Monday 17 June 2019

Week Commencing 10th June 2019

 


The weather was absolutely lousey and freezing cold today. Dembe got his first experience of hail today as well and he just couldn’t work out where it was coming from.


During the afternoon when we had some loud thunder he gave a half hearted woof at it and that was it. So far so good as I don’t want him being frightened of loud noises like the Weimaraners all were.

This morning he was absolutely fascinated by Inspector Montalbano ( I was watching it after I had recorded it on Saturday night). He watched the screen for ages.

Like my last dog Frankie he likes sitting with a cushion either tucked up against him or resting his head on one.

We had a really quiet day, just the two of us as is usual for a Monday. During his evening walk there was even more thunder but it didn’t bother him at all. In the evening it was raining really heavily and he refused to go out for a wee!

Oh and he still loves playing with his crocodile!


Tuesday 11th June

Dembe woke up at 5.20am and had breakfast and after that he cried continually. It was raining very heavily and he didn’t want to go outside to go to the toilet in the rain. Despite the fact he never has an issue going out for a walk in the rain. It is also really cold for this time of year so I have ended up putting the heating on. Dembe only went outside for the toilet once the rain had stopped.

He was incredibly bouncy this morning so we got him up the common before 9am. He whined all the way up in the car so I had to just ignore him which I hate doing but the more I fuss him when he whines the more he will do it. I have found out that he makes no noise at all when he is out in the car with Jay. It is only when I am there that he makes a fuss.

I am already getting nervous about tomorrow nights obedience training class. He can’t be worse than he was last week surely?

Jay and I have been discussing how much bigger Dembe suddenly seems. We still see him as quite small and puppyish, lets face it just a few months ago he was tiny. On Sunday he will be 7 months old by 12 months he will have reached his full adult height the next year or so will be spent filling out. It is crazy how quickly the last 5 months have flown by.

I have been practising every day with his figure of 8 lead ensuring that he is used to it before we go back to obedience training,

Wednesday 12th June

Jay took Dembe out very early this morning, before 7am as I was still asleep when they left. I didn’t hear a thing. He had a really good time on his walk and played with 3 different dogs . One was a really old boy black Labrador whose mind was willing but his body was not alas. He did enjoy having a little play with Dembe and let out little chirps of delight.

We popped down the vets to have Dembe weighed. OMG the chunk weighed in at 25.7kg, so although the vets say his weight is good due to the amount of treats he is having with all his training we will be cutting his meal size down. We will be keeping an eye on his weight and if he starts looking too skinny then we will up his food intake again. He was a very good boy at the vets and jumped on the scales and sat nice and still. It was a real shame though as we missed Kate as she is on holiday so we will pop down next week as Jay is on holiday for the next two weeks after Saturday. Sadly we found out that the pheasant chick we rescued passed away two days after we handed it into the vets. I had guessed things hadn’t turned out well as they hadn’t posted about it on the vets page. It was very weak and cold when we found it. I wonder if we prolonged its agony rather than saving it?

We had dog training this evening, Dembe was a bloody star. We did the whole lesson with him wearing his figure of 8 lead. He had a couple of barks but was easily distracted by doing the finger tip massage. He walked like a dream. It is wonderful to see the bond between him and Jay develop as they do the training together. Dembe constantly looks to him to see what he wants him to do next. My presence no longer distracts him.

One of the dogs that was there last week didn’t show up this evening, we found out that there had been an incident and the dog had gone back to the rescue charity. Very sad, I expect the bloke that had her was devastated as he already seemed very attached to her last week. In their place was a beautiful Doberman, who was very aggressive – a little bit frightening but it was nervous aggression like we used to have in Frankie. In the controlled environment of the class she soon started to relax and not let the presence of the other dogs bother her.

I am so proud that De,be was one of the best behaved dogs there tonight.

On the way to dog training
Snuggled in his bed

Thursday 13th June

Dembe was absolutely shattered today after last night’s training session. I tried to do some training with him but I couldn’t keep his focus as he wasn’t in the mood so I let it go and just worked on massage with him. Which he loves.

