Sweet Saturday Action!

I caught a few really neat clips of the dogs in action today. First up is Emily and Jasper! These two dogs hit it off right away and were playing together on and off throughout the day.



Gordon wanted a turn to play with Jasper too!


Lastly, I caught a clip of Ziva and Winston joining in on the fun.


In the doggie-news, I found a couple of really great articles.

The Mushing Mortician revives sled dog

Groups disagree on when dogs and cats are "geriatric"

Now that summer is coming up soon, here are some tips on hiking with pooches!

I saw this article, and I just had to post it. We see things like this a lot here at the Daycare--dogs want to behave, they want to do the right thing; we just have to make sure we are communicating in a way that they understand. Owners set the tone for dogs' behavior

Science says: dogs and cats definitely dream

I hope that you guys have a great weekend!

-Hope

Busy week ends with Gregarious Gracie!

We did it! Not that I doubted us, or any of the new dogs for that matter lol... But, you just never know sometimes. Needless to say, I don't Blog about the canines that don't cut the mustard. Luckily, it's rare, we chat with folks about their dog far before the assessment date. We also go over our handy application. We've carefully designed the questions on it to give us all the information we need. Nine times out of ten, we'll know if a dog is going to work out here or not. Long before they step one paw into the lobby. :) I've touched on this before in my post "Giving The Boot".

All six of our assessments (new dogs) passed this week. There wasn't one "hitch in our giddy-up" haha. Excellent!

Now onto the show... Say hello to Gracie. She is a lively, one year old, thirty-five pound, Australian Labradoodle. This is a popular breed for us at Fort Fido. These dogs are cute, active and hypoallergenic. We definitely see why folks fall in love with them. Gracie sprinted around our Medium Roll like there was no tomorrow. She fits right in with that high-energy group. We believe Gracie will learn a lot here at The Fort. She'll certainly expel some of that "doodle-power" at the very least.

Here she is, just starting to get into it with Tilly...



Then, a bit later, she has officially "Busted Out", look at her go!



Enjoy your rainy weekend,

-Grant

Double Header Success

Woo-hoo! We are 5-0 for assessments this week. All of the new dogs have been exceptional.

This morning we met Buster and Rocky. Both were admirable young canines that had a lively time in our Medium Roll.

Meet Buster. He is a ten month old, fifty pound, German/Australian Shepherd Mix. Buster is all dog and has a strong look. He played briskly, straight from the get go. Buster spoke great "DOG" and found a best friend in Macs. He also enjoyed new dog, Rocky, immensely. We've said it before, sometimes, "opposites attract".



Now on to Rocky. He's a six month old, fifteen pound, Pug/Dachshund Mix. Talk about personality! Rocky has a spunky and energetic spirit. Like buster, he pretty much went straight to play once he got to the play area. Rocky attempted to get every dog to play with him and they pretty much did lol. Rocky liked Buster too, it was neat to see two newbies hit it off so well.

Buster and Rocky qualified to attend The Fort whenever they like. Hopefully we will see them regularly. They are the type of dogs that truly benefit from coming to Fort Fido. Who knows, maybe they'll be "down a notch" tonight as well, then their owners can also benefit.

;)

Take care,

-Grant
P.S. This just in, another new pup tries out tomorrow, what a week!

Pay The Piper

You know I love this dogs name! ;)

Checkout Piper... She is a nine month old, seventy-five pound, Rhodesian Ridgeback. Piper had an absolutely entertaining stay with us in our Big Roll. She fell into the doggie daycare groove instantly! It's obvious that Piper has been around a dog or two in her short life. Her play style is fast and furious, yet seemingly gentle at the same time. Piper was a joy to have here at Fort Fido. She is very sweet and we will welcome her with open arms upon her return. Well done!

Ahh, so far we are 3-0 for assessments this week. We most certainly hope we stay the course. Tomorrow there are two lined up, our fingers are crossed lol.

Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. How could I forget, here is a clip of Piper and Ziva rippin' around. Too cool!

The Real Mackenzie

It's always fun to reference a great band lol but I digress...

