Odd Obsessions - My Dog licks my skin!

Don't dogs have funny habits and obsessions with things sometimes?! Earl does - his main obsession is human skin! He'll lick it and lick it and lick it given the chance. The main area of his obsession is feet. He loves licking human feet..!

So, why does he do it?

In my opinion, it is because human skin has a natural salt - what dog wouldn't like the taste?? It could also he hereditary - yes, dogs can even gain odd habits from ancestors! Apparently, Earl's grandma was a 'licker' too, so he could have possibly got it from her!

Isn't it strange!

I am generally fine with it, as Earl likes doing it and I don't mind it either! Its quite sweet actually - especially when he licks my chin. I have even taught him a command to 'kiss' which is this action! Hehe!

Does/do your dog(s) have a funny habit or obsession with something? Are you generally happy with it or want to change it? Comment below!

Earl and I.

*Wink*

(Hosted by BlogPaws)

P.S. Thank you to our Pinch Punch Post February 2014 participants so far! This includes Jenna,Mark Drady from Love Is Being Being Owned By A Husky, and Vicky from Tommy - I hope you guys had fun!! There's still time left to join up! (Go to it by clicking HERE.)

Special Moments with my Lovely Earl - #RecipeForMoments

I am privileged to spend my life with Earl, my dearest, lovely Border Terrier. In this blog hop, hosted by our beloved BlogPaws, I will share some memorable moments that I have shared with my dog.

Below is a collage I designed which holds some wonderful, beautiful 'Earl and I' moments.

Each one of these photos holds a memory for me (there are many more photos to be truthful!). In fact, I can prove it! Below I will tell you what happened in EACH of the above photos. Starting from top left, going ACROSS.

P(number) = photo number

P1 - Here, Earl is playing with his much-adored bubbles. It sticks as a memory because he got bubbles in his facial hair and elsewhere - they dried and we had to soak them out afterwards!

P2 - Here, Earl is blinking something out of his eye. He also has one paw only on the concrete step in front of him (as you can see, one of his front legs are up) and it looks like it is winking! Obvious memory reason - BOL!

P3 - Here, Earl is sitting on my bed, looking all pink, closing his eyes at the camera flash. This sticks in my mind as a lovely memory because I entered it into an 'in the pink' doggie photo competition and we won! Its also my Your Pet Forum Avatar.

P4 - Here, Earl is on my lap on one of out very first Agility Nuts Competitions. 

P5 - Here, we are doing some agility training with our own course made out of household objects (brooms, baskets, and washing tubs!) and a proper tunnel.

P6 - Here, Earl is looking angelic. I remember it because there were various comments of how Earl looked like he was growing a washing line!!!

P7 - Here, Earl is looking out over the outstretched, calm woodland lake on a cool summers  day on the mini beach area. It was an incredible walk experience. So lovely and peaceful. Its like all the worries were washed out of your soul as soon as you stepped into the premises! 

P8 - Here, Earl is taking a break to pant and stare longingly at the ball that he has been chasing on the beach and enjoying for hours. After a wonderful week of a Devon camping holiday, a wind down at the beach before we leave was lovely.

P9 - Here, Earl is holding his fairly new, adorable little frisbee!! I bought this for him before the holiday as his special holidays frisbee, and he now plays with it at home. The glee on his little face when he comes up and encourages me to play with that breaks me into a huge grin, tearing away any previous frowns and throwing them aside for ages.

P10 -  This is a memory I will never let go of - and from such a little, simple photo! Earl has always had a tendency to regularly sit in the 'frogs legs' position. We sometimes nickname him 'the frog' or 'the little frog' because of it! Bless 'im.

P11 - Here, Earl is sprawled out relaxing on the cool concrete after a play in the sun, being calmed by the breeze. It is probably my favourite paw snapshot.

P12 - Here, Earl is nomming on a Kong Extreme. It, here, is filled with peanut butter, and he is adoring the experience! The photo makes me think of how powerful-a chewer he is, as he needs the extreme for IT to survive!!

