'Gentle giant' does not mean 'healthy giant': UK breed health data puts this breed's median lifespan at around 9-10 years, and the same data shows a heart-disease rate at veterinary teaching hospitals dramatically higher than the average dog's — this is a short, expensive life wrapped in an enormous, drooling, constantly shedding body.
11years, median
1.5 years below the all-dog median of 12.5.
Measured, not estimated: the middle age at death across 584,734 UK dogs, 284,734 of them deceased. Based on 2,162 dogs of this breed. 95% confidence interval 10.9 to 11.6 years. Half lived longer than this, half did not. UK dogs, so treat it as the best available figure rather than a promise about yours.
In the same study, large breeds as a group had a median of 11.9 years and medium-muzzled breeds 12.8. This breed is large and medium-muzzled.
McMillan et al. 2024, Scientific Reports 14:531 — open access · CC BY 4.0Health tests to ask the breeder for
Newfoundland Club of America sets the tests a Newfoundland needs for a CHIC number in the OFA's open database. A CHIC number means the tests were done and the results are public. It does not mean the dog passed them: ask for the results for both parents, or look them up yourself on ofa.org.
- Hip Dysplasia (OFA Radiographic Hip Evaluation or PennHIP Evaluation; results registered with OFA)
- Elbow Dysplasia (OFA Radiographic Elbow Evaluation)
- Cardiac Evaluation (Congenital Cardiac Exam by a cardiologist, Advanced Cardiac Exam, or Basic Cardiac Exam by a cardiologist)
- Cystinuria DNA test (results registered with OFA; progeny may be cleared by parentage)
When to spay or neuter: the guidelines split at 45 pounds grown, five to six months under it and after growth is complete over it, and the UC Davis study gives a guideline by breed for 35 breeds. The spay and neuter page has both, and the two weeks after.
Test names as the club lists them; checked September 2026. OFA CHIC breed page. How to use this at the breeder: check a breeder.
Adopt a Newfoundland near you
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Living with a Newfoundland
Newfoundlands are calm, biddable, and genuinely wonderful with children, but day-to-day life means near-constant drool management, heavy shedding twice a year plus year-round loss, and the sheer physical logistics of a 100-150 lb dog — vet bills, food bills, and lifting an unsteady senior giant are all bigger than people expect. Exercise needs are moderate rather than extreme, but the coat needs real weekly maintenance or it mats.
Health you should know about
- Subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) — an inherited heart defect that narrows blood flow below the aortic valve and can cause sudden death in young dogs; a UK breed health plan cites a rate around 6.8% at one US veterinary teaching hospital versus roughly 0.15% in mixed-breed dogs, though a large French screening study of health-tested breeding dogs found a much lower rate near 1%.
- Hip dysplasia — malformed hip joints; the same UK breed health plan cites roughly 17% prevalence among Newfoundlands seen at US veterinary teaching hospitals.
- Cystinuria and bladder stones — an inherited inability to reabsorb cystine, causing painful, recurring, sometimes life-threatening urinary stones; DNA testing has found roughly 3% of tested dogs affected and about 12% carriers, and males are at particular risk of fatal blockage.
- Cancer, including osteosarcoma — surveys of the breed have found cancer responsible for a notable share of deaths, consistent with other giant breeds.
Read the full Dog Care Guide first — costs, daily time, and everything a dog needs before you choose a breed.
Sources — 6 references
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w
- https://images.akc.org/pdf/breeds/standards/Newfoundland.pdf
- https://www.petmd.com/dog/breeds/newfoundland
- https://www.thenewfoundlandclub.co.uk/files/health/Newfoundland_BHCP.pdf
- https://hospital.cvm.ncsu.edu/services/small-animals/genetics/subvalvular-aort
- https://www.ufaw.org.uk/dogs/newfoundland---cystinuria-and-urolithiasis
Last reviewed October 2026. 6 sources listed below. Written and maintained by Petdeals.io. General care information, not veterinary advice — for a sick animal, call a vet.