W/C 16th December 2019

 

Monday 16th December

Just to give you all a heads up the blog aka me will be taking a break over the Christmas and New year period, so this will be the last blog post of 2019. We obviously have Christmas and then we will have the first anniversaries of Frankie 29th December and then Mollie 5th January, passing and to be fair I just want to spend time with Jay and Dembe quietly remembering them both. It is difficult as well with them both being on a Sunday which is the day I normally type up the blog from the hard copy I have kept during the week. So the blog will be back up and running on Monday 13th January 2020. I will do a round up of Christmas and New year in that post and of course there will be lots of photos.

If you are missing Dembe you can keep up to date with him on his Facebook page The Dembe Diaries, where odd bits and pieces will be posted during this period.

Dembe was out early for a walk today as Jay was on his usual silly o’clock start time today. Dembe then came straight back to bed and we slept until after 7am. Nearly a lie on!

I did some sewing today well embroidery really. Dembe amused himself whilst I was at the machine. He was incredibly excited when his dried cows ears arrived today. I got him a bag of 50! That should keep him chewing for a while.

I found out this evening that I have won a doggy treat hamper ( contents worth £80 ) . The competition was a quiz that was being run to celebrate being in business for 15 years. Happy dogs made the announcement via their Facebook page.

I was so surprised and very chuffed as it took me ages to find all the answers to the quiz.

Tuesday 17th December

Busy day here as today is Jays last day off before Christmas, which seems crazy but yes Christmas is next week. He has lots of jobs to do one of them being picking up the hamper from Happy Dogs!

Mike and Alison popped over at 10.15am with a card and a present for Dembe. He is such a spoiled boy. I am so grateful to all the people who buy him things. We all can’t thank you enough.

He was walking around carrying this doing the typical Labrador whole body wag. Every time anyone looked like they might try to take it off him he put his head down and turned away. He did keep going up on the sofa trying to give Alison a kiss.

Jay brought back the hamper which was enormous

It was filled with lots of brilliant things. There is a new lead which will be fab for agility training. There is a high viz vest for Dembe to wear when it is dark on his early morning or evening walks. Lots of toys, a tugger, some balls, treat dispenser and Dembe’s absolute favourite a dinky duck, for my dinky dot.

He also really likes the tub of dried meaty treats, full of gorgeous sounding things like Tripe sticks and Beef Trachea. Stinky as hell but he absolutely loves it. There were so many lovely things in the hamper it was brilliant and a wonderful surprise.

Wednesday 18th December

Uncle Paul popped over very early this morning, thankfully after Dembe had his walk. I gave Dembe a cows ear to chomp on and get him to calm down as he tends to get very over excited with Paul. Probably because he visits us the most and we don’t tend to get many visitors. Paul said how much calmer he was so hopefully that’s a tool in our arsenal.

Jay is on a late night tonight so Dembe hasn’t slept much this morning as when his pack is all together he likes to get as much attention from them as possible.

I managed to get some machine embroidery done in the afternoon as Dembe conked out, As soon as I finished and sat on the sofa he jumped on me and grabbed my thumb.

He has done this since he was a tiny pup, he just sits there holding it in his mouth. He is such a quirky little thing.

Something he loves to do when it is just me and him at home on an evening is to emoty his toy box out completely and scatter his toys all over the lounge floor.

As it was just me and the boy we went up to bed early. The weather is absolutely rotten and as if by magic the wind really started up making lots of noise and causing the loft hatch to bang and the letter box to rattle. This upset Dembe and he started to bark and then run down stairs and bark. He wasn’t frightened he was guarding me bless him and he takes that job very seriously. Eventually he settled back down and went to sleep on my lap.

Thursday 19th December

This bloody rain it never seems to stop. I have decided to ask Santa for a dinghy or a small sail boat as driving anywhere will be impossible if this continues. Jay braved it and took Dembe out for an early walk as he is on a 6am start again. Dembe came back to bed after being dried off and stayed with me until gone 7am.

Dembe has been knackered today and slept much of the day which has been great for me as I have been able to crack on with my embroidery machine quilt.

