Newfoundland Australian Shepherd Mix: The Impressive Aussie Newfie!

If you are interested in purchasing a Newfoundland Australian Shepherd mix, you have made a great decision. They are beautiful dogs that are a mix of two amazing breeds.

This type of mix is more commonly known as an Aussie Newfie. 

As to be expected, they are a large breed, and we would recommend having some experience with one of these breeds if you are considering purchasing this mix.

If you are looking for some more information on this breed, then you have come to the right place.

We will be chatting you through everything you need to know about a Newfoundland Australian Shepherd mix.

We will be talking you through things such as training, breed expectations, temperament, and health, to give you a better idea of what to expect when owning this breed. 

Newfoundland and Australian Shepherd Breed History

To gain a better understanding of what this breed is like, it is useful to know some background information on both dogs.

Newfoundland History

Newfoundlands are such interesting dogs! They are a breed that absolutely loves the water, they even have webbed feet to help them with swimming.

They are a giant breed of dog, and they originate from the island, Newfoundland. 

Due to how great they are at swimming, they are often used as water rescue animals. They are hardworking dogs and enjoy being kept busy. Due to their long and dense coats, they are often referred to as bears. 

Australian Shepherd History

Though this dog has Australian in its name, this breed actually derives from the United States. It is a type of working dog and is known to help farmers by herding sheep.

Australian shepherds are medium-sized dogs and are known for their agility and ability to train. Interestingly, they have a bobtail, which occurs naturally, this sets them apart from other types of shepherds.

Aussie Newfie Mixed Breed History

In recent years, many breeds of dogs have been bred in order to create crossbreeds, Australian shepherds, and Newfoundlands are no exception to this.

As these are both highly intelligent breeds that are lovable and fairly well mannered, they do create a fantastic mixed breed. It is easy to see why they are increasing in popularity.

Breed Size, Height, Weight, and Appearance

Having a better understanding of the size, height, and weight will give you a better idea of how a Newfoundland Australian shepherd mix may look.

Newfoundland 

Newfoundlands are classed as a giant breed of dog, given this, they are fairly heavy in their weight. They can weigh anywhere from 100 to 150 pounds, which is quite significant.

In terms of their height, they will stand at around 25 – 30 inches, depending on the particular dog, though females can be slightly shorter than this. 

Newfoundlands have a very thick and dense coat. While it is beautiful, it can be quite difficult to manage. They come in a variety of colors, such as black, gray, brown and landseer. Due to the shape of their mouth, they are known to drool a lot. 

Australian Shepherd

Australian Shepherds are significantly smaller than Newfoundlands. They are classed as a medium-sized breed. When looking at their weight, they weigh far less. On average, their weight is around 40 – 75 pounds.

From looking at their height, even at their tallest, they are still shorter than the smallest adult Newfoundland. They range from around 18 inches to 24 inches.

This breed is known for its natural bobtail and comes in a variety of different colors. Their coats can be black, red, tan, and Merle. They have a medium to long length coat, which is a double coat. 

Newfoundland Australian Shepherd Mix

It is important to remember that when you are purchasing a mixed breed, you will not know for sure what their exact size and weight will be as an adult.

While you can guesstimate, there are many factors to take into consideration. Some of these factors include the size of the parents and the dog’s individual genetics.

Taking this into consideration, Newfoundland Australian shepherd mixes do vary in size, but are often larger than a standard Australian shepherd.

On average, they tend to be classed as medium to large-sized breeds. Their weight will be an average of both breeds. 

They can come in a range of different colors, which is dependent on the genes of both parents to an extent. Their coat will also vary depending on which parent’s gene is more dominant. Even the coats of puppies from the same litter can vary significantly. 

What Is An Aussie Newfie’s Temperament like?

When purchasing a dog, it is so important to ensure that they have the correct temperament.

Knowing what both breeds are like in more detail will give you a better understanding of whether this mix is the correct option for you and your family.

Newfoundland Temperament

Newfoundlands are big softies. While they may be a giant breed, they are very loving, loyal, and make fantastic family pets. They are particularly affectionate and are great around other animals, children, and strangers too. 

Australian Shepherd Temperament 

Australian shepherds are another breed that is a particularly loving and good natured dog.

However, they are far more active, which will need to be taken into consideration when looking to purchase this breed. When trust has been gained, they are extremely loyal and affectionate dogs.

Aussie Newfie Temperament 

Aussie Newfies tend to make fantastic pets. Being a mix of two loyal and loving breeds, they make great family pets and are a lot of fun to own.

They tend to be active dogs, and do need a lot of mental stimulation, which is worth keeping in mind. 

