 'n the Moon! Sometimes I think I am so clever. haha

Tomorrow his new food arrives so we will start the very slow transistion to the new from what the breeder's had him on. I am excited for him as I think it will be better for him in the long term. I realize that this food thing is a bone of contention for some out there in the Newfy world, and that it is an individual choice but for me, I'll be happier when he is on more meat and less corn.

Long Day for Whoohie

2009-11-06T09:35:00.001-08:00

Long Day for Whoohie, originally uploaded by donja_29.

Whoohie just doesn't quite know what to do when Sailor wants his play time with his new big brother. Whoohie got something caught in his throat here and Sailor thinks he can give him the puppy Heimlich Maneuver. As you can tell, I think only the grass can help Whoohie cough it up. Haha.

Potty, Potty, Where is My Potty

2009-11-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

Sailor is learning his potty training rules very fast. However, this only started going well when we confine him to a smaller place and not have free roam of the whole house. He now has about a 12'x12' space that we will gradually expand to include more and more of the house until he is better prepared. Accidents have almost stopped as long as Mom and Dad are paying good attention to the signals.

When we first started thinking about a newfoundland puppy, Momma had all kinds of plans for getting puppy to go potty in the tall grass that surrounds our yard. This is a great goal, that may eventually be realized. For now, Sailor has decided that his potty area is as close to the front step as he can possibly get. Right in the middle of our rock garden. The only one getting trained to go to the tall grass so far is Daddy whi carries the poop when Sailor is done! And, we are slowly losing our rock garden one or two rocks at a time. haha

Truly, Sailor is doing a very good job for a 10 week old puppy and we are so happy with him.

Raindrops Are Falling On My Head

2009-11-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Sailor was outside the other day and for the first time since he has been home it was sprinkling a little bit. I caught him sitting on the walkway with his mouth in the air trying to bite at whatever it was that was tickling his head. Sure was a funny look for him. I think he thought it was flies, or something. haha

He is walking a little farther every day, but when he realizes how far he is from home, he makes a b-line as fast as he can back for the front door of the house. His fast running looks a little like a slow motion video, but he thinks he's moving like a rocket. So very fun to watch him growing.

We finally got a bag of his food that the breeder was using just as he ate his last cup of what was sent home with us. We're happy about that. We have decided to switch his food very gradually to a food we can get more readily here and recommended by www.foodanalysis.com. Wellness Core Ocean will be his new food mixed with his old food very slowly as we transistion him. We'll post more about this change as it progresses.

What's In a Name

2009-11-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Sailor was first known as Light Blue because the breeders put colored yarn on their necks to tell them apart. We had known which colored yarn we wanted before we arrived at the kennels, and it wasn't until I saw Donna with the puppies did I understand that she would not pick any of the ones we had thought we would come home with. She would be coming home with the one who picked her from the very start.

On the way home from Cabot, AR we had thought maybe Oliver, Moses, or maybe Noah for all the rain we had to go through in order to get to him. We stopped at a gas station that had been closed down to get in under an overhang from the rain. However, our little light blue didn't really care that it was wet and soon he had a little mist on his fur and water dripping from his legs. Donna ruffled his head and said that he looked like a little man coming home from the sea. Her little sailor man. And, his name has stuck with him. Our little Sailor man. Our Angel Bear, our Honey Bear. Sailor Boy. We love him so.

Who'll Stop the Rain

2009-11-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Sailor was adopted at Wilbon's Newfoundlands in Cabot, AR on the day of the most torrential rains we've ever witnessed. 8 inches in 24 hours, water over the roads, and fields full of water that floated cars that had been washed from the roads. The weather forecasters called it a Legendary Rain.

Even though it took us over an hour to go 15 minutes to pick up our new boy, we were so excited and pushed on through water that was sometimes up to our headlights of our mini cooper. And, when we got to him, we had to fill out PAPERWORK before we could scoop him up into our arms and make him our very own.

Thank you Bill and Bonnie of Wilbon. We wouldn't have been able to do this without your caring and love for the Newf breed. We look forward to your continued guidance and support.