First of all, congrats and welcome to the IH forum!
Well, if you've read the forum already you have certainly seen the 634SR thread. One big recommendation is to NOT do the wear till you drop and the crotch lows out thing while never washing it. Give it some good soaks in the beginning to make the material softer. Haraki-san's instructions do not require you to sit in the bath tub with it. But you could. If you don't want that but don't want them to shrink too much, do an overnight cold soak first. Dry flat, don't tumble dry. You can also wear them when they are still a bit damp to give them a bit more shape and get creases started that will settle in once they dry.
The hotter the water and the hotter the drying heat, the more they will shrink. Mine have about 2-3 soaks and 1 hand wash behind them. I will now wear them around 30 times or so before I wash them again. If I can go longer without "The Skunk" I will try to do that. Aerating them outside should help. I don't do anything special at all in terms of rubbing or wear.
The other thing you should keep in mind is that when you don't shrink them first and work on breaking them in while they are still completely dry and raw, the wrinkles will shift once you shrink them and that can look like dog. So, I'd say get them to your size first and make the material a bit softer. This way you won't blow out the seams and the wear marks will be where you actually want them. You also won't look badly dressed wearing oversized jeans for six months.
Till
