I get asked a lot how I get Sherman and Leroy to pose for pictures.
The answer for Sherman is easy:
Sherman is always willing to please.
He might not always want to look directly at the camera but he’s always willing to sit when asked to sit.
He’s a pleaser and always has been.
Leroy is a different story.
Leroy is a stubborn as they come and sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get him to cooperate.
Leroy is all about doing what he wants, when he wants, if he wants.
Years ago, heck probably even last year, I never would of trusted Leroy to sit and stay for 30 seconds while I stepped back and took a picture.
There’s good reason for doubting him.
He’s taken off on me quite for a few times over the years and when he takes off, he has no plans of coming back.
It’s not that he’s not trained, he is, he just chooses to be trained when he wants to be trained.
In case no one has told you, Newfies can be a very stubborn breed.
They are known to be gentle giants but if you look close at the fine print in the books, you’ll see the word stubborn.
It’s often a word that is overlooked and not talked about that much which is where I think some of the confusion comes from when Newfies are being raised.
“I thought they were gentle giants and had a sweet disposition.”
Oh they are and they do but you ignored the stubborn and smart part.
Smart and stubborn can be a tough combination to handle, especially when your dealing with a 150 pound puppy.
Sometimes they refuse to comply. They can be very persistent. They can be resistant to change and if they don’t want to move, they don’t want to move. They live on their own time too. It’s called Newfie Time.
It can lead to a lot of frustration for new Newfie owners because they were expecting a dog that they thought was always willing to please. They want to please you, when they’re good and ready.
A friend once told me that she read the reason why Newfies can be so stubborn is because they are water rescue dogs and in order to be able to jump in some of the roughest waters there is to swim to a drowning victim, you have to be stubborn. You don’t want a dog who sees choppy waves and turns around and thinks, “Nope. Not today. Waves are too high, water is too cold. You’re on your own.” do you?
That makes sense to me!
I’ve been dealing with Leroy’s stubbornness for years and I’ve learned that you can’t take the stubborn out of a Newfie, you just have to learn to deal with and embrace it.
Sometimes I fight stubborn with stubborn and sometimes I just give in. What can I say, he tricks me with those big brown droopy eyes.
For example, I can ask Leroy 30 times to come back in the house in the morning and he won’t budge.
Gracie can ask him one time to come in the house and in he comes.
It ticks me off every time and I think he knows that it ticks me off.
The thing is, his stubbornness makes me love him more. He wouldn’t be Leroy without it.
Leroy and I have come a long way over the years so if your blessed to have a stubborn Newfie in your life, there’s hope 🙂
p.s. Sherman is stubborn too but he’s more of a closet stubborn. I’ve seen him in action and I just have to laugh when he’s being stubborn because it just doesn’t fit with his adorable sweet face.
