))) Here comes 2011 ! (((

2010 was a good year but I'm definitely ready to hail in 2011! Thank you for being such marvelous customers and supporting Fort Fido Doggie Daycare.

Have a joyous and safe New Year's Celebration. I wish everyone much happiness and prosperity for the upcoming year.

I'll leave you with two clips from today. By the way, our new buddy Cooper started playing today, score!





Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. If you are looking for something fun to do tomorrow, head over to the little town of Olalla (right outside of Gig Harbor), specifically the Olalla Bridge. At Noon there is an exciting Polar Bear Jump and bonfire. It's entertaining to watch all the nuts jump into the freezing cold lol... I was one of them two years ago but I only need to be in water that cold once in my life. :)

New Pal Cooper!

Cooper came into Fort Fido bright and early this morning. Although he didn't bust out as much as we had hoped, his assessment went well. This guy is going to be a player, we just know it. Cooper is a very sweet dog and we really liked him. He is a nine month old, twenty pound, all black, Pug. He'll be in tomorrow, hopefully getting a bigger kick out of the Medium Roll this time around.

Take it easy,

-Grant
P.S. Here is a good link for tomorrow night: New Year's Eve Pet Safety Tips

BioBags are in!

Customers have been asking us to get BioBags and we just got some in. If you haven't already heard about them, read on, they are very cool!
BioBag is the world's first fully certified compostable poop bag. They meet ASTM D6400 specs and California Law regarding environmental claims of plastic bag manufacturers. BioBags are made from GMO Free starch, veggie oil and the world's first patented polymer. No polyethylene is used in the production process. They are 100% compostable and meet BPI requirements.

Long story short, these pooper bags rock! Grab a box to try and let us know how you like them. A 50 bag box is going for $9.99 at The Fort.

Cheers,

-Grant

Dapper Dempsey

Dempsey has been coming to Fort Fido regularly since the beginning of 2008! He is a very personable, 75 pound, almost five year old, Boxer mix. Dempsey is awesome, he hangouts in the Big Roll and takes on all comers. One of our most calm and balanced, Dempsey is a key player in the Large pack. Every once in awhile he'll get into mischief and the way he sits just has to be seen to believe (sorry, no picture)... He sits on his butt, upright, like a human would hahaha! His owners are super cool, they keep him on a great routine and understand dogs well.

Take care,

-Grant
P.S. By the way, the guy with the pipe in the picture is Dempsey's brother Dino. He sure looks like a character! Thanks for sending us that photo.

The Cave of the Yellow Dog

Alright, we are back! I hope everyone had a great Holiday, we sure did!

One of the things my family and I did was watch a movie. After seeing The Story of the Weeping Camel, it's director, Byambasure Davaa, had me hooked! I rented The Cave of the Yellow Dog (her next film, almost a sequel to the Weeping Camel) and this is what we watched.

Everyone really enjoyed it, I highly recommend both films! They are quite touching, raw and real, not scripted but not documentaries either. You could call these movies "feel-goods" and they are fine for the whole family.

Have a good day!

-Grant

*** Holiday Picture Post 2010 ***

Woo hoo! I've been excited about showing you guys all of the great Holiday Pet Photos we have received this year. They are really fun and we love getting them. If you click on a picture it will enlarge, you can also find out the name of the dog that way. Here ya go:



















Thank you to all of our wonderful customers (and their amazing K9 sidekicks) for EVERYTHING! You have all been so great and supportive of us and The Fort. We truly appreciate your business. Please have a safe and Happy Holiday.

Sincerely,

Grant, David, Nancy & the rest of the Fort Fido Staff (Hope, Gary, Tim, Austin & Stacy).

P.S. Don't let our happy pooches get too many goodies this weekend or they'll be tearing us up on Monday hahaha. ;)

Take a peek at the fun

This first clip is of Bella the Great Dane, and Louis the Olde English Bulldogge. They may not look like a "matched" pair, but the two of them are great buddies here at daycare.


