Only Skeletor could be traumatized by a Christmas card

Proving that he has what it takes to remain the biggest wimp on the planet, Skeletor has become traumatized by the photo shoot for our Christmas card this year. 

I'm not sure if it was our goofy hats, the camera flashes, beeps, or the furniture rearranging... but whatever it is, he now associates with my camera. 

It's no exaggeration when I tell you that he now hides and cowers in the bathroom or the nearest accessible dark corner as soon as I turn my camera on. 

Yes, he literally trembles in fear. 

Wowee... Skeletor you're such a pansy! :) 

Strangely enough, his bad doggie tendencies seem to be strong enough to briefly snap him out of the grips of fear. Yesterday, while he was cowering, Mel rang the doorbell and he instantly forgot that he was being scared and ran to the door barking. After a few moments, he went back to being scared again. 

He's definitely got a case of post-traumatic stress disorder. (read more about PTS in dogs here) The strangest things will freak him out. It's nowhere near as bad as it used to be though... you may recall when we first rescued the boy, he'd spend literally all day cowering in the dark hallway. Now-a-days, his wimp attacks usually don't last more than an hour or two. 

I'm happy to report that a while after his fit yesterday, he was playing with his new ball (thanks Mel!) like that mean old camera was never around. 

He has another present waiting in his stocking. Ho ho ho! 

Another bit of good news... we managed to snap some really nice shots the other day before the traumatic holiday photo shoot took place. Mel and I took Skelly out to beautiful Fort Caroline! :)

Enjoy the photos, and have a very very Merry Christmas!

Can your sanity (or complete lack thereof) be measured by the nicknames you have for your pet?

I remember when I first took Skeletor to dog training and Michael asked me my dog's name. I told him it was Skeletor, and he asked if he had a nickname (something with fewer syllables.) Melanie and I looked at each other and shrugged. We hardly ever call him Skelly in person, even though we use the name online quite often.

Thinking back on that conversation, I realized that I have many, many weird names I call him on a nearly constant basis. I don't use these names when I'm actually calling him mind you, but I say them enough that I'm sure he'd answer to just about any one. (I may have to test that theory)

So, without further ado, the many ridiculous nicknames of Skeletor. If you need me, I'll be getting settled into my straight jacket...

• Mr. Dog - the most popular by far. I can exactly pinpoint the origin of this nickname. It was when I was 10 years old. My stepdad's friend was visiting. He had a son who was a few years older than me. I remember being taken aback with how juvenile it sounded when the boy referred to a tomcat in our yard as "Mr. Cat." I referred to Insano as Mr. Cat for most of his life, and now Skeletor has become Mr. Dog. 
• Old Man - He's not really that old.. a young adult or a teenager really. However, his droopy pooch face makes him look like a grandpa. 
• Pup / Pooch - These ones are pretty standard issue...
• You Turd - A term of endearment that kinda means the same thing as you brat. I let it slip out on Melanie once and found out that she doesn't appreciate it one bit. 
• Doggy! - Another popular one. I'm pretty sure this has evolved from the show South Park when Cartman yells "no kitty! that's a bad kitty!"
• Doggo - This is actually a nickname I created for Sophie when she lived with us. I got a huge kick out of it when she started responding to "Doggo" - her owner Kim, wasn't quite as amused :) Since Sophie isn't around, Skeletor sometimes gets referred to as Doggo. 
• Buddy / Bud - When he's being good or acting pathetic, he'll get one of these praise-infused nicknames
• Senior - The origin here... it's kind of a cross between Mr. Dog and Old Man.
• Mister - Short for Mr. Dog. He gets this a lot when he's misbehaving... ahem... jumping on the couch or bed for example. 
• Hound - When I was in high school, I thought this word was funny for some unknown reason. Probably for the same reason I think a lot of words of German origin are funny. 
• Houndo - A cross between Doggo and Hound

So as you can see, I'm a crazy person. Post your bizarre pet nicknames in the comments so we can go to the nut house together!

An oil painting of Skelly and Insano

Never in a million years could I ever get these two animals to pose like this. So, I had to rely on the magic of Brushstrokes by Susan to bring them together!

This painting is a very early Christmas gift from Skeletor and Insano to Mel. :)
It's Skeletor and Insano hanging out in the backyard of our old house.

Here's Skeletor's Christmas card for Mel (created by yours, truly)

I'm working with Susan to help her sell pet portraits through her website. There's very little time left to immortalize your furry friend in your choice of medium. Oils, acrylics, watercolors, Susan does it all!

While I'm working on the website, feel free to email Susan directly at art@brushstrokesbysusan.com.

A very Skeletor Thanksgiving

I've had more to be thankful for since this wacky pup came into my life. See for yourself!

10. Puppy dog eyes - They help him get his way, while simultaneously warming my heart.

9. Afternoon naps - I have never been much of a napper. However on the rare occasion that I can take one, I really love it! Note: I've been able to take a nap each day for the past 3 days. I think I'm getting old. Old guys rule!

