Action!

Here are some clips of the action from this week. Over in the Medium Dog Program, Finnegan and Noel were tearing it up.

Little Ms. Pearl, up in the Small Dog Program, showing the ball who's boss!

Zoey & Nala are having a great time playing in our Medium Dog Program.

Have a great weekend,
- Gary

Charlie

Oh my goodness! Can I just take a moment to acknowledge how adorable today's assessment was? Charlie is a seven pound, four month old Corgi/ Chihuahua mix. He joined our Puppy Program on a mission to branch out, and get some socialization in. This little guy stole my heart and pulled on those strings right away! 

Not only is he adorable, but he's also a very well rounded, great dog! He had a lot of fun meeting his new play buddies and took a particular liking to one of our Beagles , Rufus. Check out Charlie and Rufus playing together below...

I'm looking forward to seeing this cutie pie again! Enjoy the rest of your evening,
~Shaunte'

Dog Compilation Videos

We all need a good laugh every now and then... Dogs are the perfect animals to put a smile on your face, or cheer you up if you're feeling down. I found some goofy videos on YouTube that I wanted to share with you guys...

Enjoy!
p.s. sometimes for fun, I try to force myself not to smile when watching adorable videos like these; it's a game in a way! Challenge yourself and see how far you can go without smiling. I promise it's a lot harder than it seems, especially if you're an avid animal lover like myself. 

Because who doesn't love dogs looking all guilty? Check this video out!

 Funny dog fails, wins, and much more

Enjoy the rest of your Monday evening,
~Shaunte'

The Week in Clips

The dogs had a lot of fun at the Fort this week. Here are some of the highlights.

In this clip, Sam, Angus, and Sergeant Major, are having a blast in the Large Dog Program.

Here is another clip from the Large Dog Program, featuring Finnley and Ruby.

Zeus and Lucy are tearing it up in the Medium Dog Program.

Here we have Zoey and Niko, also in the Medium Dog Program.

In this clip, Riky Tiky thinks he's being sneaky as he steals the ball from Sully.

Have a great weekend,
- Gary

Penelope

  Penelope was yesterday's high-spirited assessment. She's a one year old, fifty one pound Boxer. This gorgeous girl fit in with our Large Dog Program perfectly... This honestly didn't surprise me though because her "dog cousin", Tucker, already comes to The Fort and has been for years. It probably feels like home to her already!

  She mingled with the pack, and made friends instantly. One of the dogs she ended up playing with quite a bit was another boxer like herself, Maximus . Check them out romping around below! 

  Have a good rest of your night,
~Shaunte'

Malamute Monday

  Malamutes are one majestic and fluffy dog! I have a soft spot for these gentle giants... I love their thick coats, mannerisms, and intelligence. 

  I decided to write about this magnificent breed today for a couple reasons: One, a lot of people get Malamutes and Huskies confused- I wanted to clear the two breeds up. Second, they're such an interesting Breed and I always have a lot of fun looking into certain dog's "histories"; seeing where they originated from and learning cool facts about them! 

  Malamutes are one of the oldest Arctic Sled Dogs known to history. Their forebears crossed over a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska, with native people thousands of years ago. One tribe called, Mahlemuts (photo above), settled in the northeastern area of Seward Peninsula. It was there, that the breed was developed. The dogs were used for many things such as: hunting seals, chasing away Polar Bears, and pulling heavy sleds that were crammed with food and supplies.

 

Rumor has it that they're one of the oldest dog breeds whose original looks haven't change too much. The reason being because when The Gold Rush happened in 1896, that brought a large variety of dogs to Alaska of many sizes and breeds, who could survive the weather. Many native dogs were interbred with these dogs. The Mahlemuts clan was a relatively isolated tribe, so the Alaskan Mahlemutes  survived the dog mix-up better than other breeds. Hence, keeping their looks original. 

Males stand 25 inches at the shoulder, and should weigh around 85 pounds...



Females tend to stand around 23 inches high, and weigh 75 pounds. However, it's not unusual for a well-muscled adult to top 100 pounds. In some cases they can even reach 140 pounds! Now that's a big dog. 

  Personality wise, these dogs will win you over. They're very playful and have super outgoing dispositions; they treat everyone like a friend for the most part. Malamutes love to be included in everything because they're super pack-driven. They don't like being left out or left behind from whatever's going on with their family.

   However, this is a breed that I wouldn't recommend looking into, if you don't have a lot of dog experience, or don't know much about dog behavior. Malamutes are very intelligent. That, being  combined with being high energy, and stubborn,can get overwhelming for new dog owners. They take a lot of patience and training, and do best in situations where they have plenty of room and opportunities for exercise so they don't become restless.

  One thing you do have to keep in mind if you decide to get this breed, is they can become bored very easily.



  If you've been around the block a few times and want to give a Malamute a try, I'd say go for it! With strong leadership, coming up with daily energy burning activities, and having a firm Alpha presence, they could turn out to be the best dog you ever owned. 
 