Jay is out to the cinema this evening and it has left Dembe very unsettled. He has cried for Jay He really does love having his pack together. Eventually he settled down and went to sleep Velcro’d to my side. He raced downstairs when Jay got in at 11pm, thankfully he didn’t bark.

Friday 20th December

As you all know form reading previous posts, Dembe has a thing about his vegetable toys. At the moment he is mad keen on his sprout again. As we know he loves this toy we couldn’t resist buying this sprout Christmas decoration for him when we saw it a few weeks ago.

I spent a bit of time today finishing up sewing jobs ready for Christmas . So Dembe had to entertain himself. He was in a playful mood so in the evening we had a long game of find it as Jay was on his second late night of the week. By the time we toddled off to bed Dembe was shattered.

Saturday 21st December

Jay was on an early today so he took Dembe out for a quick walk up the common in the dark. Dembe has got used to going out at night / in darkness, so isn’t as bothered as he used to be and will leave the car. When he was smaller he would refuse to leave the house before 7am! I won a high viz vest in the Hamper so we have been using that as well as his bicycle light and it makes it much easier for Jay to see him.

We had a cuddly afternoon

Dembe went to sleep on the coats at 4,30pm desperately wanting his dad to come home so he could have a walk.

Sunday 22nd December

Its been a busy day today with Christmas right around the corner. We had friends come over. Liam who is 6 played football with Dembe using his sprout toy as the ball. By the time Liam left Dembe was shattered he had a wonderful time.

I just want to say to everyone thank you for the reading Dembe’s blog, thank you for the likes and comments. Merry Christmas and Happy new year. See you all in January 2020.

W/C 9th December 2019

 

Monday 9th December

Jay was in uber early this morning so with Dembe having disturbed sleep we managed a little lie on until 7.30am. Very decadent.

I thought he maybe hungry after not eating his dinner last night but he ate less than a 3rd of his breakfast and it was painfully slow. The stupid thing is if I add a raw egg or a tin of fish he scoffs the lot. I decided to leave his food down all day to see if maybe he is more of a grazer but that didn’t work either. By dinner time there was still loads left in his bowl. I gave up and added a tin of mackerel to his meal and he scoffed the lot.

Jay weighed him this evening as we really didn’t know what his weight was doing as every time we have thought he had lost weight he had gained weight. However you can see the bottom rib and feel his rib cage much more along with his spine. The last time we weighed him he came in at a whopping 33.1kg. The good news is that he weighs 30.8kg so he has lost 2.3kg. It is the lowest weight he has been for some time. He is now pretty close to the weight the vet wanted which was 30kg. I would like him under 30kg but I am thrilled that we have got his weight down.

Dembe waiting for his dad to come home on Monday afternoon.

Tuesday 10th December

Jay is day off today. Last night like the night before Dembe started the evening in Jays room. Jay got woken up by a blood curdling howl. I have been telling Jay for months that Dembe barks and howls in his sleep but as he has never heard it I don’t think he has ever quite believed me. At 11.30pm Dembe moved into his bed and at 2.30am he moved from his bed onto my bed where he spent the rest of the night / morning until we got up. The temperature really dropped overnight.

Jay and I wrapped all the Christmas presents this morning. Dembe was very good and didn’t attempt to insert himself into the proceedings. He also managed to resist the urge to shred any paper he came across on the floor. Paper / card shredding is one of his most favourite things to do. When you are a sewist that’s not good as it means if I drop a paper pattern I have to rescue it immediately! He did get a bit stroppy that no one would throw his ball for him.

It was raining this afternoon when Jay took Dembe out for his walk. We had to hose him off in the back garden as Dembe’s legs were covered in mud / grit from the common. He has got an awful lot better with being dried with the hairdryer.

I added an egg to his dinner and it was hoovered up. So for the next few days I will try adding an egg to his meals whilst reducing his kibble slightly.

Tonight is his last obedience training session, we have signed up to the course being run after Christmas along with agility.

We were the only ones at dog training tonight as the other lady that attends with us was poorly. We had the entire hour as a one to one, which was fantastic and a great way to end the term. Dembe managed to embarrass us by having a wee on the floor. He has started scent marking, we always walk him before a training session so that he doesn’t need the toilet whilst there. I wanted the floor to open up as he has never done that. Martin explained that sometimes they get confused and see the barn as outdoors. I hope so as I dont need this issue.