Training 

When purchasing a dog, it is so important to ensure that you are confident and comfortable with the training process. While the breed of dog can affect how easy they are to train, most of the work needs to come from the owner.

By training a dog from a young age, and keeping up with this training, you will give your dog the best start in life. What is great about Aussie Newfies is their willingness to be trained.

Both breeds are highly intelligent and enjoy the mental stimulation of training.

The only thing you will need to remember is that this breed can be somewhat stubborn. This can sometimes make the training process more difficult. However, with persistence, and patience, your dog will listen and respond to you. 

Exercise

Exercise is such an important part of owning a dog. While you may assume that all the exercise involves dog walking, there is so much more to exercise!

Though dog walks are fantastic, Newfoundland Australian Shepherd mixes enjoy other forms of exercise too.

They love the freedom to run around, and given Newfoundland’s history with water, many love to swim too. In addition to this, they enjoy mental exercise, and challenging toys to play with too. 

Given that they are quite an energetic breed, and both breeds need a lot of exercise, the same is needed for an Aussie Newfie cross. You will want to ensure you are taking the dog on long daily walks.

This will help to ensure they are getting sufficient exercise, and it will keep their energy levels down.

If an Aussie Newfie is not given the opportunity to expel their excess energy, they can quickly become destructive. This is why both mental and physical stimulation is important.

We would recommend taking this breed on at least a one hour walk per day.

If the amount of exercise that is required for this breed does not suit your lifestyle and free time, then this may not be the best option for you because this is an active breed.

Grooming

Grooming is a big part of owning a dog, and before purchasing a Newfoundland Australian Shepherd mix, you will want to ensure that you are capable of upkeeping their fur.

As to be expected, an Australian Shepherd’s fur can be quite difficult to manage. This is mainly down to its Newfoundland genes.

They have long fur, and will consistently shed throughout the year. In addition to this Australian shepherds are known to shed their fur a lot too. 

While their coat is beautiful, it needs weekly maintenance to stay in a good condition. We would recommend that you brush your Aussie Newfie a handful of times a week, and give them fairly regular baths.

This is especially important if they are swimming regularly, or become muddy as this will help to keep them clean.

While you can choose to groom your Aussie Newfie at home, it is worth considering taking them to a professional groomer. While it can be quite costly, they do a fantastic job of cutting and maintaining this breed’s fur.

If you have allergies, due to their dense, and long coat, this may not be the most suitable breed. It is likely that their fur could cause a reaction as they are not a hypoallergenic breed.

In addition to this, you will want to prepare yourself for the cleaning required as a result of the shedding, especially during shedding season!

Health

Ensuring that the general health of your Aussie Newfie is good is so important. This is why we would always recommend choosing a reliable and trustworthy breeder.

The breeder should be able to give you a full medical history of both parents, and also the lineage of both dogs too.

This proof helps you to have the reassurance that both parents are healthy. It also reduces the risk of their litter of puppies suffering from any genetic health problems.

While this cannot always be avoided, it is something that breeders can help to prevent.

As with all breeds, both Newfoundlands and Australian Shepherds have their own breed specific issues. Newfoundlands are known to suffer from Addison’s disease.

Hip dysplasia, and cherry eye. Australian Shepherds often suffer from hip, and elbow dysplasia, and Collie eye anomaly.

While mixing two breeds of dogs in general will help to reduce the risks of potential health problems, it does not rule them out completely.

Given this, sometimes health problems cannot be avoided, especially as a dog ages. An Aussie Newfie is prone to suffer from issues such as hip dysplasia, and eye problems. 

You will also want to ensure that you have insured your dog where possible to cover any veterinary costs, and you will need to ensure that they are fed a well balanced diet and are cared for correctly. 

From looking at the average lifespan, it is likely that this mix will live for around 9 – 12 years. However, this may vary.

Is an Aussie Newfie the correct breed for you?

We hope that you have found this article useful. As you can see, this is such a fantastic breed of dog. Not only do they look beautiful, but they make fantastic pets too.

Being well behaved around children and other pets certainly is a bonus.

As they are an active and intelligent breed, it is so important to ensure that you are carrying out the correct training and exercising your dog enough.

If you are someone that has little spare time, or that lives in a small apartment, this is not the most suitable breed for you.

When choosing a suitable breed, you always need to consider what is in the best interest for the breed itself, rather than what dog you want to own. This is so important.

On the whole this is a well mannered, and natured breed. Aussie Newfies are loyal, loving and make fantastic companions.

They are great for those looking for a larger breed, and are fantastic pets, especially for people who already have experience with owning dogs. They do make great first dogs too. 

This is not a hugely popular mix, which makes these dogs quite rare. You will need to take into consideration that this can make them quite expensive dogs to purchase.