Today's Weather

Livia Kretsch wrote:

Where is a dog strand in Lake Balaton? My dog is 8 years old and never been in the water. I would love to see what she does.
So far we had 10 drops of rain and heavy wind (Balatonalmadi), but nothing else. All the plants are dying, grass is burned. I heard North of us had lots of rain. I am so jealous.

I don't know about Balatonalmadi but the dog beach near the Mrs Fluffy family holiday house is maybe halfway between Balatonszarszo and Balatonfoldvar on the "lakeside road" (runs between the lake and the railway line).   Here's a link to location in Google Maps - click here.  Apparently there are other ones too!  I never knew.

Might be a bit of a drive from Almadi and then there's potentially the cost of the return ferry Tihany-Szantod. But then again, it's a trip out. The beach itself free but parking costs 250 HUF an hour.  It's quite popular and some dogs are clearly experts in swimming and water gymnastics. 

There is a sign for dog friendly beach.  It's near a big hotel (forgot the name of it) and a run down tennis centre so you need to look out for it.  It's on right hand side as you go away from Balatonfoldvar in the direction of Balatonszarszo. 

People swim with their dogs there.  Obviously your dog will be soaking wet and maybe muddy so take plenty of towels and dog blankets to protect the interior of your car (unlike us, not thinking ahead).

If you do go there, please post back to say how your dog got on with swimming!  Ours was very hesitant. Other dogs were throwing themselves in without any thought!

Thank you for all the info! You are right it isn't around the corner from us. But sounds so much fun that I have to look for a dog beach around us. I can't wait to see what my dog would do. She is from a shelter and with us for 8 years but still has some security issues. Which is very odd since she is a mean looking german shepherd. I don't think, she would be the one who throws herself in the water without second thought .

Livia Kretsch wrote:

Thank you for all the info! You are right it isn't around the corner from us. But sounds so much fun that I have to look for a dog beach around us. I can't wait to see what my dog would do. She is from a shelter and with us for 8 years but still has some security issues. Which is very odd since she is a mean looking german shepherd. I don't think, she would be the one who throws herself in the water without second thought .

I am sure there are dog beaches on the north side too but where, who knows?   Your dog will be able to swim. I think they all can.

In my limited experience, when dogs meet each other, they  sort it all out between themselves pretty quickly.  We don't really worry about our dog meeting other dogs.  The pecking order is soon resolved.   The only odd thing is that we find the smallest dogs are the most aggressive.  Our dog (Golden Retriever) is very tolerant and wants to play but the small ones want to yap and snap.   Might be fear driven behaviour or just terrier instinct.

I made a mistake yesterday by walking the dog in the forest and on some country paths.  It turned out to be a 7km walk and she was really  suffering in the 30 C heat.  I always take water for us and unusually she drank all of her water by the time we got back to the car.   She was really panting and not looking so great. I think she was on the verge of heatstroke.  When we got back, she laid in the shade panting and drinking lots of water.   She looks OK now though and is back to normal.  I won't be taking her out except in the evenings or night.

Yesterday was another very hot day. My dog doesn't like to be outside too long in hot.  Her biggest (and our) problem is that she wants to protect us for any cost.  In my dogs eyes, only my husband, me and she exist.  We go to dogtraining when it's not so hot and it works really well. She is socializing with other dogs (with muzzle and chocker collar unfortunately) and listens to me and the trainer. But when I take her for a walk, it could be a terrible struggle. I am really terrified that she would get into a fight. She was only 6 months old when someone dropped her off at the shelter where she spent another 6 months. So who knows what she picked up in that time but she never seemed to forget it. I feel bad for her. She will never have dogie friend like this. Can you imagine when we moved here?! We missed the flight twice because she wasn't allowed on the plane😩.  Dogie beach would be on the leash I am afraid. Still, might be fun.

Livia Kretsch wrote:

Yesterday was another very hot day. My dog doesn't like to be outside too long in hot.  Her biggest (and our) problem is that she wants to protect us for any cost.  In my dogs eyes, only my husband, me and she exist.  We go to dogtraining when it's not so hot and it works really well. She is socializing with other dogs (with muzzle and choke collar unfortunately) and listens to me and the trainer. But when I take her for a walk, it could be a terrible struggle. I am really terrified that she would get into a fight. She was only 6 months old when someone dropped her off at the shelter where she spent another 6 months. So who knows what she picked up in that time but she never seemed to forget it. I feel bad for her. She will never have dogie friend like this. Can you imagine when we moved here?! We missed the flight twice because she wasn't allowed on the plane😩.  Dogie beach would be on the leash I am afraid. Still, might be fun.

Yes, very difficult if she's had trauma in her life.  Some dogs can never be persuaded to behave another way.  You could have brought her here in the hold of the plane.   Safer for everyone if she's likely to cause trouble on the plane. 

You can see on YouTube people checking dogs with a rubber hand on a stick, moving the dog's bowl of food to see if the dog wants to bite the hand that feeds it.   If your dog thinks like that, I don't know how you could overcome it. Definitely a project.   

