Taffy and Finn at our Folsom Clinic
A Poodle’s a worker who does what it ought-ter
and loves to go hunting for birds on the water.
A Newfie looks out for a splash or a bubble,
then goes out to rescue a seaman in trouble.
Cross them together and what do you get?
A BIG HAIRY DOG WHO LOVES TO GET WET!
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Taffy is an unusual brown Newfoundland who was bred in South Dakota and came all this way just to visit us in Folsom. Finn is also a Newfie but crossbred with a Standard Poodle and so his brown color is not so surprising. These two breeds have a lot in common. The Newfoundland dog is one of the oldest surviving Molosser Dogs, having been bred in the Newfoundland region of Eastern Canada since at least the 16th century. The indigenous dogs of Newfoundland, known as the St John’s Dog or Lesser Newfoundland were probably crossed with the Portuguese Mastiff by Portuguese fishermen and have many traits of other mastiffs like the St Bernard, English Mastiff and also the Great Pyrenees. The remarkable characteristic of this breed is its natural instinct to watch out for people or animals in trouble on the water and to reliably charge into the water and to the rescue. Standard Poodles have a long history as working hunting dogs and an almost equally long history as companion dogs. The Poodle originated in 15’th c Germany as ‘Pudelhund’ and, as the name implies, was a working water dog. They are still used as hunting retrievers, their dense coat is nearly waterproof and they love water.
– Geoffrey Antipa
