Bringing Boden home

It's official. We are the proud owners of two drooly giants. On Saturday, we drove up north to pick up our new boy, Boden. We were again reminded of how tiny Thatcher is when we met Boden's Newfoundland parents, Buddy and Shelby. Shelby is a gorgeous black beauty, and Buddy quite literally looks like a brown bear. Magnificent. We were told that Boden will likely grow to be somewhere between his parents' weight, hitting around 170 to 200 pounds. Yikes. We also were lucky enough to meet the other Newfies there, three lovely females (of course, all bigger than Thatcher). It made me want her life. A house full of Newfies in the country. Only I don't think I would be able to give up the puppies each time.

Car ride home

On the way home, Boden refused to sit in the freshly cleaned backseat with his bear and blanket. Instead, he snuggled up front on my lap the entire way. This is a change for us. Thatcher never ever cuddled when he was a baby, but Boden likes nothing more than to be close to us. So far, he sleeps with us on our bed at night. His favorite place to lie is above my head, against the open window sill. Accidentally fell down the crack between the head of the bed and the window a couple of times, but I peeled him out. He's a complete sweetheart. And his goofy side is starting to come out as he gets more comfortable with his new home and family. Now we just need Thatcher to come around.

He isn't mean or anything, just really stand-offish with the puppy. And extremely jealous when he notices us giving Boden any form of attention. It will just take a little bit of getting used to. They're working on learning to interact with each other. So far, their "playing" consists mainly of Boden running up to Thatcher, Thatcher getting worried that Boden might steal his toy or bone, Thatcher growling and turning around to give Boden the cold shoulder, and Boden running clumsily back to mom or dad. Boden is starting to stand his ground and be a little more outgoing towards Thatcher. This morning he was trying to get Thatcher to play. Thatcher growled, so Boden barked back and just kept barking at him. It's so funny watching them. Sometimes they act so much like actual children, I would give anything to know what their thought process is like.

Today is the first day Boden will be human-free for a few hours while we're at work. I felt so horrible leaving him. Since we got him, he starts crying if there is no person in sight. I've been worrying so much since I left, I feel like a parent of a real newborn baby. Puppies are probably one of the best ways to prepare for a baby. Just as needy and vulnerable, only benefit is that you can leave them home alone. Not that it makes you feel any better about leaving them.