Treats for Tricks

As a tasty Halloween treat for my canine friends here at the Fort, I whipped up a batch of whole wheat pumpkin biscuits.
From what I've seen, the dogs really love these and gobble them right up! Here is the recipe, for those who are interested.

Hope's Pumpkin Biscuits
2 1/2 c. Whole Wheat flour
1 c. pumpkin
2 tbs. peanut butter (natural, without preservatives or artificial flavors)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1-Preheat oven to 350 fahrenheit
2-Whip together all ingredients, stirring until you have a stiff dough. Roll out until it is no more that 1/2" thick. You can cut the rolled dough into squares or shapes, though I prefer to use cookie cutters.
3-Set the cut pieces onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and cook in preheated oven for 10-20 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces), or until stiff.
4-Place cooked biscuits onto cooling rack to cool, and then share them with your canine friend!


Have a great weekend, and a Happy Halloween!

Hope

Please Welcome Lucy and Checkout Tazzie!

She assessed this morning. Lucy is a darling little five pound, black, Havanese. She did superb upstairs in the little roll... She played nicely and was quite the social butterfly lol. Lucy is welcome back to The Fort anytime.

Enjoy your weekend, Happy Halloween... Time to get my pumpkins carved!

-Grant
P.S. Look at our friend Mizz Captain Tazzie! Hahaha perfect, she's definitely ready for an All Hallows' Eve party!

What a Tank! ;)

This last Tuesday (the 26th) we had an assessment that I didn't mention. Check this guy out, his name is Tank! Tank's Aunty Stella attends The Fort and now he has joined the pack upstairs in the Little Roll. He is a one year old, 13 pound, Pomeranian Mix. Tank did very well with the other dogs, he even sprinted and played a bit. We hope to see him more often!

Take care,

-Grant

Our Pumpkin Patch Trip :)

(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

The wife, pups, folks and I took a trip to a really neat pumpkin patch/corn maze in Auburn last weekend. I thought you'd all enjoy some of our photos. We had Polo pulling our pumpkin cart (even me at one point, he is doing great at cart pulling) and Gibby posing for some Kodak moments lol.

Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. It's not too late to checkout a patch, maze or haunted house. We found the patch we went to using this site.

Perfect Book!

Miller's ma Tracy let me borrow a wonderful dog book: The Dog Lover's Companion to the Pacific Northwest - The Inside Scoop on Where to Take Your Dog By Val Mallinson Illustrated by Phil Frank.

I've been thumbing through it over the past few days and think it's the perfect book/gif for a PNW dog lover. The book shows you where dog friendly spots are (including off leash dog parks) throughout Washington and Oregon. It describes in detail what you can do, where you can eat and where you can stay. Very cool!

Cheers,

-Grant

Fall Fun Day 2010

Another awesome Fall Fun Day was had this weekend. Fido made an appearance, he passed out candy and high fives to all the kids. There was a bake sale, petting zoo, games, pony rides and many great costumes. Enjoy the photos (Click to enlarge)!

Have a nice day, stay dry!

-Grant

Pumpkin Portraits

Miller and Paisley's mom Tracy sent us these adorable pictures. The resemblance between the jack-o-lanterns and the dogs is quite uncanny! The artist must be incredibly talented--I usually stick with the typical triangle-face jack-o-lantern.
Click on the pictures to view full-size images.












Have a great weekend,

Hope

Welcome to Blue, too!

Today was five-month-old Blue's first day at daycare! While at first she wasn't quite sure what to make of it, toward the end of her day she was wagging her tail and approaching the other dogs. We're confident that once she gets into the swing of things, there will be a lot more playing in her future!

She's got a lot to live up to-- her older sister, Lila, has been coming to The Fort since she was a pup!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Hope

PS-- Check out this news article about a life-saving alert given by an 8-month old pug. And did you ever wonder why dogs shake off water? Also, if you have children, you may want to come down to the U.P. Fire Station tomorrow (from 10am - 1pm) for Fall Fun Day 2010. Who knows, you may run into Fido there!

Gadzooks it's Gabe!

Gabe came him for his assessment this morning. He is a dapper, 1 year old, 40 pound, mixed breed that was a doggie daycare regular in Illinois. We tried Gabe out in the Medium Roll where he absolutely flourished. He had a grand time, we are pleased that he will be attending The Fort.

Our phenomenal food Kumpi came in today... Just got done unloading it, I'm spent lol!

Take care,

-Grant

Little Roll War

What a great clip here from the Little Roll, Frizzy and Zhuni in a Tug O' War! It's perfect when we can capture moments like these.



Take it easy today,

-Grant
P.S. A couple good links = Dog missing for eight weeks reunited with owner and Dogs for autistic children help 'stress and behavior'

How to Walk a Dog

(Click Photo to Enlarge)

By Erin Witzel of fire wolf design. She sure has hit the nail on the head with this comic! Very funny, how true, love it!

Cheers,

-Grant

Mondays in the Medium Roll

New friend of The Fort Abby has a blast with Barkley and Lucy in this clip!



Take it easy,

-Grant
P.S. I wanted to leave you with a good article that I found this morning... Safety tips for dogs on Halloween.

Doggie news of the day

Here's the story of a courageous puppy born with no front legs.





Dog hotel makes room for toughest customers

Seattle and Auburn will participate in The 2 Million Dog March for canine cancer research on Nov. 7.

Here's some more info about that Blue Buffalo food recall.

Next Saturday, you and your pet can participate in the Woof Woof Walk at Spanaway Park.


Have a great weekend!

