What To Do To Groom A Newfoundland Dog

The Newfoundland dogs are well known for their massive sizes. In fact, the average male Newfoundland dog can stand at 28 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 150 pounds while the average female Newfoundland dog can stand at 26 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 120 pounds.

Newfoundland dogs have their origins in Newfoundland in the far eastern part of Canada where they were bred to be working dogs for the fishermen there. Newfoundland dogs typically sport gray, brown, black, or black and white coatings. If you are looking to groom a Newfoundland dog, continue reading to find out how you can do that.

Groom A Newfoundland Dog With This Process

1. Brush Your Newfoundland Dog’s Hair

Your Newfoundland dog’s thick double coating and massive size means that matting will be one of your biggest worries. That is because if matting isn’t taken care of, it can become painful for your Newfoundland dog by pulling at the skin.

Newfoundland dogs also shed their hair heavily, especially during the autumn and spring. So, you will want to be proactive about this by ridding your Newfoundland dog’s coating of dead hair.

If you don’t do that, you could find yourself dealing with a daunting amount of dog hair on your furniture and floor. You can get rid of mats and dead hair by brushing your Newfoundland dog’s coating.

In order to do that, you will want to use a brush that is effective with your Newfoundland dog’s thick double coating and that can remove mats and dead hair without scratching the dog’s skin in the process.

The Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush will accomplish all that for you. Also of note is that this brush comes with a self-cleaning mechanism designed to make the brush easy to clean which is great as you will most likely be dealing with a ton of mats and dead hair given your Newfoundland dog’s coating and size.

Once you have the brush, start brushing your Newfoundland dog’s coating. I recommend that you brush in short strokes focusing on one section of your Newfoundland dog’s body at a time. You will also want to be brushing in the direction of hair growth for best results.

At the very least, you want to be brushing your Newfoundland dog’s body once per week although during the autumn and spring shedding season, you will want to be doing it daily in order to keep pace with all that dead hair.

2. Brush Your Newfoundland Dog’s Teeth

All dogs need to have their teeth brushed regularly in order to keep tartar from growing on the teeth and your Newfoundland dog is no exception. Tartar growth, if left unaddressed, can cause tooth decay which isn’t good for your dog.

So, you will want to get into the habit of brushing your Newfoundland dog’s teeth regularly, ideally daily. You will want to use the Virbac toothpaste as veterinarians often recommend it for use with a dog’s teeth. You can brush your dog’s teeth with a toothbrush.

3. Bathe Your Newfoundland Dog

Newfoundland dogs typically only need a bath about twice a year. You don’t want to bathe your Newfoundland dog more often than that as doing so will strip the waterproof oils from the dog’s coating and dry out his/her skin.

If this is one of the rare times that you bathe your Newfoundland dog, here is how you can go about doing that. First, fill your bathtub with warm water from six to eight inches high. Then bring your Newfoundland dog into the bathtub.

Now, get your Newfoundland dog all wet by filling a cup with water and pouring it into the coating until it is all the way wet. Thoroughly apply the shampoo onto your Newfoundland dog’s coating.

Make sure that you massage the shampoo so that it is well spread out throughout your Newfoundland’s coating. Remember, you have a massive and thick double coated dog in there.

As for which shampoo you should use, I recommend that you get the Buddy Wash Dog Shampoo and Conditioner as that is one of the best shampoos that you can get for your Newfoundland dog.

Once the shampooing is done, rinse your Newfoundland dog’s coating. You will want to run your hands through your Newfoundland dog’s coating to make sure there are no lingering shampoo somewhere in there.

With the bathing done, dry your Newfoundland dog’s coating with a bathing towel, preferably a large one. Use a blow dryer set on low heat to help with the drying of your Newfoundland dog. Once dry, re-brush your Newfoundland dog’s coating.

4. Trim Your Newfoundland Dog’s Ears, Paws, Legs, And Chest

Given that Newfoundland dogs have a lot of hair, trimming your Newfoundland dog’s coating can be tempting at times. But, don’t forget that Newfoundland dogs are heavy shedders of hair, especially during the autumn and spring.

So, if you trim your Newfoundland dog’s hair, that will put the dog at risk of losing his/her ability to stay warm or cool depending on the weather as well as the ability to be waterproof.

So, for the most part, your Newfoundland dog’s coating is best left alone. Even so, there are places where you will want to do a slight trim. They are your Newfoundland dog’s ears, legs, paws, and chest.

All that you need is a pair of scissors to trim any excessive hair in these areas of your Newfoundland dog’s body. Be careful not to point the scissor at your Newfoundland dog’s body, especially the ears, paw pads, and genitals as these are sensitive parts of the dog’s body.

5. Clean Your Newfoundland Dog’s Ears

As is the case for just about any dogs, your Newfoundland dog needs to have his/her ears cleaned out. That is because your Newfoundland dog’s ears are breeding grounds for wax.

You don’t want wax to be gathering inside your Newfoundland dog’s ears as that can lead to ear infection. You will want to use the Virbac ear cleaner as veterinarians often recommend it for cleaning a dog’s ears. You can apply it to cotton balls and use them to clean the ears out.

6. Clip Your Newfoundland Dog’s Nails

Your Newfoundland dog’s nails are something that you will want to keep in check. You don’t want your Newfoundland dog’s nails to be long as that can cause pain to the dog’s paws, especially when walking around.

So, if you hear a clicking sound when your dog is walking around, that likely means that his/her nails have become too long and so it is time for you to clip them short. You can use a nail clipper like Millers Forge Dog Nail Clip for your dog’s nails.

Be careful that you don’t cut the quick part of your Newfoundland dog’s nails as that can easily lead to bleeding.

Groom A Newfoundland Dog – Conclusion

So, that concludes the process of how you can groom a Newfoundland dog. If you are struggling to get your Newfoundland dog to cooperate as you are trying to groom him/her, this post will help you with that.

What are your thoughts? Have you groomed your Newfoundland dog before? Feel free to leave a comment down below.