Dogs have to know they have limits and I think they are happier if they know the limits and have the discipline brought around by training.   Goldies are obviously very receptive to training (especially with food rewards) and have a temperament for it.  She's seems quite OK even to have the cat jumping on her!   The cat annoys her all the time but she seems to like the attention.

There's a guy near us has 3 dogs, all German Shepherds, and they walk with him without muzzles and without leads.  They are incredibly well behaved. They dodge around behind him, stop when crossing the road and following him without any need for reprimands.  How he managed to train them like that, I don't know.   

Our dog will do basic stuff like sit down, lie down, bark, spin, jump and about 70% of the time will respond to the recall.    This is the next stage for us, walk without a lead next to us and to come back reliably.

Just to be on topic, windy with showers down at Balaton - bit cold in the water with so much gusty wind blasts.

Wow, last night's stormy weather over Budapest was just spectacular.  I've never seen it rain so hard.   Our guttering was overflowing and the street was a river.  Everything looks very green again!

The FWS shows 16.5mm of rain since midnight.  Humidity is very high at 84% and there's no wind. Cooled down a bit to 22 C but 30 C is predicted.

I wish the weather report was correct, I missed 2 swimming days this week because we were waiting for rain.
I was ready to head too the lake this morning but put it off because it's probably muddy on the grounds and my husband hates it that way.
I couldn't care because I spend most of my time swimming .
Our Doberman was a rescue dog. My sister and I went looking for a puppy for my family at a shelter. I was crying so hard while looking that people came up to me to ask if my dog was lost.
Not much makes me cry but pets and children do.( well some of them anyways)
They told us about a special Doberman puppy that one of the volunteers had taken home from the shelter because it needed extra care. It had been found alone in the hills straving with mange and kennel cough.
It was also no longer a tiny puppy but around 5 months old and acting the fool, being like a wild teenager.
We went to see the puppy, it was so sweet and friendly although spots of fur  were missing and it coughed so hard.
It also cost a pretty penny, more then most shelter dogs cost.
We also doubled the cost by having him cropped and docked  when he health returned. Not sure I'd do that ever again but dang he looked good afterwards.
I thought if for any reason we couldn't keep him he would be adopted faster if he looked like a standard Doberman.Of course we never gave him up.Just wanted to insure he would be a catch for anyone looking foor a pet if we had to give him up, his insurance policy.
My sister really knew animals and told me I'd be insane if I didn't adopt that Dobbie.
She said she wished she could afford to purchase it for herself.
Well, we had them come over to check out our home and make sure we were on the up and up then were allowed to adopt him.
I tok him for treatments as they had started with the shelter for his mange, $40. in 1986 for shampoo alone.
He cough was treated as well.
He later went to obendience classes and became so fit in every way that literally cars stopped when I walked him because people wanted to know the name of the breeder or if he was ging to shire any pups soon.
No idea why he was dumped in the mountains ther then the shade of his eye were a couple shades too light to be AKC.
I was told by several Doberman breeders that although we didn't know his parentage they would sign( Need 3 or 4 breeders) that he was pure Doberman and although he wasn't a show dog he could still work in obedience work.
I took him to classes every week, worked him for hours 6 days a week for many months. He did 2 different class levels in obedience. Not to work him for prizes but just to make him the best he could be and a better pet.
He hated the water however... He fell into our swimming pool as a pup and was hanging onto the edge of the pool having scrapped his paws raw to hold on.
He would bark his hea doff everytime we swam trying to protect us fro the water. Had to always put him in the house when we swam or he would have a fit.
We put him in a couple times on a raft but he would have no part of it, he crawled/swam out.
Never forced him to go in after that.
He lived in Hawaii, flew over did his time in quarantine for 4 months. He hated being in the cargo hold even though I had the vet give drops to realx him before the flight.
12 1/2 years we enjoyed him. In fact my son still says his only sibling was a dog.
He was trained to walk off lead, sit stay, down  , drop on recall and do a long stay alone without supervision. Walk tight on the left and well, can't even remember all he did, mostly he made us happy.
I did use a choke chain on him at times but only because he still got over excited at times even with all the training. He was 108lbs. and I wasn't all that much heavier then him but he was all muscle. I was afraid he might get aways with a standard collar.My fault more then his, I could and should of been tougher with his training, dogs are strong but you must make them believe you are stronger.
He was so well mannered over all that both my mom and auntie told me to bring him to dinner at their homes, he could lay under the table and no one knew he was even there.
Well it look like we should of gone to the lake today after all,not going to listen to the weather reports ,looks like it would of been nice at the lake today after all.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I wish the weather report was correct, I missed 2 swimming days this week because we were waiting for rain.
I was ready to head too the lake this morning but put it off because it's probably muddy on the grounds and my husband hates it that way.
I couldn't care because I spend most of my time swimming .

The ground will be soggy down there but I don't actually think it was raining at Balaton overnight.  Sunday is the day when it will be torrential - according to the weather forecast.   

