Bear & Lulu

Bear came in for his assessment Tuesday morning and I must say, he had a blast! Bear is an eight year old chocolate lab/mix that weighs sixty five pounds and has the energy of an energetic puppy. He came in here a little shy, but once we introduced him to our  Medium Dog Program he met Frankie, a red Labradoodle that's about a year old. They instantly bonded with each other; those two played and played like they've been friends for years. It was cool to see Bear keep up and play with a dog that's so much younger than him. Check out the clips below to see those two in action!
 

This gorgeous girl joined us bright and early this morning with her tail all curly like a cinnamon bun, and her nose to the ground; she was very curious and eager to explore her new daycare. When I first saw Lulu she melted my heart. She's as soft as velvet and reminds me of a little mini Husky. She's actually a Shiba Inu that weighs sixteen pounds and is one year old. Lulu showed wonderful dog speak as she entered our Small Dog Program. She scoped out the area, and became familiar with her new pack as she mingled around, sniffing everything and wagging her tail. 

I think Bear and Lulu will get a lot out of coming here for daycare. They're both happy, energetic dogs and I'm looking forward to seeing them again. 

Have a good night,
~Shaunte

Wilbur

This morning we welcomed Wilbur into Fort Fido. Wilbur is a 2 year-old Labradoodle. He was curious as he entered the front door. We had Wilbur start out in the large roll where he fit in well and hope to see him return soon!

Stay warm,
- Zach

Lucy & Sherman

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of meeting Lucy. Lucy is a 2 year-old 50-pound Australian Shepherd Mix. I noticed that she had a young and playful aura about her so we had her start out in the medium roll where she played around and socialized with the rest of the pack. Take a peek at the video we caught of Lucy, Walter, and Petey.

Sherman entered The Fort for his assessment today. Sherman is a 10 month-old, 75-pound, labradoodle. He was cautious as he first entered the large roll but I noticed that as more dogs came he began to socialize and relax. After a few more dogs entered, Sherman began to play with Brix and let loose his inner fun as part of the pack. Watch the clip below. =)

Stay warm,
- Zach

Beautiful Becket & Missie

This morning we had the wonderful pleasure of welcoming Becket and Missie into Fort Fido.
Becket is a 50 pound, 1 year old, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (very pretty and soft brown and white fur). She came into Fort Fido calm and eager as if she knew that The Fort is a place to relax and have fun at. Becket socialized with the pack in medium roll and definitely made a lot of friends today.
Missie is a 23 pound, 2 year old, labradoodle (adorable!). Missie entered The Fort confident and ready for the day. She got to mingle about with the pack in small roll. Missie is figuring out that Fort Fido is a place to make new friends and enjoy.
Both Becket and Missie did well for their first time here and we look forward to seeing them return for more fun.

Enjoy the break from the heat,
- Zach

Cano & Charlie

Yesterday we Assessed the kindly Cano here at The Fort. He is a one year old, thirty-five pound, cream colored, Labradoodle. Cano came in Chipper and happy to be here. We escorted him to the Medium Roll, where he entered without a care. After sniffing around a bit, we had him begin to meet the pack. Cano first met up with Jupiter, and within seconds, the two dogs became playmates! It is quite clear that Cano is no stranger to canine communication and socialization. He is already a Dog Daycare Veteran, as he attended another Daycare in the past as a pup. Cano was an absolute pleasure to have in here, we hope he becomes one of our regulars!

Checkout Cano in action with Jupiter.

This morning the Fort Fido Team had, Charlie, in for his Assessment Day. Charlie is a three year old, thirteen pound, Miniature Poodle Mix. This cute little fella jaunted with us upstairs to the Little Roll. Inside, he explored his new found surroundings with his nose to the ground. Once he got settled, it was time for Charlie to meet the other canines... Which he did pleasantly. Charlie had no problems fitting in with the play group and having a good time. When "Ball Time" started, Charlie loved it. He chased after the thrown toys, and really enjoyed pursuing the pack as they chased after toys. We are pleased that Charlie had a nice time here today. He is most welcome anytime.

First-rate jobs Cano and Charlie, way to be!

Enjoy your weekend, and have fun at The Open if you attend.

