Miss Stella has been known to want to carry things. If we are hanging out in the backyard, she usually has something. Most often it is a volleyball or if we are trying to play fetch, so that both pups have a toy to get, the loud squeaky ball we take with us to have two toys, one for each pup. It is not just hanging out in the yard though as Miss Stella has also been known to carry a water bottle on her walks. Not in a pouch or saddle bag, but in her mouth. We began to see this characteristic as maybe one of her ‘working’ traits shining through. Miss Stella needed a job.
Enter the basket. In an earlier post I shared that she started to Take and Hold a basket. I mentioned hopefully that she maybe one day would carry it, or even carry something in it such as the socks she was stealing from all of us!
Miss Stella took to the commands of Take and Hold fairly quickly and seemed to really enjoy having a basket. She is good about Give as well. The problem we began to see rather quickly was that even though she was not chewing, having been held in her mouth and riding across her bite, the handle started to have issues. We started to use tape to hold it together as I have not found the perfect sturdy basket yet.
We have gotten to the point now that Miss Stella will Sit, Take, Hold, Stay, and Ok (her release) with her basket while heading off the porch for her walks. Before she would do this with her empty water bottle. Now it is her basket. She will Sit and Stay staring at me with those eyes if I have not given her the basket literally waiting and saying basically, “I do not know what you are thinking, but we are not leaving this porch until you give me my job.”
She will carry it for most of her walk. She will sometimes drop it usually when we Sit and Stay as a car drives past or if we have had an unleashed dog walk (or sometimes run) towards us. Then she drops her basket when trying to greet the pup. Once the distraction is over and we begin walking she will usually nudge my left hip and look at me as if I have forgotten something. It reminds me of when you get that “Duh” look from one of your teenagers as if you have no clue. If it takes me a second to remember, she will nudge me again and maybe even try to nudge the basket in my right hand.
If the distraction is not too major and she has left the basket sitting on the side of the road, she will Take it herself and continue on our walk. Needless to say, she will get a few stares and provoke a few comments or even a question or two. The usual question is “What is that?” Miss Stella is known to start a conversation. I know if I saw someone walking a brown bear carrying a water bottle or a basket in the neighborhood I would have to ask questions too.
By the end of our walk, often Miss Stella is ready to relax. She will follow her last few commands we go through, her routine of sorts, look for a head scratch and find a cool spot to take a nap. Finding a larger ‘cool spot’ other than the marble in front of the fireplace is proving a bit more of a challenge because she no longer fits on her cool ‘slab’. For now, I think we will work on learning to carry something in the basket without chewing or eating whatever it is she carries. I wonder what will work best for her. Mail, flowers, school supplies, laundry, treats for the elderly we want to someday visit,… Hopefully this working goof~newf will have another new task to learn soon.
Just Ramblin’
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Stella is so smart and funny, I know I would stop you to ask why she was carrying a basket. I’ve never seen a dog like her!
She is such a unique girl. Her personality keeps us laughing and then saying, “Awww how sweet!” quite often. : )
she’s such a cool dog, i want to pat her
Thanks Chloe. She is a great pup. We love to pet her as her coat is amazingly soft. : )
That’s so awesome! I have friends with Newfies that train them to pull carts. They certainly love having jobs!
I have read about the drafting that Newfs do and think it would be very cool. Miss Stella is too young still for that though so we are trying to find differnet forms of ‘work’ for her while we wait. : ) Currently, she carries her basket, clears the yard of sticks (after we steal them back from her!) and birds, and attempts to help us carry in whatever we have at the end of our day whether it be groceries, bookbag, or a briefcase. Such a goof~newf.
Miss Stella you are just so smart and you are doing super, duper wonderful with your training. You just look adorable carrying your little basket. We will be looking forward to seeing what you end up carrying in your basket. All those pictures are terrific! Hugs and nose kisses
Thank you so much Chancy! She has started trying to carry a little mail in the basket, but we are currently in need of a new basket! She has worn out her other one already. We ended up creating a new handle, and then reinforcing the edges, but it finally gave in and fell apart. I believe she has had a moment of shock from it! : )
Miss Stella is such a cute working dog. Ours would probably want to eat the basket. lol They will carry birds, but not much else.