There's still time to get down to Balaton for today.  Leave now and you'd be there by lunchtime! 3h swimming, then back home for dinner!  BTW, we all now use rubbery shoes when moving around in the lake.  Like slippers (not Crocs) and made of neoprene.   One wouldn't notice the muddy bits wearing these water shoes.  We get them in Decathlon and maybe Tesco too.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Our Doberman was a rescue dog. My sister and I went looking for a puppy for my family at a shelter. I was crying so hard while looking that people came up to me to ask if my dog was lost.
Not much makes me cry but pets and children do.( well some of them anyways)
They told us about a special Doberman puppy that one of the volunteers had taken home from the shelter because it needed extra care. It had been found alone in the hills straving with mange and kennel cough.
It was also no longer a tiny puppy but around 5 months old and acting the fool, being like a wild teenager.
We went to see the puppy, it was so sweet and friendly although spots of fur  were missing and it coughed so hard.
It also cost a pretty penny, more then most shelter dogs cost.
We also doubled the cost by having him cropped and docked  when he health returned. Not sure I'd do that ever again but dang he looked good afterwards.
I thought if for any reason we couldn't keep him he would be adopted faster if he looked like a standard Doberman.Of course we never gave him up.Just wanted to insure he would be a catch for anyone looking for a pet if we had to give him up, his insurance policy.

Dogs will certainly cost money.  It's remarkable how dogs have ingratiated themselves into human lives.  Our Goldie has soppy eyes which it uses to work magic on humans. It also has this attention seeking behaviour. It comes up and nuzzles you and then uses dog hocus pocus to get you to pay attention and give some love.   If we don't have time, we say go away and she goes off and bides her time for a retry later on. Certainly doesn't bear a grudge! 

We're planning to shampoo our dog down at Balaton but I reckon within 5 mins, she'll be in the mud again.  Hardly worth it.   We really should take her for tidy up at the kutyakozmetika but other Goldie owners say it's not worth doing as the fur will grow back even stronger.  Not sure I believe that and she'd be happier as she wouldn't be so hot and would look neater.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

He was trained to walk off lead, sit stay, down  , drop on recall and do a long stay alone without supervision. Walk tight on the left and well, can't even remember all he did, mostly he made us happy.
I did use a choke chain on him at times but only because he still got over excited at times even with all the training. He was 108lbs. and I wasn't all that much heavier then him but he was all muscle. I was afraid he might get aways with a standard collar.My fault more then his, I could and should of been tougher with his training, dogs are strong but you must make them believe you are stronger.
He was so well mannered over all that both my mom and auntie told me to bring him to dinner at their homes, he could lay under the table and no one knew he was even there.
Well it look like we should of gone to the lake today after all,not going to listen to the weather reports ,looks like it would of been nice at the lake today after all.

How did you do that walk off the lead thing?    Our Goldie will sit and lay down to hand signals only without speaking.   We tried the choke collar thing but I think it wasn't  working and we stopped it.  It went better after that.   The dog was happy to be strangled during what it was she doing that shouldn't have been doing.   We know she's highly motivated by rewards but sometimes we think she doesn't do stuff not because she doesn't understand, but she cannot see the point of it and doesn't get what's in it for her.

Now with this humidty I'm mad at myself for shutting off my early alarm to get to the lake.
Will find some household(boring) thing to keep busy without ging into the heat today.
I took my Max to a training, a serius Rottie trainer who happened to wear her hair in a tight ponytail and also wore nurses shoes, you know they aren;t messing about if they have nurses shoes on!
It was the William Koehler style of training. He worked the dog for the war dept. in Ca. and also trained the dogs fr the old Disney films.
It was a very harsh at times system but it stuck and the dogs knew they had not cross the line., There was training mode and fun time, they knew exaclty the difference.
I cried a few times during his trianing and even had to turn my back to not see his correction in class once.
The bigger the dog the bigger the correction...
He was trained so well that he didn't dare put one paw in our living rom becuase of the carpet. I didn't want tiny black hairs all over that one area in the house.
He knew which few rooms he was allwed to enter and which he was not.
I used to wash my dog in the bathtub, probably not the best thing for the drain but his fur was short enough to catch it, used to brush him out first too.
I'm crazy, used Paul Mitchell baby shampoo on him many times as well as your normal shampoos from the pet shops.
He als had his own toothbrush,he hated getting his teeth brushed .
I did all his grooming, even his nails.
He got used to me fussing over him and sort of enjoyed it after awhile.
My trainer is the one who got me to use a choke chain on him.
She could see he was a bit too large fr me to handle without some help.
Many really tiny women and children can handle a well trained pet but I sometimes slacked in his corrections.
We just wanted a well behaved pet and not a super star.
My secnd cusin has all 3 of her dogs in obendience shows in the US.
She has her entire backyard built into a training area. Her husband shows one of the dogs and she the other 2.
She is always posting about winning some shw in 1st or 2nd place all the time. It costs them a small fortune.They have no children so the college fund is all spend on their dogs. They even kayak with them.
Awards and ribbins all over their home, it's a bit over the top really.
When I was training our dog my husband made me stop after the second course, the people involved in anything more serious were honestly getting a bit strange and odd.
He told me he didn't want to be married to a dog lady!
It is addicting to see how far a pet can learn though.
Dog training, the new drug!
I'm not sure about Goldies but German Sheppards have a double coat of fur.
They need special brushing to get the thick under coat smooth.
That might be why you were told the fur grows in thicker if you wash them, they need more brushing then washing?
It was a long hard challenge to get my dog to walk off lead. We lived in a very busy area with tons of traffic and leash laws so I only really got him to walk off lead in Hawaii and in some parks. When people would see a huge Doberman off lead I could tell they were not overly happy about it.
He looked scary but was so harmless.
It was part of the training course for them t walk off lead,shws the cnnection between the dog and it's "master".We were judged before graduation with the dogs doing their thing in front of a large crowd of people. They also had to weave between other dogs who were off lead and not stop to sniff of play.
My dog graduated but I'm sure it was a close call.