Meet Mackenzie! She is a beautiful, eight year old, seventy-six pound, Husky/Great Dane Mix. Mackenzie is a very neat looking canine. She is mostly black and white, with a hint of brown on her legs and across her back. Mackenzie spent the morning in the Big Roll and she did quite well. Although she didn't play, she was a nice addition to the pack. Her cool, calm, collectedness was a breath of fresh air. Mackenzie didn't mind the other dogs and she seemed quite content hanging out with the pack. Fine job today Mackenzie, we will see you on Friday!

Take it easy,

-Grant

The essence of Emmett

In this morning for his assessment was Emmett. He is a six month old, forty-two pound, black with a white chin and chest, Newfoundland/Border Collie? Mix. We have several assessments scheduled this week. If the others are anything like Emmett, we will most definitely be in luck! Emmett, a dog daycare regular, hung out in our Medium Roll today. At first, he wasn't too keen on being the only pooch in the play-area. As dogs began to arrive, Emmett quickly relaxed and began to engage. Almost instantly, it seemed as though Emmett befriended the whole pack with his communication skills. He was a pleasure to have here today and we hope he'll return to The Fort soon. Checkout the clips that follow to see a bit of the Emmett Action.





Happy Monday! ;)

-Grant
P.S. Just stumbled onto this link from King 5 = Social media helping homeless dogs and cats find new owners. Way to go!

Looking for cool dog stories?

According to the Seattle PI reported that today is National Puppy Day! Click on the link to check out some adorable pictures of all kinds of pups.

There are a lot of healthy lessons that dogs can teach us. Daily exercise, plenty of water, and adequate rest are just a fact-of-life for dogs. Portion-controlled, nutritionally balanced, and routine meals are also great for any animal (us included!). Even owning a pet has health benefits-- dog owners especially are more likely to get exercise than non-owners.

After the death of his owner, this pup had a hard journey finding his way to a new home. Thankfully, it all worked out for him.

This story is a little sad, a dog saved his family by alerting them to a fire, but now is nowhere to be found. Hopefully this turns into another great reunion story--the power of social networking and media has helped to bring a lot of pets home.

Speaking of reunions, a pup lost in Texas, was reunited with his family almost 800 miles away from home, after having been missing for more than a week.

I had known that this was true for cats, but I didn't know that black dogs are also much less likely to be adopted than light-colored dogs. So if you're adopting a pet and notice yourself gravitating towards the most lightly-colored companions, remember to consider the "shadows" in there as well.

One shelter dog did an amazing good turn for a teen volunteer who was taking her for a walk--the pup saved the teen from assault by a registered sex offender. Way to go dog! The pup has already found a forever home, and is looking forward to a great life.

The Air Force held a funeral in Ohio for a military working dog, honoring his many years of service. That service included deployment in Iraq, and assisting authorities with over 500 arrests. He also worked with Customs and Border Patrol and is credited with recovering over 20 pounds of narcotics. The funeral included a procession by a Patriot Guard motorcycle escort, a 21-gun salute and the playing of "Taps."

I also found this really touching story about a funeral home director whose life was changed by a stray dog, and who is doing his damnedest to return the favor.

Enjoy the sunshine guys!

-Hope

Burly Biff

Biff is a 60-pound English Bulldog who attended Fort Fido for the first time this morning. Despite his size, Biff rolled with the medium dogs and he really seemed to thrive in that group. He was very polite, and even passed inspection by Miura, who is a really great alpha female on the medium side. Needless to say, Biff is welcome back to stay with us at any time.

One of Biff's buddies from today was little Bogie, a Boston Terrier. They played together really well, and we caught a great clip of the action.

Everyone get out there and enjoy this sunny weekend!

-Hope

New Blog Gadgets and Clips

Boy o boy lol, we are becoming so very tech-savvy around here. Our Facebook page is taking off like a rocket (Go ahead, "Like Us"!) and Hope has even started putting together a nicer version of our YouTube Channel. I have added a few neat features to our blog. You can check them out to the right of your screen. We now have a fancy Facebook link, a list of our favorite posts, and if you scroll down a bit more, you can see the top-viewed blog posts of the month. We are having a lot of fun with this stuff and it is great FREE marketing for The Fort. :)

We will also be launching a brand new website soon, it's been a labor of love for me. We just gotta have a new site with all of our overnight boarding info!

