W/C 23rd September 2019

 

Monday 23rd September

Jay was on a 9-6 again so Dembe got a good walk before Jay went to work. He took him to Woodbury Castle but as it was early they didn’t meet anyone.

Dembe and I were really knackered all day so we kept sneaking off to bed and having a quick lie down .

He sleeps on my shoulder quite a bit, he also likes sleeping with his face pressing against my face. It is really lovely and it makes me feel so close to him when he does this.

Dembe is still loving his new toys of Broccoli and Carrot!

As I said we kept disappearing up to bed and having a lie down

His new collar ( British racing Green leather from Ann Rees ) and his I.D tag have arrived. I was very disappointed with his copper tag as the copper colouring started coming off within a few days. He managed to break his second Dogs and Horses collar last week so I have given up on them at nearly £30 a pop and have gone cheaper. I have also picked up a cheap collar to act as a stand in should this one break.

He had sardines for tea as he didn’t have them last week. He ate his dinner no bother funny that.

Tuesday 24th September

Today I had a trip to the hospital for an appointment with ophthalmology, my letter stated I could be having up to 3 hours worth of tests before I got to see the consultant, so I decided that I would attend alone and Jay would stay with Dembe. It was too long to expect Dembe to behave as he still is a baby at only 10 months old. It was weird though as it is only about the second or 3rd time I have left him for any length of time.

Jay said he was absolutely fine and just slept beside him on the sofa. When they picked me up at the hospital Dembe could hardly contain himself and was spinning in the back seat.

Tuesday afternoon I was shattered after all the stress of going to the hospital by myself. Its a huge deal for me and it makes me very anxious. Dembe was so good he just settled beside me on the sofa and slept. He was very clingy after I had been out without him.

A tiny tongue out Tuesday for a change.

As I was so exhausted Jay took Dembe to dog training by himself. I was gutted but I could barely stand by the evening let alone sit up in a chair for an hour and converse with people. To make sure I didn’t feel left out Jay took some Photos of Dembe at the class. They were working on recall and Dembe got to use the zip line attached to the ceiling first. Its not one the dogs slide down! It is a straight cable that hangs parallel to the ceiling. The dogs are attached by a long line to their lead and it means they can practice recall without the fear of them absconding or getting into fights with other dogs.

Apologies for the quality of the photos, hubby took them and David Bailey he ain’t.

Dembe and Jay had a fantastic time at dog training. Daddy spoiled Dembe way too much and they got through an entire bag of treats. When Dembe got home he was so excited to see me. Jay said he had slept all the way home in the car so he couldn’t understand where he was getting the energy from to go mad now.

Wednesday 25th September

Jay is working a 10-7 today and it is our 19th wedding anniversary. It can’t be helped but I have lost count how many time that he has worked a late or a stupid 10-7 on our anniversary.

Dembe got a good run on the common before Jay went to work. They went to the Model airfield and they bumped into Dembe’s friend Sid the cocker spaniel. They had a mad run around playing chase.

Dembe seems to be shattered after dog training last night and has slept lots today.

As he was so sleepy today I managed to get a load of sewing done. He stayed on his bed in the kitchen so he was close by me.

Thursday 26th September

I spent most of last night with a dog sleeping on my head which was cute. Most nights at around 2am Dembe goes into Jays room and spends the rest of the night in with him. If Jay is on an early though Dembe will then come back to bed with me. For a change though last night he spent the whole night with me.

Jay took him out up the common before 7am as he was on another 10-7 shift. I really hate this shift as it means you don’t have a morning together like you do on a late and you don’t have an evening together either. It is a shit shift like an 11-8.

Jay and Dembe bumped into the lady with 5 Labradors. As soon as they recognised Jay they all ran over and sat in front of him as they know Jay almost always has treats on him to dish out. Dembe had a good play with them. It is so strange owning a dog that can play with other dogs and isn’t nervous aggressive. Mollie was like that as well but with Frankie and Willow both being nervous aggressive it meant she never really got to play with any other dogs. Dembe really enjoys running around playing chase. He will now do the chasing as well as being chased himself.

