Thanks everyone! It's definitely a good story. We did a lot of stupid first time dog owner things, and it's a miracle Jack turned out as well as he did, but like I said--don't regret any decisions. Jack's a great dog and has taught us so much in nine months!
The first day home was very interesting. We were all very tired and had driven over two hours to get Jack and then spent several hours in PetSmart. To be very honest, tempers were short and naps were needed! We got back to Heather's apartment (at that point in time we did not live together, but did have plans to move in together at the end of Heather's lease) and immediately marched Jack outside for his first session of potty training. He peed and pooped and we danced around and told him he was the smartest puppy in the world and then all headed inside for some food and naps.
I was feeling pleased with my purchase. Jack slept the whole way home and had yet to make a single sound. I was feeling pretty smug since I read that Husky puppies were notoriously loud. He seemed to totally get potty training too. I had the smartest/best Husky in the world. I felt triumphant as I started unloading things from the car, and tried to ignore Heather's comments about me becoming one of those parents whose children can do no wrong. It's not my fault Jack seemed to be the most perfect puppy in the world...
(Oh in present day I laugh about that moment. It was the perfect foreshadowing to everything that followed, really.)
I asked L and K (Heather's roommates) if they would watch him while Heather and I made his second home there (the first being at my apartment, but we were so tired we just didn't care to drive the 15 minutes to get there) and they agreed. "He can play video games with me," K said.
Jack had other ideas... He IMMEDIATELY honed in on the toy box.
Lesson One of Husky Ownership: If the husky wants it, it is his and he will deviously try to capture it until his dying breath.
Keep in mind these were not his brand new toys... oh no, these were well-loved toys belonging to L's dog, a rather unfortunate-looking little beagle thing that did not really get the whole lesson in kindergarten on sharing. Olga (nickname for the ugly beagle--seriously she's a dead ringer for Samuel L Jackson and I'm not trying to be funny) greeted Jack the way a Queen greets a peasant, a couple of sniffs, an up-turned lip, and then she retired to her couch to sleep...
Jack ignored her too. He was fixated on the toy box. He immediately began pulling out every. single. toy in there and scattering them about the floor. He ran up to every single one like one of the seagulls from Finding Nemo. Mine? Mine? Mine? His play lasted maybe 10-15 minutes and Heather and I began to trip over the mess as we were building his crate and unpacking his new things. I almost face-planted over a squeaky rubber red ring and my resulting curse combined with the sharp squeak drew the attention of Olga.
You could see the OH NO HE DIDN'T expression in her eyes as she immediately went to inspect the scattered ruins of her toy box. She began to pick up her favorite toys and hide them behind the christmas tree and other places she seemed to think he wouldn't check... Jack was too busy discovering new toys that he ignored her angry collecting until they met over a rawhide bone nose to nose.
Olga growled a warning growl, but Jack? Jack seemed to be completely and utterly unbothered by her. He had a complete and utter lack of concern that was almost disturbing. Didn't he realize he was about to learn his first life lesson? I started to head over there to pick him up and make sure he didn't get hurt when Jack did something that surprised me.
He dropped his head, picked up the bone, and just stared into her eyes for a full thirty-seconds. Olga stopped growling, licked her lips, and began to retreat. She jumped up on the couch and leaned against the armrest, totally defeated by an eight week old puppy's stare. My jaw dropped...
Jack played with the bone for all of two minutes and then scampered off to the next one, completely and utterly oblivious to our slack-jawed faces.
"Uh-oh," I said.
"Yeah, uh-oh indeed. Still thinking you got a perfect puppy?" Heather asked with a raised eyebrow.
I shook my head and laughed a little. "Well at least he seems quiet..."
Oh boy, was I in for a surprise... Because that night began crate training.
(...to be continued...)
Jack and one of Olga's toys. (Ugly beagle in the background)
Literally describes Jack's personality...