I didn't read all the responses and don't have kids so I can only talk from being one. I don't think I would force him. Your sister's comment caught my eye with "if we don't get them in early than they will never really be as good as those who have played for years." I completely disagree. My parents were athletic and involved with sports. Dad since he was wee little and Mom in high school. We weren't allowed to play sports and be in all kinds of activities as kids. We were told once we hit high school, and sports were offered through the school, we could (which was 7th grade). My Dad worked long hours and Mom worked on and off through the years. She wasn't going to run all the time dragging us from sport to Girl Scouts, piano lessons, etc. As a kid I was a little disappointed but I also want to point out there wasn't much around where we live besides girl scouts or softball. I only ever wanted to try softball because of my one friend. ( BTW, never again had a desire to play.) Anyhow, as an adult I don't blame my parents one bit for that decision. I see parents running their kids every night to something and they don't have time to be a breathe. In 4th grade band was offered and I wanted to play the trumpet. Two weeks into it I wanted to quite and wasn't allowed. I'm glad they had me stay with it. I played all the way up until I graduated. Once I hit high school I played sports. I played on the varsity team as a freshman. I was very good at everything I was involved in and it was rare for Mom to miss a game, meet, etc. Dad was there when he could be. Schedules were very crazy. There's always room for improvement but I think a kid is generally either athletic or not. If you're not quite as good and you actually like the sport, most times you'll practice and practice even on your own time until you get better. DH thinks like your sister. (Yes, even though I'm a first hand example proving him wrong.) His parents were athletic and involved in sports as well. DH and his brothers all played sports as kids. He's passionate about having our future kids in activities when they're super little all the way up through the years. I've seen kids get burn out on sports. Kids that started when they were 2 wrestling and hated it by high school. A big difference from back then to now was we were made to go outside and play. When we did get a Nintendo and Super Nintendo our time was limited. So that being said, I think it's better for a kid to be involved with something vs. sitting on the couch in front of the tv, video games, or computer. I have no idea what we'll end up doing when the time comes. If they want to, I'm sure we'll give the ok but it's very important to me that we keep a balance. I know all this depends on a bunch of different factors but that's my story.

I will offer advice based on my own experience. First of all, I don't really believe that there is a one-size-fits-all solution for all dogs and all situations. I do believe that your dog needs to know that you are the boss. I do not, however, like to hear people talk of "domination" or "pack leader." You must, first and foremost, protect your child. I would think that a terrible bite on a child could happen in a matter of seconds, and you would not be able to sufficiently intervene in time. Just because it has "never" happened before, doesn't mean it can't. You have to exercise reasonable caution. I would guess that he is stressed from the change of having a baby in the house. This can be a major adjustment for some dogs and dealing with a dog undergoing this stress has been well documented. One of my favorite dog behaviorists is Dr. Dodman. I'm attaching a link below to his books. If you google his name, you'll see that he offers advice as a guest on many websites and programs, too. He is not a fan of Cesar Milan's methods. Taking him on bike rides and walks is great! We used to babysit a Dalmatian and they are definitely hyper dogs. Giving him that exercise can only be good. I also think that making a dog perform SOME subservient type things like allowing you out the door first reinforces that you are the boss, but being super dominant to the point of scaring a dog or breaking its spirit isn't very constructive, IMHO. My dog was an Irish Wolfhound, adopted at 5 months. He would growl at the kids if they walked near him when he was chewing on a chewy or eating. I think this is innate behavior. Not at my husband or me, just the kids. Perhaps he felt that they were competition bc of their size. Perhaps he just respected us more as the bosses. When he would exhibit this behavior, we would immediately scold him and take away his treat. We then worked on the "leave it" command with the treats (not the food), where he would only be allowed to have the treat when we said it was ok, even if it was laying right next to him. We wanted him to lose the proprietary feeling toward the treat. Within a safe distance, and with both of us supervising, we would have the oldest child (12) walk near the dog and immediately scold him and take away the treat if he showed any signs of aggression. We then did this with the younger child (7). Eventually, we were able to shorten the distance and ultimately taught him to allow the kids to actually take the treat away. He eventually learned that aggressive behavior was unacceptable and where he landed in the hierarchy. Now - he was a puppy at the time first of all, AND the kids were older. This was my experience with my dog. I had a neighbor who bought a St. Bernard as a puppy and the minute it showed any aggression toward her daughter, she had it put to sleep, saying that a dog is either docile or not. So there are differing opinions on what can be taught, at what age, and to what breed. That's why I encourage you to read material by some respected behaviorists and try some initial related training to see how successful you are. Training a dog is highly dependent on timing and clarity so that they can understand exactly what you want them to do. And it requires a lot of consistent repetition. CamG, you sound very intelligent and sensitive to me. If, after reasonable efforts, your dog cannot be trained appropriately, you may have to find him a new home. Having to make that decision is the last resort, of course, but may be necessary in YOUR situation. Rather than CL, it might be better to turn your dog over to a no-kill shelter that will have adoption safeguards in place. I do hope you can keep him as a member of your family, tho. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Nicholas Dodman

Yes, I enjoyed every second of it! Terrific dancing, terrific job coordinating with the music. Remarkable! I especially enjoyed Shirley Temple, she was so adorable. Thanks, caflowerlover. I liked seeing it better than DWTS.

Bert , the start up Proceedure for any Echo Product will entail as I said , 89 octane fuel with a 50:1 oil mix . I own 2 Echo chainsaws currently and Trimmer . Have run in all Echo products with Echo Oil , usually 1-3 tanks . It is important initially to vary the throttle setting , from low , to high rpm range to allow the rings and cylinder to seat in . Varying the rpm range allows the cylinder and pistion to expand and shrink through various heat cycles , which is important to enable a long life cycle for the engine . If you can find non ethanol fuel use it 1st , otherwise max 10% e fuel is acceptable . Do not use 15 % or 85% grades since they will cause severe engine damage to these small engines . As I stated previously Premium Grade fuel is not recommended for these engines . The Higher Octance is used for peak performance in higher compression applications such as my Competition Hot Saws that are designed to operate at much higher temperatures and pressures . Again if you use small batch containers within 60 days than 10% e fuel will pose no significant problems . However storing fuel in your engine or container longer can cause fuel gelling and corrosion issues within the carb and engine . Therefore I usually recommend Seafoam fuel treatment during routine fuel usage or Startron Fuel Stabilizer treatment for extended storage of efuel up to 2 yrs . Both are available at local Wal-Mart or Auto Supply Outlets . Further within Oil usage i have for 10 yr utilized Amsoi l Sabre Premium Synthetic Grade Oil in all my 2stroke engines , It is rated for usage from 50:1 to 100:1 ratios , I have used it extensively within my Pioneer 80 c.c & Redmax 65cc hotsaws @ 100:1 with no carbon issues or lublicity failures . Best Oil on the Market Period ! Enjoy your new high quality trimmer !