P13 - Here, we are on holiday and Earl is relaxing under the van. Its like he is doing a proper dramatic pose here!! He has just been playing with the big, bright football I bought for him on holiday. I also entered this photo into the Your Dog Magazine Close-Up Competition which rolled back in 2013. We didn't win or run-up, but it stood out and I named it 'Earl shows that, when your a dog, its not rude to stick your tongue out!' And hey… its not in the slightest! 

P14 - Here, Earl is enjoying the beach once again, like in photo 8 (P8). Every single time I look at that photo, I am whooshed away facing that beautiful sea which was, literally, like a tropical paradise.  

P15 - Here, Earl is taking some of his first, confident and happy steps in water! He used to hate water before this holiday and beach experience. We had loads of fun, however he still will only go up to his chest bless him! We're working on it.

P16 - And the final photo today, here, Earl, I, and the rest of the family pack, are on a green wonderland walk. Here, we are walking over a bridge which takes us across a smashing lake with grass climbing above the surface. It is just after we have been to the beach on our holiday, cooling down.

We hope you like our inspirational photos!

And hey, don't forget, now its YOUR turn! Your chance to show the world only a few out of many of the memories with your pets you gratefully hold.

Earl and I.

What we learnt from Train Your Dog Month meets 2 Weekly Dog Polls

We have LOVED reading all the blogs taking part in January's Train Your Dog Month! So we're going to share some things we have learnt from it and how it is beneficial and can be to you if you go back and surf the participated blogs! We are also going to share something we have focussed on doing for TYDM.

At the end of this post, we will be doing our 2 Weekly Dog Poll Update!

We have been focussing on balance and getting it just spot on. So we have been using some garden obstacles to practice this safely. Earl can really position those paws to keep a grip now, which is great to know, just in case he ever had to balance in a dangerous situation.

I managed to get him to stay balanced for longer periods at a time, until he would not even wobble! He has built such a positive understanding of balancing and self-control over the past month. 

I have also been teaching him some even more tempting self-control. Balancing food on his nose, head, or even his nose resting on the food but me telling him to 'leave'! Its pretty impressive, considering his love for food couldn't go any further.

Not forgetting our training tutorials, which will be up and running in no time - I am having trouble uploading videos to Blogger at present, but you can visit our Tutorials page to find out more information and to watch our introduction video!

Here are some photos of Earl and I training at a Young Handlers Course. It was a very inspirational day!

Here the photos show some lovely examples of the 'watch me' command which we have a rather gross way of teaching… say 'watch me' clearly, and hold a piece of dog food (or something else food that your dog likes) between your front teeth and point to it and wiggle it so your dog can see it. Then when your dog is looking straight in your eyes, open your mouth and drop it out for your dog to catch and eat! Instant reward!

Down and Watch Me

Sit and Watch Me

And we have also (as always) been concentrating of our agility. I am trying to make Earl even faster than he already is - and it is working really well! 

Over

Through

Weave

Of course Train Your Dog Month was all about training your dog - however it was not just about training impressive tricks - it was about building an even stronger bond with your beloved dog. And the stronger bond you have with your dog, the more he is going to respond to you when you wish for him to do so, and the more you are likely to have a happy, fulfilling, exciting, and stress-free relationship throughout his/her lovely little life.

Why was Train Your Dog Month started?

A group of like minded dog enthusiasts, wanting the people of today to really do something about how well dogs are trained, got together to develop a blog hop for people to share their training antics, successes, lessons learnt, frustrating failures and ways they got over it and did it again to succeed, ways they set themselves up for success before they began, and then finally, at the end of the month, how the series has really impacted the relationship and training between them and their dog(s). These people deserve a computerised round of applause, as they are the consistent and very much dedicated dog bloggers of the month!

These people are:

Something Wagging
Rescued Insanity
Alfie's Blog

Thank you for a fun and informative month, guys!

Now, we also have our 2 Weekly Dog Polls to get through, as always!

Our Poll 14 was on the subject of Dog magazines/newspapers.

The question posed was: 'What dog publications do you read?'

You voted, and these are the results! 

Your Dog Mag - 4 (100%)
Dogs Monthly Mag - 1 (25%)
Dogs Today Mag - 1 (25%)
YKC Fetch Mag - 3 (75%)
Crufts Mag - 1 (25%)
Dog World News - 0 (0%)
Pets at Home VIP Mag - 2 (50%)
Other - 0 (0%)

The winner is: 

Your Dog Mag - 4 (100%) !!!
Well done to this Magazine. I have to say I LOVE YD too!