Dembe and I messed around playing quite a bit today as I ensured I had regular breaks from my embroidery machine. He has been a bit barky today though. He has barked at everyone at the door today even if he knew them or saw them yesterday.

From 4pm this evening he was crazy. He got every toy out of his toy box and was throwing it around the lounge this went on for nearly 3 hours. You would think he hadn’t been walked in days the energy he had.

Friday 27th September

As Jay was on a late night he took Dembe up the common for a really good walk in the hope that would keep him calm for me! On the whole he was a really good boy for me as he always is. We just have a bit of madness in the evenings after he has eaten his dinner.

We have found this week to get Dembe to eat his dinner if we sit in the kitchen with him and praise him for eating. Give him a stroke and hand feed him some kibble he will eat it up and it stops this walking away from the bowl and then not going back to it. God knows what has started him off being so weird about his food the last few weeks. With us encouraging him and making a fuss he seems much happier eating. He was a bit strange as a pup when it came to eating his meals as he would walk away from it and would need our encouragement. Then he settled down and was a good eater, then out of nowhere started being a bit funny. I am hoping it is just a phase as he gobbles everything else given to him. So we know he isn’t sick.

He had a nice little snooze in the afternoon. I had to take a photo as he just looked so bloody cute!

In the afternoon at around 4pm he started getting all his toys out again and throwing them around the lounge. He loves Carrot and Broccoli. His favourite thing to do is bring carrot to you whilst you are sat on the toilet! Carrot is definitely the one that gets to go all over the house being carried.

Saturday 28th September

It is going to be a shorter blog entry this week due to the fact that I am out tomorrow with friends and when I get home I will be in no state to write up his blog entry for this week. He will be spending tomorrow with Jay. It will be interesting to hear how they get on as it is the first time they have spent any prolonged time together!

As you can see Dembe still likes to barge into the shower whilst I am in there. He just loves water but he has never been in the sea or a river for a proper swim. We will have to do that next year when the weather is nice.

We are having a lazy Saturday so that I can rest and have energy for tomorrow. Dembe is just going with the flow

W/C 16th September 2019

 

Monday 16th September

As Jay was on a 9-6 , I know what has happened to his early shift on a Monday?? He got Dembe up the common nice and early so he could have a good run before work.

We had our usual lazy morning

Jay didn’t come home at lunchtime due to issues at work but we were ok just pottering around. I managed to get some sewing done in the afternoon whilst Dembe slept.

Dembe went absolutely crazy when I put his car harness on as he knows now that this means daddy is on his way home and a walk is going to follow soon after.

Tuesday 17th September

Bit of a disaster this morning, we had planned to go down the town and have a walk around with Dembe but less than 5 minutes into our trip my mobility scooter packed up. It has been dodgy since I got it up and running in January. Randomly losing power and refusing to move when I had been sat stationary. With going up on the common with it we had been expecting this to happen at some point. Thankfully I managed to limp back to the car but not without it losing power on the middle of a zebra crossing, which was a little hair raising. So we didn’t get to do the training we had wanted to do.

This evening we had dog training class number 2 of obedience training level 2/3. I have no idea why Dembe thinks that the dog training class is the best place to bark. He barks more here than anywhere else. I think he is like a child that likes the acoustics of the old pig barn. As far as he is concerned it is the best place on earth to have a good bark!

He did really well during the lesson, the trainer used Dembe to demonstrate again. It is wonderful to see what Dembe is capable of. He does get bored really easily and lies down on the floor . We had to change his training treats mid lesson as he decided he doesn’t like pepperami anymore. He will eat it if given to him but he would rather work for a different treat the little sod. Luckily I always carry extra treats for circumstances like this! We swapped over bags and he was supercharged after that.

This week we worked on using a toy to maintain focus with his training. This was the first ever week I forgot to pack a bloody toy!

