Hello - I just wanted to introduce myself. I've been "snooping" on this forum for months now, as we've had Tucker in our lives since July of this past summer. Hard to believe he's seven months old now! I just wanted to thank you all for such useful, funny, and uplifting info as I read the various posts I've come across! We thought we were crazy when we decided to bring a pup into our already- large family (a 2 year old, six year old, seven year old plus two cats!) but I have to say, things are going incredibly well so far. Tucker is a crazy, high-energy, loveable dog, who seems to really get it that he needs to be gentle with the kids. It's amazing to me that we've had very few issues as we've introduced him to our home. We did use all the tricks in the book, though, including bitter apple, baby gates everywhere, crating, easy walk harness, early obedience/puppy kindergarten etc. Again, we never would have known to use all those tricks if it weren't for this forum - so thank you all! As Tucker approaches his unpredictable adolescent phase, I'm sure you'll be seeing posts from us more and more. Some of his antics lately have been less than desirable (for example, the glove he ate off of a friendly stranger's hand on our walk last night:no: - thank GOD the woman had a sense of humor!). So, Thanks again, and sorry for this long rambling post. I've been wanting to jump on for a long while! Happy Holidays...