I forgot to mention during training we started our pets on a 30 foot long lunge line hooked to a regular choke chain. They had enough time to be mindful of their human parents before they were choked out for not paying attention. Slowly we went to a 6 foot line. We dropped the lead and ran knocking at times our pet off their feet if they were stubborn enough to not watch us. It wasn't an easy thing to do emotionally but being firm from the start saved time and confusion.
After that it was no lead.
Can't happen over night.
It was a type of turn and run to get enough momentom going to get the dogs attention. You were able to use the full force of your speed and weight against their necks to teach them who was in control and where they should be looking at all times while on lead.or even without lead but in work mode.
After every work session we had off lead fun and games to let them know it was OK to relax and they no longer needed to work so hard.
If not for the peer pressure of a group class every week, I'd probably not get very far with the training.
The shame of having the only pet who flunked that week was enough to train us owners as well as our pets
If you can control the head then you can control the entire dog.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I forgot to mention during training we started our pets on a 30 foot long lunge line hooked to a regular choke chain. They had enough time to be mindful of their human parents before they were choked out for not paying attention. Slowly we went to a 6 foot line. We dropped the lead and ran knocking at times our pet off their feet if they were stubborn enough to not watch us. It wasn't an easy thing to do emotionally but being firm from the start saved time and confusion.
After that it was no lead.
Can't happen over night.
It was a type of turn and run to get enough momentom going to get the dogs attention. You were able to use the full force of your speed and weight against their necks to teach them who was in control and where they should be looking at all times while on lead.or even without lead but in work mode.
After every work session we had off lead fun and games to let them know it was OK to relax and they no longer needed to work so hard.
If not for the peer pressure of a group class every week, I'd probably not get very far with the training.
The shame of having the only pet who flunked that week was enough to train us owners as well as our pets
If you can control the head then you can control the entire dog.

Oh dear, that sounds like quite an effort.  I was thinking of making it simpler than that.  Just getting her to walk next to me and giving her a tiny reward for doing it. And keeping repeating until she gets it. 

I thought it as quite funny to feel bad for their dog not doing well in dog school.  Problem child....no sorry...problem dog....even I've started to call the dog by our youngest's name when I get a bit flustered...

Now down in Balaton again. Very humid down here.  Last night I was convinced I could see lightning and storminess on the North side.   It's not as warm as it was and this morning at 0500h it was positively chilly.

Yes, in reality I only wished to teach my dog not to dislocate my shoulder by running after anything that took his fancy.
I once was walking him , he was still young , perhaps 8 months old and not as strong as he would become.
I had a choke chain on him which was not thick enought for his size.
Some guys were working outdoors and seemed a bit put off by my large puppy.
He for some reason decided to go after them, I had hold of the lead but the chain around his neck snapped and broke! There I was with the lead and chain my in hands and him running off.
Thankfully he didn't go after these men and thankfully I soon had control of him again.
Another time he was all cool and collected on his walk and out of the blue he saw a cat. Powered up and ripped my right shoulder half way out of the socket.
I was dragged for over a city block because I refused to let him go, far to much traffic around. I had to grab onto a hanging tree branch to stop him, my joint followed. That time I smacked him on the head with my fist. I was so hurt and mad.He didn't seem to feel a thing...
Off to the chrio for me, had my shoulder taped into place...
To this day my joint hurts, had surgery on it too. A life long remider...
I am a firm believer in choke chains in some cases as long as the pet is not abused.
We went to Velence yesterday and dang it was horrible.
We opted to pay for the strand which was nice enough and very peaceful.
The problem was the water levels is so low there now that I had more of a walk then a swim.
Had to go so far out and even then it was so shallow it was no fun , super murky too.
Not sure if Balaton levels are low but will check.
Not going to Velence again until the water rises more.
Lupa lake sounds good right now as well.
Over all it was a very quiet Friday and very peaceful ,if only for the number one reason for going there, the water.