-Grant

Romping Mazy

Good Morning! Yesterday we welcomed Mazy, a 5-month-old female labradoodle. At first Mazy was shy when entering Fort Fido, but as soon as some others began to enter the medium roll, along with Mazy, she warmed up and was playing like there was no tomorrow. Mazy was having a blast with Shiva, as seen in the video below.

Mazy continued to play with Shiva, enjoying her first day here at The Fort.

We look forward to having Mazy return to Fort Fido (as does Shiva!).
Happy Spring,
- Zach

Shining Button

Today we got to Assess the excited young pup, Button, who yes, is as cute as one lol. She is a three month old, twenty pound, cream colored, Labradoodle. Button strolled right into The Fort today, eager to play with Angel in the medium roll (seen in the video below). Button shined all morning having fun socializing with the pack. We look forward to having Button return for some more fun.

Stay happy & dry,
- Zach

Jax the QT

To cap off a busy week here at Fort Fido, we assessed the extremely-cute, Jax. He is a wiggly, three month old, fifteen pound, brown/apricot colored Labradoodle. This little dude is quite the "heart-melter" lol. We escorted him to the Medium Roll, and although he would have done just fine with the little dogs, we wanted him to get his "socialization on" real proper like, and have him grow into his newly found pack. He needs to watch, listen, and learn, from some of the bigger and wiser canines.

Jax sniffed about the play area happily, just ecstatic about meeting the other dogs he knew would arrive. We had him meet up with the young live-wire, Daisy, first. It happened to be an excellent choice for a first meeting, because the two dogs hit it off in an instant! Hardly getting any "sniffs" in, Daisy and Jax skipped introductions, quickly proceeding to play.

As time passed and the pack grew, Jax continued to "meet and greet" with all of the canines, and play with a few different ones. He did quite well for a puppy, exhibiting pretty darn good canine-communication skills. Jax is here to socialize, burn off some energy, and learn to be a loveable "Dog's Dog"... You know the type, calm and balanced, good with people, and most importantly, good with other dogs. We believe, given time, consistency, and a little help from The Fort, that Jax can check all of the boxes, while becoming a very well rounded adult dog.

Keep up the good work pup-Jax and owners!

Have a relaxing weekend, GO HAWKS!

-Grant

Marvelous Max

We were in for a real treat with this morning's assessment... Meet new pup Max! He is an adorable, three month old, fifteen pound, chocolate colored, Multigen, Labradoodle. Max is the new "little brother" (technically nephew) of Fort Fido Medium Roll champion, Lucy (who is a "F1 doodle"). Now Max followed "big sis" Lucy into the medium play area. Once there, he explored cautiously, unsure of what to make of the place. As the pack grew in size, Max started to come out of his shell and really interact. Georgie, and others, helped welcome Max, getting him to gallivant with them.

Max is here at Daycare to sharpen his social skills, improve his canine communication, and of course, play hard while getting some energy out! Simply put, this puppy dog is here to learn and have a fun time doing it. Lucky for Max, he has an extremely good teacher at home, in Lucy. She's definitely been helping Max with his "studies", and it shows. Lucy is a very calm and balanced canine, the kind of dog folks want to own, a true testament to her ever popular breed. Hopefully Max will follow right in Lucy's "paw prints" lol. So far, so good, as you can see in the following little clip of the duo:

Max had a very positive first day at The Fort, he did a fine job here. We are stoked to have him amongst our ranks.

Like it has been watching Lucy, it will sure be awesome to watch, Max, grow into a respected adult canine.

Take care,

-Grant

The Shadow Knows

 

Meet Shadow! Now fortunately for us, he isn't anything like the once popular comic character, he is much more easy going, happy, and fun lol. Shadow is a two year old, thirty-five pound, black colored, Labradoodle. He had his assessment today in the Medium Roll, and is staying with us for Overnight Boarding. Shadow is a very nice dog that has been socialized well. He is the younger "dog brother" of Fort Fido Friend Chance... The two make an extremely amusing and striking duo, due to their cheerful personalities and contrasting colors. Shadow is doing well with the pack, and has been enjoying his stay since early this morning, playing quite a bit with Gracie and Yuki, among others. Keep up the first-rate work there Shadow, you are doing great.... O, and Chance, keep an eye on him would ya? Thanks! Haha.

Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. A special congratulations goes out to Teresa & Dennis on their new marriage! Hooray!

