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