All kinds are welcome!

Today we had a good mix off all sorts and sizes here at the Fort. Trevor, a mixed-breed, played with Golden Retriever Phoenix while another mixed-breed named Gabe played with Cooper the Pug. In the next clip you can see Bella the Poodle playing with Bella the Golden Doodle. They must've known that they had something in common!





In the news--I found a couple of stories of miraculous survival. First, a dog survived a plane crash in B.C. In another story, an Illinois dog survived the recent tornadoes. In South Carolina, a dog survived a house fire by hiding out in a full bathtub.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hope

Mighty Maggie!

This morning Maggie the Irish Wolfhound had her first day here at the Fort. At eleven months, Maggie is already more than a hundred pounds- as a member of the tallest dog breed, she may even have more growth coming! Because of her great size, Maggie started off with the big dogs. In that roll she was fairly timid, so the morning crew decided to move her over to the medium side where Maggie proceeded to bust out the moves with Australian Shepherd Chewy. We even got a couple of short clips of the action!

In this first clip you can hear Nancy narrating, lol.




-Hope

Did you know?

Did you know the meaning/origin of the name "Fido"? I didn't either but here it is...

Fido is a variant of the Latin name Fidel and the meaning of Fido is "Faithful", "I am faithful" or "I trust". Here is a link to more about the origin of the name.

Ever wonder why your pup religiously smells the floor when entering or exiting The Fort?

It's because dogs have scent/sweat glands on the bottom of their feet!

From Wikipedia: Natural dog odors are most prominent near the ears, and from the paw pads. Dogs naturally produce secretions the function of which is to produce scents allowing for species and individual animal recognition by other dogs and for use in scent-marking of territory. This is a feature they share with other canids.

For me, this explains what my mom and I call "Corn Chip Feet". Yes, smell the bottoms or pads of your dogs paws if you are brave enough... Ironically they don't stink, they smell like Fritos. Hahaha it's natural see, yum, sweaty dog feet! Want more about this topic lol? Check out this discussion from dogster.

Take care,

-Grant

three rolls three clips

First from the Little Roll... Baxter and Nugget have a go at playing.



In the Medium Roll, Jack and Niko became best buddies today.



Last but certainly not least, in the Big Roll, old man Hanky takes on young buck Briggs. Unfortunately we were unable to edit out a Lulu poo in the background... This video clip was too good, so we let it go. Sorry lol. ;)



Cheers,

-Grant

The Dog News

The perfect dog if you have asthma? (I'm thinking a really lazy, I mean, non-active one. We don't have very many of those types here at The Fort lol.)

Royal Wedding Dogs (Neat vintage photos and paintings!)

10 dog secrets (A few good tips in this one.)

Iran tries to make it illegal to own a dog (Interesting...)

Helping Dogs & Cats Contaminated by Radiation (Very cool, it will help protect people as well.)

Take it easy,

-Grant

a bit about the KING KONGS

Kongs are really great dog toys that are made in the USA.

Kongs can help you and your dog in many ways. There are various ways to utilize the Kong toy, they come in different sizes and styles for different dogs.

For puppies, they can relieve teething pain, suffice their need to chew, strengthen the jaw and help set their new adult teeth.

For other dogs, Kongs can be used as jaw aerobics, they can help relieve anxiety through chewing. They can be a wonderful training aid, used as a treat or even thrown and retrieved. Kong toys entertain and satisfy many dogs. You can even boil them in chicken or beef stock to enhance the smell and flavor. Kongs can be stuffed with carrots, peanut butter, cheese, Kumpi (kibble) or even frozen yogurt. Freezing a Kong lengthens the chewing time.

Today we caught new puppy Buddha chewing on a Kong. As you can see he loves it.



Hope you had a nice holiday,

-Grant

We're Back Online!

Thanks to the computer skills of Gary, we have managed to evict a rather nasty virus that had prevented us from making a blog post yesterday. Good thing we have a computer expert on the payroll!

Here's a glimpse of what the Fort was like on this sunny Saturday!



And lastly, here are some articles about current dog-related events.

A dog who got lost after being spooked by the sonic booms last August is now back home.

Some Earth Day ideas for you and your pet. A day late, but as I have been reminded-- every day is Earth Day! We carry biodegradable poop bags here at Fort Fido, if you are looking for a green alternative to plastic bags.

Rescue dogs are poised to be named New York's official State Dog.

Today is the last day of Arfs and Crafts, benefiting the Prison Pet Partnership.

Thanks for reading!

Hope

More Wonderful Photos

(Click on any photo to enlarge it)

Four of my favorites that Dakota's mom Michelle sent me...


