Forgot to mention the constant battle with ticks! I don't know if that's normal or it's a bad year but dh pulled ticks off the dog every time he went outside and came back in. The night we got there, the landlord of dd's house had called the animal welfare people to come get the dog next door. The poor thing was laying by the fence and wouldn't even get up. She said it wasn't normal for him and she went over to see him and saw the insides of both ears layered in ticks! He'd been scratching at them and was bleeding.
When the animal welfare people got there they said they couldn't do anything about it (?????) because he was in their yard but she did fill a bowl with water for him. He'd been left out there while they're gone somewhere. They weren't too far cuz someone got a hold of them and they came and did something with him.
Dh still checks our dog for ticks. And I keep checking mySELF!