Pinch Punch Post - October 2014

Hey all! Its a new month already, full of new challenges, training, competitions, success, canine-human love, and even some downers too - because aren't there always some not-so-amazingly-outstanding days in training and competing?!?! Of course there are.

Now, we are delighted to be announcing that the Pinch Punch Post may be adopting a new co-host, Frada, from the newish blog My Mutt - who told us she'd love to cohost, however never got back to me since… so we're hoping we'll hear from her before next month as I need her full permission and confirmation first of course.

We've also changed the PPP badge for the 3rd time now (3 badges, 3 hosts!!) However this time, with more co-hosts coming along, we've decided to keep our badge the same all the time, by only including us. That way its a lot easier for our hopper's along!

So the new badge, for the hopefully LAST time EVER!!!…

Grab our badge - use and share!

Thanks to cohost Jessica from My Dog Diaries again this month.

What do you think? Cool isn't it!!

So from now on, save this one above to your device or simply copy the URL to paste to display when you link up with us.

Anyway, onto what we have been up to as a three in the month of autumnal September…

The dogs dog ready to go back to school (Booooohoo!)!

(And so did Ethel, packing her school lunch)!

We came through a tough day with awards at Agility Nuts KC!

And shone through winning twice on the second day, and moving to Grade 5!

Ethel got a new harness!

Ethel trained on the Wobble Board!

We had a fun and successful day of goodies and friends at our club's fun dog day!

The dogs had scrambled egg after sicking up accidental (chewed) gum

The dogs felt the autumnal wind in their beards at Till Bridge!

Earl and I won jumping at Dog Vegas!

We came 2nd in a higher Grade which we were accidentally placed into!

Earl tried and tested the Stones Doggy Snack/Energy Bar!

Another busy busy month for sure!! And that's exactly how we like it!!

So what are we planning on doing in October?

~ Compete at a non-KC Agility Nuts Winter Series 1

~ Compete at a KC Dog Vegas

~ Start the half-term off with the pups
~ Have a fun and spooky time with the pups at Howl-O-Ween!

It should be another fun month.

What are did we plan on doing in September and have we managed it??

~ Compete at a Kennel Club Agility Nuts Competition 

Complete? Yes /

~ Participate in our dog club's fun day which we help to 'run' and sort out, with both dogs

Complete? Yes /

~ Compete at KC Dog Vegas

Complete? Yes /

~ Spend another month continuing Ethel's training, obviously

Complete? Yes /

You know, we're pretty good at ticking off every single planned thing in the space of only one month!!

You have 10 more days after today to enter the PPP Blog Hop - rules are HERE - enjoy! Your post can be as long or short or photographic or written as you want, as long as it goes by the theme as much as possible. 

We are also now going to start posting PPP blog hop posts the night before the 1st, so people have all day on the 1st to post. I will, from now on, make it so that you can start linking up at the end of the last day of each month. Makes it easier for everyone! :-)

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Tasty Tuesday - Product Review - Stones Doggy Snack Bar

…For dogs on the GO!

Have you ever taken your dog out for a busy, energetic day? Has he ever looked weary, with a lack of energy from all that activity? Then we had the perfect solution, tried and tested, here today! 

OK - so can you remember me mentioning that I bought Earl a doggy snack/energy bar pn Sunday, at our competition? If not, read the post again here if you want to, or just skip ahead and read all about the bars anyway…

Product: Dog Snack/Energy Bar
Brand: Stones

Tester: Earl, Border Terrier
Observer: Earl Lover

The snack bar helps keep your dogs energy levels up, especially helpful if you are at an agility/flyball competition or anything else that requires a great deal of energy for your dog.

It is one whole, soft bar, which you can get in different flavours. We tried to Beef and Country Vegetables flavour, and instantly Earl seemed addicted!!! Hehe. He was bright and bubbly and was really up for his next jumping run, sprightly and full of meaty goodness.

