Monday, November 26, 2012

Albus Photo - Sleeping With a Pillow

Albus often sleeps on the couch. However, he doesn't just sleep on the couch! He normally cuddles up with a pillow also.


So, in this photo, Albus is doing just that. The front/top half of his body is on the pillow, the rest on the couch. His left paw is going out from the pillow and is bent. He looks so comfortable to me, how about you?

Friday, November 23, 2012

Albus Photos - Chewing Bones

Here are some Albus photos of him chewing bones, like the one that he buried!






Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Albus Buries Bone and Digs it Back Up

It all started back when Albus got a bone. He did the usual and took it to his bed.


There he started to chew his bone for a very short time. He didn't even get to eat any of it! He then ran upstairs and almost immediately came running back down stairs and wanted to go outside. Albus went outside with his bone and ran to the side of the yard where he had a tiny hole and dropped it in there. He picked it back up and started running around the yard for a while with his bone. He eventually made it the other side of the yard where he used to have huge hole, it was filled back up though. So, he ran around a bit more. It looked like he was looking for something, but he finally made it to his biggest hole in the yard. Albus dug some there and dropped his bone in the hole. He then buried his bone by moving dirt over it with his nose. He kept doing that for a while and kept sniffing to make sure the bone was still there. He finally stopped and thought he was finished and went back inside.


Later that same day, Albus was lying down on the grass near where he buried his bone. He started to stand and sniff around where his bone was buried. He then started to swipe his paw at the dirt while sniffing. He then started to dig. He wanted his bone back! He kept digging until his bone was barely visible. He got really excited then and started to dig just enough so that he could pull the bone out with his mouth. So, Albus pulled the bone out with his mouth. It went flying in the air and he went racing towards it. He started to eat his bone this time, with mud covered all over it!

Here is a video from YouTube of it: "Dog Buries Bone and Digs Bone Back Up"


Here is the description from YouTube: "My dog, Albus, buries his bone, then later unburies it!
Albus loves eating his bones, he has even put them in holes he has dug before. But, he has never buried it completely before!"

Here is Albus enjoy his bone when all the burying, digging, sniffing, running, etc. was done and over with.




Saturday, November 17, 2012

Albus Barks A Lot

There is no doubt at all that Albus barks a lot! If he thinks we are going somewhere, he barks to let us know he wants to go. If he really wants a treat, he will bark. When he wants inside or outside, he will bark to let us know that. If something exciting is going on, he will bark. If somebody comes over, he will bark. When somebody comes to our home, whether it be us or a guest, he will bark. When we vacuum anywhere in the house, he will bark. Albus also barks a lot when outside and wants to play, run, or he is not being played with. He gets jealous when not being played with!
All in all, Albus likes to talk a lot and wants to be heard!

Here is Albus barking because something exciting is going on
Here Albus is barking outside and wants to play

Here Albus is wanting inside

Albus barks a lot. Do we love him for that? Not everyone in the family loves that Albus barks. I love that he barks, however. It is part of what makes him Albus! 


Friday, November 16, 2012

Albus Photo - Barking Outside To Come In

Here is an Albus photo ....


It is of him barking outside! He is at the door, wanting to come inside. So when Albus is at the door outside and wants to come inside, he barks. He does the same when he wants outside.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Albus Video - Learns to Jump

Here is an Albus video. This will also show some of the progress Albus has made on "Jump"...
"Dog Learns to Jump"


So, now Albus is much better at jumping! He was able to do it about 10 times in a row.
Anyway, the video shows 2 videos of Albus jumping over this bucket lid, and a photo at the end of Albus in mid-stride! Albus gets rewarded with treats each time he jumps over.

Here is the description from YouTube: "My dog, Albus, has finally learned to jump!
I had to do this for a while. When he finally 'manned' it up and jumped over the bucket cover. Albus was rewarded with treats each time he jumped over. And then a bone for the jump with the photo :)
I'm so glad I got him to do that!
Music-- Red Barchetta by Rush (Part- Bridge)"

Friday, November 9, 2012

Albus - Learning to Jump

Albus is a dog that knows what he knows. For tricks, he knows the tricks he knows and is not open minded to new tricks. So, it is hard to get him to start doing other tricks.
Now, he knows:
Sit
Up
Stay
Paw
Albus is trying to learn a new trick though! Called, "Jump"
He has successfully completed this three now, amazingly on the first few tries. He got treats the first two, and the last one he got a small bone!
Sometimes though, Albus still doesn't jump. He will just sit and stare, or go up.
Check out the "Albus - "Jump"" Page (soon to come) for progress on this Albus trick!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Albus and His Cat 'Friends'

So... Albus has cat friends? In a way, he does.
We set out cat food for stray cats to eat! When Albus sees them, he will sometimes go bonkers, other times just stare at them. It all depends on what mood he is in. When he is hyper, is when he will usually want to run outside and play with them. When he is calm and sleepy, he normally just stares, probably wanting to be with them.
These cats do have names....

