Decked out in red, white, and blue, Ramsey started the 4th of July off accompanying Greg to watch me run the Bluegrass 10k! What a scorcher and humid run! There were thousands of people, many vendors, lots of excitement and lots of fun. Unfortunately this is also when Ramsey discovered that he was a man.... Amid the chaos, Rams chose one single lady to bark at. Not thinking much of it, Greg moved him elsewhere and he quieted down.... very unusual for him!!
One positive: We got an awesome UK bandanna at the race!
We really didn't have much time to think about the incident, (not really an incident, just an occurrence, since no one was too phased) because we immediately hopped into the car for an 8.5 hour drive north! Rams settled easily into his crate in the backseat, and fell asleep as usual. An hour or so into the ride, we decided to stop for some lunch at Panera. Rams and I got a nice little table outside white Greg went in to get our food. We've done this several times before and usually Rams lays under the table and makes sad eyes at passer-byes inviting them to pet him. This time, he sat at attention waiting, until a woman walked towards the door and commented "What a beautiful dog!" She never made an effort to come near us, but Ramsey took it upon himself to begin barking very loudly, and semi aggressively! I was stunned but after she got into her car he relaxed and lay down. Greg returned, but since Rams seemed to be calm again we sat to eat. Within 5 minutes, a little girl, accompanied by 3 little siblings got out of a car and immediately asked to pet Ramsey. I said sure (he appeared calm again), but as soon as they got close, he began barking again. I apologized to the mom and told the kids he was in a cranky mood. I was mortified! We finished lunch, in cranky moods ourselves, in the car. Nothing like breaking up an 8.5 hour car ride, with lunch in the car.
We arrived at Greg's family's condo in Pennsylvania with enough time to grab dinner and watch the fireworks. Unfortunately, Ram's mood hadn't changed and we barked and growled at: car doors shutting, a man on the street, a dog down the street, fireworks (even though there had been fireworks nightly for weeks before leaving and he had never been phased), and any other noise he heard. We were not happy parents, nor did we know how to deal with this new behavior....
The next day we arrived at our destination, Greg's grandma's. Tons of family was in and out of the house, neighbors stopping by, etc. About 80% of people who approached the house were loudly (and annoyingly) announced. He came off as very aggressive, but usually would calm down if we took him away from the situation and then returned.
We weren't sure (and still aren't.. I wish I could say we solved this issue) how to handle these 'episodes.' Corrections with his leash don't help at all and sometime even make him worse. He will often stop the barking but turn to growling instead. Quieter, but no less intimidating or more acceptable! Telling him everything is ok in a happy voice quiets him slightly but only if it gets his attention. We're stumped!
Over the past month, the barking has lessened. We've been our old self on walks and with most people. (Except a few different people from inside the car... weird). He does still have growling episodes at random noises almost daily. Sometimes its a car door slamming, or a truck driving by. Other things don't phase him, like the door bell.... !?
We did just recently have him neutered (yes, officially got ok to not show him!). We are saying our prayers that this calms down the emotions! Please say some prayers with us!!
More of our summer travels, including happier, posts to come!