I do feel for those in Germany and Belgium.





We had weather warnings in place, but no floods thank goodness.

Pretty horrible.
Hope they had insurnace.
Saw that even dry old Flagstaff,AZ had cars floating down the neighborhood streets.
Makes me wonder why lake Velence was so low last week?

SimCityAT wrote:

I do feel for those in Germany and Belgium.

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We had weather warnings in place, but no floods thank goodness.

Years ago in another life, I used to live fairly close to some of those places in NRW (Bad Neuenahr).  I cycled a few  times to the spa.  It was a very touristy place. Terrible damage.

Came back from Balaton last night and encountered a torrential thunderstorm. We could see there was the aftermath of heavy rain here in the village.   A lot of rocks and debris washed down the streets.    Not looking very good for the week either.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Pretty horrible.
Hope they had insurnace.
Saw that even dry old Flagstaff,AZ had cars floating down the neighborhood streets.
Makes me wonder why lake Velence was so low last week?

A few years ago, Balaton was really low because they misjudged the flows into the lake and released too much or reduced inflows. And then we had the Balaton algae slime problem a couple of years ago.  I think that was caused by too much pollution and they are making it worse with large construction developments on the south side (mainly at Szantod, luxury apartment complexes there).

Mrs F and the kids go to Velence quite often but I don't really like it there as it seems to me to be like a large muddy puddle.  I've cycled all the way around it though.

Lake Balaton is the place for sure.
Velence is close, only 30 min. from the station to the lake.
It looks like we will have to do the hour and go to Balaton for now.
Velence is not a place where I ever would put my eyes, ears or face into on purpose, it's a bit murky at the best of times.
Lupa lake is interesting for a swim.
The water is cold compared to Balaton or Velence but it seems pretty clear.
There just isn't a ton of shade there so you have to be ready to get some sun.
Of course if you pay extra you can go to the luxury side where they even have a shuttle drive you. us,"normies" have to hoof it a bit to get to the shoreline.
We usually don't pay for the strand area, we did on Friday and it was more peaceful.
Next time we head to Balaton I think we will pay extra for the strand.Why not, it's not like we are saving up for the Bahamas.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Lake Balaton is the place for sure.
Velence is close, only 30 min. from the station to the lake.
It looks like we will have to do the hour and go to Balaton for now.
Velence is not a place where I ever would put my eyes, ears or face into on purpose, it's a bit murky at the best of times.
Lupa lake is interesting for a swim.
The water is cold compared to Balaton or Velence but it seems pretty clear.
There just isn't a ton of shade there so you have to be ready to get some sun.
Of course if you pay extra you can go to the luxury side where they even have a shuttle drive you. us,"normies" have to hoof it a bit to get to the shoreline.
We usually don't pay for the strand area, we did on Friday and it was more peaceful.
Next time we head to Balaton I think we will pay extra for the strand.Why not, it's not like we are saving up for the Bahamas.

There are still free beaches down at Balaton but of course, the other facilities like WCs or cafes aren't always available.  However, yesterday we were at a free beach and for some reason what was there - ice cream counter and cafe - was all closed.  It had been raining heavily overnight.  They probably thought it wasn't worth opening after the heavy rain the night before.  It was warm though if quite windy.

I've been in the Bahamas a couple of times and to be honest I thought it was a dump.  Don't waste your money.  Some islands are pretty much empty of anything but surprisingly well forested.  Nassau is particularly bad and some parts of New Providence (where Nassau is) are positively dangerous.   The area called "Over The Hill" does not even have proper sanitation or running water.  I think that looks like a public health emergency to me, possibly even negligence  on the part of the government.   It's only "good" if you are a celebrity with loads of money and resources to live in a gated community - e.g. Sean Connery.   Celebrities who have a house there - should be doing something about "Over The Hill".

There was so much hail last night.
At least for 45 mins it was coming dwn hard.
Our window pots that didn't wash out were full of snowy crystals.
Ben to Belize, Belize city was a total dump at least back in the mid 1990's.
I though when we booked the trip that it would be great to swim right there in the city because our hotel was so close too the ocean.
No thanks, didn't go there to catch typhoid!
They had open sewers in the city limits as well.
It was so drity that you could see behind buildings that they didn't even use trash bins, they just dumped the trash behind the buildings...
Stray dogs eating out back.
I made my husband purchase some doog food and placed it out but he later said we probably shouldn't of donw that because it was rude to the locals.
Besides I'd go bankrupt if I tried to feed all the stray myself, far too many of them.
Looks like it will dry out by tomorrow in Hungary, hope so wish to hit the beach this week. ( I'm turning local referring to a lake as a beach)

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

There was so much hail last night.
At least for 45 mins it was coming dwn hard.
Our window pots that didn't wash out were full of snowy crystals.
Ben to Belize, Belize city was a total dump at least back in the mid 1990's.
I though when we booked the trip that it would be great to swim right there in the city because our hotel was so close too the ocean.
No thanks, didn't go there to catch typhoid!
They had open sewers in the city limits as well.
It was so drity that you could see behind buildings that they didn't even use trash bins, they just dumped the trash behind the buildings...
Stray dogs eating out back.
I made my husband purchase some doog food and placed it out but he later said we probably shouldn't of donw that because it was rude to the locals.
Besides I'd go bankrupt if I tried to feed all the stray myself, far too many of them.
Looks like it will dry out by tomorrow in Hungary, hope so wish to hit the beach this week. ( I'm turning local referring to a lake as a beach)

Never saw any dogs roaming in Nassau or the rest of the islands.  They might even have been banned.  I swam in the sea there, but didn't really know how polluted it was.

