SS - Hello Devon

Hi all! When you read this, we'll already be enjoying our family camping holiday in Devon! We'll be back to our normal blogging schedule soon; we know you're missing us! The dogs and I are set to have a brilliant time in the such a lovely place!

Earl and Ethel say we'll be back soon!

Our Sepia Saturday post next weekend and our Pinch Punch Post on the same day will be running as usual, so come on over and join in with there great blog hops!

We at Earl's World! are delighted to be cohosting the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop alongside Ruckus The Eskie. We send many thanks to our fellow host, and you can join in below.

Keeping Fit On Holiday

Tomorrow is the day we're heading off on our family holiday away! It's come round so quickly! And yes, this does mean we'll be absent from BlogVille for a painful two weeks... but don't worry, we'll be back before you know it! Our Sepia Saturday and Pinch Punch Post Blog Hops should be running as normal, hoping all scheduling technology works for us. Wish us all a brilliant time, as I know many of you have already done! We can't wait to arrive in Devon!

Before we go, Earl and Ethel have been thinking hard about how they're going to keep fit whilst enjoying their holiday. There's so many ways of keeping fit with your dog, even when you're on holiday; just because it's a holiday, doesn't mean you have to laze around all the time! Here are a few ideas of how you and your dog can stay active during your holiday...

As you can see, I have added a 'you choose' bubble... It can be anything you like, or can think of, that could keep you and your dog active during your holiday. From venturing out on a walk to new places, to practicing tricks at your holiday 'base', there are a lot of possible options out there!

Tell us below how you would/do keep fit with your dog on holiday!

So, we'll see you all soon then! We'll miss BlogVille for the time we're away, but we'll be back soon!

SEE YOU ALL SOON FRIENDS!

We're joining our hosts SlimDoggy, To Dog With Love and My GBGV Life in the FitDog Friday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Busy Packing

We're going away on holiday soon, which means we're all very busy packing at the moment! I have to say, the dogs are more organised than me! They're double checking and triple checking they remembered to pack their favourite beach toys, treats, and cooling coats. I can see us taking more for them than for our human selves! But that's always the way for loving dog owners!

We're all so excited, the dogs included!

We're joining our hosts Ruckus The Eskie, Love Is Being Owned By A Husky! and Barking From The Bayou in the Thoughtless Thursday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Weeeeeeeee...

Ethel enjoying some jumping.

P.S. Our good online pals Daisy and her Beagle Poppy are holding an Online Dog Show over on their blog, Poppy's Dog Blog, and they would like as many bloggers as possible to share it around, and participate. So head on over to their Online Dog Show page on their blog, and enter your dog(s) in some of their fun classes! The closing date for entries is August 28th; so head on over and find out how you can join in the fun! And don't forget to share this around!

We're joining our hosts BlogPaws in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Earl's Home Groom

Having recently got a grooming table, plus all the necessary grooming supplies, I was ready to give Earl a hand strip. His hair was growing long again, so on Saturday I took the plunge and hand stripped Earl myself at home for the very first time; for my first ever hand strip, he looks brilliant! I'm ever so proud of the result I got out of this home groom! He was such a good boy throughout, sitting still and just allowing me to pluck away. He was enjoying the experience... and attention!

Now, is hand stripping a Border Terrier easy, or challenging? Here, I'll give you a couple of simple tips to ensure your grooming goes successfully. Your dog wouldn't appreciate a bald patch, would he?

Here, you can see that one shoulder has been stripped more than the other side (right hand side) and the other shoulder hasn't yet been done at all. One pointer for you to follow is to always start stripping from one place down. I always like to start at the shoulders, work down the back, then do the back legs, then the neck, then the chest, face, front legs and undercarriage. I trim the beard and feet at the end. I also clean the eyes and ears at the end, plus trim the nails if need be.

Another pointer I would give is to always be as gentle as possible with your dog, whilst not being scared to give this dead hair a good tug out. The dead hair should come out easily, especially if you apply the chalk block beforehand. This caused no pain for the dog; there are many people who believe hand stripping a dog causes pain, but it doesn't at all. Earl seemed to really be enjoying the experience! Also, always reassure your dog. Some dogs find being on the grooming table a weird experience, and attempt to get down. Talk to and stroke your dog to make him feel happier. He will soon get used to the idea.

