Weather

[M.F.]

What can smug Australians teach the UK about surviving a heatwave? | First Dog on the Moon

British buildings are not designed for heat, if you have time knock them down and start again

www.theguardian.com

Please ignore the post title! But the content is brilliant.

 

[Candy]

The plan had been for Joy and I to catch a train to Rochdale today to visit Mags and Tatze and to meet Ted for the first time. I rang Mags to cancel yesterday though, today is just going to be too hot for a Black Labrador to be travelling by train, and station platforms will be scorching in this weather.
We were up at five, out for our walk by half past and home for breakfast at seven, having done more swimmy fetch than anything else. GGJ is somewhat confused, she keeps coming and nudging me and squeaking, as if to say ' What shall we do now, please?' The heat hasn't hit yet, but we're ready for it, with a cool mat, a misting spray, a frozen yoghurt lick mat and some of her kibble mixed with water and frozen. Her bed and my garden chair are out in the shade and we're going to chill and snooze today. Fortunately the house, being stone built is lovely and cool too, so it's going to be a calm and peaceful day for us and we'll look forward to meeting Little Ted when it's all cooled down a bit.

 

[Stacia]

Have been thinking of you both @Lab_adore, did the op go ahead and if so, how is Steve today?

 

[Stacia]

@M.F. loved it!

 

[kateincornwall]

No playgroup for Reuben but the lovely Anna has been to collect a very few ( Reubs is one ) very early for a dip in the sea, coming home soon xx

 

[David]

I took the Popdog out for a short walk yesterday early evening. It was very hot but I hosed Poppy down before setting off. It worked well and no panting at all until we were nearly back. Didn't go far, though.

 

[MrChew]

I hope all goes according to plan @Lab_adore. Been thinking about you two all day.

 

[JES72]

I don't mind this dry heat, I can't stand it when it's sticky and humid.

 

[Boogie]

I’ve stuck white paper on all the sunny windows then drawn the curtains - that’s made a huge difference. I’ve put the dogs beds in the hallway which is by far the coolest space in our house, both are snoozing there now.

It’s 31° outside at the moment and 24° indoors. It doesn’t feel unbearable.

Our front room is the coolest room but it’s jam packed with bags on their way to the charity shop. By the time they’ve gone (Friday) it’ll be raining again!

 

[MrChew]

It's been mostly really cold here lately, but someone has a detailed map of the warmest spots in the house and spends all day following sunbeams.

 

[Atemas]

I’ve stuck white paper on all the sunny windows then drawn the curtains - that’s made a huge difference.

It’s 37 degrees outside now but cool inside. We shut all the windows first thing and closed blinds/curtains on the south side of the house to stop the heat getting in. There’s a fan going in the sitting room. Red has slept most of the day - other than Kong time. It feels weird being ‘shut in’. Roll on Wednesday when the weather is forecast to be much cooler and rain

 

[kateincornwall]

We have had curtains closed all day but windows open . Little Nelly is finding it all a bit much, its currently 35 degrees . Reuben is flat out on the bathroom floor , I`ve had to keep the back door closed because he is such a numpty for going out to sleep in it . Weather forecast says 70% chance of rain tomorrow for us , yes please x

 

[Boogie]

So is Tatze! She goes and lies on the patio in full sun if I let her.

Little Ted doesn’t try to go outside in this. Luckily the spending area is in the shade and cooled by overhanging foliage.

 

[Candy]

@M.F. loved it!

Yes, me too!

 

[Candy]

Joy's been really sensible on the whole, choosing to lie in our shady hallway on the cool tiles for much of the day

 

[Candy]

Having said that, we did have to call a halt to her and Loki's ball and paddling pool game after ten minutes thisevening. They both love it, but were dashing around like mad things, totally carried away, so we had to take the decision to confiscate all balls and take them back inside to cool down!

 

[Candy]

Does anyone know anything about Pugs? There's a little one living over the road from us. She came snuffling up to the gates while Joy and Loki were playing in the paddling pool thisevening, looking so much like she wanted to join in. Her owner came over and I said ' Would she like to join our two? They're both very friendly and gentle'.
He replied 'She can't get wet, she doesn't dry out'.
I wasn't sure really why he wanted her to dry out. My neighbours and I have spent much of the day squirting Joy and Loki with plant misting sprays with the exact intention of keeping them damp so that they stayed cool. Is it a Pug thing? Is it not good for them to be damp in hot weather? It's the first time that I've spoken to this man, so I didn't feel comfortable with challenging him, but I could have cried for his poor little dog when I looked at her and saw how much she wanted to join in the fun our two were having. Poor sweetheart, what have people done to these little dogs?

 

[Stacia]

@Candy, my friend has a 9 year old Pug (2 Curly Coats and an Irish Water Spaniel) and I have never heard her say 'Lettice never dries out'! I can't know for sure if they can or can't but Frankie has never mentioned it and Lettice thinks she is a big dog!

 

[kateincornwall]

I`ve never heard this before , how odd . I know that short nosed brachy dogs like Pugs and French Bulldogs arent advised to swim due to their shape ( heavy bodies and short legs ) and they suffer terribly in warm weather just trying to breathe poor things x

 

[Parodius]

One of my neighbours has gone all out ‘zombie apocalypse’ for the heat wave. Bit extreme looking but I bet their lounge is cooler than mine