A Crazy Man Day

I don't know what's gotten into him today. He's finally napping, so let us just cross our fingers that the rest of the day goes by smoothly. 

I woke up this morning with plenty of dishes to do. So, I put my ear phones on and while singing Tiny Dancer started my scrubbing. (Little did I know, Skyler had also started on his own "project.") Soon later, looking at an almost empty sink, I got that excited "there's only a few spoons left" feeling. "Finally," I thought, "I can sit down with my coffee." 

Well, Mr. Man had different plans for Mommy and it wasn't long until I discovered a living room of toilet paper scraps. An entire roll to be more exact.

While I finished vacuuming up the tiny pieces, he destroyed a pencil he found on the table. And he did all this before he had me chasing him around the apartment with the movie Ryan and I rented last night in his mouth.

I put in his favorite movie and this kept his attention for a short bit:

But a loud truck clunking around outside lured him to the bedroom window and sure enough he started with his "I'm the boss of this place" barking routine. This is a fairly new routine that Ryan and I really have to work on. It's the first time in a while that Skyler hasn't been enrolled in classes. So, I've been searching around online for some advice on addressing this new behavior before it gets too out of control. I did find some great advice for big mouth doggies. And while I don't agree with leashing him and giving him a yank when he barks, I do agree with the concept of distracting him and giving him something better to do. He'd still much rather train and get treats from Ryan and I than bark. So my homework for a few weeks will be to try this method out. Anyone have any other ideas?

He's napping now. I tried to snap a picture, but he opened his eyes and lifted his head quickly. Terrified that I had woken the monster, I wisely tip-toed away.