I watched a cartoon just last year that I really enjoyed, but for the life of me, I can't remember the name. I'm pretty sure I even saved it on a hard drive, but since I can't remember the name, I can't find it. I'm pretty sure I originally watched it on Youtube.
Here are the details, which might be a bit vague and mis-remembered since I only watched it once last Christmas.
This is a Russian (or at least Eastern European) cartoon. It's stop motion (99% sure). It's a short, though I can't remember if it's a 7 minute short or a 25 minute short (I told you this was vague--my memory isn't what it used to be!). I think it was made in the 60s or 70s, though it could have been made as early as the 40s and as late as the 80s. There's almost no dialogue, though it's definitely not a silent era short.
The basic plot is: a boy comes home to his cabin in the woods with his dog. They're warming up inside when the dog sees a snowman(?) through the window and starts barking at it. But when the boy comes to the window, he doesn't see anything, so he scolds the dog. This happens a couple of times, until the boy is annoyed enough that he puts the dog outside. The dog ends up wandering into the woods and gets lost, shivering. The snowman helps the dog find his way back to the house by morning. When the boy spots the dog, he is so happy because he thought he might have lost his dog. They go inside and celebrate Christmas. (Or maybe New Year's--it's Russian after all.)
Does this sound familiar to anyone? I've been trying to rack my brain to come up with a title, and any kind of search I do on Google doesn't turn up what I'm looking for. I figured of all places, this forum might have some idea of what I'm talking about. It was really good, so I'd like to watch it again this Christmas season. Thanks!