Wednesday 18th September

Dembe and I were both really shattered after a broken nights sleep and dog training last night. We spent the majority of the day curled up on the sofa together having cuddles. Just after 9am my new mobility scooter arrived.

This morning he ate his breakfast with no fuss, however this evening he has been a bit of a pain in the bum. For the first 30 minutes he ignored it. I went into the kitchen and picked up his bowl and this got his interest immediately. So I then started feeding him a piece of kibble at a time. Eating it like that he had no issue. So I then threw a handful on the kitchen floor and he ate that all up. I then went out into the back garden and threw his food onto the patio a handful at a time . We used to play this game with our Weimaraners Mollie, Frankie and Willow. We called it snuffles and they loved it. Dembe’s tail was going crazy as he found all his bits of kibble.

This evening after his dinner he decided to have a mad half hour so we played the find it game. His “wait” command ( what we say instead of stay) is just so good he impresses me all the time. I can now leave the room and he will wait until I tell him I can move. I go and hide a toy and then tell him to “find it” . He loves it and it really tires him out as he is having to use his brain to locate the toy.

Thursday 19th September

I woke up with a terrible migraine at 5am . My little protector wouldn’t leave my side. I was proper poorly with it most of the day and spent the time split between my bed and the sofa. Dembe kept his energy levels low and just stayed beside me.

He is still wanting his food thrown on the floor rather than having it in his bowl. I sat on the garden bench and chucked his food onto the patio for him.

Friday 20th September

Thank goodness I am feeling much more human today.

Dembe ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast from his bowl and then came up to bed with me. We slept until gone 8.20am which is unheard of, When I came downstairs I saw he had hardly eaten his breakfast so I went outside and threw it down onto the patio and he scoffed the lot. He really is strange.

I had to feed him his dinner the same way

We have been having a lazy day as I am still getting over this migraine. So we have had lots of cuddles.

Dembe has managed to destroy the tugger we borrowed from the dog trainer! So we will be buying a replacement Sunday.

I was taking lots of photos of Dembe today. I was trying to get a nice up close photo of him but he decided that it would be the best time to have a look at my phone LOL

We went up to my parents van this evening and Dembe had a play with Maggie. He was running around like an idiot. Maggie didn’t really want to play chase, all she wanted to do was eat the treats I had come over with. When I stop feeding her she barks at me. I am beginning to think that she is a Jack Russell crossed with a Labrador.

When Dembe holds his ears like this we call him Dobby the house Elf from Harry Potter.

Even Dembe gets sick of me taking photos.

Saturday 21st September

Jay was on a late night so he got Dembe up the common for a nice long walk as he would only be having one today.

This pretty much sums up our Saturday as we were both knackered. There were lots of cuddles and lying around on the sofa.

The only time there was lots of activity was when he had his dinner. He went crazy after for about two hours. Throwing his toys around the front room and barking at them when they got stuck under the foot stool or behind the furniture. I went up to bed and he was still chucking stuff around my bedroom. Then all of a sudden he conked out and settled for the night.

Sunday 22nd September

This morning Dembe and I woke up at 6.30am, with the mornings being darker he is sleeping in much later. As it had been raining outside I gave him his breakfast this morning by spreading it around on the lounge and kitchen floor, which went down well. Jay got him out just after 7am and they avoided the rain. Dembe still came home with a wet belly.

At 10.30am we went to see Uncle Paul. Dembe goes crazy when he sees uncle Paul. It is getting a bit embarrassing the way he leaps all over the furniture. Eventually he does calm down but he is like a coiled spring on arriving.

We came home for a bit and then decided to go over to Pets at Home so that I could have a go in my new mobility scooter. We needed to replace the toy that Dembe chewed up, as we had borrowed that from the dog Trainer on Tuesday. He needed a collar to tide him over whilst waiting for the new one to arrive and we had hoped to pick up some of his food. They didn’t have the food but he did end up with two new toys, Broccoli and Carrot.

After all that excitement he fell asleep in the car on the way home and has pretty much slept the rest of the afternoon.