Our Top Questions of 2015 Answered

It’s no surprise that I get a lot of questions about Sherman and Leroy. 2015 seemed to top the most emails that I’ve ever received regarding them.

So I thought I’b break it down and answer them all at once plus a few thrown in that have been asked withing the last week.

How do you tell them apart? Believe it or not, Sherman and Leroy couldn’t be more different in appearances. (I answered this question on FB last month) It’s hard to tell this by pictures but here’s the deal: Leroy is bigger. He outweighs Sherman by about 30 pounds. Sherman is stockier whereas Leroy is more leggy. Sherman has a rounder head than Leroy. Leroy is a lighter brown than Sherman. Sherman is more of a dark chocolate and Leroy is just milk chocolate.

Where are Sherman and Leroy from? This is a very popular question. Here’s the answer-Sherman and Leroy are both from the same breeder, Bydand Newfoundlands in North Dakota. They are not from the same litter. Leroy’s mother is Sherman’s sister .

What breeder’s do you recommend? Honest to dog, the only breeder I ever refer anyone to nowadays is the breeder where Sherman and Leroy came from or the NCA breeder list. I’m not up to date on current brown breeders. 9 years ago I was but unfortunately a few of them have passed away over the years and I do not feel comfortable recommending any breeder that I know nothing about.

Do you plan on getting any other Newfs in the future? Yes. We will be getting a Sherman son one of these days.. Sherman’s goods are frozen and have been secured with the breeder for quite some time. Just waiting for the right time and mama. I have nothing to do with this. I am just the errand girl. There. It’s out.

What do you feed your dogs? Sherman eats Acana mixed with Stella & Chewy’s. We rotate the proteins. Leroy is on a prescription diet for his IBD so he eats Purina EN. I’ve been able to stop the Royal Canin canned food and now he gets Wervua Paw Lickin Chicken. It’s basically shredded chicken in broth.  Leroy’s diet has to be simple, low fat, low protein and easy on his stomach. I always hate this question because I honestly feel that every dog is different and while my dogs do well on one food others may not.

What do you use to groom them? My favorite grooming tool is my pin brush (20mm oblong) by Chris Christensen. It’s my go to brush. I lose my mind when I lose this brush. I lose it often because it goes where I go and then I forget it came with me and I leave it somewhere. Like on the fence post or the bumper of my car. I also use a comb, poodle and fine tooth. A rake is used during heavy shedding periods and I’ve also used a Mars Coat King to remove bulk from thick areas such as the pants.  Thinning shears and straight shears are on my grooming list too. Right now I use the straight shears more than the thinning shears and I shouldn’t. I’m just lazy and my thinning shears are very dull. Shampoo is currently Earthbath. My absolute favorite is Crown Royale, but that was back in the show days. (links to combs and rake are NOT the exact ones that I use but close. I prefer grooming tools with wooden handles. Weird, I know)

What did Sherman and Leroy get for Christmas? We kept it simple this year because I’m saving up for some coming vet visits. They each got a toy. Sherman got the only Air Dog toy that he doesn’t have and then Leroy picked it up and ran around the house with it so now it’s tainted and Sherman will never touch it again. Leroy got a Rudolph squeaky toy and the big red bow wow bone that I gave to him 2 weeks before Christmas. They both got Grandma Lucy treats (cranberry). 2 big snowman cookies and Crumps sweet potato chews.

How are Sherman and Leroy doing? They are doing well. I’m a bit nervous to see how Sherman’s joints are going to deal with the cold temperatures that are now upon us but we are trying to take preventative measures with increasing his pulse therapy and joint supplement. I took him for a walk the other day and he started limping 1/2 way through but it seemed to be his front shoulder and not his knee. I’m not overly concerned. He goes in next month for a checkup. .  Leroy is doing better than I could of hoped. He’s had no issues in several months (knock on wood) and continues be a goof. We were having some urinating issues for several months but those have subsided. I am very strict with his diet and have been since the beginning. I’ve loosened up a bit. Last week he had ONE french fry and that was it. The only medication he is taking is cranberry tablets and famotidine.

What kind of camera do you have? I have a the basic DSLR Nikon D3000. with a Nikkor 55-200mm zoom lens that is used the most. I’m hoping for maybe an upgrade this year because I really need it. Cell pictures are taken on an iPhone 6s.

I made a huge mistake and didn’t get a grooming table until my Newf was about 7 months old and he refuses to get on it, even with the ramp. Sherman was a late starter for the grooming table as well wasn’t he? How did you encourage him to get on it?   Sherman hated the grooming table. HATED. We started him on it late and it took him almost a year to get use to it. We basically used treats to bribe him. Sherman’s very food motivated so it was easy to bribe him with special treats. We also taught him the Up command. It was more like Up, Up, but you get the idea. Sherman eventually realized that if he got up on the table he got a treat and praise. He would also get a treat when he got down and his favorite toy. Getting him to stay standing while on the table is another story. 🙂

How do you walk more than 1 dog? My 3 newfies don’t even like to put a collar on or be on a leash? When I use to walk the boys together it was easy because they were such good walkers. Well, Leroy took some work. At first my husband would walk Leroy behind Sherman and I so that Leroy would follow Sherman’s lead. It worked most of the time. If Leroy would act up on a walk we would turn around and head home. Soon he began to realize that the better he walked the farther he walked.  I always walked Sherman with my left arm and Leroy with my right because I’m right handed and Leroy is stronger. Sherman also only really knew how to walk on the left because when you are in the show ring the dog is always on the left side of the handler. Sherman is a dog of habit and for a long time would not walk on the right side of me because of this. Leroy goes with the flow. Nowadays I walk the boys separate because Leroy walks farther and faster than Sherman.

How is Leroy doing? He looks SO much better now! What has worked for him? Leroy is doing awesome. He’s had no IBD attacks since he first diagnosed which is why I haven’t changed his diet much since that day. He currently has an ear infection but he’s normally prone to those and we are treating it. As  I mentioned earlier, for a long time he was having intermittent urination issues. He would pee large volumes several times a day for about 3 days straight and then he would be back to normal. He would strain so much sometimes that he would puke.  It happened about once a month for 8 months straight and we couldn’t figure out what the trigger was. Was he losing protein? Tests revealed no and there was no urinary or bladder issues. He’s had no issues with that in the last 3 months. Whew. What has worked for Leroy? Consistency. Same food, same treats, low fat, low protein. I’ve been able to add a few small things to his diet here and there but I am VERY strict about what he eats. He still gets fat free, salt free rice cakes as a treat and a few treats that he’s been able to tolerate with no issues. 

Have Leroy or Sherman ever had issues with lip smacking at night? No. And I listened last night just to make sure. Sherman does this thing that I call catching flies sometimes. He’s basically licking the air but no lip smacking. Leroy doesn’t do anything when he sleeps. 

There you have it! I hope this helps anyone who’s had similar questions!

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