Hope

Mighty Maximus

Maximus assed early this morning. He is a handsome, two year old, 70 pound, Yellow Labrador Retriever Mix. Maximus is a good dog! He didn't play as much as we would have liked him to... We trust that will change rather quickly once he get's a few sessions under his belt and becomes more comfortable.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-Grant
P.S. Two good links found today, checkout: Ask Dog Lady: Dump the dog or the boyfriend? and How to tell if your dog is a pessimist... Interesting, I think the last quote from that article just about sums it up "A dog who is being destructive is a dog whose needs aren't being met."

-= Oodles of Doodles =-

Three striking Golden Doodles, Brady, Roxie and Rufus sprang into The Fort this morning for their assessments. Four year old Brady, the oldest of the three, seemed eager to meet the pack. Roxie and Rufus are seven month old litter mates, each did well with Brady in the Medium Roll. Rufus was enthusiastic and could not wait to get started. His sister Roxie was reserved at first but did manage to make some friends. All in all the Doodle trio did fantastic, we will be seeing them again soon!

Cheers,

-Grant

- Meet Phoebe -

Phoebe had her assessment this morning. She is a five month old, 20 pound (?), pleasant little Vizsla. Phoebe played fabulously in the Medium Roll, she was as lively as the best of them! We think she will get a lot out of attending doggie daycare and can't wait to see her again.

Take it easy,

-Grant
P.S. Check this out: Euthanized Dog Comes Back to Life. My goodness, talk about an awkward situation!

Boxing Day (Fort Fido)

Miss Samantha and Mr. McGee were at it again today... This clips shows their boxer love affair lol, it's neat to see two dogs of the same breed drawn to each other.



I found a cute/funny dog picture on Digg today, take a look at "I'm so happy I fell" hahaha. Also, checkout the new Kumpi fan site: www.kumpilove.com

Take care,

-Grant

Zach and Zoey ! !

Zachary and Zoey are best buddies! They are even good friends with Fort Fido's friend Gracie. Zachary is a five year old, 24 pound, Blonde, Lhasa Apso. Zoey is a six year old, 24 pound, Reddish Blonde, Lhasa Apso / Bichon Frise Mix. Zachary ventured out and greeted the pack well. Zoey took her time but did socialize a bit with Zachary in the lead. These pups did just fine in the Little Roll and we hope to see them again soon.

Have a nice sunny Monday! ;)

-Grant

Saturday Playtime

Size sure didn't matter to the guys playing today! A Bichon named Charlie and Bailey Magoo, a Golden Doodle, were best buds. Check out this clip full of prancing and play bows!


I caught another great clip this afternoon, and couldn't resist sharing it! Golden Doodles Bella (black) and Gemma (apricot) got together for a romp this afternoon.


Have a good weekend!

Hope

PS--Here's a nice story about a puppy rescue I came across today.

A bunch of doggie news!

New Dog Halloween Costumes for 2010

Pacemaker implants help pooches live longer lives

We can't get enough Rufus

Cesar Millan Returns for 'Dog Whisperer Season 7'

Ask Dog Lady: Is it ok to visit dog that I gave up?

What can an adopted dog bring to your life?

Have a nice weekend,

-Grant

Big Rollers!

Yesterday was all about the medium dogs, so here are some clips of the big side for today!

First up we have lab-mix Denali and boxer Sam playing together. These two were buddies all day long.


Next is a clip of a handful of wild labs-- Buddy, Ryker, and Pepper were caught on camera running like mad. Those guys sure are full of energy!


-Hope

PS: If your dog is looking for a nifty costume to wear this Halloween, check out the Doggie Couture Shop. Just look how adorable they are!

Outstanding clips from the Medium Roll

Here we have Koji ripping it up with Walter, Niko and Trevor. It's The Fort at it's absolute best. Those guys are going to be tired tonight!



In our second clip we have Miss Mandy messing around with Trevor. What's so amazing about it is that Mandy is 12 years old! She has been going to doggie daycare since she was a puppy and still has a blast. Maybe you can teach an old dog a new trick?



Have a good one,

-Grant

Good stuff!

Our buddy Briggs (Carona's brother :) has been featured on the Standing Stones Photography Blog! Also, just so you know, Standing Stones does some great Pet Christmas/Santa photos. You can see some examples here. Very cool!

I have a couple neat links for you today.

Somehow I saw the Oprah show last night, she had amazing animals on, that is the only reason I watched it... I swear lol! Checkout A Hero's Welcome from her site.

This one is rich, First Dog Bo is the real leader in the White House according to Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan.

Enjoy that sun,

-Grant

another nice assessment

Penny assessed this morning, what a cutie! She is a darling, four month old, ten pound, Labradoodle. Penny is one happy little gal, she started out in the Medium Roll and did just fine. She knows how to play well with others. Penny is welcome back anytime, we hope to see her again soon.

Take care,

-Grant

Today's clips

Here are a couple of clips from the action today. In the first one, Olde English Bulldogge Louis romps with his buddies the Husky Polo and Goldendoodle Bella.


Upstairs during ball time, Gibson only wanted to romp with Cooper, but Chip kept his eye on the ball.



Have a good weekend!

Hope

Roll out the Welcome Wagon!

This morning the Fort was jam-packed with three assessments! We welcomed Abby, Doug, and Zhuni into our pack.

Doug, a Chug (Chihuahua-Pug mix) and Zhuni (a miniature Schnauzer) went up in the little roll. Here they are checking out the lay of the land. And the toys. :-)


Abby is a 10-month old Golden Retriever, and she played with the medium dogs. She found a friend in Polo, and the two of them had a few nice romps.


Have a good weekend!

Hope