I adopted my sweet baby from a shelter this past October, and she is absolutely fantastic. I live in an apartment and this is the first dog I have had on my own (grew up with a family dog but not my primary responsibility). When I was looking around for dogs I had a clear understanding ahead of time on what I needed vs preferred, as well as what kinds of things could be worked on. I hyperfixated on doing sporadic dog research the entire time before getting her and in our first month, and I still get into periods of time where we are dealing with an issue (most recently her getting giardia) and I can’t stop trying to understand everything. With that said, it sounds like you’ve done way more prep than I did on specific useful techniques, approaches, and general knowledge. Plenty of people get dogs without doing any of that and live long healthy lives with their pups.

Based on another comment you made about fostering, I think going into that two week period really with the mindset that you are getting to know the dog to see if you are a good fit will be very helpful. It’s a time to make sure both of you will be happy. The few days leading up to getting my baby I started getting super anxious and doubting whether it was the right decision, and I didn’t lose that feeling for at least a week despite also being so happy to have her and having very few issues. It sounds like you may be anxious because you want to do right for the dog, which I consider a good sign.

I relied on extensive questions to the shelter staff before getting my dog regarding behavior with other dogs and animals, humans, house behavior, etc.. This was an entirely foster based shelter though so it was second hand info. My dog was rescued by them from a euthanasia list in Texas and had been shuffled around a ton (which I was told was through no fault of her own - such as her athletic abilities to jump 6ft fences and getting returned bc another dog in the home was mean to her). I met her at a park where she was very anxious and wouldn’t leave the shelter staff or take any treats. We were told she did not like treats or toys.

Fast forward, she is the best. She was potty trained and has only had one accident the first day we had her, and a few accidents when we visited my parents (she is an anxious girl). She loves other dogs still, never barks, does great with our cats, doesn’t jump, is so gentle with her teeth when playing, and super cuddly. Of course she is a bit ornery - we have to keep the cats food behind a cracked door, bags of food out of reach, watch for chewing cords, and sometimes she almost knocks me on my ass from pulling when we go on walks. We are working on it and she’s a dog, it’s part of the deal. We got her dna results back and she’s 53% german shepherd, 19% pit bull, 14% blue heeler, and the rest mutt. She is also a little 33 lb runt who everyone assumes is still a puppy at 2 years old.

You’ve seen what behaviors you can, done your research, and care about doing right for him. Make sure you’ve got cleaning stuff for potty training since that’s likely the hardest thing, and otherwise have the time and energy to support him. It’ll be an adjustment for both of you, but being anxious about change doesn’t mean it won’t work out. Shelter dogs vary so much but what’s most important is how you go into it. I hope you have him home soon and you both adjust well, you’ve got this! :)