Trevor, a Bull Terrier mix, was tearing it up in the medium roll. I caught a clip of him playing with Soffee, a French Bugon (a mix of French Bulldog, Pug, and Boston Terrier)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog featuring Christmas pictures of several Fort Fido pups. If you haven't brought in a Christmas/Santa picture, and you would like it to be on the blog, it isn't too late! You can e-mail the pictures, or bring in a copy for us to scan tonight or tomorrow morning, and we'll make sure to include it.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Thanks for your continued support of everybody here at Fort Fido.

-Hope

Happy Hunter and Other Friends

Hunter is always ready to play with his friends upstairs. He is a cheerful little Maltese/Shih Tzu mix, whose motto could be "ain't nothin' gonna break my stride!" Here is a clip of him playing with his buddies Gracie Ann (a miniature poodle) and Frizzy (a Labradoodle). Gracie Ann always loves a good romp. Frizzy, who is still just a puppy, loves to play with just about anyone. These three were all a good match.



Meanwhile downstairs, Taylor (a Weimaraner) was busy playing with Sofie (a mixed breed), but Labrador Daphne and Cocker-mix Buddy couldn't resist getting in on the fun.



I'll see you all again, bright and early tomorrow!

-Hope

Clips and some new news

There was all kinds of fun to be had this morning!

In this first clip, baby Boxer Stella and Rat Terrier mix Koji tore it up! Though very different in age, they are almost exactly the same size.


Here, Abby the Goldendoodle wants to play with Happy, a Samoyed, and she won't take no for an answer!


Upstairs, we saw brothers Buster and Smokey playing with a fiesty little Japanese Chin named Charlie.


Here are some neat news links to check out:

Dalmatian saved from icy water These rescuers deserve a big thanks, and warm holiday wishes for their efforts.

Officer and dog both fine after chase You have to be pretty desperate to think it's a good idea to kick a police K-9!

Dog in Germany gives birth to 17 puppies That's a lot of babies!

Injured dog's selflessness draws tears This dog put her job as mother first, taking care of her new pups (and an adopted kitten) even though she was badly injured from a hit-and-run.

Only five more days until Christmas!

-Hope


P.S. -- Here's a link to some information about a pet food recall. Kumpi has still never been subject to a recall.

Kroger recalls dog and cat food after contamination fears

I found out something pretty interesting today. Although pointsettias get a bad rap for being "poisonous," they are in fact a great deal less poisonous than other common holiday plants. Now, you shouldn't go eating a pointsettia salad (they can still cause drooling, vomiting, and/or diarrhea in pets), but they aren't half so dangerous as mistletoe. Mistletoe may cause gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular collapse, dyspnea, bradycardia, erratic behavior, vomiting, diarrhea, and low blood pressure in pets. So keep that hanging high off the ground!

In other news, here's a look at the daycare from today. There was a lot of action!




Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-Hope

Another round of clips and news

One from the Big Roll featuring Happy and Dempsey, these two sure get along well.



Today in the Medium Roll, we had a hodgepodge of happy go lucky K9's. You can see Gabe playing great with the new Boxer pup Stella.




In the news today I found a few neat articles: Ask Dog Lady: Don't chew out beagle over bad habits, Puppy Love During Finals? & One more mess for Obama: Cleaning up after the dog.

Have a nice weekend,

-Grant
P.S. I'll be back Thursday for our holiday picture post (Bring me in your photos to scan!). For the meantime, Fort Fido Manager Hope will be taking the reigns.

Three From The Little Roll

Another nice day at The Fort. What a bunch of cuties in that darn Little Roll upstairs... You can spot Beija, Buzz, Elvis, Henry, Jaeger, Lucy, Oreo, Oskar, Sammy, Seamus and Tazzie. What great names!







Take it easy,

-Grant

Links found

(Hahaha too funny! This picture had me rolling, Santa Sheltie Baking!)

Cassidy the dog and his new leg! (Pretty neat, bionic!)

Where does Fido go when he dies? (May not be for everyone but I thought it was interesting, especially since it popped up on CNN's main page a few days ago.)

Holiday pet safety tips! (Always good to know.)

