Worried and concerned.....

This whole puppy thing is still moving forward.  Still working on it, as a total team.  John took last night's shift so I could get some priceless sleep.  Since I'm unwilling/unable to breastfeed the puppy we can both pull duties at night.  :)  (That could have also been "doodies")
John took him out at 11 and then he slept until 3:30, til he had to go out again.  And then again at 5:30 and 6:30.  If we can switch shifts here and there I think it will work well. 

John's tactics last night was to have Hans fall asleep outside the crate, and then put him into the crate, and he stayed asleep.  We'll try that for a bit and see if it works.  I'm not yet ready for him to be loose in the house for the whole night. 

There are very strong coloring in him of a Bernese Mountain dog.  From the nose down, that's him.  From the nose up, it seems to be Rottweiler.  If you google Bernese Mountain Dog Rottweiler mix, it's pretty much a picture of him.  The weird thing about Bernese Mountain Dogs is that their life expectancy is 6-8 years.  Cancer hits them very hard it seems.  But there's also lab, terrier, pointer and boxer in him as well. 

Behavior wise - he's getting better everyday.  I think we've done a good job of putting ourselves in the "alpha" position - so far.  When I went upstairs to get Will this morning, he waited at the bottom of the stairs until I called for him.  And then this morning when I went to the bathroom to put my contacts in, I made him wait at the bottom of the stairs for my return - and he did.  He got treats for that one.  He goes outside with us everyday to wait for the bus.  When the bus comes, he sits while the kids get on the bus - no barking or whining.

Let's see....Molly and Hans.  They are really doing quite well.  Molly's vet told me that it may take 3-4 weeks before she starts eating in her regular place, and following her old schedule, but last night and this morning she ate her regular food in her regular spot, drank from the same water bowl as the dog had and spent the night with me in bed - like normal.  She walks around Hans in the same room, and oftentimes, it seems, tries to bait him to chase her.  He doesn't "go after" her at all.  He's very curious.....cautiously curious since he's gotten her claws before.  It's cute because he faces her with his butt up in the air - begging to play with her, and jumping around her waiting for her to play with him, but it doesn't happen. :)  She also doesn't run away every time.

The only thing John and I are concerned about is his size.  When we were in the process of getting him, we were told that, of course, nothing could be for sure - but his mom is 32 pounds and they expected him to be a medium sized dog - perhaps 50 pounds.  We were ready for him to be even as high as 70 pounds - we could deal with that.  His mother was even in the "small dogs" category.  When I picked him up, I was surprised by how big he was, but he certainly wasn't the biggest of the litter - pretty much in the middle.  According to the staff at the pet store and friends that have commented on pictures - he's more than likely going to be 90-100+.  This is not something we are sure that we are ready for, and honestly weren't expecting.  I can change the behavior - I can't change the size.  John and I are worried that we don't have the house for a dog like this.  What do you think?  (Because we can't decide.)

Oh, and if he is our "furever dog" - do you think we should keep the name?  I'm not 100% sold.  I liked it at first because of the story - he started out as "Solo" because he liked to lay in his own area, and the Fosters changed it to Hans - short for Han Solo.  Also, it's almost like "Hanson" - my maiden name.
BUT it's really hard to say when you are redirecting him or calling for him.  There are no hard consonants in there, ya know?  Something like "Jack" or "Charlie" or "Buddy"seems to be easier to say.  I put I poll on the side of the blog - let me know what you think.