Effervescent Emma!

This morning we had the pleasure of adding a sweet old Goldendoodle gal named Emma to our medium pack. Although she is eight years old, Emma is in great shape and had a great time palling around with fellow 'doodle Cody (who is about seven years her junior). These two look like they could have been cousins, even though Cody is an Australian Labradoodle. They were great "peas in a pod" and were caught on camera this morning.



This well-rounded pup makes a great addition to our pack, and will continue to get along swimmingly.

We've been adding a great bunch of pups this week, and a big thanks to all of you for continuing to spread the word about the Fort!

-Hope

- Beaming Bernie -

Meet Bernie! He is a strikingly-handsome, two year old, sixty-three pound, Labradoodle. Now Mr. Bernie is here at The Fort to gain some extra confidence, and we think that he will by attending Dog Daycare. He sure did a nice job today in the Big Roll. He met with a few other canines and also played just a little bit. Given some time and consistency, we believe Fort Fido will benefit Bernie immensely. With regular attendance, the "Dialing-In" of his social skills is highly likely. We hope that this sharp canine will meet up with us again soon, well done Bernie.

Take care,

-Grant

Super Sammy

The other day I mentioned that I would tell ya about the new pup, Sammy, that we assessed. Here is the scoop!

Sammy is a three and a half month old, twenty-six+ pound, Yellow Colored Labradoodle. He is currently enrolled in our Group Training Class (one more week left, good job students!) with Garrett Stevens and new puppy Bear. So, with that said, Sammy has already played a bit with other dogs at The Fort before we even met him lol! This convivial canine is a typical, happy-go-lucky pup. He did a fine job with the others in the Medium Roll pack and romped for a long duration with that little Bear fella, among others. Sammy, like Bear, may or may not graduate to the Big Roll in time. For now, he is doing just fine in the Medium Roll and was a pleasure to have here at Fort Fido. We hope to see Sammy in here again soon, nice job bud!

Enjoy your weekend! I am definitely looking forward to it and it starts tonight for me with the Masters of Scottish Arts Concert at Benaroya Hall. Speaking of Bagpipes.... My band's 49th Annual Tartan Ball is coming up soon. Saturday March 24th, 8:00PM at The Puyallup Fairgrounds Pavilion. Please do attend if interested and say hello. I'll buy ya whatever beverage you fancy.

;)

-Grant
P.S. Almost forgot! Here are two clips I saved from Wednesday that have some Sammy in them... Mostly Bogie though lol. They don't really do him justice but at least you get a peak, by the time these were captured, he was getting tired.

Mellow Mood Milo

Meet Milo! He is a nine month old, seventy-three pound, Gray & Black, Labradoodle that was assessed this morning. Milo is one of the sweetest dogs we have come across, a gentle giant if you will. Mom (Nancy), fell head-over-heels for him lol. He is a very calm dog that carries a happy yet mellow mood which becomes infectious. Apparently, Milo spent a lot of time on "The Farm" and didn't interact too much with anything other than horses! Although he didn't play today, he was quite comfortable around the other dogs. Towards the very end of his morning here, he almost played with Rottweiler Guy Gideon. Almost, meaning that there was butt to butt sniffing, tail wagging and spins/play-bows from Gideon. Milo is welcome back to The Fort anytime and we look forward to his return. He is a massively striking doodle that would have made one heck of a stud dog for a Labradoodle breeder... That actually was the plan for Milo but unfortunately he was struck with the dreaded Cryptorchidism, yikes!

Cheers,

-Grant

Top Breeds @ The Fort

The other day, I got to thinking about the various canine breeds we've encountered here at The Fort. We have had well over 600 dogs walk through our doors since 2006. It's a bit tricky for us to determine how many different breeds there has been (including mixed breeds), but we would guess that at least 75+ varieties of dogs have attended.

With that said, here are the Top Five Breeds from Fort Fido Doggie Daycare. This was no trouble for us to figure out as it has become quite clear over the years.


1. The Labrador Retriever and all it's color variations. The Chocolate and Yellow Labs being the most popular. This makes a lot of sense considering the Labs make a wonderful all-around dog for any type of family or individual.