"Kitty"
This cat is called 'Kitty'. It was the first cat that started this whole feeding thing. It came in our garage and was eating....................... Albus food! We then set Albus food out for it. We then got the name Kitty and Kitty came regularly now. We bought cat food instead of feeding it the expensive Albus food. Which is smaller, and probably tastes better (Albus likes trying to steal the cat food). So, with Kitty coming regularly, Albus was getting somewhat used to it.

"Fluffy"

Here is Fluffy... Our most known visitor. She (or he, but for now she), has fluffy fur as you can see, so we called her fluffy! Fluffy is the cat that shows up most often and eats the most. She is the least likely to run away is startled. 
One time, when heading out and about to the stores, Fluffy was eating. So, we went out, and she barely went away. She only hid in the bushes near our front porch. 

"Milk Cat"
Here we have 'Milk Cat'. It got its name from being partially white, and has stuck ever since. This cat has not come around recently though. It used to come daily, but stopped showing up during the day.


"The Story of Fluffy and Kitty"
Here is Kitty eating in the morning, as usual.............
 But wait... This isn't Kitty anymore?
Yup, that is Fluffy now....
So what happened?
 Now there are both Kitty and Fluffy.
So, two cats?
Yup....... 
Here is how it started:
It was a normal day of cat eating for Kitty. She had some peace and quiet filling her hunger. Until, another cat came from under our car. This was Fluffy. Fluffy was bigger than Kitty. So, Kitty started to back away from the food as Fluffy began slowly going towards the food. Kitty started walking away, back towards the car Fluffy was under. Fluffy started eating and kept looking back at Kitty for a little bit. Fluffy had complete dominance over the food. Fluffy usually stays eating a long while, and this time wasn't different. She was eating for a long time. Kitty started to lose patience and was walking slowing towards the food. As she crept towards the food, Fluffy was staring her down. Were they going to fight? Nope, Kitty just sat there finally after edging closer. Fluffy finally left after a few more minutes and Kitty could return to eating.
Wait a minute.... Albus wasn't in this story???
No he wasn't! So here is a picture of Albus...
In this picture Albus is staring at...... One of the cats! Most likely Kitty or he usually would be standing up if it were Fluffy.

Monday, November 5, 2012

What Type of Dog is Albus?

"What type of dog is Albus?" That is a question I get asked frequently... The answer is not simple though.

When we got Albus, nobody knew exactly what type of dog he was. They did know that he was part German Shepherd though.
His tail usually does stick up (that way he gets to show us his butt, where there is an ongoing 'joke' of "Albus's Butt"). Sometimes when he barks he will carry the bark on for a few seconds, but not like a howl, similar to a Basset Hound's bark.
So, he could be part Hound, or even Husky. He may even be Hound/Husky/German Shepherd. He could possibly even be somewhat wolf, who really knows?

Now, time for you to decide what you think... What breed dog do you think Albus is?


There are some more photos already used in this blog, if you want more help deciding, you can go to the 'Albus Photos' page

Albus Video - Coughing

Here is our video of the week! "Dog Coughing"



In this video, Albus is coughing (twice), both are from two different videos. Often when he coughs, it is just to cough, it appears. Although sometimes, Albus coughs because he needs to throw up! Have your ever had to rush your dog outside so they won't throw-up on the floor? If yes then you know how annoying it can be if you don't get there in time.
Overall this video is not of my favorites, just because coughing isn't a good thing.

Here is the description from YouTube: "My funny dog, Albus, coughed twice while on camera!"



Thursday, November 1, 2012

Albus Photo - On the Steps

It was a normal day of Albus picture taking, which is pretty much every day. Just taking pictures of Albus wherever he went: his bed, upstairs, couch, downstairs, basement, any bed, a room, the floor.... When Albus was on the steps for one of them!


Albus is looking right at me. His back paws are at the very top of the steps, his front paws one step down. This created a wonderful angle to take a picture. So, Albus was stopped at the top of the steps and was getting his picture taken!