Now THERE's a far out idea! Interestingly, he does have longer fur on his head then anywhere else on his body. When I think of him as a newf cross he looks too long legged, light and bouncy but when I look at the elegant sight hounds (Afghan, greyhound) he looks too short legged, chunky and square. Ah well, that's what happens in a mix.

He has a narrow rounded skull and that plus the brindle are the things which limit the breeds the most (while keeping the other things like webbed feet, floppy ears, fluffy fur, northern dog type tail and friendly retriever temperament). From my reading, Newfs DO have rounded skulls but they are broad. Chows, Akitas, Labs, Tibetan Mastiffs all have broad flat skulls. Poodles, Portuguese Water Dogs, Afghans (!) and a few dogs that he definitely is not (eg chihuahua, bichon frise) seem to have narrow rounded skulls. I was starting to think chow/ Akita/ Poodle/ Lab or Newf but actually Afghan would explain a lot. Tho there are far fewer Afghans running around loose to get into a midnight breeding...