Dogs are banned in some island countries - Maldives for example. No dogs.  Not even on ships or boats that pass by.  But they do have drug/search dogs at the airport but they are operated by Sri Lankans who don't have religious views on the furry friends.  They have plenty of cats and  we saw them all over the place. 

I saw lots of mangy dogs in a certain small island country out in Asia-Pacific but out the back of my hotel was a horde of brown rats inhabiting a giant pile of rubbish. I am convinced they opened the back window of the place and just threw the trash straight out the window.  If they'd really put their mind to it, they could have eradicated them all of the rats. It's been done before!

Back here in my house, after this morning's stormy weather, with the rain and the thunder the sun has come out but the humidity is really high.  It'll take ages for it to dry out.  I think tomorrow will be a dog walking day if my bad back and hips hold up.  Dog was banned from walking in the heat but it's quite cool now and only 23 C.

Weather is excellent right now, my wife is now shopping for the first time in 2 years in Zalaergerszeg, on the topic of dogs, we have a pretty big garden and our dog really loves to be useful and catch a stick in our pond. Weather is of course important but the health of our dog even more so. (getting old (very old).
Not linked to weather I think but we lost quite some of our companions (2 cats (both 15 years), 1 dog (and two younger cats (I do not know, kidnapped, car accident, ...)
2 cats and one dog remaining.

Difficult considerations, should we take another GSD? (but we are planning to move into an apartment (timing is open though (could be years))

Apologies not fully weather related, but in a way it is (our GSD does not like rain, but loves swimming)

cdw057 wrote:

Weather is excellent right now, my wife is now shopping for the first time in 2 years in Zalaergerszeg, on the topic of dogs, we have a pretty big garden and our dog really loves to be useful and catch a stick in our pond. Weather is of course important but the health of our dog even more so. (getting old (very old).
Not linked to weather I think but we lost quite some of our companions (2 cats (both 15 years), 1 dog (and two younger cats (I do not know, kidnapped, car accident, ...)
2 cats and one dog remaining.

Difficult considerations, should we take another GSD? (but we are planning to move into an apartment (timing is open though (could be years))

Apologies not fully weather related, but in a way it is (our GSD does not like rain, but loves swimming)

Quite warm again today and very humid.

I look at our dog and now a cat too (thanks No. 1 HU Fluffyette for bringing it home unexpectedly) and think perhaps in 10 years they'd still be with us.  Kids might have left home and we'll be left with the remains of the zoo.

Probably unfair to keep a dog that size in an apartment - it'll need extensive exercise.  Cat might be OK.    I walk the dog 3 or 4 times a week for 1h minimum each time.  The dog struggles to do more than 2h walking especially when it's hot.

BTW, your missing cats have probably been acquired by the neighbours.   We see our neighbours feeding our animals and they have no loyalty.  Whoever has the snacks is the boss and they'll hang around for more.

Our dog now has a fan club - a lot of little kids stop to say hello on their way past to and from school/kindergarten.  Dog likes the attention and being in the garden. It's really surprising if I walk the dog and people recognise her and call her by name.  They don't recognise me though (I'm not complaining).

It is lovely outside today.
My husband said it reminded him of the old days when it never got really hot or really humid in Hungary.
We are waiting for the ground to dry up before we head out to a lake.
I personally think it is a high crime t have a dog and live in the city.
A young couple upstairs and across from us has a large greyhound type of dog.
I know the poor thing is dying to run and never stop.
The looks of the couple don't give me much hope that they can run themselves let alone allw their dog to run free.
We only got a dog after we had a home with a yard and money to care for anything extra that came up.
My MIL in Erd had so many dogs and cats poisioned over the years.
Number 1 suspect was the witchy old had living across the st.
Even this women's husand passed from sort of of odd stomach issue?!
We inherited a cat from my MIL after she passed on.
We had to head to the states and had t give it to a women who ran some sort of "cat house" from her tiny flat. We paid her about $50. towards food but poor cat, who knows for sure what happened to it.
Another cat that my MIL couldn't care for was given to my husband's first cousin, she said she wanted it but when we visited her we never saw the cat?
I will not get any more pets because I think of them as family members and freak out when I don't know how they are doing.
I am not a cat persn at all really but my husband likes them.
I've gone to the dogs.
2 years without shopping, wow I'd be long gone, need to shop all the time. If not for clothing it is for fresh veggies and bread.

