Hot weather

 The hot  weather has finally arrived, after a lovely cool spring and early summer. When Penny came to live with us - all those years ago - it was high summer, so we adapted to living with heat. Now that Peppa is here, we're having to think about how a lhasa apso might cope with heat. 

 Here is a lhasa apso site we've looked at: Lhasa Life

It's going to be a cool enough night, but it's predicted to be hot tomorrow. This article about dogs and hot weather has given us something to think about. It suggests one of the best way to cool down a hot dog is with tap water. We think we might deploy the paddling pool we bought for Penny in 2016, and see if Peppa will feel happy to paddle around. 

 

Here is Penny having fun in 2016.

Peppa, on the other hand, has conniptions when we bath her, so maybe she has a  general hatred of water. But she does love to feel a spray of water from a tap or hose and prefers to drink running water rather than still water in a bowl.

It's going to be fun trying out the pool. So nice to be able to get it out of the shed and remember happy times with Penny.

Penny and the overly big stick

I like to see Penny solving problems for herself, when possible, because I think it's good for her to stretch her mental capabilities.

Yesterday she arrived at the door of the car - after a delightfully muddy swim - with a big stick in her mouth. It wouldn't fit through the door as she was carrying it. I hoped she might figure out to turn it sideways, as she has done in the past, but more often than not she can't be bothered with all the mental exertion of problem-solving.

In this case she waited for me to solve the problem for her.

I found it interesting to watch her body language as she coped with the stick that wouldn't fit. Here are some of the things I noticed:

She slowed down as she approached the car and realised there was a problem;
her tail drooped;
she licked her lips;
she looked away from the problematic door and stick;
her ears flattened;
she scratched her chin;
she looked at me for help.

Many of these are classic signs of stress, but I think it was good for her to face the situation and try to work it out. I think she was experiencing eustress rather than distress.

Here's the whole incident, if you feel like looking at it: