Long awaited update: dieting, playfulness, cooler weather

Well well well... where to begin.

I guess I'll pick up after my last post. I'm sorry it was so long ago. I've been extremely busy with work lately!

Last I posted, Skeletor was having quite a problem with coughing. His x-ray had not improved since he was all heartworm infested. This was certainly not great news for us.

After about a week on a whole host of various medications, the boy started to feel better. I was able to take him off the cough suppressants well before they ran out.

He had some minor issues with fleas and tapeworms. (which go hand-in-hand since animals contract tapeworms by eating fleas)

The fleas issue was one that we shared. I woke up one morning with tiny bites all over my arm. Wow... it had been quite a while since I was bitten by fleas... they make mosquito bites seem like gentle kisses in terms of discomfort and itchiness!!! No wonder poor Skelly has been so miserable with these critters chompin' on his flesh!

We tried some over the counter drops on his back. These did little to nothing. Fortunately, the doc sold us a drug called Comfortis, which fleas seem to really hate.

So, a few weeks ago, Mel and I started to notice that our pal Skelly was really starting to pack on the pounds. After some consideration, we realized that we were feeding him 3 times a day instead of twice as recommended by the dog food bag.

Something else we noticed was that we seemed to have synchronized eating schedules with him. His food and water are near the table. Whenever we sat down to eat, Skeletor would want to join us. We would just give him a cup of food without thinking twice about it.

It had gotten to the point where he wouldn't even eat his food unless we were sitting at the table.

At first, he was not pleased with his new feeding regiment. He would flip out when we were having lunch without him. He would demand seconds after gobbling up his breakfast and dinner. He would push buttons like crazy (his nose is his tool for pushing buttons. He has been known to nudge people for pets, turn on and off xbox consoles, knock over food containers, push empty bowls across the floor, etc) to indicate that he wanted more food!

After he settled into the diet a little, he became a much more frisky fellow. We did not realize how subtly lethargic and lazy he had become until he reverted to his playful former self.

Lately he has been going crazy entertaining himself. He has dragged every single toy from his toy box. I'm talking everything from favorite new toys to the old toys that he's had since we rescued him that he has never paid attention to for more than 2 seconds. He is suddenly so much more energetic and interested in just about everything!

I have always known that overfeeding your animals was not a good thing to do, but I had no idea what a positive effect a little fitness could have on a pooch.  I guess they are no different than people in that respect. (and so many others!)

So, as you can see, Skeletor is doing VERY WELL!!

He has not been doing much coughing at all. He's been really spry and energetic. His appetite is off the charts!! When we feed him now, he woofs it down and is demanding more before the food even lands in the bowl.

Today, I realized that he's quite a fan of carrots! Now there's a nice dog treat that won't tip the scales. :)

After the bad news x-ray we had in July, I decided to post-pone his echocardiogram for about a month to give his condition a chance to improve. His echo is scheduled for this month (the 22nd I think).

We're hoping that his energy levels are an indication that his heart and lungs have shown signs of improvement! The summer is FINALLY breaking here in north Florida, and holy crap are we all sick of the heat! Skeletor is surely going to enjoy the fall activities we have in store for him :)