Everyone knows how good meals give you the required energy for tasks in day-to-day life? Well on busy days on the go, all your dog needs is a good meal on the go!

They can be for a quick fill up of the tum or can replace a whole meal if you're out. These are the guidelines for meal replacements:

Dog up to 10kg - 4 bars replaces a meal
10kg to 20kg - 7 bars
20kg to 30kg - 10 bars

Individual needs of course take over, as these are the average, general guidelines. Think about your own dog's exercise, breed, weight etc before going directly by guidelines for this.

You can break pieces off too, as its soft and flexible to your dog's needs FEEDS!

When did we first try out this product?

When we were at an agility competition on a hot day. We thought that for his last run, Earl would appreciate a good chunky bar of pure FUEL to boost his performance - and treat him at the end. He was so motivated with all his energy and snack bar goodness, he thoroughly enjoyed it and won his Jumping class!!!

Main Functions and Description
These are to give your dog a healthy amount of energy or replace a meal (see guidelines above to help give you an idea), ideal for dogs travelling or on the go somewhere for the day, or even less than that they come in handy! 

Where did we buy this from?

A stall at Dog Vegas Agility Competition this month.

Target Audience

This would mainly be aimed at dogs on the go, who need some more energy to keep them going or to replace meals when meals are not available when out and about somewhere for some period. Puppies may best not be suited to too much of this however - most puppies are fairly small no matter what the adult breed size may be so this may confuse. 

Pros:

~ Worked well and motivated/gave energy to my dog
~ Easy to give (breakable) and eat (soft) 
~ Appealing to canines

Cons:

~ Includes some sugars, however for a bar in which boosts energy this isn't really too much of a con as long as they aren't given every single day for every meal!!

I like this grub for sure...

And I've got so much more useful energy now!!! Earl is ready!!!

Yes, Earl sure did have after that great little, handy bar!

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So what am I going to give this food product when talking about a paw-star rating??\

A full 5-paw rating!! Woohoo! How could I not rate it full when it helped (well I assume it did!) Earl enjoy and win an agility competition? It was a super duper round, fuelled by the Stones Doggy Snack Bar!!!

I just love them, as an owner. And Earl even more so as a dog!!

We're delighted to be participating in the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop, kindly hosted by Sugar The Golden Retriever and Kol's Notes - thanks again, guys!

P.S. The Pinch Punch Post is running again tomorrow, so make sure you link up and join along the monthly fun!! It will be later on in the day as I have things occurring out of my control, but please still link up - you'll have another full 10 days after tomorrow to join in too! Can't wait to see y'all there!!! Thank you!

Great Success at Dog Vegas

Hi all! We had another great day at Dog Vegas agility competition today - it was very hot, however Earl pulled through and ran an amazing round in The Graded 4-5 Jumping, in which we were still in Grade 4 - and won the class!!! It was a truly fabulous run from my boy, and we were the only clear round! Bless his little paws. I gave him a doggy snack/energy bar with beef and vegetables which he loved beforehand too! He went mad for the rest of it!! He also got a lovely sausage for that incredible run of his!

Also…. We got a 2nd place in Grade 5, however, there was a slight mixup with the grades, and we're not even in Grade 5 yet today anyway!!!! Confusing, but it happened.

I'll just go to sleep on this one whether its OK with you or not...

Another successful and enjoyable day. And Ethel was a little star, going on frolicking puppy walks/runs with me in between, and showing off her 'left' command without any hand signals from me, which everyone was totally blown away buy! She is now in Earl's bed. Dear dear, BOL.

Super Vid Sat With Sepia! - Sepia Saturday - 1st Sat co-hosting!!!

Hi again, peeps and pets! Today its Saturday, and therefore time again for EW's own Super Vid Sat With Sepia! Today also marks the very first Saturday co-hosting the spectacular Sepia Saturday alongside our pal, host, Ruckus! So we can't wait to get started and have a truly super day!!

So first of all, lets get on with Sepia Saturday, as proud co-hosts!

