That is such an exciting time. You have a long drive. I love brown poodles but black is striking too, so either way, it's a win.
When I picked up my Doberman puppy in Montana when I lived in Idaho, it was about a 5 hour drive. So not nearly as far. I do not like rest stops for letting dogs out. There are just too many dogs that pass through those places. So I stopped at a little gas station/convenience store on a sort of county road that was the highway. There was a nice grassy place with trees out back...lots of property and I asked if I could let my puppy out to go potty. She advised me to go to another town way further along because there was a parvo outbreak around there. So she then gave me some sanitizer spray stuff to spray on my shoes and when still in my car, handed her the bottle...something to clean the bathroom with. Anyhow, I moved on and stopped along side the highway...and walked up a hill where it was doubtful any dogs had probably been...at least not likely...off the beaten path.
When I got my poodle puppies, the breeder was only 20 minutes away. lol.
So, my point with all that is be very careful where you let your pup out to potty. I'd steer clear of rest stops (I do even when they're adults)...dog parks, anyplace where there are likely lots of dogs that have been through. Odds are higher for disease that way. I use to stop at a people park that was really cool between my place in Idaho and my then home north of Seattle. By this time they were adults. It was a huge grassy place and sure there were some dogs that went there, but mostly it was for people. That was a kind of place that was relatively safe for dogs but I still wouldn't take an 8 week old pup there.
So, good luck. Do you have a list of all the stuff you've bought? Crates? Xpen, brushes? What all have you accumulated so far? lol.
