Valentine's Day Basket Giveaway

  Today was the day- we found out who the lucky winner was for our Valentines Day Basket giveaway...

 You're all probably wondering by now how many treats were in our container, so I'll go ahead and say it. 278 was the magic number! 
(P.S., don't feel bad if you're guess was far from that. When I initially told David my guess of 70 when he first asked me, he looked at me like I was silly! Guessing is not my forte; you aren't alone. Lol) 

  I must say, I loved how interactive the basket giveaway was this time around. We had lots of participants so that made it even more fun. Check out our lucky winner, Daisey, seeing all her new goodies for the first time in the video below.

This girl couldn't keep her nose away; she must have smelled some of the yummy treats in there! Just look at that tongue!

We can't wait to hear which toy is her favorite.

 As you can see, this girl was exceptionally excited when her dad Jacob, picked her up from daycare today. She could barely keep herself still! Check her out sneaking another peak below...

 

 Congratulations Daisey! Looks like you're going to be one busy gal; now that you have all these new toys to play with. 

Have a wonderful weekend,
~Shaunte'

Cate

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting Cate. She is a beautiful eleven-month-old, forty-pound, Blue Heeler/Australian Shepherd mix. Cate joined our Medium Dog Program, where she spent the morning mingling with and observing the other dogs. She did a good job, and is welcome back anytime. We look forward to seeing her again soon!

Cate was featured in yesterday's Facebook photo shoot. Check out the photos below.

Have a great weekend,
- Gary

Happy Hump Day!

... You guessed it, it's Hump Daaaayyy! Or, as we like to call it, "mount day" in dog terminology. 

The reason we aren't fond of using the word "hump" is because most of the time when a dog does that, there isn't a sexual motive behind the gesture. It's actually quite interesting once you know what to look for... I'll write out a scenario and explain below.

Say for example, you're at the dog park with your canine family member; you see two dogs off in the distance. One is mounting, while the other just stands there. Who is in the wrong here? 

Most people would say the Mounter but in reality, it's the other way around. When a dog mounts, they're doing it to get a reaction from the other. Whether they give them a warning growl, snap back real fast, walk away, or sit down. They want to see at least something. It's a way for dogs to show dominance and figure out what place they're at within the pack. It's even possible for pups as young as 3-4 weeks to start doing it... Although, when practiced at such a young age like that, it's primarly play and social learning at that point.

Anyways, if all the other dog is doing is just standing there as it's being mounted, then he isn't showing the best Dog Speak and that can be confusing for the mounter.

When you see this happen don't get mad at the mounter- unless they're doing it obsessively, or continue to do it even after the other dog lets them know to knock it off. 

 

Instead, one thing we noticed that has worked is guiding  the dog on what to do when it's being mounted. You could help command them to sit and usually that works and the other stops.




What if your dog is an obsessive mounter? How do you stop that? 

A technique you could try is every time the dog approaches the other with obvious mounting body postures, step calmly in front of that dog to block him. Take away his space. If you’re skilled, you may be able to simply lean your body forward, or thrust out a hip or knee to send him the message that the fun is about to stop. 

In the end it's all about balance,respect, and consistency with the Canine Species.

The biggest reason I wanted to write this blog today is because I thought it was fitting (hehe) and because I know it can be missleading when you see a dog mounting the other. I find it absoultely facinatcing to watch the interactions of dogs now that I know what to look for. I hope my blog taught ya somethin new that maybe you didn't know before! :)

Have a marvelous rest of your night,
~Shaunte'
 

Snow Day Fun!!

Woohoo, yay for snow days! 

Personally, I was pretty excited when I woke up on Saturday morning, to see that the sky was overtaken by thousands of little intricate snowflakes. It made me smile from ear to ear; I enjoyed playing in it a bit on my days off as well...

Anyhow, I hope you all had a wonderful start to your week and stayed nice and dry wherever you were... Whether you had to go to work, or stay at home with the fam- since our weather was kind of crazy this morning.

The dogs that did make it to The Fort today, had a blast. They stayed nice 'n toasty, played to their hearts desires, and listened to Norah Jones with us. 

Check out some of the other pups who attend our Daycare, but didn't come today because they were too busy hamming it up in the snow...

Rogue loves to help

her momma make Snowmen!

 Hugo did his best at making a "Dog Angel"

Dempsey (in the front) and Rusty tagging along!

Mr. Max loves balls and snow... Put the two together and he's a happy dog!

Neo's first time in that cool white fluff, falling from the sky!

  Shadow and Chance spent most of the day playing in the yard with their human siblings!

 Kato and Katniss getting their paws wet on the fluffy snow.

 As you can see, the dogs certainly had a blast today;I'm sure they weren't the only ones too. Enjoy the rest of your evenings everyone. 
 ~Shaunte'











 

Ernie & Josie

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Ernie to the Fort. He is a sixteen-month-old, thirty-five-pound, Australian Shepherd. He joined our Medium Dog Program where he made friends with Kashi and Zoey. He had a good first day and is welcome back anytime. See you soon, Ernie!

This morning we met Josie. She is an eight-month-old, seventy-pound, American Bulldog. Josie is a very friendly and energetic pup. She played with almost every dog in our Large Dog Program, but her favorites were Neo, Tobey, and Sergeant Major. She did a great job today and is welcome back anytime. We hope to see her again soon!

Here is a clip from this morning of Josie playing with Tobey.

Have a great weekend,

- Gary

Basket #2!

 Alright, funny story time! Remember earlier this week when I blogged that we're doing another basket giveaway for February? 

 The basket to the left was supposed to be our first place winner's prize- but this is not the case anymore. 


 One of our long time customers loved the way we put this basket together, and even offered to buy it from us! He knows a special pup that would adore all the toys in it. After some debating as to what we should do, David and Nancy gave me permission to sell it to him!

 Don't fret though; we made the replacement basket even BIGGER, and BETTER. Check it out below...

 It turned out pretty dang glorious, I'd say.
There's some treats, wet dog food, a leash, a poop bag holder, and much more.

 
 Remember, don't forget to ask for a slip so you can cast your vote and be entered into the drawing.
Winners will be announced next Friday... Stay tuned and good luck!



I hope you all have a marvelous night and go to sleep happy, knowing that tomorrow is Friday. :) 
~Shaunte'

Sam & Bella

Fort Fido has ANOTHER Boxer that joined our Large Dog Program as of Tuesday morning; meet Sam! He's a spunky six year old that weighs seventy two pounds. Sam enjoyed his first day scoping out his new surroundings- he even made a Husky friend, named Neo. 

 

Bella was today's assessment. She's ten years old and weighs fifty three pounds. Her parents are unsure of her Breed- but we can defiantly tell that she has a little bit of everything in her! Bella joined our Large Dog Program  just like Sam, and had a wonderful time hanging out with us and her new friends this morning.

Both Sam and Bella are more than welcome to return for more fun with the large dogs.

Have a good night,
~Shaunte'