Beyond Adolescence - part 4

[SpanielsGalore]

Didn't realise we were that close to the end of part 3. 😂

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks - I saw something online about changes to Lily's Kitchen recipes but not sure how accurate it was (it was some random Facebook discussion and sometimes they're a bit close to conspiracy theories).

Another warm night, and today is forecast to be just as warm as yesterday so no respite. We had a slightly sweaty walk to the allotment this morning to water.

Will water the dogs again later. Driving somewhere to let them paddle/swim and burn off some energy is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment.

@tizwozliz I know they've changed their cat food as I've seen lots about how crap it is now. But not sure if they've changed the particular dog dry one that I give and I can't see anything online to confirm or deny. I'm going to email them to check though and see what they say. I mean if it turns out they have I'll probably still go ahead to have the bit of skin remove and tested because I'm a paranoid old bat.😂

Is that little pup?

Hope the girls are keeping okay in this weather. I'm very envious you have somewhere relatively nearby to drive to. The streams near us have all run dry. So that's probably why @Silverbirchleaf and I are back under hosepipe bans...

Yes, it's little pup. If you look closely you'll see her tail is blurred, the wagging too furious to catch! It's perfect really, a layby straight into the woods and stream. We could walk there if it wasn't so hot, but it's literally out the car and into the woods so I'm comfortable taking them there even when it's boiling as it's straight into the water. And when the house is reaching 27/28 ish anyway staying at home to keep cool is pointless. Only downside is if you go late there's quite a few bitey things. Lots of other places that have water at other times of year run dry.

It's not forecast to be any cooler here today than yesterday, we won't see any significant drop in temps until Sunday.

Edit: I call it a stream, but it's technically a river :-)

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I’m quite small on the cleavage so looking booby is a novelty for me! Currently wearing a seven year old sundress. Apart from the usual M and S, Next etc, Roman seems to have a good offering in dresses at the moment. Seasalt have a sale as well.

Short walk through the woods this morning.

@tizwozliz I love a soggy doggy photograph, especially a lab. Somehow it makes them look even more handsome.

Dog is funny in the vets. He loves all the smells and the promise of a treat. He usually greets our vet all enthusiastically, ie, jumps up and looks untrained, and then, as the vet starts talking business, remembers that the vet prods and pokes him, and he will then hide in a corner.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks That sounds like huge cuts. You can understand people wanting to be seen to be more committed than others.

I think perhaps it was the humidity on Tuesday. I hadn't considered that before @tizwozliz mentioned it. I've just walked K for half an hour round the village. It was a mixture of on lead and off lead potters. No real running. It's only 15° with a light breeze, but she was still panting. I checked the humidity when I got home and it's 90%.

@VanGoSunflowers Good to know the vet agrees Pablo is perfect. 💖
Do you take treats with you? Mine can get through almost everything if they are distracted by a tube of Primula. I know it doesn't work for all dogs though. My gold boy used to be far too shut down to eat. Doesn't sound like it would work for TD either.

Whilst you lot are suffering in the heat, we're on a weather warning for thunderstorms.

P's low fat food has finally been delivered, so hopefully she'll start to feel better soon. Can't say I have noticed a difference from the meds yet.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks he is about to turn 15 months old, I’m wondering if he will fill out anymore as he approaches adulthood? But it was nice to hear the vet say he has a nice little ‘waist’ 😊

My mom has aircon in her house - just the one unit in the living room. I am tempted to get some installed myself! The back of my house is south facing so the living room and my bedroom get insanely hot. I have big thick curtains in my bedroom and I have been drawing them and keeping the windows and the door closed all day and then opening the windows when the air outside is a bit cooler so it does make it a bit cooler.

@SpanielsGalore I think the reason he will willingly go in is because he knows there are treats at the front desk 😂 he only seems to become a bit nervous when we go in to one of the consultation rooms. His bum was right down on the ground but he was still wagging his tail because the vet is another human and he took some treats from her afterwards. It’s the only time I ever see him nervous bless him!

@Silverbirchleaf yours sounds similar to mine! I guess it’s a lab thing? The internal battle of all these smells, treats and people to make friends with vs getting jabbed with a needle

Dog is around 29kg but did go up to 30kg +. He didn’t look like a fat lab, but was on the higher side of acceptable. I’d like him to loose another half kilo , but in this heat, we keep giving him lickimats etc to entertain him, plus shorter walks, so it’s not going to happen anytime soon.

Good excuse to post a picture (taken a couple of weeks back).

@tizwozliz just call me Miss Marple! 😂Will keep my fingers crossed you don't get bitten by anything this evening!