And one from Diego's mom Carla, it's just like the Alpha Dog pic from yesterday, funny! Diego and his friend Coco lounging.

Enjoy that sun!

-Grant
P.S. Don't forget to send me in photos of your dogs that attend The Fort. We love getting them and our blog viewers like checking them out as well. It's fun to see what they are up to outside of daycare. :)

Alpha Dog & Diego

(Click photo to enlarge)

Rainier's mother Joyce sent me that hilarious photo titled "The Alpha Dog..." too true right? hahaha, thank you Joyce.

Yesterday, later in the afternoon, our manager Hope caught a really good clip of Beagle pal Diego playing hard with Barkley. She wanted to make sure I got it up on the blog... Diego can be a bit difficult to capture playing on film. ;)



Cheers,

-Grant

Please welcome our newest Buddy!

The o so lovable Buddy was in for his assessment this morning... He has had it planned out for some time now and is finally eligible. He is the brother of the beloved Hunter.

Buddy is a handsome, three month old, five pound, Black and White, Shih Tzu. We took him upstairs and boy did he flourish. He was raring to go, happy, excited and curious. Everything you would want in a new young pup, especially one on their first round of The Fort.

Buddy spoke pretty good dog for a baby rascal, he also frolicked some with the others. I was told he fell in love with Ginger, a long time Fort Fido friend, she is a spunky, Miniature Australian Shepherd.

Right on Buddy! We know we'll be seeing lots of you, rest up and be ready for more action! :)

Take care,

-Grant
P.S. Just a heads up, we have another Basic Obedience and Leadership class, featuring trainer Garrett Stevens, scheduled (May 31st - June 16th)... Get signed up if you are interested.

Ruff and Tumble

Woo man... This morning's assessment was Ruff!

:)

Ruff is a four year old, seventeen pound, exceptionally cute, Bichon Frise / Miniature Poodle Mix. What a nice guy Ruff is, he spent time upstairs in the Little Roll and did good. He sniffed around a bit and even played some. It was actually quite a "smooth sailing" ;) assessment. We think that Ruff enjoyed his stay, he is welcome back anytime, hopefully he returns soon.

Happy Monday, welcome back sun!

-Grant

Take a peek behind the scenes

The dogs today seemed as excited as I was to have a little sunlight coming in through the garage doors! Here are a few clips featuring our Saturday crowd frolicking in the bit of sunlight we could catch.







Find something nice to do outdoors, and enjoy that sunshine while we've got it!

-Hope

Joyful Jack!

Joining the ranks of the Fort Fido Boxers today was Jack. Even though he is just six months old, Jack is already almost fifty pounds! He is going to be a big boy when he finishes growing. Jack played in the medium roll with two other six-month-old Boxers, Stella and Jasmine. All told, there were five Boxers at the Fort today!

Jack settled in nicely into the daycare environment, and played happily on and off throughout the day. This morning, Jack was caught on camera playing with a Husky named Polo.



Jack made a great addition to the pack, and we welcome him back anytime!

-Hope

Celebration Hank Style

Yesterday, Hank and his owners celebrated their three year anniversary... Three years of attending Fort Fido :). They were so kind, bringing in dog treats to share as well as balloons. Thank you Margaret and Lynn and of course Hank, for being such wonderful customers. We truly appreciate your business, you have been so kind and supportive over the years.

Cheers!

-Grant

Upbeat Annie

This morning was assessment day with Annie. She is a cheerful, four year old, seventy-two pound, Golden Retriever. We tried Annie in the Medium Roll and she did pretty well, she even played a little bit, which is always good on a first day. Annie's niece, Gracie, has been coming to The Fort for about a month. I'm sure we will see the two in action here someday. Annie is welcome to comeback to Fort Fido anytime. We are glad that she seemed to enjoy her stay and hope to see her back soon.

Take care, stay dry out there today!

-Grant

links

Herding dogs control sheep at Battleground Ranch

Fido's First Impressions

DNA used to fight dog poop

Bedbug-sniffing dogs do battle

Now you gotta watch this one, Blind puppy has seeing eye dog!

Take it easy,

-Grant

Starting the week...

With a clip from the Medium Roll.

Here we have Barkley and Chance (sporting a new short hairdo) engaging. These two are sure buddies and what healthy play they are exhibiting in this one, very fair and balanced. Good stuff you two, just the way we like it around here.



From the Big Roll you see Happy and Buddy exchange "hugs" lol.



Happy Monday!

-Grant
P.S. The band and I made it on to the TV again... Here is the link , we show up 7:25 minutes in, you can fast forward to it. :)

A Dose of Doggie News!