His thing today has been to bring me lots of different toys. The toy box has been emptied on numerous occasions. None of the toys seem to be played with for any length of time it just seems very important to him that they are all over the lounge floor.

He fell asleep on the way home from his dog training class last night, he lay across the back seat of the car looking like a skinned rabbit! He looks so long and big now it can be really surprising to look at him because he still seems like a baby to us. He really can’t be far off Mollie’s height now. He is only 3 kilos lighter than her now. She was our eldest Weimaraner and our smallest.

I have never known such a happy dog as Dembe. His tail just wags constantly. He loves being praised and having a fuss made of him.

Friday 14th June

It was a chewy day today, Dembe got out his puppy nyla- bone which he hasn’t played with in ages and sat chewing that on my lap. Later on he got his huge nyla-bone out and gave that a chomp. I am wondering if his teeth are bothering him again as all he seems to want to do is chew at the moment.

Jay was on an early shift today so when he finished we took Dembe out and then headed over to my parents van. Dembe played with his mate Maggie for a while. When he came home he was absolutely shattered and fell asleep immediately. My parents had bought Dembe a new toy so when he came around after his nap, he went and got it straight away.

He likes it as it has different textures and makes a crinkly noise.

Saturday 15th June

Dembe woke me up at 4.30am and I am so grateful he did. I had started going into another bloody migraine. I got Jay up to feed him and then went to the bathroom. Both my eyes were blood shot and I looked like Casper the friendly ghost. My left eye felt like it was being stabbed with an icepick. How he sensed I was in trouble I have no idea but he is such a good boy. He stuck to my side like glue for most of the day yesterday. The photo above is when I managed to make it downstairs after 10am. Dembe just lay quietly beside me. It is so strange how he moderates his behaviour. When I am sick he calms right down and just sticks to me. He is only just under 7 months old and should be bouncing off the walls, he did the same when he was tiny and I came down with a chest infection and a sinus infection. He is so in tune with me it is unreal. Such a clever chap.

We got a bit of sun in the afternoon as I was feeling better Dembe knew it was ok to leave me. He went out on his chair and had a sunbathe. He took piggy wiggy with him.

It is so funny both Travis ( our first Weimaraner, Mollies brother and Frankie / Willows uncle) and Frankie loved to sit on the stairs like this. Dembe has been sitting like this for months but this is the first time I have been able to capture it. Normally as soon as he sees my phone out he gets up and comes towards me. He was feeling how I felt, fed up waiting for Jay to finish work and start his two week holiday.

We went over to my parents van again this evening and Dembe had a massive play with Maggie. It is really lovely to see how much my parents like Dembe. My dad is always throwing the ball for Maggie and De,be to chase. My mum is always getting sneaky cuddles in. It is so sweet. It is also really nice that we can go to the caravan site and not worry about the noise the dogs make or about other dogs approaching. The Weims were really nervous aggressive after being attacked when young. Who can blame them but it made it very difficult to take them anywhere.

Sunday 16th June

Jay is on holiday at long last. He took Dembe out by himself this morning. I think it is important that he gets some time alone with him so that they can bond. It is clear that they love each other but Jay should also get one on one time with the pupster. They had a lovely walk together with Dembe getting lots of fuss from some elderly lady labrador owners who thought he was just cracking. He also had a bit of a grumble at a cyclist as the noise of the bike scared him. Luckily the cyclist did think it was funny as Dembe made half barks at him.

I can’t believe how big he is getting. He still doesn’t have the wide head of a fully grown Labrador as yet. Today marks his 7th month birthday. The last 5 months have whizzed by. He has changed so much in that time, he is such a loving, caring boy. We worship him, if you didn’t guess. I am amazed by his intelligence on a daily basis. He is so bright it is just mind blowing. When you train him to do stuff he responds immediately and he is just so willing to please.

He is really going to enjoy the next two weeks with Jay being home.

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