Merlin is doing great and has really adjusted to home life with us.  He is so easy to have around.  He loves when we work at home.  When we do, he crawls under the desk and likes to sleep at our feet. He sleeps on the floor in our son's bedroom at night and just waits for us to get up and for our morning walk.  He has never woken us up in the morning -- he is so patient.  We now think that he is giving us a little howl when he really has to go out. Our other dogs like to go out a lot so we don't hear it too much.  I do think he could do just fine with kids younger than ten years old.  However, he is big enough that it's probably better if he is not with really young kids.  He met my five and nine year old niece and nephew last week and he sat very still and was nervous.  I think he would warm up eventually though.  He's just very cautious when meeting new people.  He still jumps a bit (air jumping mostly -- not jumping on us) but it is decreasing all the time.  He really does get excited about eating, though!
The big news this week is that Merlin and one of my resident dogs engaged in some play. I think this shows how resilient Merlin is. He has been in the U.S. less than three weeks, and was bullied by big dogs earlier in his life, and he feels comfortable enough to play!  Here's a link to a bit of the play session.  Merlin is the biggest, lightest colored dog in the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD8F9gUuqRg
In other news this week, Merlin does have a bit of a prey drive, which is not helped by the fact that we have two other squirrel and bunny hunters in our pack who reinforce his interest in critters.  I'm going to try a Gentle Leader or a harness with Merlin this week.  He's gotten much more comfortable with our walking regimen and he's pulling a bit more, especially when he spots a squirrel!
We have had several thunderstorms, and Merlin does not seem to be anxious about the weather.  He also doesn't really react or engage in the barking that occasionally goes on here with our resident dogs.  He definitely has a bark, but he uses it judiciously.  And, he has a really cute little howl that we occasionally get to hear when he gets excited about something.
Merlin is a really sweet dog.  He'd love a family who will take the time to make sure he gets a good amount of exercise and will teach him some obedience.  He is really looking forward to meeting his forever family!