Christof Gebhard, of Spain, brings Big Rig Best Wishes around the ring for the judges to see yesterday.

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The Providence Journal / Steve Szydlowski

WARWICK — Dog slobber dangled from the enormous noggin of a 157-pound Newfoundland named Chauncey.

The glob hung there, suspended, as if waiting for inspection. But the dog show judges don’t deduct for drool. They ignore it. And Newfoundland owners embrace it.

“There’s a lot of slobber,” said Chauncey’s owner, Barbara Sturgeon, of Dartmouth, Mass. “He slobbers when he’s excited or when he has food — especially when he has food.”

But the solution is simple: Chauncey wears a bib. And it’s embroidered with a simple truth: “Spit happens.”

Yesterday, Chauncey was one of the 675 dogs taking part in the Newfoundland Club of America’s national specialty show, which began Tuesday and concludes today at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at The Crossings.

The show, which is basically “the Super Bowl for Newfies,” has brought about 44 tons of canine to town, along with an immeasurable amount of dog spit.

“If you are neat and don’t want slobber and hair in the house, then the Newfoundland is probably not the dog for you,” said Aura Dean, spokeswoman for the Newfoundland Club of New England, which is hosting the national show.

Lisa Yordy, of Brownsville, Vt., recalled taking her Newfoundlands out in the winter, putting them back in the car and ending up with spit icicles hanging from the ceiling. “It’s like a baby going through teething,” she said of the drooling, “except it’s for life.”

Cynthia Schonberg, a Newfoundland owner from Hart-land, Vt., said people can get pretty tense at dog shows since they have so much invested in their pets. “But not here,” she said as she handed out dog show catalogues. “Maybe the owners are like the dogs — mellow.”

“Watch out for the terrier people,” Schonberg added.

“They wear a lot of tweed,” observed Robin Seaman, of Rehoboth.

Newfoundland people wore rain jackets and rubber boots yesterday morning as they ducked out of the rain and into a vendor tent, where Melanie Peck, owner of Newf Emporium, was selling Newfoundland T-shirts, leashes, lamps, vests — and drool bibs.

After making 84 bibs, Peck had just five left. One bib read: “Big time drooler.” Another asked: “Does this bib make me look fat?”

Other items included miniature orange traffic cones that read “Caution, drool zone” and a mug that read, “Everything tastes better with Newf hair in it.”

Peck, who lives in Galena, Mo., explained that Newfound-lands drool because of flews — the loose, hanging parts of dog lips — that allow water in and out as they swim. “God knew what he was doing,” she said, noting Newfoundlands also have webbed paws.

Newfoundlands are natural child protectors, Peck said. “Again, God knew what he was doing when he made 140-pound dogs but made them gentle,” she said. “They have sweet temperaments. That’s one of the hallmarks of the breed. They are called gentle giants.”

Schonberg said that once they get a Newfoundland, people become laid back even if they weren’t beforehand. “If you are tense and upset about something, they are almost like big therapy dogs,” she said. “They put that big face in your lap and just look up at you with those eyes, and everything melts.”

Dean said Newfoundlands “invite you to put your hands on them, even if you are not a dog person.” And she said Newfoundlands visit people in schools, juvenile detention centers and nursing homes, providing a valuable — if furry — form of therapy.

Dean said the public is welcome to attend the dog-show events, and many families have come with their children. The “best of breed” competition is at 10 this morning.

Dean noted there has been a lot of rain this week. But Sturgeon said Newfoundlands have a deep, oily coat that helps keep them warm and dry. “They don’t mind weather like this,” she said, running a hand through Chauncey’s thick fur.

The Newfoundland show comes one week after the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America held a show at the Crowne Plaza. “So Rhode Island has been flooded with big dogs,” Dean said.

At the grooming tent yesterday, Mary K. Porod, of Newport, Vt., was blow-drying her 110-pound Newfoundland, Faith. Newfoundlands shed twice a year, and so much hair comes out each time that “you could make another dog,” she said.

Like Faith, many Newfound-lands are black, but some are brown and some are black and white. Newfoundlands are working dogs, and they excel at water rescues. Dean said famous Newfoundland owners have included Beethoven, Benjamin Franklin, Robert F. Kennedy and John Madden.

Peck cautioned that Newfoundlands aren’t for everyone. “If you don’t train them, if they don’t know who the boss is, it could be a bad situation,” she said. And while they make cute puppies, Newfoundlands soon become 140-pound shedding-and-drooling machines, she said.

So why not get a smaller dog that doesn’t shed and drool so much? Why not get a Chihuahua?

Martin Gabel, of Tellico Plains, Tenn., didn’t hesitate to answer that question.

“Have you ever had a Chihuahua? They are aggressive and crazy,” he said as he walked a pair of Newfoundlands named Jay-Man and Stella. “These are great dogs. They love water. They’re peaceful. They’re not aggressive.”

As Chauncey waited to participate in a cart-pulling event, Sturgeon said she won’t be getting a Chihuahua anytime soon, either. “If you are going to have a dog, have a DOG,” she said. “Not an ankle biter.”

efitzpat@projo.com