albert hits high park with his posse

Albert and Stella hanging out:


Albert and his crew hit High Park today for a stroll and the little dude loved every second of it! He got a lot of attention from passers by, and when people found out he was a rescue beagle he got lots of extra pets.

Most beagles should be on-leash 100% of the time because they really do follow their noses, but Arthur and Stella are 'special' beagles. They actually can go off-leash and do come back. (NOTE: We have been training them to do that since puppyhood...don't try it with just any beagle!)

Because Albert is a rescue beagle he stays on his leash all the time (unless he's in a fully fenced park) and probably will for the rest of his life. As I said, most beagles are never reliable because of their instincts, and Albert's got ALL the beagle instincts!

We got him a really long training lead so that he could do a bit of jogging with the posse though, and he really seemed to love running along with the other dogs. Arthur and Stella went swimming in the stream, but we kept Albert well away from the water. He's had a stressful week...the last think he'd need is panic attack if he fell in!

Stella taking the boys out for a joy ride:


Stella and Albert sniffing:


Observations:
-Albert was a little unsure of the car on the way to the park. On the way home, however, he was curled up in the back seat sleeping.
-He had his first bath today (buh bye pound scent!) and was great! He didn't love it, but he stood still while Adam washed him up and didn't freak out at all
-Albert seems to really want to be friends with Arthur. After their day out, I look over and found this:



What's on the menu for dinner you ask? Well, we went out to freshen up the wet dog food supply (Marna got us hooked on Merricks wet food!) and all the beagles will be enjoying a lovely feast of kibbles mixed with "Rocky Mountain Rainbow" aka rainbow trout, yukon gold potatoes, carrots, zucchini and fuji apples.

Geez...the dogs eat better than Adam and I do!

PS
As I write this, Albert is busy burying his rawhide with a blanket on the couch. It's pretty hilarious to watch actually. We bought him a Kong today and we'll fill it up with treats later on to see what he thinks!

Albert's first 24 hours

Albert's first 24 hours with us have been really encouraging! When we first met him at the shelter, he sat under a table trembling. He came out to see Arthur and Stella, but remained really shy of people. Didn't matter to us...he was so cute and sad looking, and you could see the potential oozing from the little guy!

Vet Visit
Albert's first vet visit went smoothly. He was very good with the vet, and allowed himself to be examined without even making a peep. The shelter originally thought he was between 7 and 9, but the vet thought he was probably a little younger. Adam and I actually think he might be much younger...maybe around 4 or 5.

The vet thought Albert's spleen was a little enlarged and did an ultrasound to double check. There were no other warning signs detected by the ultrasound, and we found out last night that his bloodwork was perfect! *yay* Albert!

His poor teeth, however, are another story. He's got 2 shattered teeth and the vet thinks it is likely from chewing on rocks. The thought of a dog living in a kennel chewing on rocks for comfort makes me want to cry!

Alberts next vet visit will entail some dental work to fix/remove his bad teeth, and neutering procedure which will hopefully help his little habit of humping Arthur whenever he gets a chance.

First Day at Home
Albert has settled into our beagle pack quite nicely. It took him about 10 minutes to lose the shy act with us, and Arthur and Stella (while a little confused about the new dude in town) have been excellent with him. Albert is curling up on the couch and snuggling with us like he's been in the family for years.

He is responding well to his name, and is starting to understand the command 'come'. We are teaching him to sit, stay and lay down, and also using the command 'off' when he tries to counter surf or dive over the couch.

Albert is not fully housetrained, but he's doing a lot better than we had prepared ourselves for. His accidents in the house seem to be him marking territory rather than him having to go to the bathroom. We can tell he is starting to respond to our 'pee pee outside' command (man I feel like a loser for actually typing that!)

We are also using the 'umbilical' concept that Brad Pattison (dog trainer, and host of "At the End of My Leash") uses. This consists of Albert being on his leash in the house, and with either Adam or I with him. This way we can be really consistent with his training, and we set him up for success 100% of the time.

We do, of course, let him run around the house for periods of time with Arthur and Stella so that he can establish his place in the pack, and explore (but under our supervision so if he looks like he's going to have an accident we can get him outside before he does).

Observations:-Our neighbours were outside smoking yesterday. Albert reacted really strongly to the cigarette smell. His tail went between his legs, and he started pacing the backyard. It was pretty obvious that he was nervous, and something about the smell had triggered the reaction. We'll keep an eye on that, but at this point it's pretty clear that a non-smoking forever home would be essential.
-Albert is awesome walking on a leash! He doesn't pull, he's really responsive and seeing his little tail at full mast and the look of wonder in his eyes is so amazing.
-No problems with this guys appetite. He eats his food like a champ (he's a big fan of Merrick's "Grammy's Pot Pie). He isn't into cookies though. He does like a good rawhide bone every now and then. We're going to get him a Kong today to see if he like it.
-Albert has been sleeping in his crate at night. He loves the quilt we've put in it and doesn't make a peep at night. Actually, he rarely makes a peep! He barks only if Stella or Arthur sound the alarm when someone is coming up the stairs, otherwise he's a quiet little guy.

We've nicknamed him 'Albert the Wonder Beagle' because he is a very different dog than we saw in the shelter! He's a really lovely dog with a nice personality and disposition. Why this guy ended up in a shelter is beyond us! I'm just glad that Marna was able to save him, and that we are able to be apart of it!