@Silverbirchleaf thanks! I'll take a look at Roman. Sorry to hear your boy is also a massive coward. Perhaps it's a boy thing? All my girls have always been fine at the vets...

I'd still say he's not chunky though, even with a bit of weight gain. As you say the slightly larger side of ideal as opposed to fat?

@SpanielsGalore oh 100%. The thing is though, the decision on who gets jobs is down to people who likely never will have met the candidates before (to remove any possibility of bias) so coming into the office is a bit bonkers. But I still see why they might do it.

I'd happily take your thunderstorms if you want the warm weather. But only if they're the sort of thunderstorms that clear the air - it's muggy here although not as bad as it is for you! 90% humidity sounds awful. I could not cope.

Can confirm treats don't work for Twatdog. He's too stressed to manage them and even if he could, I'm not sure i'd risk trying again as I'd be worried he's choke on them!

@VanGoSunflowers he might fill out a bit more, but I can't imagine it would be much. Maybe more muscle on his legs etc?

Eurgh! Bedroom and living room both getting afternoon sun sounds like the worst case situation!!!

I've just given my lot lunch. Lots of very sad faces as I've been giving them less food as they're exercising way less...literally 8 miles a day less at the moment. You'd have thought I was starving them the way they're carrying on. 😒

I have one who hates the vets and one who loves them. There must me a signature smell for vets practices though as we've been to four and the one who's scared is the same at all of them. The reception in the one in Denmark is almost like a pet shop but little pup still knows the difference.

I've now got it arranged so their vaccinations are due at the same time as little one is better if big sis is there too.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks i don’t know why I said bedroom and living room when I meant bedroom and kitchen. Think I’m delirious from the heat 😂
I do expect he will put a bit more muscle on his legs, he’s still fairly gangly and people do often look at him and know he is a young dog and not just because he’s being a pain in the arse

Gosh this humidity today is insane. It was 33 degrees and 75% humidity earlier (going up to 85% overnight!!). There was a big storm this afternoon in North Yorkshire and it just missed us. I walked V up and down the shady spot in the back alley about 10 times to try and get him to poo earlier to no avail!

@VanGoSunflowers Twatdog had relatively scrawny legs until he was about 2 years. But then they suddenly got muscular, almost overnight. So almost certainly might happen, particularly if he's well exercised.

@tizwozliz I agree! There's a specific smell. We've been two four as well - two emergency, one in Norfolk and our local. And Twatdog recognises them before we're even through the door.

Poor little pup being scared!❤

@YorkshireFelix oh that sounds grim!!! It's 65% here but due to be over 90% in the morning which is going to be rough 😟How is V coping in the heat?

We had a storm first thing but it just made everything even more humid. The photo was at 10am - 43 degrees in the sun, but even though the second figure was the backyard, in the shade, and was only 25 degrees, it was 80% humidity. The more I read and I watch Bill, it's really clear that humidity makes him suffer far more than the heat itself - he takes himself out the back to sun himself when it's 35 degrees (not for long, as he hasn't got the sense that God gave a squirrel, so I drag him back in), but he could barely cope with a walk to the cemetery round the block at 7am because the overnight humidity was so high.

Sorry, Bill tax. This is from a couple of days ago - he found it in the long grass on the way home from our walk and insisted on carrying it all the way back. You could hear the neighbours laughing from across the street.

That looks like an excellent find.

As soon as we finished work we chucked the girls in the car to go for a ride with the air conditioning on, get some ice cream (honey and ginger, pistachio and almond and peanut butter and caramel) and have a paddle.

Still 31 degrees here, there's a breeze but it's more like a hair dryer.

@Bupster The way Bill is looking up at you is utterly adorable. He looks so proud.

@tizwozliz hope you enjoyed your evening walk!

It was horrible last night - the humidity is a killer. I ended up sleeping downstairs with the dogs and with the patio doors open. The dogs all slept outside, in the rain. I would have called them in, but they seemed so happy whenever I woke up that I couldn't bring myself to spoil their fun.

Anyone else find today was really busy on the walk? It was like everyone who hadn't been out much this week had decided to go out the second I did. Must have encountered a dozen dogs, easily, including a little 8 months old Golden that was a bit too interest in DWS. But a quick return to her old nasty habits had him running off 😳She's a repulsive little creature, but I do wonder if she does it on purpose to get other dogs to leave her alone.

I've slept downstairs with patio doors open all week. Not sure what time it was but big pup was barking at one point to let me know she'd stolen a rabbit ball.