This adorable news story is about a pair of dogs, Scarlet and Rhett. Rhett is a blind Miniature Pinscher and Scarlet is a Chihuahua mix that serves as his guide dog. There is a news clip on the page with the article.

Reading that article reminded me of another touch story of animal friendship a friend had forwarded to me. A white-tailed deer in Buffalo, NY appointed itself protector of a Canada Goose who had lost her mate.

In other news, the U.S. Postal Service is going to honor Owney, historic postal dog, on an upcoming forever stamp.

In this news story, you can learn about a heroic border collie who sprang into action when his owner was trapped beneath a fallen tree.


I hope the sunshine we had yesterday finds its way back for the rest of the weekend!

-Hope

ending the week with clips

The Big Roll



The Medium Roll



Looking for something to do tomorrow? Drop your pooch off at The Fort ;) then hit up The 78th Annual Daffodil Festival Parade at 10:15am in Downtown Tacoma. Come down and watch, you'll have a blast! You might even spot me in the Clan Gordon Pipe Band. We are playing in three of the four Daffodil Parades tomorrow (Tacoma, Puyullup & Sumner). It will be a fun-packed-busy day!

Have a wonderful weekend,

-Grant

Another Epic Dakota Pic

(I say you got a knack for this Photography thing Michelle...)

Dakota's mom Michelle sent us in another outstanding photo. This is Dakota in the great state of Montana. Very cool, literally! Well done! :)

Bomb-sniffing dog has new home

How do you know you're ready to get a dog

Dog that escaped fire found safe

Tsunami castaway dog returns home

Take it easy today, hooray for a drop of sun!

-Grant

clip it up

Our Lil' Rollers are having fun as always...



In this one from the Medium Roll, Walter busts out all the tricks to entice Rainier into play.



Cheers,

-Grant

Shot Reminders

Surely you've seen one of these before, right? If not, you are really on it! :)

It's that time again... The First part of the month. This is always a busy time for us here at Fort Fido because it is time to update our shot records. Every month we remind folks that they have one more month to get their pets updated Vaccinations/Fecal Test Results in to us. If the month passes by and we haven't gotten an update, those individuals go on the dreaded, spooky, scary, "Black List"! Ahhh! Ok, I guess it's not that spooky or scary but your pet can not come back until we get the updated records. We don't mean to be a pain, we just like to keep all of our canine pals in tip top shape, safety and health. I know we can all agree on that! The easiest way to get us your updated records is to have your Vetinariran fax them to The Fort (253-460-0241).

At Fort Fido we require our doggy friends to be up to date with DHPP (Distemper Combo.), Rabies & Bordetella. Fecal Tests are also required, we ask that you get one when your pet's Bordetella Vacination is due. With that said, some may get a Fecal Test once a year, others twice a year. It all depends on how your Vet adminsters the Boretella Vaccine.

Old shot reminders stuck in leesh pockets or on badges, shot record dates hard to decihper, a lack of communication, etc... Mixups do happen! Please go easy on us if you feel we are wrong. We try are best to get the dates correct but it isn't always easy. Double check with your vet to confirm and have a conversation with us. There is never any need to get upset, we'll get everything squared away eventunally. :)

Take care,

-Grant
P.S. One more note, if you are on the "Black List" and show up for daycare or are just busy... We can take your pooch next door to Fircrest Vetinary Hospital and get them up to date for a small fee ($10) + the Vet's bill.

Hello to Monday

Tsunami dog who survived three weeks at sea reunited with owner

Family dog kept missing boy alive

First national mutt census reveals dog DNA trends

Have a nice day,

-Grant
P.S. Yay! I'm on TV lol! Follow this link and fast forward to 3:30 you may spot me in the band. :)

Miss Cleo!

Cleo, a Belgian Malinois mix, has been attending Fort Fido for over four years. Her "mom" recently commissioned a portrait of her from artist S. F. Khan, and it was featured on the her blog Likes to Paint. The likeness is perfect--just check out these photos of Cleo from the Fort!


(Click to view in full-size)

Enjoy that sunshine while it lasts!

-Hope

Welcome Hannah, and Happy Birthday Logan!

This morning we welcomed the sister of Fort Fido pack member Logan. Hannah is a three-year-old border collie/corgi mix. She was a little bit shy on her first day here, but with consistency and strong leadership we don't doubt that she'll come out of her shell and spend more time at play.

Today was also Logan's birthday, the big one year milestone! While I'm not sure whether he "knew"or not, Logan sure had a great time roughhousing with his friends in the Big Roll.

We'll see you all again tomorrow!

Hope

P.S.--In the news, there were some heartwarming doggie stories. A dog was reunited with its owner after a 7-month 800-mile journey. Also, a tsunami-surviving dog was rescued after three weeks at sea.