The No Wipe Back Rule

We talk a lot about how fun it is to go out with our Newfoundlands in public.

It’s an adventure to say the least.

It’s a happy adventure. Newfs make people happy. They make people smile.

That makes me smile.

While I love to see little kids smile and light up when they see a Newf, I love seeing the how adults react too.

One of the funnest interactions I get is when an adult goes in for a pet in the chest or chin area.

I do my best to make sure that they’re going in for a dry pet but sometimes, when you go to wipe the slobber away, you actually just smear it in creating an even bigger area of slobber that is no longer confined to just the jowls but now the entire chin and chest area.

The reaction of people when they pull away from this area as soon as they feel moisture usually goes a few ways:

1. They do nothing and act like it’s not there.
2. They look to you for help and an explanation
3. They nonchalantly wipe it on their back or pant leg
4. Or, and this is my favorite, they try to wipe it back on the dog

Let’s just make it clear that #4 should not be option for an adult. If you wipe a booger from your kid’s nose and accidentally get it on your hand, you’re not going to wipe it back on your kid, right?

Well you can’t wipe slobber back on a dog either.

There’s a no wipe back rule that applies here.

It’s on you now. You must deal with it like an adult.

I know it’s more gross for some people but still, you can’t wipe it back. It’s an unwritten rule.

Eye boogers you can wipe back on, I do this all the time when there’s no other alternative but you just can’t do this with slobber.

It’s mostly because you’re never going to get it back in the right spot and thus, you’re going to create an issue for the next person who goes in for a pet in a reasonable area of the dog. This creates a vicious cycle and by the time you know it, the dog is covered in slobber creating an even bigger slobber mess than we started with.

We only have one slobber towel available to us when we are out and we need to save that towel for dripping jowls only. It’s not a whole body wipe towel.

Makes perfect sense now, right?

If you any further questions please refer to your local Newfoundland owner.

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