Dog tossed into traffic is in good condition. (What are some people thinking? Or not thinking...)

Vick wants second chance to own a dog. (Right... Give me a break!)

Have a great day!

-Grant

Fort Fido Lobby Etiquette

Here are some tips to keep a safe and friendly environment for people and pets in the Fort Fido lobby:

Ask the owner (or a Fort Fido staff member) before approaching ANY dog.

Keep your dog on leash, near you and under your control at all times. Be conscious of your dog's conduct and whereabouts.

Remember that dogs can act very different "on leash". It is best to not allow your dog to greet other dogs in the lobby.

If there is room (AKA no other dogs around) please feel free to show us your tricks for a treat!

:) Thank You!

Take care,

-Grant

Hanz Hawk

What a rad doo our buddy Hanz has hehehe! Punk Rock!

Happy Monday,

-Grant

Playtime!

Check out these clips from today! Even after a long week, these guys had plenty of energy left to romp around today.





-Hope

Sibling Rivalry!

Today I spotted a couple pairs of "siblings" tearing it up in the medium roll.

Trevor and Daphne love to play together. Even when they are at daycare, with lots of dogs to play with, they always take some time to romp together.


Lila and Blue are no different. Once they start playing together, they only have eyes for each other. In this clip, Koji tries to get in on the fun, but the girls are too busy on their own!


Have a good weekend,
Hope

Funny Holiday Pet Photos !

Check these out... Found the link on Digg, pretty funny! CLICK HERE!

Cheers,

-Grant

Baby Boxer Stella tears it up!

Check out Stella entertaining her new friends Bella and Niko in the Medium Roll. She sure is doing great, one happy puppy!





Take it easy,

-Grant

New Toys and Treats in!

Woo Hoo! Come check them out, found some really good ones... I'm a big fan of the "Skinneeez" line.

We were busy beavers today. Gotta fly, take care,

-Grant

Links !

Dog's and fear of strangers

Surprise winner at AKC Championship

Rescuer falls through ice trying to reach dog

Dog alerts owner of house fire

A slushy dog rescue

Happy Monday! ;)

-Grant

A clip or two

Here's a peek at the action at Fort Fido today. Dogs of all shapes and sizes got to play together today, and it was really fun to see how they all interacted.





Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hope

Stylin' Stella

This morning we welcomed another new addition to our pack-- an adorable three-month-old Boxer named Stella. She's starting daycare at the perfect time for optimum socialization, and will probably grow up into a very well-rounded dog. She was eager to meet the other dogs, and wasn't shy about playing with them either. When she gets a little bigger, Stella will probably head over to the Big Roll with the other Boxers that attend daycare at the Fort. For now, though, this 15-pound pup is enjoying her time in the Medium Roll.

We're excited to see her back on Monday!

-Hope

Bouncing Bazi !

Please welcome Bazi! He is a two year old, fifty-five pound, black, Standard Poodle that had his assessment this morning. Bazi went right into the Big Roll (most of our male Standard Poodles start there, they are not a dainty breed lol) but wasn't sure what to make of it at first... Then, one of his good buddies, and a Fort Fido regular, named Raleigh showed up. From that point it was game on for Bazi! He played nicely, had a great time and all in all had a superb first day (we even got a clip of him). Way to go! We hope to see Bazi again soon.

Cheers,

-Grant

More S.A. Stuff

Separation Anxiety seems to be the topic of discussion around here at The Fort. I'm sure you've already read my take on it as it pertains to daycare dogs (If not, here you go 1, 2, 3)...

I thought you may be interested in checking out some other views on the topic. These articles are very good, thorough and somewhat similar to mine. Take a look!

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/separationanxiety.htm

http://www.wagntrain.com/SeparationAnx.htm

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/separation_anxiety.html

Something I just learned (from the 1st article) is that S.A. is the second most common reason why dogs are euthanized or given up by their owners. Sad but true!

Maybe I'll be done talking about S.A. for awhile it's giving me symptoms, hahaha just kidding!

Take care,

-Grant