I'm sure your wife will tell you the prices have gone up in 2 years.

33°C - 35°C for today and tomorrow then we have a thunderstorm. I am in the coolest room in the house and I am feeling it already.

SimCityAT wrote:

33°C - 35°C for today and tomorrow then we have a thunderstorm. I am in the coolest room in the house and I am feeling it already.

Same sort of thing here.  It's really warming up.  Now it's 28 C outside and really sunny with very high UV.   There's a bit of a breeze but hardly anything - 1m/s from the West.  Humidity is quite low at 50% so more comfortable than of late.    FWS shows sunset at 2030h. It's a full moon so high level of werewolf activity is expected.

I have noticed it's getting colder at night - it was down to 15 C.  ¡Ay, caramba!  Mrs F told me not to panic. The summer is not over yet. 

But I have  noticed them cutting the wheat/hay in the fields.  Shows the difference between here and the UK - August is when they do the harvesting back there.  We're about 1 month in advance of Northern Europe.

30°C in the UK and they are melting. Stop crying about going to pain when you can have the Sun 

SimCityAT wrote:

30°C in the UK and they are melting. Stop crying about going to pain when you can have the Sun 

I feel the same. I was laughing about their heatwave weather warnings.  But then again, the buildings aren't made for it and no-one has airco.  More people are getting it though.

I've notice around here in Hungary, nearly every new house being build has an air based heat pump system (which is of course airco "in reverse").  Presumably they don't have gas heating. 

There's also a high wind warning in the UK of winds over 55mph and no-one should go camping!  Good warning but never heard that kind of warning before.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

33°C - 35°C for today and tomorrow then we have a thunderstorm. I am in the coolest room in the house and I am feeling it already.

Same sort of thing here.  It's really warming up.  Now it's 28 C outside and really sunny with very high UV.   There's a bit of a breeze but hardly anything - 1m/s from the West.  Humidity is quite low at 50% so more comfortable than of late.    FWS shows sunset at 2030h. It's a full moon so high level of werewolf activity is expected.

I have noticed it's getting colder at night - it was down to 15 C.  ¡Ay, caramba!  Mrs F told me not to panic. The summer is not over yet. 

But I have  noticed them cutting the wheat/hay in the fields.  Shows the difference between here and the UK - August is when they do the harvesting back there.  We're about 1 month in advance of Northern Europe.

Hungary used to HAVE to send much of their crops to help out feeding those in the Soviet Union.
In history Hungary was always invaded because it had great weather for growing crops.
Just like the Ukraine, the bread basket of Russia.
We also noticed they harvested the wheat but then again perhaps they cut it down early because of the rain and hail warnings.
Better to not lose the entire crop by flooding?
Today we walked around a framers market , a outdoors one in the city.
I ( typical of me) got a tiny bit fussy because I almost broke a sweat.
I thought it would be cooler this morning so I headed to the market with my husband.
Only real reason I went is because we were promised some fresh coriander for the last 3 weeks from a grower.
He was sold out by the time we got there!
Dang it my salsa fix has to wait!
We usually grow our own in a window pot but my hubby had a late start ths year and only little sprouts are up.
We went to Balaton last Thursday and I found the lake cold, it was 23 C.
Still enjoyed it, they really fixed up the beach area with new pavement and benches.
Then we heard the "strands" at Velence are closed until further notice.
Last week when we went there I said not again until it has more water and isn't so nasty dirty.
Guess it's the long haul from now on to Balaton but then again it's so pretty there it's worth the trip over.
It is strange  ,I actually am chilled at night but I leave my window open.
It's slowly turning back to fall but I think we have at least another 5 or 6 weeks before we pack it up and put our swimsuits away till next time.
I did feel a bit sad too for the new spa at Velence, they also had to close for now.
I'm sure many people depend on their jobs working in the spa.

Good or not with this very warm weather (some interesting days ahead). For our dog we have a special "terrace" where she can be alone, fortunately or unfortunately she is getting too old and likes to sleep (although if visitors are coming she still can get very active). So se leave her terrace open and even at night she can go to the pond or the garden if she would like to, but her life is getting to an end I am afraid (this year or next). Even the cats seem to notice a bit (not as "respectful" as in the past).

I do not think Hungary is especially dangerous for animals, but being free to walk around has its risks. (although old age is also a factor) 6  years we came here with two cats and two dogs (GSD and Belgian Bouvier (the latter already 10) the cats both 10. We decided that two (castrated) cats were not enough and took a female and behold less than a year after 3 kittens. The Belgian Bouvier died in the meantime and also the two cats we brought (I think 15  is not too bad though). But more shocking 2 out of the three kittens also died (one just disappeared (my favorite) and one had a serious car accident (even after (medical) care he could not be saved).

Admittedly not directly linked to weather, but too hot is definitely not good for dogs or cats.