For my first ever hand strip, I think this groom went amazingly well! I'm almost wordless with awe at how smart he now looks! Looking all smart for his holidays. Maybe there's dog grooming in my future? Who knows? All I know is that it will definitely be something heavily involving dogs!

Book Review - Tuna Melts My Heart

Having recently received this heartwarming book, Tuna Melts My Heart, for my birthday in early July, I decided it would be a perfect book to review. It has the power to melt even the hardest of hearts, with irresistible photos of this wonderful little dog. Tuna Melts My Heart is all about the tales of 'the most inspiring dog on the Internet' (- BuzzFeed), also known as 'the underdog with the overbite', Tuna the Chiweenie.

Written in a fun, light-hearted and laid back style, with photos covering most of the pages, Tuna's book is a must have for all dog lovers alike. The meaning of this book, in the eyes of Tuna's owner, Courtney, was to share Tuna's huge, gorgeous personality with the world, even though he may have quite a different appearance than your average dog. His loving owner wanted to put across that it's personality that matters, not appearance. I, myself, and many others who have been charmed by this awesome little man, personally think his appearance is sweet beyond sweetness!

I especially like the way the book is laid out; inside, you will find large, adoring and irresistibly hilarious photos of Tuna just enjoying his blissful life as a cherished little pup on every page, with little descriptions by his owner at the bottom. The book 'is sure to delight the underdog in us all'. With chapters covering everything Tuna and his owner normally get up to during a day, the purpose is to get an insight into the life of Tuna and his owner. If you read this truly delightful book, you will see that Tuna and his human mummy are always up to something new and exciting!

Overall, I absolutely love this book, and would thoroughly recommend it to any and all dog lovers out there, regardless of their age; it is sure to delight you, make you laugh and make you smile. I give this book a full 5 paws up! If you want to read this book, you can buy it now on the Amazon Bookstore HERE.

We're joining our hosts Snoopy's Dogblog, Alfie's Blog and My Brown Newfies in the Monday Mischief Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Play With Me

Ethel is always desperate for Earl to engage in a fun game with her. Sometimes, however, an exuberant Ethel is left hanging as Earl would just rather sit back and chill. On other occasions, though, Earl is more than happy to play. For Ethel, it's a matter of hoping Earl's in the right mood!

Play with me Earl! Come on, come on!

Is this a familiar sight in your household?

We're joining our hosts Dachshund Nola and Sugar The Golden Retriever in the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

SS - Summer Holidays Begin

Today marks the first official day of our summer break, after breaking up for six weeks off yesterday. We're so excited, and there's so much we're going to be doing, doggy wise, over this coming six weeks! We'll be going on holiday to Devon, spending time training and competing, and much more!

Ethel basks in the summer sun.

We hope you all have a lovely time on your holidays!

We are Earl's World! are delighted to be cohosting the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop alongside Ruckus The Eskie. We send many thanks to our fellow host, and you can join in below.

Mad Balloon Chasing

Earl just adores balloons. Chasing them around, yapping like mad at them, and then finally popping them is a whole lot of fun for him, as you can clearly see for yourself in the clip below this photo. At the same time, he just loves keeping active as he does so! He's quite obsessed!

Come on, throw it mum!

Ethel likes them too!

But I have to say, Earl is the one who goes the maddest for them!

Once he's chased a balloon around for a while, he is often surprisingly worn out following this mad occasion. Something that bodes well for the evening that follows; a quiet one with happy dogs.

Oh, and do you like our paw print balloons?

We're joining our hosts SlimDoggy, To Dog With Love and My GBGV Life in the FitDog Friday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Eight Photos Of Happiness

Recently, we were nominated for the Eight Photos Of Happiness tag, by our good pal Whitley! If you don't know Whitley, you have to go and check out her blog, right now! She's full of fun, and constantly entertains us with her wonderful antics. Thanks again, Whitley!