I'll leave you with three clips.

Big Roll


Medium Roll


Little Roll


Take it easy,

-Grant
P.S. If you are looking for something to do this weekend you could do this and or this... I highly recommend the latter, it is a wonderfully-fun, hell of a good time! Tickets can be purchased at the door, dress nice. ;)

P.P.S. Did I mention we are on Facebook? Hahaha!

Neato News... Facebook!

Found these links earlier, they're all pretty awesome, enjoy!


For Iditarod winner, a legacy of loving dogs

Dog helps ailing girl by carrying oxygen tank

'Stunt Dog' show promotes pet adoption through amazing canine tricks

Former Marine to be reunited with canine comrade

Training of prized dogs a family affair

How to handle dog aggression

Wiener dog race supports city animal shelter

Find the 5 best dogs for your family

Show dog author explains why we love our dogs so much

Talking dog Clark G loves heroic canines and bacon

Cheers!

-Grant
P.S. I have been dragging my feet for awhile but... We are now finally on Facebook, yayyy! Hope has a lot to teach me hahaha, I've been out of the "Social-Networking" loop for years now lol.

Some Clips

It's been a busy day around here. Everyone has been working extra hard to get our overnight boarding plans in gear. There is lots of planning, marketing and running around to do before Memorial Day weekend in May... That is when we will be kicking off our 24/7 canine care operation, how exciting!

I'm going to post some clips now, that is all lol.

Miss Bella "The Dane" returned for a visit today. She's bigger and happier than ever. Bella played with lots of dogs in the Big Roll pack, taking quite a liking to Gus... Boy is he popular!



Also in the Big Roll, Grady, was being his normal happy-go-lucky self. He is a great dog, pay no attention to the fact that he looks like he is getting "beat-up" in this clip haha. Grady goes a million miles an hour while playing, sometimes the pack needs to slow him down a notch. This helps us and it is a good thing!



New Mastiff pup Tilly showed up this morning. She is doing mighty fine, making many new friends, including Terrier Bad-Boy "Lil Gus".



Take care,

-Grant

Jolly Jasper

This morning we met up with Jasper at The Fort for his assessment. He is a two year old, eighty pound, Flat-Coated Retriever. Jasper is very well versed in "Dog Speak". He is also a Dog Daycare Veteran, being a regular at another Tacoma area daycare. All that being said, Jasper made our assessment process simple. He passed with flying colors and had an entertaining stay. Jasper played with just about everyone in the Big Roll, positively outstanding for a first day! In the clips that follow, you can see him hamming it up with Gus, Mollie and Ryker.







Hope your week has started off good,

-Grant

Crazy, Confident Kaipo!

Crazy in a good way, of course!

Today we welcomed Kaipo (whose name means "sweetheart" or "sweetie") into our pack at Fort Fido. He is a year-and-a-half old Corgi/Australian Cattle Dog mix, who is sassy and confident with the other dogs. I caught a cute clip of him when he first got here, tearing it up with my boy Gordon.

Kaipo didn't limit himself to just the one playmate--he wanted to jump right in and tear it up with the whole pack, from little Pearl to big ol' Hank, and most everyone in between. He was a furry ball of energy, taking advantage of every minute that he was here. Needless to say, he is welcome back any time!

-Hope

P.S.--Have a happy St. Patrick's Day, if you are inclined to celebrate ;-)

_ Magnificent Milo _

Get a load of this fine specimen! Meet Milo, he is a two year old, about seventy-five pound, red colored, Golden Retriever. We led him into our Big Roll this morning where he absolutely thrived. Milo played hard with several different pack members, specifically, Maximus and fellow Golden Mollie. It was great to have such a well-balanced new dog. Your typical "dog's dog", Milo communicated well with the others and had an easygoing demeanor.

We believe Milo thought he had "died and gone to heaven" while attending The Fort lol. Crackin' job today bud, we hope to see you in here again soon.