Colour code:

Red - Winner
Blue - 2nd
Green - 3rd
Pink - 4th
Black - No votes

So, lets get on with our fun facts!

About dog publications

Dog publications are a great source of doggie information. For dog lovers, they are the ULTIMATE read - nothing but doggie things inside! What dog owner could ask for more?? Some pet shops have them stocked at the counter which you can pick up, however mostly they are stocked at the newsagents or the supermarket. I, personally, have gained much dog knowledge by reading these magazines for a few years. I have subscriptions to a few, which means that they come through my door automatically every month - usually BEFORE it comes out in the shops! With a subscription, you can read your publication before anyone else!

Any details?

A lot of dog publications (especially magazines) involved their readers with their issues. They sometimes include quizzes, the ability for readers to write in and win doggie prizes, to get their dog's photo in the gallery, to advertise a business or a rescue centre to do with dogs, write in about a problem in the dog world and how that reader thinks society should solve the problem, etc. They also usually have social media - a blog, Facebook, twitter, etc. They have giveaways and competitions online as well.

What should you do?

I would highly recommend getting yourself a copy or two of some dog publications, whether that is regularly or a one-off read for you. You may even get into them so much that you decide to buy a subscription. You can also buy gift subscriptions for a dog-loving friend or family member which costs less.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Poll 15 will be opening NOW!! It will have 2 weeks as usual before it closes and info is given. Vote quick - before the time runs out!

Our Poll 15 is on the subject of dog food brands.

The question posed is: 'What is the highest quality dog food brand in your opinion?'

Share what you think should be in place in the dog world!

Lets get voting! Thanks.

REMEMBER, POLLS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG PAGE!

Earl and I.

ALSO, PLEASE JOIN IN WITH THE FEBRUARY PINCH PUNCH POST! Click those words to get there are link up for free and for a whole bunch of fun, if you haven't already! Thanks so much.

Below is the linky list for Train Your Dog Month.

Pinch Punch Post - February 2014

Its that time again, where we say a farewell to the old month, and welcome in happily the new month! Its the Pinch Punch Post, hosted by (us at) Earl's World!, (and Jessica from) My Dog Diaries and My Cat Diaries.

And I do apologise, but I have made yet another size change to our hop badges. Please use these from now on, unless we have any new hosts joining!

You can use either just one or both.

So what have Earl and I been up to in the past month you wonder? That's easy!

We have won big at Agility Nuts Comp...

We have won some mommy dog treats...

We have brought in a new treat recipe...

We have had fun with toys and edited photos...

We have done some decision-making...

We have listened to some tunes...

And only in ONE night (last night, the last day of the week!), I taught Earl TWO NEW tricks! And hey, guess what that is? Pinch and Punch!!

Cool and amazing, isn't it? Pawsome!

So what do we plan on doing during the coming month of Feb 14?? Well, we have prepared y'all a list to find out…

~ Attend Feb Winter Agility Nuts Comp
~ Attend Feb Dog Vegas (Agility Comp)
~ Make Earl a homemade birthday cake and celebrate his 4th birthday on the 12th!
~ Celebrate Valentines (I have Earl a present…!!)
~ Do more running with Earl
~ Keep this blog going with interesting text and photos
~ Make Earl some homemade Valentines dog cookies

~ … And most likely a lot more that we cannot think of yet!!! (These things are guaranteed to appear on our blog at some point, hehe!)

Also, I put up a poll last PPP at the top of the sidebar on the blog page, asking you if you said 'Pinch Punch, first of the month' and gently pinch punched people around you on the 1sts! Your votes were:

Yes - 3 (75%)
Sometimes - 1 (25%)
No - 1 (0%)

Colour code:

1st - Red
2nd - Blue
Last - Black

Thank you to all who voted - hope you had fun!

So that wraps up our PPP for another month folks - grab the badge, your blog-approprate list code, and link up to our link list below!! Thanks, and have a bunch of fun!

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Enjoy!

Earl and I.