The Newfoundland Dog Database Bookstore
Some of you may know that the webmaster is an author. As such, I love
books. In fact, if it came right down to a choice between a book and a
sandwich, I'd probably choose the book since you can re-read a book, but unless you're a
cow, you can't re-eat a sandwich. Fortuitously, Amazon.com's associates program
allows us to pontificate on our favorite books, help our users find their way through the
maze of dog ownership and make a buck along the way. So without further ado ...
Selections from the webmaster's bookcase
There are books that help you breed, select, train and care for Newfs. Then there
are the books that just let you revel in the wonder of Newfs.
We have no cover art for this book. The picture above is a scanned reduction
of one of the photos from the book. bruce, please forgive me for mangling
one of your lovely pictures. |
Of the books in the latter category, Bruce
Weber's Gentle Giants is undoubtedly my favorite.
This is a giant coffee table book, stuffed full of big, gorgeous prints
of Newfie's in all their glory. Swimming Newfs, slobbering Newfs,
carting Newfs (including one print of a Newf pulling a lazy-bones Dalmatian),
running Newfs, Newf herds, Newf puppies, and Newf people, whatever you love
about Newfs and the Newf world is probably in here somewhere. Byron's
ubiquitous Epitaph to a Dog is included. Most of the photographs are
black-and-white.
One of the recurring topics among mailing lists of Newf lovers is how
to get your hands on one of these books. Well, if you're one of
those people who's desperately seeking Bruce, click the title link above
and let Amazon find it for you. Fair warning ... this is a very
expensive book.
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 Rhoda
Lerman's In The Company of Newfies - A Shared Life is one of those
books you either love or hate and which side you fall on says a lot about
you as a dog owner. Lerman is a novelist by trade, and it shows.
This book is a highly romanticized account of one year in the life of a
Newfie household. In the course of that year a litter is whelped,
a young champion crowned and an old patriarch passes on. And in the
course of this book, Lerman relentlessly psychoanalyzes every move she and
her dogs make, attributing much of it to a mystical understanding she establishes
with the dogs.
I'm of two minds about this book (hence the two biscuits). Most
of the time I object to it on philosophical grounds because of the anthropomorphic
twist she puts on every dog behaviour. But, in the interest of fairness,
I have to admit that when my wife and I think noone else is listening
we say pretty much the same things about our relationship with our own
dogs. If you're honest enough to admit thinking some pretty silly
things, you'll probably love this book. For me, the Bruce Weber
cover photo is worth the $25 retail price.
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The
Newfoundland : Companion Dog-Water Dog by Joan C. Bendure |
As the owner of a Chow/Border Collie mutt and a Newf, I'm firmly convinced that
dogs come in two varieties: untrainable and pre-trained. You can guess which of our
dogs is responsible for which extreme. That said, I concede the necessity of
training, and the usefulness of some of the advice out there.
 Think Dog!
by John Fisher. This 175 page book is a no-nonsense guide to current thinking in dog
psychology and how to use that psychology to achieve a good relationship with your dog. It
includes as an appendix, a list of the behaviour problems he treated in his own practice
over the period of time it took to write the book, sorted by breed and symptom. Not
surprisingly, among the 468 dogs exhibiting 620 problems, there were exactly 0 Newfs.
Score one for conventional wisdom (i.e. "Newfs are born trained.") |
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As a paranoid dog-daddy, I don't feel that any week is complete unless it includes at
least one veterinary emergency (real or imagined). Hot-spots, upset stomachs, split
dew claws, sprains, arthritis and the ever-popular runny poops - the list is endless, and
endlessly frightening. Here's a selection of offerings that will hopefully help you
sift the upset tummies from the gastric torsions.
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Dog Owner's
Home Veterinary Handbook, by Carlson and Giffin is our standard reference.
Whenever one of the dogs is "making a funny noise", or more commonly
"making a bad smell", we reach for this one. Our Newf, Katie, has
reached the ripe old age of 13 with body and spirit intact, and while luck,
breeding, her previous owner and our vet probably account for 99% of that, I like to
think that with the help of Carlson and Giffin we've taken care of our 1% about as well as
it can be done. |
The 5-Biscuits and a UPEO* Rating System:
A UPEO is an unidentified, potentially edible object. The rule
of thumb ... eat it first and if it turns out to be yucky just find a nice oriental rug to
throw it up on.
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I read half this book while standing in the bookstore and would have bought it if I'd
had any money. |
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I paid cash money for this book. |
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I borrowed this book from somebody and liked it so much that I never gave it back. |
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I like this book so much that after I lent it to someone who never gave it back, I
went out and paid cash money for it again. |
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I like this book so much that I refuse to lend it out. |
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So many people have told me this book is really good that I'm including it here even
though I haven't read it myself. |
Why does the Newf DB engage in this crass
commerce?
The Newfoundland Dog Database is a volunteer venture that actually
costs a lot of money to keep going. We've cast about for various ways to offset that
(like advertising) but never came up with anything that fit with the philosophy of the
site. Amazon's associate program allows us to make a little bit of money, for not a
lot of work, without violating any of our basic principles. The principle is simple
- if you buy any of these books by clicking on one of these links, The Newfoundland Dog
Database receives a small percentage.
This Web site created and maintained by Rodley.com. If you have any comments or
questions regarding this site, feel free to email
the webmaster.