Here are two quick clips of Milo enjoying himself this morning.





Enjoy your weekend and have a happy/safe St. Patrick's Day. I have a big weekend ahead. The Band and I are playing at the Daffodil Queen's Coronation this evening, the St. Paddy's Day Dash in Seattle tomorrow morning and then multiple "establishments" in the PM after that. Good times!

;)

-Grant

Red Dingo Plug and 2 Links

Red Dingo is a really neat company and I thought I would plug them again. We have carried their line of pet tags for about four years now. If you haven't checked them out, please do! They have added dozens of new designs over the years (especially the last year) and their products are the epitome of quality.

In the past, I would get my pet tags (for my two cats at that time lol) made in this machine, that reminded me of a boardwalk penny-crusher, at a big-box-pet-store that will go unnamed ha... The tags were always kind of flimsy and the engraving was faint, hardly legible. The Red Dingo pet tags, however, are of a very high quality. They are good-looking, last forever and are readable without a magnify glass. They're most definitely Fort Fido's pick for pet identification tags. You can browse the Red Dingo catalog in our lobby. If you find a tag you like, we'll whip ya up a quick order form. Your tag will arrive in your mailbox within a matter of days. I've often been pleasantly surprised with the speediness of Dingo's system. Don't worry, my chicken-scratch hand writing will not be the font of the tag. ;)

In other news... I was emailed two good articles from HomeAgain Pet. Here is one with some down and dirty Dog Training Tips, the other is a short story about Spyder the Border Collie.

Take care,

-Grant

550 Survivor Art Collars & Leads are here!

Check 'em out!



Also, two funtastic clips from the Little Roll today for good measure.





Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. Better link Mike/Jinx up again = 550 Survival Art!

Tender Tilly

Funny... I heard we were assessing a Mastiff. So of course, I had the image above in my mind. Little Missy Tilly, however, was nothing like I thought she'd be lol. At least not yet!

Tilly had her assessment this morning. Let me tell you, this canine is still very new to the world at barely three months old. She is a Bullmastiff, twenty-seven pounds and the picture of innocence, at this point anyway haha. Tilly was unsure of the Medium Roll and the other dogs in general. Her brother Bailey attends The Fort but he wasn't with her this morning. Tilly started to warm up and become less fearful of the pack after a couple of hours. In our opinion, this one will be busting out in play soon. She just needs some more time at this tender age.

Way to be Tilly! We understand, sometimes the world can be a "big scary place", especially for a babe. You didn't do half-bad. We bet you'll be enjoying your stays here a lot more in time.

Take it easy,

-Grant

Hello

A few neat articles for you that I found this morning. Two great clips from today follow.


Here is a fun photo set of the Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show.

The many health benefits of dog ownership Fresh air, cardio, snuggle-buddy, someone you can rant to that will just listen hahaha, just to name a few!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Dog House This man's architecture has always been fascinating to me. His dog house design is just as funky and cool.

17th Annual Ugliest Dog Contest For the last three years, I've checked out images from this event. Every single time I do, I end up rolling with laughter. It's a must see.


Medium Roll Mondays, every dog is in high spirits, particularly this group!



Bear has been doing a fine job in the Big Roll. There is a lot to learn in there as a pup, he's coming along nicely and listening well.



Stay dry this week,

-Grant

Saturday News Round-Up!

An injured marine is trying to adopt the military service dog that was her partner, before the Corps puts him down. Former Corporal Megan Leavey and her partner Rex hunted for IEDs in Iraq during two tours of duty, and were both severely injured when one exploded near them. New York Senator Charles Schumer has taken up their cause, and is trying to hurry up the bureaucratic red tape associated with adopting former military working dogs.

Aliy Zirkle has taken the lead in the Iditrarod. If she wins, she will be the first woman to have done so since 1990. There's still a lot of race left, so who knows what is going to happen?

This weekend at the CenturyLink Field Event Center, you can go check out the 74th annual Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show. In addition to the "best in show" conformation competition, there are agility, rally, and obedience competitions.

