Spaghetti For Sheepdogs - Thanks Dakota!

Not that long ago, we won a giveaway over at our pal Dakota's Den (you should check out their PAWsome blog)... and today was the day we received our win of Spaghetti For Sheepdogs! We would like to say another HUGE thanks to Caren at Dakota's Den, and we can't WAIT to try out the recipes! Earl and Ethel are going to LOVE them! Not only this, but this was our FIRST EVER giveaway win here at Earl's World! and we are ecstatic that we have won!

All the way from the US... Finally resting in UK doggy paws...

So, once again, a HUGE thanks to Caren, and you should check out their amazing blog! We can already TASTE the mouthwatering recipes inside our winning cookbook! Those doggy mouths are drooling with anticipation! Yum yum, nom nom!

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

A to Z April Challenge 2015 Reflection

As most of you will know, we have recently completed the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2015. For a whole month last month, we have enjoyed educating you about the sport of dog agility, and all the ins and outs. We hope that you have learnt something from our alphabetical posts last month; we have loved joining in the challenge. So, we're here today to reflect on the challenge this year for us. We are successful survivors, and we are proud.

As already said by the A to Z team, 2015 has been an exceptional year for the challenge. I saw a lot of interest, including some new readers, to my challenge posts, and have loved every second. I have had a lot of positive feedback from readers, saying how they have learnt something new every day from my posts, which is always brilliant to hear.

I just found it hardish to keep up with visiting all the other blogs around my link on the A to Z list throughout the month. There are so many people joining, it wasn't easy keeping up with visiting a lot of others. I did get a share of people visited, and they re-visitng my blog, but it was time consuming and a little hard, time wise. However, I did manage to organise all my A to Z posts and post them exactly on the day they were scheduled for. This was my first issue to resolve; getting my posts ready.

I found that not as many fellow pet/dog bloggers joined the challenge this year, as they did last year. I started up with my alphabetical posts, to find that hardly any of my dog/pet blogging friends also joined in. However, the challenge did give me the opportunity to find some different blogs and have a quick read when I had the time. What I wanted to know, was why was there not a linky list for the challenge hosted by a dog blogger this year, as there was last year? What happened, and why did that stop? I found that, last year, was a great source for linking up and viewing others, who ran similar themed blogs. Many of these were followers I already had, however I did find this a good addition to the challenge.

All in all, in my opinion, I adore the yearly challenge. It brings blogs and their bloggers together, gives people a reason to blog if they've become less active online, allows people to discover and read brand new blogs they may have never come across without the challenge opportunity, and gives people inspiration if they have no post ideas, and more! I am already out of breath listing the good points, haha! This year has only been my second time taking up the challenge and succeeding, and I just love the idea and how it works. So well done to the A to Z team, for a wonderful challenge that so many different bloggers can join and benefit from online. Keep it up, and bring on the 2016 challenge!

If you would like to view all my A to Z posts, I have made a list of them here, so you can view all the posts in which could alphabetically help you in your own dog agility, training, competing and more:

A is for Agility

B is for Breaks

C is for Competing

D is for Drive (sepia sat edition)

E is for Encouragement

F is for Fixing

G is for Groups

H is for High

I is for Incredible

J is for Jump (sepia sat edition)

K is for Kind

L is for Learn

M is for Mending

N is for Nature

O is for Optimism

P is for Paws (sepia sat edition)

Q is for Quality

R is for Results

S is for Stamina

T is for Timing

U is for Understanding

V is for Vigilance (sepia sat edition)

W is for Wings

X is for Z (marks the spot)

Y is for Yard

Z is for Zzz

All our posts have been a joy to write, and we are glad you learnt from them during the challenge.

We are joining the Blogging From A to Z Challenge team for the A to Z 2015 Reflections. We once again thank the team, and you can also write up a reflection post if you also joined in last April. Just head over to their official reflections post here to link up and find rules.

Ethel's Spay

On Friday 1st May, our Ethel was spayed (also called neutered). She is not going to be a mum in her life, and therefore we decided it would be the right thing to do, getting this done. She is now on the road to recovery, however will be restricted to rest for a week. She won't appreciate not being able to run and play, but she will soon be back to her normal self and it will be as this never happened for her. She is one brave girl.

Rest is on the menu for my brave girl.

So what is spaying, and what happens, and why is it available? Well, spaying is a procedure taken out by a vet to prevent pregnancies in bitches. Owners of female dogs who do not want their dogs to have puppies, or risk the chance, choose to get their bitches spayed. Spaying is known to help prevent some illnesses in entire bitches, however there are arguments on either side. It is, simply the choice of the owner. This operation removes both ovaries and the entire reproductive tract down to the level of the cervix. This is in bitches; The male version is castration, which removes the dog's testicles when carried out. Although spaying is mainly carried out in bitches to prevent unwanted pregnancies, it reaps many other benefits, too, such as helping to prevent false pregnancies, womb infections, and the bitch will also never come into season again. Once the operation has been carried out, the bitch will be woken from her general anaesthetic, where she will need constant TLC and rest until the wound has healed. The wound will be located on the dog's lower belly. If you notice any abnormalities, such as leaking and excessive bleeding, another visit to the vets is needed. You will also be booked in for a post-op check up around a week or less later, so the vet can assess how she is healing. Until the wound is healed up, your girl will need to either wear an Elizabethan collar, a large collar which surrounds the head, preventing her reaching the wound to lick and irritate, or, she could even wear an adapted baby grow, in which we have chosen for Ethel to wear. She can sleep comfortably in her baby grow, and it prevents her getting at the wound.

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

Sepia Saturday - Tempted?

Is this temptation too much?

... Or can Earl keep himself together? What do you think happens next? Does he remain calm and collected, or does he leap out and go mad at the toy I am waving above him...? You decide!

I am delighted to be cohosting the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop, which is hosted by Ruckus The Eskie and us at Earl's World! We thank our amazing fellow host and you can join in below.

Pinch Punch Post May 2015

Hi all, and welcome to the new month of May 2015. This year is going fairly fast, don't you agree?! Well, maybe it's just me... anyway, today, we're here to bring you what cool canine things are coming up in May, and we hope that you will also join us in the PPP Blog Hop and share your own May cheers!

This month, we are super excited to welcome in the first Agility Nuts show of this year's summer series. After WINNING and coming out victorious overall in the ABL Novice league in the previous winter series, this will also be our first time competing in the Senior league. We have reached the highest level now. Go us! As well as this competition, we will be attending, for the first time in our careers, the Notts Agility Champs KC Show. Last year, this show was cancelled due to venue flooding, so this year, we can't wait to finally attend.

Now, a reflection on last month, April... Ethel had her first beach experience, and of course, Earl also joined us, showing Ethel the ropes. Here is the sand, here are the waves, and... OH! Watch out for wash dup jellyfish... We also attended another once-mealy 2 day weekend agility competition. It was a memorable month with some brilliant occurrences.

We hope you all have a brilliant month ahead. May 2015 everyone! What are your May plans?

We are delighted to be hosting our own Pinch Punch Post Blog Hop, which is hosted by us at Earl's World!, My Dog Diaries and My Mutt Riley. We send thanks to our wonderful and dedicated cohosts. Please do join in below.

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