Seeing double

As Boden grows, the differences between he and Thatcher shrink. It's getting easier to mistake one for the other at first glance. I mean, when you accidentally stumble over a huge black lump that is monopolizing an entire hallway, doorway or entryway, it's hard to distinguish which Newfie was the culprit. Although their faces are quite different and Boden is still at least 30lbs shy of Thatcher, people are starting to get the boys mixed up fairly often. I guess to most people, a big black dog is a big black dog. When we visited family the other day and walked into the house, I heard someone repeat a few times (upon being greeted by the dogs), "Which one is the little one? Which one is the baby?". 

Obviously, we see them every day and don't struggle quite as much. But I have really been noticing just how alike they are becoming. Not only in appearance, which is inevitable considering they are of the same breed, but in personality. Boden mimics Thatcher. Some of the characteristics they both display are inherent to the Newfie breed, but some quirks are just random. For example, Thatcher has always done this weird thing where he licks the air repeatedly when you pat his butt. When you stop patting, he whines a little and wags his tail slightly, as if to tell you to keep patting. There is no way to teach this, and I have absolutely no idea why Thatcher licks the air. But Boden does now does the exact same thing. It's uncanny.

When we were up north this past weekend, I went for a morning walk with the boys to catch the sunrise. I might add that the temperature was below zero that day; we experienced a high of zero degrees. So I bundled up and ventured out into the bitterly cold but beautifully still morning. I brought my camera along and snapped a few photos before my fingers went numb - which took about 6 minutes. I finally got a chance to browse through the photos tonight and was amazed at how identical the Newfies looked in so many of the shots. I almost thought I was seeing double.