During the first ten days of November we had sweltering temperatures, which reached the hottest levels on record, only easing off slightly the last couple of days. Today eight people had to be rescued from their cars in Ashqelon [~5km from here]. Today we had the first rains of the season. And thunder. And lightening. And on/of/on/off power outages from lightning strikes. And it is cold. Yesterday was the lightest summer wear possible. Today it is layers of winter clothes. Tikva Does Not Do Rain. Even when it has stopped she digs her little tootsies in. "I Am Not Going Out". One small half Doxie, free to anyone who will come and take her!
Yes the weather here yesterday was warm, but today we have an amber flood warning in place. I hope people are ok where you are and that you’re safe from it.
The temperature literally plummeted overnight, as yesterday I had to put the a/c on in the salon for a while. As far as flooding goes, certain areas of town do tend to flood when there is very heavy rain as the sewers cannot cope, but it is about 30 years since I lived in town and the area where my I had my apartment was never affected, so I am not sure where. There have been so many new neighbourhoods built since then, and I have no idea where that second picture is. The Moshav has never flooded like that, although a few bungalows that are set low down, like mine is [and the one I lived in before this one!] do end up with flooded shower rooms if there is a lot of heavy rain in a very short time, even though our sewers were re-done a few years back. Luckily not every winter though! It comes up through the shower drain hole so I put a load of old towels across the doorway to stop it coming into the rest of the bungalow. The shower has not worked for years [my landlord refuses to spend any money on the place as it is going to be razed when I go] but luckily my ensuite [which I had built] is OK and does not flood. So from now until the end of winter, I have just have to hope that this will not be a flood year for me - and cope with a dog who does not "do" rain!
Looks like Tally must have had a premonition this morning, as Storm Claudia has hit us today. We have had notice of three A roads being blocked by fallen trees, and there seems to have been two serious road accidents. A tree has fallen behind the sheltered care bungalows further down the road, and the power has gone off in the town centre too. The wind and driving rain has persisted all day, and our doors are rattling. Tal and I are OK though, and our only damage is a ceramic planter - which I should have had the sense to move to ground level. As we live on a steep hill, flooding isn't a problem for us. How strange that so many areas worldwide are having this erratic weather. A spot of global warming would have been welcome today. @Malka Dachsies are well known to not like going out in the rain. It is a worry when they won't wee but I'm sure that she will 'go' on a puppy pad or an old towel if she is really bursting.
It is quite late for us to be having our first rains though. A friend in north Tel Aviv told me they had had a brief shower a couple of weeks ago, Rafi said we had a blink-and-you'll-miss it shower here about 6am also a week or so back, but the news that has been coming through today is of exceptional storms in places all over the country, with even snow on the Hermon. @CaroleC - Tikva had to use a puppy pad when I adopted her as she was far too young to go out - she was only just staggering around at that age - and then she could not even able to go in the front yard as there was parvo in town, and we get unwanted dogs dumped here. And as I am not always able to get to the door when she wants to go out I have always had a puppy pad down in a corner for emergencies. She does not use it very often but knows that she can if she has to. One of the advantages of raw feeding is that her poos are not only very small, but also do not pong, so on the very rare occasion she does one on a pad all I have to do is put a tissue over it, flip the pad so it is in my hand, and chuck it down the loo. Small dogs do not do big pees either, so they are no problem either. I know that many people think it is wrong for an adult dog to use a puppy pad, but then they are not in my situation. Luckily winter does not last very long and it does not rain for days on end, but there is always a pad down for when she needs it.
Exactly. Dogs can easily adapt to.their owners living conditions. That is what makes them such perfect companions. When I was disabled Tally had to manage with far less exercise than she gets at present, (I do feel guilty now that I let her gain so much weight at that time, but that was how I compensated). Those health conditions may well return, and I expect Tally will adapt just as well as she did before. Security and caring home are the most important things in our dogs lives.
I think in your situation, puppy pads are perfectly fine. Even if Tikva was OK going out in the rain, it would likely be a much bigger deal trying to dry her off all the time than to just clean up a puppy pad. AND, you have the dog experience to know how to minimize any confusion puppy pads can create. I find it interesting that we are all having storms coming through on the exact same days considering how spread out around the globe we are. And I believe Marc is having storms too right now.