At the Westminster Dog Show, there is an annual "dogs only" art auction. This year, two price records were broken--“Dejeuner,” a painting that shows dogs and cats eating from a large dish, set a record for the artist, William Henry Hamilton Trood, when it sold for $194,500. That record was broken an hour later when Trood's “Hounds in a Kennel,” showing a half-dozen dogs staring at a bird outside their cage, sold for $212,500.

At the London Olympics, working dogs are to play key anti-terror roles. Passive bomb-sniffing dogs are gearing up for the massive crowds expected to descend on London for the Olympics later on this year. Passive sniffers are trained to be constantly on the alert, rather than sniffing dogs that are given a command to search luggage or persons.

A list of the top ten dog breeds in Seattle was published by the AKC. The top ten are Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, German Shepherd, Poodle, Yorkshire Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Boxer and Bulldog tied for ninth, and Havanese in tenth place.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-Hope

New Stuffs

Here are a few shots of the cool new products that we got in (click on photos to enlarge).

Ya gotta try shaking one of these "Boingo Balls" it's like a fun dog maraca lol.

New Chuck-It "Flying Disks", Kong Safe Stix and glow in the dark balls o my!

My favorite, a really cool treat-puzzle-toy. It will keep some pups busy for awhile.

Honestly, what's better than a Green Rubber Monkey? Haha!

Three Stylin' new patterns from Lupine - Wet Paint, Sunny Days & Webmaster.

Restocked Racks...

Our Sample of the coolest leads & collars ever, coming soon folks!

Last but not least, some swell clips from the rolls today.







Have a wonderful weekend,

-Grant

- Competent Cooper -

Say hello to big Cooper! He is a three year old, ninety-nine pound, Labrador Retriever/Rottweiler Mix that we assessed today. Cooper is no stranger to the dog daycare scene. He attended a doggie daycare in Virginia regularly, a great thing for us!

Being extremely socialized and well versed in "Dog Speak", Cooper did amazingly well in our Big Roll Pack. It's almost as if he had been here in the past, this canine fit in that good.

Cooper has a very unique and impressive look, although this picture doesn't do him justice. He is all back with a hint of white on his chest. His body is inherently Rottweiler and his head is all Lab. It's pretty neat, we've never come across a dog with this appearance.

You are welcome back anytime Cooper, we hope to see you again soon.

Take care,

-Grant

Admirable Arly

Meet Arly! She is a ten month old, about forty-five pound, white/light peach colored, Goldendoodle that had her assessment a few weeks ago. Arly has been by The Fort once a week for a couple of sessions now... She is here to sharpen and hone her "Dog Communication Skills" and become more social with other canines. Arly has been spending her time in our Medium Roll and hasn't done half bad. She doesn't mind the others and isn't fearful or anxiety ridden about the situation. She just won't play, yet! We will never count her out. It would be of no surprise to us if one day, Arly busted out into rigorous play with members of the Medium Pack.

The wily one-eyed Marley, almost got Arly to play last Wednesday. He pulled out every trick in the book (Exaggerated Play Bows, Spins, Butt-Pushing lol, etc...) to entice her into activity, however, it didn't quite happen. Arly is a great dog with a striking look. She is wonderful with people and is welcome to Fort Fido anytime. Hopefully, with consistent attendance and time, she'll "let her hair down" a bit and enter into that realm of play which is the heart of our operation. Luckily for her owners, although she isn't "playing" much, she doesn't just lay around. She's big on prancing about, getting a quick rear-end sniff in and generally being active. That's mainly why we think there is still much hope for this fine doodle gal.

Take it easy,

-Grant

Snow?

Whoa! Woke up this morning to the sound of crunchy ice under car tires... I thought to myself, "No way!". But sure enough, it snowed last night lol, just in case you didn't notice. Luckily the light dusting we received didn't put a damper onto any Fort Fido plan, twas smooth sailing today. Very nice!

Pops (David) went on a trip to get some new dogs toys. The majority of our toys come from a "cash and carry" type of place that specializes and only carries pet supplies. Ahhh Toy Day. It's a bit of fun and work rolled into one. You have to budget, pick out what you think will sell, what you think people will like, price each item and then organize the whole lot into our small retail space. It takes a couple of hours and we usually take turns. I'll post up a picture with some of the new merch soon.

In the very near future, we will be carrying an absolutely outstanding line of locally made collars and leads. They are made, by hand, by none other than Jinx's dad, Mike. He specializes in custom work and I assure you, these are the coolest dog leads and collars ever! Not only do they look awesome, they are extremely functional, comfortable and super-heavy-duty yet light. All of us at The Fort are quite excited about getting them in and we think y'all will enjoy them too . Gibson is going to get a custom one made for sure! :)

I'll leave ya with a few clips.

From the Big Roll... Love was in the air, Golden Retriever Love that is! Benny and Mollie were a hot item haha.



The Medium Roll was more fun than a barrel of monkeys!



In the Little Roll, Dwayne hooked up with Little Pearl and busted out even more! Every dog upstairs seemed to be having a blast today.



Cheers,

-Grant

Linkage

Over the weekend I stumbled on a cool link from King5. It's Seattle's top 10 dog breeds, have a look, I'm not too surprised with the list.

Here are a few links from the news today:

The 40th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race - There are some spectacular photos in this one.

Dog survives 53 days in the wild - Of course Dooley made it, he's a Sheltie for Pete's sake lol!

Tips for helping your dog drop that winter weight - Fort Fido can also help with that one ;) .

Dog registered to vote - No comment on this one hahaha.

Naming your dog often a matter of breeding - Great article.

Hope your week has started off well,

-Grant

Lucy stirs 'em up!

Little Lucy had a great time getting the pack to play chase games her. She took a few seconds to play with Bear, Emily, Gordon, and Winston, before taking off to rip around the play area and see who would follow.


(Sorry about the weird audio--our camera is on the fritz!)

Americans spent $50 billion and change on pets in 2011. Wow! I was really astounded to see the grand total--it's really clear that we love our animals here, and try to give them the best that we can.

In Illinois, a dog helped to alert rescuers to an elderly woman who had fallen into the cold waters of a drainage ditch. Way to go pooch!

Dogs are helping to track down giant pythons in the Everglades.

The ceremonial start of the Iditarod was today, with the real race beginning tomorrow afternoon. These dog athletes have a heck of a race in front of them! 975 miles from start to finish, the Iditarod is one of the most grueling races a sled team can compete in. If you are interested in watching live streams or learning more--check out www.iditarod.com

Be seeing you next week!
-Hope

Sassy Sammy

Meet Sammy! He is a three month old, twenty-one pound, black and white colored, Puggle (Beagle/Pug Mix) that had his assessment this morning. We put Sammy in the Medium Play Area. He really wasn't sure what to think of things at first, we weren't even sure that he would "bust out" in play... Lucky for us and his owners, he did! After about an hour in the Medium Roll, Sammy not doing too much, Gus arrived. He began to pull out all the stops (Playbows, spins, face-licking etc...) to get the new recruit to play and wouldn't ya know it, Sammy went for it. From that point on it was "game over" for the sitting-around stuff. Sammy began to play like there was no tomorrow, with several different pack members. He truly enjoyed himself. Swell job this morning Sammy, you are welcome to The Fort anytime. A special thanks to Gus for helping us out, he really got this Puggle-guy moving in the right direction. I'll end this post with three fine clips of the Sam Man warming up to the gang.







Enjoy your weekend,

-Grant
P.S. Another Puggle that is a friend of Fort Fido is Buddha. When that fella comes, look out! He's always tearing it up. :)

Belated Birthday Wishes & Little Roll Clip

Pupcake celebrated her first birthday last Tuesday. I have been meaning to mention it but have been busy. Luckily I saved a picture of the cute pail her owner brought in. It was filled to the brim with snausage treats for all to share. On behalf of all the dogs that scarfed them down, thank you Diane, that was incredibly thoughtful and kind.


Now for a random shot of the Little Roll from this morning. The littles were in their not-so-rare form today, galloping about and chasing down toys. A fun time was most definitely had by them.



Take care,

-Grant