Thanks so much to Ruckus The Eskie, our host, and ourselves at Earl's World, for the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop! Don't be shy, hop along, and join the Sepia fun with us!!

Today's video is a tribute to the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop, considering today is our first glorious day as co-hosts - a gathering of many Sepia photos of everyone's favourite pooches!! Earl and Ethel!!!

I also got a wonderful snap of the two pups closely together, looking at the fluffy tug toy I was swinging temptingly in my hand, alongside a few individual photos of them to add in…

So here is our video of some beautiful Sepia photos of my two to specially celebrate Sepia Saturday!

Please join Sepia Saturday with us! Thanks guys!!

Paws Up! Its Friday! - FitDog Friday + Pet Parade - Rompin' Around Quiz

Hey there all - its Friday once again, thank doG, and that means we its time for EW's Fri-daily occurrence to celebrate the end of a hard working week, and the start of a frolicking fun weekend - can't anyone wait for a whole weekend with your delightful doggies? Its Paws Up! Its Friday!

Today, we have a bit of a guessing game, e.g. fun quiz  for you all to partake in…

So, in the following photo, you need to guess what you think happened after the camera was clicked upon…..

Was it:

a) Ethel reared up at her playmate, before going back onto all four-paws avoiding physical contact with Earl

b) Ethel dive bombed Earl, followed by Earl turning to dive back and start a wrestling session all over again

Or:

c) Ethel attempted to jump on Earl from behind, however found Earl was too quick and instead fell to the ground, Earl scampering away

What did the pair do next??? Can you guess???

Its a tricky one - personally, knowing exactly what followed, any one of those 3 possible answers makes sense, and you can see all of them happening!! But there is to be only 1 answer…

I shall be slightly mean, and wait until the very end of the post to reveal the answer - if I was you, I'd make a note of your answer (a, b, or c) BEFORE scrolling down the page to the end of the post…

ANYWAY! There is another part of this post in between our choices and our answers to the quiz I made. The above quiz was our Pet Parade Hop part, and now for our FitDog Friday Hop part, as I thought that this post fitted both hops for this day!

So, as you can see by the photo, the two had a blast running around and playing together, being active and exercising to the full over fresh, green grass, full of scent to roll about it.

It is important dogs get their regular bouts of running around and being mental, just like dogs do - for their mental fitness and their physical fitness. If you give your dogs a good run around, they are more likely to come back home and inside to relax for the evening with dinner.

My two, like all dogs, adore their exercise and running! Their ideal day is walking to a field to run, and walking back. A lovely experience all round, with a warm up, spurt, and cool down.

And now of course - QUIZ ANSWER!!

The answer is…

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!!!

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b) Ethel dive bombed Earl, followed by Earl turning to dive back and start a wrestling session all over again

Well done if that was YOUR guess!!

It was hilarious to watch - the two humouring me, and each other!

We're happy to be participating in the FitDog Friday Blog Hop very kindly hosted by SlimDoggy, To Dog With Love, and My GBGV Life - thanks so much again, guys!!

We're also happy to be participating in the Pet Parade Blog Hop, kindly hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Barking From the Bayou, Jan's Funny Farm, Basil the Bionic Cat, and Love is Being Owned by a Husky! - thanks again, crew!!!!

The first linky list is for FitDog Friday, and the second for the Pet Parade.

An InLinkz Link-up

Advice given on opinion - "I just want to train my dog!"

Hi all - Today, I am posting regarding an email I was sent not that long ago, regarding an issue with training their dog. It wasn't that training was going horribly wrong or anything… Here's the story…

I was emailed by Daisy, a 13 year old fellow Young Kennel Club member, who spends a life with her four year old Beagle female called Poppy. Now I would usually, knowing myself (!), add an exciting adjective in between the words 'a' and 'life'. Like 'blissful' or 'exciting'. However, sadly, for Daisy and Poppy, this isn't quite the case. 

Daisy asked me to write an article on my blog regarding this, as she was sure she wouldn't be the only one facing this problem. So I have done just that for Daisy and anyone else who would like to listen.