Some of the contributors seem to have an interest/love for (especially) dogs (like us) and cats, perhaps good to have a thread on what happens to dogs (and/or cats).

cdw057 wrote:

....
Admittedly not directly linked to weather, but too hot is definitely not good for dogs or cats.

Some of the contributors seem to have an interest/love for (especially) dogs (like us) and cats, perhaps good to have a thread on what happens to dogs (and/or cats).

Not just cats and dogs. 

We've had bunch of different animals here including: 5 chickens (only 1 is left), 2 x hamsters, an "African hedgehog", a frog (yes really), fish, a dog and now cat.

The chickens were the most nuisance.   Hedgehogs (even domesticated ones) don't do well in captivity and frogs are boring.  The hamsters I don't remember enough about them.  The fish are feed and kind of forget pet.  Not really cuddly.    The dog is the most fun and clearly the most intelligent.  The cat is an idiot.

In our pond loads of frogs and gold fish, honestly I consider them not really as domestic animals. Both dogs and cats have some kind of loyalty although dogs are not as egoistic as cats. Both are nice and good to have around though. Frogs and gold fish and can do without.

cdw057 wrote:

In our pond loads of frogs and gold fish, honestly I consider them not really as domestic animals. Both dogs and cats have some kind of loyalty although dogs are not as egoistic as cats. Both are nice and good to have around though. Frogs and gold fish and can do without.

The frog and the fish were my son's pets.  Not exactly cuddly.  The frog spent its time hiding in a tank of mud and eating a grasshopper once a week.  Fish, well, we know what they do.

Dog follows me everywhere. Always looking hopefully for something - anything. 

The cat is just a user.

Rain today with the odd bit of lightning and thunder. The garden did need the rain so I am not complaining, but there has been some flooding in the areas.

It just bugs me when I am in the sitting room, I have put the light on because I can't see the keys on the laptop, that's when it gets overcast.

SimCityAT wrote:

Rain today with the odd bit of lightning and thunder. The garden did need the rain so I am not complaining, but there has been some flooding in the areas.

It just bugs me when I am in the sitting room, I have put the light on because I can't see the keys on the laptop, that's when it gets overcast.

We had thunderstorms from early morning until about 0930h.  One of them was torrential.  The upside is that we don't have to water the garden.  Downside is that we left the laundry out and now it's completely soaked.  Should be up to 30 C so I think the clothes will dry quickly enough.  Spin could be "...clothes lovingly rinsed in fresh natural rainwater".

My last laptop keyboard had a backlight for illuminated keys - was very useful. I spilt coffee on that keyboard and the replacement didn't have the backlight function.  It's really very useful to have it but then again, I can mostly type without looking at the keys.

fluffy2560 wrote:

My last laptop keyboard had a backlight for illuminated keys - was very useful. I spilt coffee on that keyboard and the replacement didn't have the backlight function.  It's really very useful to have it but then again, I can mostly type without looking at the keys.

I am not too bad, but occasionally I will revert back to the UK keyboard layout which is quite surprising as I haven't had a UK computer since I moved over.

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

My last laptop keyboard had a backlight for illuminated keys - was very useful. I spilt coffee on that keyboard and the replacement didn't have the backlight function.  It's really very useful to have it but then again, I can mostly type without looking at the keys.

I am not too bad, but occasionally I will revert back to the UK keyboard layout which is quite surprising as I haven't had a UK computer since I moved over.

The keyboard is software defined of course.  They labels on the keys mean nothing as far as the machine knows. 

We have the HU and DE keyboards installed on all our machines (everyone has a laptop).  I find it very odd that HU keyboards (at least on typewriters) have no 0 (zero) and they use the O (oh).  Mrs F and I have often discussed where the 0 (zero) is.  It's all a bit clumsy.   One thing I insist on is using the UK keyboard and not the US one.  I always buy  the British keyboard versions even if the keyboard is set for US - I try not to look at it when typing).

Weatherwise,  it's already 24 C with a slight breeze and high UV.  The humidity is really high - almost 80%. Makes it really sticky outside.  We've got some fans on to keep the air moving.

23°C here with a notification saying rain is coming. Well at least the grass is looking green now after a few days of rain. The hot weather had pretty much killed the grass.

SimCityAT wrote:

23°C here with a notification saying rain is coming. Well at least the grass is looking green now after a few days of rain. The hot weather had pretty much killed the grass.

Things are looking pretty green here.  There was always a scorched look to Hungary which you could see when you flew in to the airport.  Going the other way I was always surprised how green the UK looked.   

While we get these deluges one has to wonder how much of it really soaks in because its all so hard and cracked from weeks of high temperatures.  Seems to drain away pretty fast though.

Summer might be over for this week.

It's raining heavily 11mm since midnight, only 18 C, slight breeze, thundering and touch of lightning.  Humidity 90%, low UV and falling pressure. Wet dog and wet cat. No outside work for today.

I noticed that each day is more than 2m shorter than the day before.    So we're losing 1h a month of daylight.