... So you've all been waiting for it, what's the difference between Malamutes and Huskies?!

                   Husky(left) 

                       Malamute (right)

Well, there's many differences but one of the most obvious is their size. Malamutes are often 2-3 times bigger than any purebred Husky. They have a larger body, thicker coat, and are more closely related to wolves. Oftentimes, Malamutes are the breed people use in movies to play Wolves. 

Typically, Malamutes are prone to having brown eyes only, where as the Husky can have blue and brown eyes- sometimes being multicolored. Visually, Malamutes are more appealing to the eye. They have more variety when it comes to their coats because there's three different lengths.

 
  I hope you learned a thing or two from this blog! I'm still trying to decide if I should get a Malamute or Husky; it's such a hard decision. All I know is that it's going to have to be later on in life, when I have plenty of space for it to roam and lots of time to dedicate to training and bonding activities. 

I'll have one someday though, and I'm very much looking forward to it. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your evenings. 

Talk to you later, 
Shaunte'

Toby

Toby came into the Fort for his assessment bright and early this morning. He is a five-year-old, fifty-pound, American Indian Dog. Toby is a very well balanced dog and had a lot of fun playing with the others in our Large Dog Program. He passed his assessment with flying colors. Good job today, Toby! We hope to see him again soon.

Check out this clip of Toby playing with Fort Fido regular, Champ.

Have a great weekend,

- Gary

Tobin & Finnegan

Tobin was yesterdays bright and cheery assessment. She's a one year old, sixteen pound Puggle that joined our Small Dog Program! Tobin spoke great dog, and acted like she was a natural in this type of environment. She also enjoyed running with the rest of her new playmates, and chasing them everywhere!

Finnegan was today's social butterfly. He's ten months old, and weighs thirty five pounds! This handsome guy is an Irish Terrier full of all kinds of life and spunk. Finnegan was all over the place; he made many friends on his first day including: Zoey, Ernie and one of our newest members, Noel.

Check out Finnegan playing with Noel in the video below!

Tobin and Finnegan are more than welcome to come back for my daycare fun.
Have a marvelous Wednesday, 
~Shaunte' 

Noel

Noel has had a splendid first day in our  Medium Dog Program . She came in here with curious eyes, and ears pointing high to the sky; she was ready to explore her brothers "home away from home." Noel's a Doberman Pinscher Puppy that weighs roughly twenty pounds and is just about three months old.
Check out her handsome brother Marcel, who joined us last winter. Noel made a few friends during her day with us today- but was particularly fond of Nala. 

Check them out playing in this video... 

We're looking forward to getting to know Noel more- as she starts coming here more often.
Have a good night,
~Shaunte'

Kona

This morning we had the pleasure of meeting Kona. She is an eight-month-old, fifty-pound, Shepherd/Lab mix. Kona had a lot of fun playing with the dogs in our Medium Dog Program. Zoey, the Standard Poodle, is the first dog she met and the two of them played together all morning. 

Kona "spoke" good dog and had a great first day. She is welcome back anytime. Good job today, Kona! We look forward to seeing her again soon.

Have a great weekend,

- Gary

Kai, Skye, & Gizmo

 Yesterday was a busy day for us because we had the pleasure of welcome three dogs for their assessments- that were all from the same family. They all did wonderfully and passed with flying colors!

  Kai was the first one that really ventured out and showed interest in playing! He's an eight year old, twenty pound Shih Tzu. Kai's first buddy was an Italian Greyhound named Barkley.

 Skye is a twelve year old Shih Tzu as well, that weighs twelve pounds. She seemed to enjoy her short stay with us and was very well mannered. We noticed that she showed great Dog Speak! I love her expressive eyebrows!

 And last but not least, it's Gizmo! He's a super energetic dog that's eight years old and weighs eighteen pounds. Gizmo was such a happy and friendly dog. Both him, and his two other siblings all joined our Small Dog Program.

Kai, Skye, and Gizmo are all welcome to come back for more daycare fun in the future! I'm looking forward to seeing them again someday. 

Have a marvelous Thursday night, tomorrow's Friday. WOOP WOOP!

Key Bank Display

Every month, Key Bank on Mildred street not too far from The Fort,does a "Business of The Month" display. They have a table set up near the front of their bank, and it's always available for these monthly displays. Guess what? We are the business for April, and I was put in charge to design it all!

We decided to include a basket giveaway with the display since they're always such a big hit. If you would like to be entered into the drawing that we're doing at the end of this month, feel free to stop by the bank and fill out one of our slips!







Within my display, I included several photos of dogs who have attended here over the years... I'll list them below so you can read through and see if you're dog is one of them!

• Sully
• Blue
• Ranger and Scandi
• Hank and Gus
• Augie
• Kingsley
• Miguel
• Oliver
• Verbena and Freya
• Slevin
• Hugo
• Boomer
• Sally
• Alexander
• Pearly Girl
• Stella
• Cooper
• Lucy
• Samson
• Ernie
• Niko
• Stella
• Kashi

Have a goodnight,
~Shaunte'