Well, Ramsey is actually getting closer to 3 now; and he is definitely becoming more mature, losing a bit of the puppiness. He has also entered the challenge stage again. Basically, when you tell him to “sit” or anything else, he will think about it and sometimes just ignore what you are telling him.
However, going back to the simple beginners basics and working with him, is easy enough. When he knows that he isn’t going to “win” the challenge, he does what he is suppose to do. Though, he is still in the challenge mode.
Other things have definitely improved. For one, he isn’t barking “as much” when he is in the car as we pass bicyclist and bikers. (For whatever reason he has never liked these things.) Plus, he has begun a new behaviour; singing with me and/or the radio. Of course, he barks rather than howls. (I had a dalmatian who would “sing” with me by howling.) Either way, it makes training him not to bark in the car difficult, as I can’t seem to help not laughing when he is “singing.”
He still has his allergies and the vet had him on steroids for a couple of weeks (which really helped) as well as another pill – which didn’t seem to help at all. He is currently on a lamb & rice dry food (recommended by the vet) and we might end up with an even more organic type of food eventually.
All and all, I still think he is a great dog. He is very social with people. He loves little kids; and of course other dogs. That is another area I am continuing to work with him, teaching him that just because there IS another dog around doesn’t mean he gets to run off and play with it.