The Elusive Dry-Mouth Newfoundland

Every once in a while the topic of a “dry-mouth” Newfoundland pops up in conversation and it always makes me cringe a little.

People use this term to describe a Newfoundland that doesn’t drool or a Newfie that produces less drool than the typical Newfie.

Dog breeders will often use this term to market puppies saying that their Newfies don’t drool or drool less. 

 

What is a Dry-mouth Newfoundland?

Depending on who is using this term, a “dry mouth” Newfoundland is a term made up by breeders to market to unsuspecting new puppy buyers. 

It’s a marketing ploy. 

It’s a red flag if used as a term by a Newfie breeder to get you to buy a puppy.

Why? 

Because no matter how good a breeder is they can not predict if a Newfie is going to drool or not.

Newfies drool they’re on the list of top dog breeds that drool the most. 

 

Even if a breeder tells you that Mom and Dad didn’t drool much, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to produce drool-less offspring. 

Some breeders will also try to sell you on, the “our Newfies are dry-mouth which doesn’t mean that they don’t drool but they drool less” scheme. 

What they try to highlight is that their Newfies don’t have constant drool strings hanging from their mouth, rather they drool normally like when they’re hot, begging, eating, drinking or nervous. 

The part that they’re leaving out is that this IS what most Newfies do all day long. 

Newfies are always hot, begging and drinking water. 

95% of the Newfie population don’t drool when they’re taking a nap on your couch. 

Not even the below-par breeders that say they breed for tighter lips can guarantee a “dry mouth”. 

Which by the way, means that they are altering the breed over and over again to get a tighter lip. 

Some breeders even try to fool you into believing that Newfies have extra salivary glands so they breed that out. 

All dogs have the same number of salivary glands. 

Things I’ve heard over and over again in regards to non-droolers vs. droolers:

“We got our Newf from a breeder who breeds dry-mouths and he’s a constant leaky faucet!”

“We got our Newf from a reputable breeder who didn’t mention anything about a dry-mouth but our Newfie doesn’t drool! We asked the breeder about this and they said to go buy a lottery ticket.”

“We have a dry-mouth Newfoundland. She only drools when she’s begging or after she dunks her head in the water.”

The bottom line is some Newfies drool more than others 

Some start off droolers as soon as they can drool and some take time to mature into full or part-time droolers. 

Not All Newfies Drool The Same

In my experience, I’ve had heavy droolers and light droolers but all of my Newfoundlands have drooled.

If I take the time to look back, my Newfies that have bigger heads, drool more.

For instance, Sherman and Lou have similar heads, big and blocky.

Their facial features were big also.

They have wider snouts and bigger lips.

Leroy had a massive head also, but it was a bit more narrow and Odin’s head is small and narrow.

Odin also has a longer snout but he still drools a lot. 

 

I think one of the most important points is that if a Newfie breeder is focusing on offering dry-mouth Newfies instead of overall health, that’s a big red flag. 

Breeding out common health problems like SAS and focusing on a sound dog with a sweet temperament is much more important than drool. 

What to do if you come across a breeder advertising a dry-mouth Newfoundland

Ask if they guarantee that the dog will be a dry-mouth and if they do get it in writing. 

Request that it be in your contract right below the health guarantee. 

My guess is that no Newfoundland dog breeder will give you such a guarantee. 

 

Is your Newfie still a Newfie if he/she doesn’t drool?

Absolutely and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Not all Newfies are created equal. 

Some may drip, some may leak. 

And if your Newfie doesn’t drool it isn’t a rare form of the breed.

It doesn’t need a name prefacing the breed. 

I don’t have a wet-mouth Newfoundland.

I have a Newfoundland. 

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