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50 free Newfoundland Dog trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Newfoundland is the lifeguard of the dog world: a giant, webbed-footed, double-coated working dog bred to haul nets for the fishermen of Newfoundland and happy to swim through icy surf after anyone in trouble. It has pulled carts for royalty, crossed a continent with Lewis and Clark, inspired the nanny in Peter Pan and earned a posthumous Dickin Medal at the Battle of Hong Kong. These 50 questions cover the breed from every angle: its colours and the painter behind the Landseer name, its size and health, the St. John's water dog it grew up alongside, and the long roll of famous individuals, from Seaman and Byron's Boatswain to Napoleon the Wonder Dog, Sergeant Gander, Swansea Jack and the dog who carried a rope ashore from the wrecked SS Ethie. Easy questions stick to what the breed is and does; the expert tier asks about Joseph Banks, the Moscow Water Dog and the Italian rescue school. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss. Play it solo or print it for a dog-lovers' quiz night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Canadian province is the breed named after?
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland was a separate British dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.
Q 02What are Newfoundlands best known for excelling at?
Water rescue
Muscle, a thick double coat, webbed paws and strong swimming make them natural lifeguards.
Q 03What is a common nickname for the breed?
Newfie
Newf and Newfie are both used by owners.
Q 04How is a Newfoundland's fur structured?
A thick double coat
The outer coat is coarse and water-resistant; the undercoat is dense and soft for warmth.
Q 05Roughly how tall can a Newfoundland stand at the shoulder?
56-76 cm
That is up to about 30 inches, on a dog that may weigh over 90 kg.
Q 06Which of these is an American Kennel Club standard colour for the breed?
Grey
The AKC accepts black, brown, grey and white-and-black.
Q 07Which fondness makes the Newfoundland unsuitable as a pet for many households?
Mud and water
Numbers have still risen steadily since the 1950s.
Q 08What kind of dog is the Newfoundland classed as?
Working dog
They were bred to haul nets and carts for fishermen, and still do water-rescue work today.
Q 09The Newfoundland was originally bred to work for whom?
Fishermen
They pulled fishnets, and the heavier type also hauled carts and equipment.
Q 10Which feature of a Newfoundland's feet helps it swim?
Webbed paws
The feet work with a thick, oily double coat and big lung capacity to make a natural lifeguard.
Q 11What is the white-and-black Newfoundland colour pattern called?
Landseer
It takes its name from the painter Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, who often painted the dogs.
Q 12Roughly how much does a typical male Newfoundland weigh?
65-80 kg
That puts the breed firmly in the giant weight range; some dogs top 90 kg.
Q 13In the old Dominion of Newfoundland, which colours were accepted as proper Newfoundlands?
Black and Landseer only
Other colours such as brown and grey are accepted by the American Kennel Club today.
Q 21The smaller "lesser Newfoundland" is better known as what?
St. John's water dog
This now-extinct landrace became the founding breed of the modern retrievers.
Q 22Which group of modern breeds descends from the lesser Newfoundland?
Retrievers
The Labrador, Golden, Flat-Coated, Curly-Coated and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers all trace back to it.
Q 23By roughly when had the lesser Newfoundland landrace become extinct?
The early 1980s
Dog taxes meant to encourage sheep farming and a strict UK quarantine both helped kill it off.
Q 14Which country's kennel club permits only black and white/black Newfoundlands in the ring?
Canada
Recessive brown and white/brown dogs still occur in Canada but cannot be shown.
Q 15The FCI's separate European Continental Type breed was created in which two countries?
Germany and Switzerland
It is a taller, narrower white dog with black markings, bred as a companion and guard dog.
Q 16The FCI's ECT breed came from crossing white-and-black Newfoundlands with what?
Livestock guardian breeds
The result is a taller, narrower white dog with black markings, bred as a companion and guard dog.
Q 17What life expectancy did a 2024 UK study find for the Newfoundland?
11 years
That compared with 12.7 years for purebreds overall and 12 for crossbreeds.
Q 18A large North American study found the Newfoundland most predisposed to which condition?
Hip dysplasia
About 17% of Newfoundlands had it, against 3.5% of dogs overall.
Q 19Genomic analysis links the Newfoundland to which of these breeds?
Irish Water Spaniel
It is also related to the Labrador and Curly-Coated Retrievers.
Q 20Whose 1766 journal gives the earliest attested use of "Newfoundland dog"?
Joseph Banks
Banks was the naturalist who later sailed with Cook on the Endeavour.
Q 24Which famous Newfoundland travelled with the Corps of Discovery to the Pacific?
Seaman
He was the only animal to complete the whole three-year trip to the Pacific and back.
Q 25How much did Meriwether Lewis pay for his Newfoundland in 1803?
$20
That was half a month's pay for an Army captain at the time.
Q 26Lewis's dog was long thought to be called what, thanks to a transcription error?
Scannon
A 1984 study found Lewis had named a Montana creek Seaman's Creek, settling the matter.
Q 27Which animal's bite forced the expedition captains to operate on their dog's hind leg?
A beaver
The bite severed an artery; the captains performed the surgery themselves in May 1805.
Q 28Which Portland college made the Corps of Discovery's dog its official mascot in 2008?
Lewis & Clark
Its teams are nicknamed the Pioneers.
Q 29How many people did a Newfoundland help save from the wrecked SS Ethie?
92
The dog carried a rope ashore, and a breeches buoy brought everyone in, including an infant in a mailbag.
Q 30Which Canadian poet commemorated the SS Ethie dog in the poem "Carlo"?
E. J. Pratt
It appeared in the Canadian Forum in November 1920; the wreck is still visible in Gros Morne National Park.