Social media is wild. I've seen multiple posts this morning where people in the comments are saying that swimming and having a wet coat increases the risk of heatstroke for dogs! I mean, maybe if the dogs were swimming in a hot tub. A river or lake where the water temperature is in the low 20s not so much.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks yes, my walks have been much busier. This morning we bumped in to this person I usually try and avoid as she tries to guilt me in to letting Pablo off the lead to play with other dogs on the field. Apparently, it’s cruel not to let him. Despite me telling her I am trying to train some semblance of neutrality around dogs. Or at least not bolting over to them. I was a little grumpier than normal this morning though 😂

@tizwozliz I am glad there is so much ‘awareness’ around walking dogs in the heat but some people definitely take it too far.

It’s one or two degrees cooler here today. Tomorrow is going to be glorious - down to 23 degrees and I can’t wait! Gave Pablo his milbevet and bravecto crushed up in his dinner last night thinking I was being clever but he picked and picked and tried to eat around it. In the end, he did eat about 80% of it so I am thinking he got enough of the dose? He used to gobble them up right out of my hand!

I had plans this afternoon to watch DS play piano in a little school concert and feeling guilty that I cancelled. Really not comfortable leaving Pablo alone at home for 3 hours when the coolest room he has access to is already 28 degrees! Luckily his dad is going and they’re both ok with it. Wondering if I am being a little precious.

Not in a million years would I leave Bill alone in those circumstances - I mean, I don't really leave him alone anyway, but just no chance in this heat. I'm wary even of taking him to sitters' houses as most of them have no aircon and it's just too bloody hot. At least my cave of a dining room (now with foil on the outside of the window to look like a crack den) stays at 25, and I've got crappy aircon running in the bedroom so we can nap/sleep.

@Bupster good to know it was the right call and I’m not being precious. He’s fine with the heat indoors when I am here but I have all the fans on/windows and doors open which I obviously can’t do if I were to go out. Nice touch on the crack den windows 😂

Dog loves these ‘mega ball’ ( I think that’s the brand name) but he squashes them down. This one is flatter than this now, but he still loves it.

We’ve encountered all the regulars at once as well. Had an almighty storm last night, well early this morning. It was so loud, and the rain so heavy. Tropical.

I wouldn’t want leave Dog in this heat either.

Have a staff barbecue this week, but both dh and ds are working in their respective offices, so won’t going.

Surely foil will magnify the heat?

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@tizwozliz social media is bonkers when it comes to pets. Often I think it's people who have never actually had any sort of pet...

@VanGoSunflowers how much grumpier were you? 😀I find it very annoying when people judge me if I don't let mine play...but dogs don't need to play with every dog they meet!

I had someone this morning yell across the road at me to ask if their dog could say 'hi' to mine. I said no and you'd have thought I'd have told her that I was a dedicated Kim Jong Un fanatic from the way she reacted!

How did your DS concert go?

I have to say I wouldn't have gone either. In this heat and knowing how stupid dogs can be (as evidenced by mine trying to spend all day every day this week in the sodding garden) I just wouldn't risk it. Even if they're inside, all it takes is them having a manic moment etc.

@Silverbirchleaf a staff barbecue in this weather sounds awful!! That garden will be so hot.

Hoping it's a bit cooler for everyone else today. It is for me! Currently sat in the garden post-breakfast-shower-dog-walk, and shivering! Admittedly I only have a vest top on and shorts, but the wind has really picked up. I won't go inside though as it's so lovely to be cold after sweating all week 😁

Morning all.
Phone says it is 19° but feels like 23° here. The sky is white and there's a breeze. So no idea what to wear for walking the dogs today. No doubt whatever I choose will be wrong. Because the garden is north facing, it's usually a few degrees colder than the street too. So I will dress to suit the garden temperature, then step out the front door and swelter.

I can't really comment on everyone's heat related issues, as it's no where near as hot up here. When it does get hot, my house stays cool, so I am fine to leave the dogs. The down side being, I need to put the heating on more often.

Weighed K this morning and she has lost 0.8kg. I've only reduced her kibble by 10 gms per meal, so I think that must show how many treats NDN has been feeding her.

It's P's 5th birthday today. 🎂
5 sounds like a proper grown up age. People still ask me if she's a puppy, but that's mainly because they think she's a small springer. Here she is at 3 months old.

@SpanielsGalore Oh P was such a beautiful puppy! Look at that face. No one could ever think that face was a face that could ever do anything wrong ❤

How was your walk in the end? Were you too sweaty or too cold? It's suddenly got quite cold here, even colder than it was first thing, and I am regretting walking the dogs so early. If I was setting off with them now I'd almost certainly not sweat as it's so breezy but easily I was drenched. 😫