2. Oodles of Doodles... Poodles and all of their popular "designer" mixed breeds. The Labradoodle, Goldendoodle, Cockapoo, Maltipoo, Yorkipoo, Schnoodles, etc... All of these breeds are mighty cute and hypoallergenic, hence the popularity.

3. The Golden Retriever. Has been America's most popular dog breed time and time again. It reminds me of Baseball and Apple Pie lol.

4. Boxer. They have the most energy/stamina of any dog we have ever seen. Makes sense why there are several at The Fort eh? Even though they seem to be fully-ampled at all times, Boxers tend to be pretty well behaved and well rounded daycare dogs for us.

5. German Shepherd. These dogs are majestic and powerful creatures yet need much time, training and energy from their owners. They are, what we always say, "A LOT OF DOG". ;)


This was quite interesting and fun for us to think about.

We have to put the Shih Tzu as an honorable mention. We've had tons of these guys running around, besides, I wouldn't want to tick-off Mr. C !

Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. Found this interesting, you may too... The Worlds 10 Most Expensive Dog Breeds. Also, all of our Top Dogs were on the 2011 Most Popular Dog Breeds list from the AKC, no surprise there! Here is a cooler, visual, version of that same list.

Bouncing Bella

This morning's assessment was Bella. She is a loving, one year old, fifty-three pound, apricot/cream colored, Labradoodle. Bella did an amazing job today, she went right to playing, spoke good "dog" and seemed to enjoy herself tremendously. Bella will be a superb addition to Fort Fido's Medium Roll. We hope to see her attend regularly. Nice job today Bella!

I hope your week is off to a great start, spring is here woo-hoo!

-Grant
P.S. Baker wins Iditarod, Service dogs in training, Don't blame your dog for Strep Throat and Five tips for finding a lost dog.

Welcome two, new to the crew!

We had two first rate assessments early this morning. Two dogs from the same family but each was very much an individual.

First up was Annie. She is a pretty little, two year old, twelve pound, white and cream, Maltese / Bichon Frise Mix. Annie headed up to the Little Roll and did ok. She showed some interest in the other dogs and relaxed as more dogs came in. We think Annie enjoyed the calming effect of the pack. Hopefully she'll bust out and play soon.

Second was Murphy. He is a six year old, eighty pound, tan, Labradoodle. Murphy traveled to the Big Roll. He is a very friendly dog that has big, brown, expressive eyes. Once Murphy get's used to daycare, we think he will be one of the popular ones hehe. All the dogs seemed to like him but he was just a little cautious. Hopefully it's just first day jitters. Once he gets in the groove he should start having a blast.

Way to go Annie and Murphy! We'll see you again soon.

Have a great day everybody,

-Grant
P.S. Poll asks pet owners if declawing and debarking surgies should be done, Rare breeds Otterhound and Harrier at Westminster & Westminster dog show 2011: The contestants prepare.

Fun Frizzy Flick!

New pup Frizzy is sure bursting out of her shell. She is having so much fun upstairs in the Little Roll. Here she is in action, starting to fetch the ball and everything, go Frizzy!



Have a nice day,

-Grant
P.S. This is one of the neatest things I have ever seen, checkout The Park Spark Project! Makes perfect sense while being totally cool, here is an article about it.

2 more assessments

We had two more assessments this morning, Frizzy and Otto, both dogs did excellent. Frizzy is a nine week old, black Labradoodle that ventured upstairs to the Little Roll. Otto is a one year old, Rhodesian Ridgeback that did well in the Big Roll. Looks like we will be seeing Frizzy quite a bit and I'm sure Otto will pop in again soon. Good times!

Wow! Summer is definitely over because everyone is coming back. Fall is a busy season for the Fort Fido crew, many dog watchers are back in school.

News bits found this afternoon:

Ask Dog Lady: How do I help neglected puppy?

Calling all surfer dogs: It's your weekend to howl

Dog treats recalled over salmonella

I hope you all have a nice weekend.

-Grant

First Chance!

Chance had his assessment this morning. He is a five month old (almost), 16 pound, apricot-colored Labradoodle. Chance had a fun time, he was introduced to the Medium Roll and romped around pretty hard. Chance is really getting some nice socialization. He will be a wonderful addition to The Fort and we plan on seeing him often.

Have a great day,

-Grant
P.S. Here's a good one for you: Missing dog found after seven years!