8. Old hats - I never knew what to do with my old hats, until I realized just how much joy they brought to this silly pooch. 

7. Back seat drivers - Though it means my windows are constantly covered in slobber, every time I load this dog into the car, adventure is sure to follow. 

6. Fewer vet visits - Some of those visits were certainly doozies! These days, I'm so happy to report that Skelly is down to just one pill, twice a day. It's great to see him so happy and healthy! Keep it up, bud!

5. Rawhide - I don't like the taste personally, but I certainly get a kick out of watching Skeletor go nuts over it!

4. Dog training - I will admit that I haven't been working with Skelly as much as I should, but he has definitely improved his behavior since attending school. 

3. Pink bandanas - I love the looks I get walking my big manly pit bull around the block while he flaunts his flamboyantly pink bandana! 

2. Skylights - They let in the moonlight so you don't kick the coffee table on the way to the kitchen, and they make for some warm afternoon naps for the pooch. 

1. And the number one thing I'm thankful for this year is everyone! My family, my girlfriend, my newborn niece, my dog, my former cat, my friends, my blog readers, my friends' parents, my friends' children, my clients, and my vendors. You guys and gals simply rock!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Skeletor says goodbye to an old friend (his rope toy, that is!)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video worth?

Anyways, take a look at this video, and I'll type some words as well.



The other day, Skeletor was full of youthful vigor and/or angst. He destroyed one of his oldest toys, which was donated by one of his wonderful blog reader friends (Let me know if you recognize it in its current state) and once a very tough green and white rope tied in a knot at both ends. Before that, Mel caught him trying to eat my webcam. I was very lucky because she caught him before he did any damage. *phew!*

I have seen this dog destroy things before, but he's never really been a bad chewer. He did eat part of my brother's leather jacket (sorry, Ian!) He ate a friend's cell phone (sorry, Shawn!) and He has certainly eaten his share of delicious leather belts.

I have known young male dogs in the past, and they were a hundred times more destructive than Skelly has ever been.

Knowing Skeletor, it's probably his way of trying to tell us something. I think I know what that something is. "Hey buddy, I don't have anything yummy to chew on!"

I think I'm going to add rawhide to Skeletor's Christmas list.

Skeletor was not being bad, he was just misunderstood!

I should have known that there was something behind Skelly's recent drastic behavior change. His appetite for couch lounging had increased tenfold. He was so determined to get on the couch, that he bypassed our dog repellants.

I began to wonder if it had something to do with his bed being too old and flattened out. It was indeed starting to look like a giant rectangular pancake!

Mel and I went to walmart to scope out the dog bed scene. His old bed was of very high quality, but the stuffing just wasn't what it used to be. Underneath the bed was nothing but hardwood flooring.

They had some good deals on new beds.. a rather nice one for about $30. However, we decided upon a big bag of pillow stuffing.

I returned home, unzipped the 2 layers of his old dog bed. Tossed the old stuffing, and washed the rest of the bed. An hour or so later, it was all dry. I simply dumped the bag of fluff into the old bed, zipped it up and gave it a good fluffing.

Just $9 later, he's got a bed that for all intents and purposes is BRAND NEW!!!

Lo, and behold.. his attitude has completely changed! He barely bothers getting on the couch anymore. He really seems much happier all around (and lazier I might add :)

Goes to show... often times dogs may seem like they are acting out, but they're just trying to tell you something.

Whatagoodboy!

Suddenly those tasty acorns have taken on a sinister persona

A while back, our pal Skeletor had a very, very upset stomach.
We were quite worried when he puked for um... 12 hours straight.

Though we never found out exactly what the little guy had gotten into, we had certainly considered that it could have been from ingesting acorns.

We have a plethora of acorns outside our house. Skelly has been know to snack on them when nobody's looking. I read that acorns are no good for doggies.

About a month ago, we started noticing some noise coming from the back porch area. Melanie pointed out that it was getting worse. At first, I thought it was squirrels running around on the roof. But then I thought to myself... how do squirrels get worse? 

Then it dawned on me... those acorns! The giant trees were dropping them like they were bad habits. The colder it gets, the more frequently they hurl them suckers downward. 

Sadly we have not done much handing out on the back porch, and it's the perfect weather to do so! Melanie's been really busy going to school online to get her master's degree. I've been working my face off trying to rule the world. 

Today, I decided to take a break and get some fresh air. I let my pal, Skeletor tag along. We were only out there for a few seconds when an acorn smashed into the roof. This really scared the crap out of poor Skeletor. It scared him so bad, he lost his footing on the tile floor. After that he was not too interested in the fresh air, so I let him back inside. 

Hours later, I decided to snap a few photos of him in his nifty pink bandana. (I bought the pink bandana for "Race for the Cure" which Mel and I participated in last week.)

Wouldn't you know it, this vicious pit bull is still shaken up from the acorn incident! Oh, the poor little guy! Here's a video