Here are the guidelines for this tag:

1. Thank your nominator(s) and link them to your post.
2. Link to the creator of the tag, Ariel's Little Corner Of The Internet.
3. Post your eight photos of happiness.
4. Pop in a brief description of the photo, why you chose it, or just let the photo do the talking!
5. Spread the happiness and tag up to 10 other bloggers.

Here we go, in our eight photos of happiness! But before we begin, we have decided to show our photos in this order: Earl, Ethel, Earl, Ethel, Earl, Ethel, Earl, Ethel. Because Whitley nominated both dogs, this way it gives the dogs an equal amount of happy photos each!

Earl and Ethel's Eight Photos Of Happiness

1. This photo, to me, just portrays pure happiness. The joy expressed in Earl's bright eyes and his smiling mouth, with his tongue as pink as ever, just shows a true happy face.

2. This photo of Ethel grinning cheekily with her teeth showing makes me laugh! She's just the funniest little happy-go-lucky girl in the world.

3. Earl loves to snooze, especially with a loveable, squishy bed pal! Enjoying a lie in, this makes Earl one happy and relaxed pup, all chilled.

4. To flop blissfully onto the floor, spread your legs wide and embrace a warm tummy tickle is what Ethel does best! As you can see my the expression on her adorable little face, this makes Ethel very happy!

5. Earl adores games, especially tug ones! He is always ready and raring for a tug game with a willing human.

6. This photo of Ethel in bliss speaks for itself, and simply screams happiness!

7. As you will all know, Earl loves his agility. Here, his face tells you how much he is finding this one thrilling experience, soaring way above the jump pole!

8. And of course, just like Earl, Ethel is quickly following in his skilled paw prints! The agility scene welcomes Earl's amazing and promising little sis!

So there you have our awesome, uplifting eight photos of happiness!

Now, we are going to nominate (tag) these other bloggers to join in the fun:

1. Poppy
2. Millie
3. Willow and Frayer
4. Lily and Edward
5. Nola, Pike and Olivia
6. Mr. N
7. Marley and Lola
8. Ruckus
9. Mika, Lexus and Koda
10. Barney

We hope you all have fun joining in with your own Eight Photos Of Happiness, and we simply cannot wait to see all your posts and photos!

We're joining our hosts 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog in the Thursday Barks And Bytes Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Panda Dog

Earl's eyeing up those bamboo leaves like he'd like a quick munch...

Not only does he want to eat some, but he seems to want to live in some, too!

It looks as though Earl might be turning into a panda!

We're joining our hosts BlogPaws in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

How To Make Kibble Broth & Frozen Kong Popsicle

Broth is a great filling for your dog's Kong to freeze in the summer. So, if you're fresh out, or just don't buy broth, then there must be a way to make your dog some at home. And luckily for you, there is! Today, I'm going to show you how to make simple kibble broth in your own kitchen. It takes 5 minutes, in only 8 simple steps! Anyone can do this, and I mean anyone!

All you will need is a bowl, a handful of kibble and access to water.

Before you begin making the broth, and if you plan to fill a Kong with it, plug the small end of your Kong with peanut butter or soft cheese.

1. Fill your bowl up with water.

2. Drop your handful of kibbles into the bowl.

3. Use your hands to mash the kibbles up into smaller pieces. The crumbs of the kibble will linger in the water, meaning the water will taste more of the kibble juices when your dog has a taste!

At this stage, the broth should look a little like this, depending on what kibble type you used:

4. Now, you are ready to fill your dog's Kong with the broth. Use a jug or a spoon to do so, to avoid spilling. Fill to the top.

5. Place in a cup, with the larger end facing upwards, the small plugged end down.

6. Freeze.

7. Once frozen, quickly run under water, to ensure your dog doesn't get his tongue stuck to it!

8. Give to your dog once frozen - and all it cost was some water and a handful of kibble!

Earl has a quick lick.

Now you know how to make a homemade broth for your dog, which is nice served frozen in a Kong!

We're joining our hosts Kol's Notes and Sugar The Golden Retriever in the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.