Says Daisy

So. What I told Daisy was, with this being such personal circumstances, firstly, to let her feelings be out and tell her parents how desperate she is. I would normally always say there is no excuse not to train a dog, but circumstances unexpectedly changed dramatically after getting Poppy and having a good start to training… Poor Daisy and her family had no idea that this would impact Poppy's training and time. I will leave it at that, as not to spread the word about Daisy's life story!! So.

Daisy also horse rides every fortnight, and she told me that this was also something in which was taking her time in which she could be spending training Poppy. So she would have to decide what she wanted to do more, of course, if she thought the hours she rode were too much to train too. 

Another thing, was her young sister was teasing and being mean to Poppy, including bending her tail (!). Again, I said to tell her parents, who can tell her sister off and make sure she never does that again, as they are, in the end, the responsible parents in charge.

Daisy said that she feels like a truly awful dog trainer. She is caught up with school and homework, which I only advises doing at the library in school time to free up more home time, if possible. However, no more advice on that issue because its so personal to her life.

I told Daisy that being so passionate and desperate to train her dog when its a tough road to do so is being a great dog trainer, for the fact that she simply wants it so badly. A BAD trainer wouldn't train because they just DON'T CARE. This is certainly not the issue we have here!!!

I told her that, as she wanted to train and compete like me and my two so badly, that competitions send us all around practically everywhere, and cost money too. They are thrilling, but we spend whole weekends or at the least a full and long day there, as much as I ADORE competitions of course, that is what happens (and I love it personally, but that is what happens, hehe).

After sending her reply and promising a blog post on the subject, I got a wonderful reply from Daisy who'd read my reply.

I'd asked her to tell me how many walks Poppy got a day, and in what form (on/off lead, street, field walks, by whom, etc).

She said that Poppy gets about 3 weeks per day, one a short one round the block, another one off lead across fields for a while (yay!) and another one, jogging to school to see Daisy at the end of the day and back with her dad (another great one, as not only is this great exercise if overdone on the joints, but it helps keep the nails at a good length). 

I also asked what sort of characteristics Poppy displays on a day-to-day basis. Daisy said that Poppy is a pretty laid-back dog of a 'go with the flow' kind of attitude. That's again great, with no anxious or upset behaviours that show an unhappy dog. Great stuff! Daisy!

And the biggest happiness in me right now, is that Daisy's parents have agreed to take her and Poppy to the October Young Kennel Club event, which I am also going to one, so it may be the same!! - Anyway, the main reason why I am so glad to hear this, is that Daisy will get a day/weekend training Poppy and nothing else, bonding with her dog and making progress, whilst having fun. Great result!

Also, if you want to find a dog trainer in your area, visit the Association Of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) website.

I hope Daisy liked this post I dedicate to her, and anyone and everyone else too!

Now just for Daisy, I have put together a lovely photo collage including the photos she sent me of her beloved little girl Poppy!

Hope you like it Daisy - Poppy is a beautiful little Beagle dog :-)

***PLEASE NOTE***

All situations are completely personal to you if you have a similar issue, and as much as I love reading your questions and answering them, please do take into account that these are all my own words and honest opinions on the matter. I enjoy helping people however I am not a professional or expert on matters! 

Monday Mischief - Cousinly Kisses

You wouldn't believe it, but here I have proof in photo of the two monkey dogs french kissing!! Hehe. No, seriously, they were play-mouthing each other. But its still lovely to see them both so happy and relaxed getting covered in fresh grass scent. If I wasn't so kindly then there'd be something to hang over poor Earl for the rest of his life - Kissing the puppy who he found most annoying in the start!! Best of play friends - but we still haven't reached the cuddly stage. No sleeping in the same bed, all curled up cosily together as of yet - but the playing is a step closer to a lifelong dog-to-dog friendship for the two of them!