We got our certificate for passing level 2

Wednesday 11th December

I got Dembe to eat his breakfast today with zero issues thanks to the edition of an egg. No constant encouragement or cheer-leading needed whilst he ate his breakfast which meant it was much less stressful.

Dembe was a very cuddly boy all day and just wanted to be beside me on the sofa all day.

I have been having a break from sewing so have been doing crochet instead. He has been glued to my side.

We did some find it and leave/take exercises this afternoon when he had a bit of energy to burn off. He really loves playing this game in the evenings with us or just me.

Can’t believe how much better he is eating now that we have added the egg to his meals.

Dembe has a really weird way of sleeping in his bed. When he gets into it at night he clears all the blankets / cushions out of it and sleeps on the base which is the thickness of a sheet and uses the blanket and cushion as a pillow.

Thursday 12th December

Jay is on a late night tonight so Dembe had a really long walk up the common this morning. As it was raining we put his blue coat on him. He came back with his legs and belly all covered in mud and had to be hosed off outside again!

I have been really tired all week due to not sleeping, my disturbed sleep has also impacted Dembe so he has been really sleepy during the day.

We had a game of find it this evening as he got a bit of an energy rush and I wanted to clam him down before bed. He loves playing find it so that’s what we did. He is so good at stay when in the house with me. I can leave the room and he doesn’t move. He isn’t always great at finding stuff but he does love to give it a good go.

When we did go to bed Dembe was obsessed with my feet. He wouldn’t stop licking them and nibbling my toes which would have been fine should I not hate having my feet touched by anyone. I really loathe it. In the end I had to shove them under the duvet to get him to leave them alone.

I tried to do some crochet in bed but he was having none of it and kept climbing on my lap.

Eventually he did go to sleep and I managed to get this photo of him

Friday 13th December

I managed to not sleep a wink last night and as a result feel dreadful today. All I am doing is lying on the sofa.

Saturday 14th December

I managed to sleep last night but as a result I now feel worse than ever.

Paul popped over at 9.30am and I was still in my pj’s waiting to wake up a bit. Thankfully Dembe was nice and calm and managed to behave rather than bouncing off the walls like he normally would.

Jay got this brilliant photo of him at lunchtime

Dembe was very excited when Paul popped back in the afternoon and was just desperate for us to play but we were trying to sort out Paul’s new computer. He wasn’t the worst he has ever been but it was clear Dembe was really looking forward to having a walk when his dad got home.

Sunday 15th December

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of our Weimaraner Willow passing away. It is a sad day.

We had to pop down to our relatives today, who live an hours drive away, to take all the Christmas presents to them. I stayed with my parents and their dog Maggie with Dembe whilst Jay went to visit his parents. Dembe was just manic and managed to embarrass himself by having a wee on the floor – scenting again. I wouldn’t have minded but he had a long walk this morning, he was walked around the block before we set off so he could go to the toilet. He was then walked again when we arrived at my parents house so that he could go to the toilet and not do this……..and he bloody did.

When he did it on Tuesday Martin said it was about scenting not actually going to the toilet. I was mortified then and even more so at my parents house today. He is a year old and shouldn’t be doing this. Especially with so many trips out to ensure that he had a wee.

This maybe something we need to talk to him about when we go back to class in 2020 – which seems like a year away but is only actually just a few weeks.

Since we got back home Dembe has slept. I am pretty shattered as I just haven’t been right at all this week.

W/C 2nd December 2019

 Dembe was shattered today after Agility training yesterday and refused to get up and go for a walk before Jay left for work at 6am. Dembe stayed in bed with me whilst Jay got ready which is most unusual as he normally goes into scrounge mode as soon as he wakes.

Poor baby has an upset tummy today and has done 3 huge mounds of very loose poo in the garden which were an absolute delight to pick up as you can imagine! We think he is wheat intolerant, he is fine in himself, not even a gurgling tummy. Just not a solid poo in sight so he has been dosed up with some tummy meds to settle everything down. He didn’t want his breakfast when we got up but at 8.30am came into the kitchen looking for food so ate it then. He didn’t eat his dinner last night so I gave him that so it didn’t over load his tum with a bigger meal ( his breakfast is his biggest meal of the day) . Thankfully he isn’t being sick bless him.

