What's really been making me laugh since day one when we picked him out is how differently Mike and I are approaching raising/parenting a puppy. Sometimes I want to yell at him because he seems so disinterested but then I realize he's recognizing the fact that I'm crazy about being in control and I need to know anything and everything to be prepared, and that I WANT to explain it all to him. Multiple times. I'm so super obsessed with making sure I'm prepared for all situations, and Mike has always been more of a hands-on, I'll figure it out as we go type. One example that comes to mind that highlights how that difference is when we went rock scrambling in upstate NY. He had gone to this particular area dozens of times, and I had gone only once before. Obviously, he knew a lot of paths that weren't specifically marked out, and he took me on one of those for our adventure. Needless to say, the higher up we got, without a visable path in sight, the more upset I got. According to him the path was "Up more and to the left" and as far as I was concerned, if he couldn't show me, or tell me in exactly how many more steps we would get there I was done! We ended up coming back down and the next time he went with his friends, they went up the same way, and he found out we were really only 15 feet more from the path! What a disappointment! It seems like being parents is going to be similar to that for us - him following his instincts and me needing to have all the facts first.
I want to give a major thank you to everyone on here for providing helpful information, and answers to my million questions. We've decided that we're going to nix the bed in the crate until Rufus is old enough to not have frequent accidents/chew the bed up. We're also going to bring the crate in our room for bedtime and for when we are not home. He will be allowed to have playtime in the empty room we have when he's under supervision, and occasionally when he's not. Once he proves we can trust him, he'll definitely have free reign over the house.
I'm going to go and return the Innova I bought to switch him to, and get some of the same food the breeder is feeding him, just until he gets adjusted to us and being in a new home. We definitely want to be feeding him the best, but not at the risk of upsetting his little tummy. Also, since I won't have Mike hurrying me along, I'm going to look at some more toys, specifically for Rufus to chew on since he will be teething twice in the next year (if I've got my facts right on that). I definitely will have to pick up a spot cleaner also for when he has accidents.
While I'm at Petco, I'm going to talk to the dog trainers they have there about puppy training classes. I know some people don't like the big chain stores and how they train puppies, but the staff at our local Petco is extremely courteous, and very knowledgeable. I think for basic obedience training, it wouldn't hurt to bring Rufus to these classes (1 a week for 6 weeks), especially because he will get to socialize with other puppies.
I did order Mother Knows Best at the advice of breeder one that I had spoken to, so I'm looking to that to help us train better at home also - plus, the breeder we are picking Rufus up from has definitely made me aware that she is available any time to ask questions and that she expects lots of updates on his progress.
Later tonight is when we'll be doing last of the puppy setup! We still have to take down our Christmas tree, and now we'll have to get his crate all situated in our room as well
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