Having to funny dogs is even more humouring than having one funny dog! Especially when you have an absolutely mental puppy as one of them!! Entertainment for us humans, and someone for Earl to play-fight with! I can't stress how much time they spend playing, mainly play fighting!!

Do YOU have two or more dogs who play like this?

We're happy to be participating in the Monday Mischief Blog Hop very kindly hosted by Snoopy's Dogblog, Alfie's Blog, and My Brown Newfies - thanks again, guys!

Black and White Sunday - Autumnal Vibes

Hi all! Today, we had a great day training (Earl Agility, and Ethel Obedience). Ethel did the more advanced class and was absolutely incredible - it was amazing!!! And Earl was, as always, superb on the course, speeding around and enjoying himself. We all made real progress. Autumn and the coming of a cooler winter means hopefully, Earl will make even more progress in speed as we go along - no heat means no lagging! For me too!!

We also explored more of Till Bridge, and both the dogs loved having exercise and wind in their fur. The views were exceptional, over the lake and fields beyond. Earl enjoyed off lead time, and Ethel long and loose lead time (We're still recall training). 

I snapped this wonderful shot of the two amongst the leaves, the wind through their beards.

Till Bridge is fun and pretty (its not an actual bridge, hehe).

You can definitely see and feel the Autumnal vibes blowing in this time of month!

You know, after all those hot days, it'll be nice to have some chilly days, to wrap up warm, both human and canine, enjoy entertainingly muddy walks (for some, not others!!) and come home to a big hearty meal and snuggle down snoring (more so canines, I was thinking!!).

Enjoy the start of Autumn!

We're delighted to be participating in the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop very kindly hosted by Dachshund Nola and Sugar The Golden Retriever - thanks again, guys!

Super Vid Sat With Sepia! - Interaction of 2 Housedogs & PAWSOME ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Hey, y'all! Its our SECOND Saturday running of our new, Earl's World! special weekly occurrence, Super Vid Sat With Sepia! …And we're excited about it too! We also have a totally PAWSOME announcement to announce today as well!!!

For the announcement, drum roll please…

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!!!!

We, at Earl's World!, from next Saturday onwards, are co-hosting the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop alongside our main cost, Ruckus The Eskie!! We are SO excited!!

So, we shall add the badge now instead of at the end of the post! So HUGE thanks to Ruckus from Ruckus The Eskie (the host and brainchild) for accepting us as new co-host! We won't let you down!!!

Its going to be great! So make sure you remember for next week, and link up Sepia style!!

Anyway, today, here, we shall be sharing with you, our delightful readers, of how two playing 'housedogs' can equal a whole deal of heaven! And yes, as part of our new Saturday regime, there WILL be an interesting, funny video to go first and alongside a sepia image!

As you can see in the video, both dogs are enjoying play-battling it out for the tug toy in their mouths. They both adore this toy, and find it fun!

Anyway, my main and central message here is that two dogs living together often amounts to happiness, company, fun, and kindliness, if they get along. However not all dogs do, so here are a few tips on making sure that your two or more canines living together have a fun and fulfilling play session together:

~ Supervise the play at all times

~ Don't be afraid to distract the dogs if you feel things are/are about to get out of hand

~ Spend a fair amount of time playing with each dog individually, especially in the early days of introducing a multiple dog into the household/bringing more than one dog home at one time

~ See if you can be part of the game - if you already hold good leadership above your 'pack', this will able you to be more in control, and the leader and rule decider of the game

~ If your dogs are playing tug or another game together nicely, just sit back, watch, and enjoy the show! You can learn a lot from watching dogs interact in the progress, but make sure you're always supervising and making sure things are all good with the game and interaction of the dogs!

And now for our Sepia photo to go alongside:

Oh happy days between two super pals!

And don't forget…

Love both your dogs as individual PAWsome beings :-)

I hope you've learnt from todays post, enjoyed the video and the huge SEPIA pic! 

We can't wait for next Saturday, where we shall co-host Sepia Saturday for the first ever time!!! Please link up for fun and frolicking!!!