That is too funny as Miss Stella would probably want to eat the birds! Aarrggh. Your dogs constantly amaze me with how skilled they are, their talents, and of course their good looks! : )
That is too funny. What a sweet way to get attention and rewards. Me? I am resisting all of momma’s attempts to get me to hold on to anything. Whatever. I have other talents.
But you are super fluffy and totally adorable.
Slobbers,
Mango
Mango you do not need to find any way to seek attention as you just draw it naturally…such a huge gorgeous pup! (As is the labradork too…sorry, had to include the lab!)
She is so cute carrying that basket! Maybe she should carry a slobber towel in her basket:)
Leroy loves to carry shoes!
That is a great idea Jen! Right now she is in a towel stealing phase so I am not sure if she would leave it along. She just might if it was in ‘her’ basket though!
Leroy is such a piece of work. I continue to beleive these two have a secret line of communication!
I think that is so cute to carry her basket on walks. She obviously thinks for herself. Neither of my newfs want to carry anything on walks. Walks are for meet & great or sniffs & smells strictly fun:-)
I would leave the basket behind, but she will not have that. : ) For now it actually helps with the meets and greets as it diverts her attention long enough to sort of keep her
puppyness from getting too excited when she meets someone new.
Great job Miss Stella! And you look so good in your pictures, I especially love the third one.
Thank you Misty. I was so ready to start walking with the basket in that picture. : )
LOL thats awesome what a great thing to do!
Thank you Kari : )
It is a small task but one Miss Stella seems to love. We are hoping to continue to learn new things.
If I had the time and could put forth the effort I would love to train my pups to do that
Stop of by for a visit!
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/
Miss Stella makes it seem easy. She learns quickly. She actually just grabbed a water bottle one day, took it on her walk, and never looked back so to speak. I wanted to try something else and practiced “Take, OK, Give” with a basket one evening and she was ready to go. She actually has worn out her first basket and looked at me tonight for her walk as if I had lost my mind as I did not have her basket in hand!
What a great idea to give her a job! I love that she sometimes carries her own water bottle. She is absolutely beautiful, and I love the name Miss Stella! Well done on all counts!
Thank you so much iowadog! Miss Stella is a working dog so it made sense that she would want something to for a job. It seems as if she really enjoys working and thinking. When we practice our commands, she really seems to pay attention and is intense with it. When we are done, she sometimes even looks at me like I am a goof to be stopping. : )
This is too cute and obviously very good for her.
Thanks Greg. Miss Stella tends to go for the cute factor. I agree, it does seem to be good for her. She really enjoys learning and working. : )
Not that you asked for unsolicited advice (although you did say, what will she carry?)
I would start with something that has no value to you, that way if she decides to chew it; it will be no real loss to you.
So are Newfies, designed to be carriers? What was their original ‘job?’
I would definitely stop you if I saw you and Miss Stella in the ‘hood.’
I always welcome your words Jodi! : )
From what I researched, Newfs are often used to haul things (drafing is big for Newfs) as they are very strong and even more so for water rescue. They have completely webbed feet that enable them to swim in a way that appears to be almost effortless(so graceful to watch. They will rescue people from water and have even been known to try and pull small boats to shore!
She is starting to carry a few things, but I have yet to try something I highly value. She does not seem to bother what is in the basket though, so I think we are getting ready to try something more in her basket.
She’s only 9 MONTHS? Wow, Newfies really are large dogs, huh? She’s beautiful.
Thank you Tita. Yes, Newfs can be quite large. They are often called “Gentle Giants” because of their sweet personality, gentle spirit, and their size. So far from my experience, they are a great breed. : )
Such a cutie! Miss Stella is quite the lady!
Cheers,
Louise
Thank you Louise. She amazes us quite often. : )
I find this soooo cute!
Well, Stella is certainly ready to go trick or treating. Fill up that basket!
Thanks Sara : ) I did not even think about trick or treating but that sure would be cool. I would probably worry about all the chocolate so I guess I would just have to eat it so Miss Stella would not get ahold of any!