His bottom is a weapon of mass destruction, it smells so bad I am gagging and trying to not be sick. He is passing it without making a sound so the first I know of it is when the smell hits me. It is making my eyes water.

I managed to get some more Christmas decorations up, Dembe insisted on joining me and climbing onto my lap covering me in kisses. He is so soppy. He has been such a good boy and left all the decorations alone.

Thankfully this evening he is back to solid poo…probably TMI

Tuesday 3rd December

I was awake at 4am due to injuring my back and neck yesterday . Dembe stayed asleep whilst I sorted out pain medications. At 5am I gave up and came downstairs, he then went into Jays room and woke him up as he wanted us all together.

At 11am we took Dembe out for a quick walk ( he had one earlier) as we wanted to ensure that he was fully toileted before we took him to Darts Farm, where he would be working for the first time in ages.

It was very busy at Darts Farm but Dembe was absolutely brilliant. Totally focused on Jay and waiting for his commands. He got petted by a few people but they all asked if it was ok before they did. We are always happy to accommodate if we are asked first.

Dembe had his first go in a lift today. He wasn’t too sure and had a little panic. He tried to jump up on my lap and managed to hit the accelerator of the mobility scooter. Thankfully I had the where with all to immediately remove the key to cut the motor, so I only moved an inch or so. He did get down and then calm down. The lift journey was seconds as it just goes up around 10 stairs to the right of the lift. It was just the first time he was in such an enclosed space.

Temptation was all around him in Darts and he touched nothing. Even the cuddly toys left on the floor were ignored along with all the tasty morsels in the food court area. Many dogs would have struggled to run the gauntlet of all those fabulous items. Dembe knows once he has his jacket on he is working and he is to follow Jay at all times.

He was shattered when we got home. He slept for much of the afternoon and was quite surprised when we got his lead out in the evening ready to go to agility training.

Hi Christmas decoration arrived whilst we were out at Darts Farm

Tonight was class 5 out of 6 classes of his Obedience training. We finished on a real high as Martin the trainer told both Jay and the other handler that they were both working at an advanced level. Martin said he wished he videoed the session as it was so good. Both dogs were off the lead doing sit, stay and walking to heel in each others presence. Back in June / July when we were doing level one beginners I would never ever have dreamed that Dembe would be the super star he is now. I told Martin that had we not have paid the money for the lessons after week one I would have never had returned due to being mortified at his behaviour. Now he is a star pupil. We use so much of what Martin at Happy Dogs has taught us at home. One of Dembe’s favourite games is leave – where we ask him to leave a toy and then after 30 seconds we allow him to take the toy back on the command of take. He also loves the “find it” game where we hide his bunny given to him by Imogen and Dembe has to sit and stay whilst it is hidden then we give him the “find find” command. His tail goes nuts and he has now started to rely on his nose more when searching rather than being purely visual which is how he started.

I was welling up watching Jay and Dembe work together as a team, they are clearly devoted to each other. They have both really grown in confidence.

Wednesday 4th December

Dembe was shattered after all that running around yesterday, he slept for the majority of the day.

He even took himself up to bed in the afternoon which is unheard of.

We are having issues getting him to eat again, it seems that he likes a new food for a few days and then decides that its not that good and makes a meal ( pun intended) out of eating it. Jay and I have to be his cheerleaders as he eats . We have tried making him snuffle for it, handing it to him. If it was a cocktail sausage / piece of ham he would take your fingers off. I think he is always going to be a pain in the arse when it comes to eating his food.

Jay and I are getting excited as we are taking him to meet Santa Paws on Saturday.

Thursday 5th December

Dembe spent the whole night cuddled into me either curled up between my waist and knees or with his head on my face, I love it when he sleeps like this, it makes me feel so loved. When I come back to bed after nipping to the toilet during the night he gives me a kiss to let me know he is there. I have never known such a sensitive and affectionate dog.

He did however wake at 5am , so we got up and I let him out. He was a good boy this morning leaving Jay alone until gone 6.30am before going upstairs and waking him up.

Jay and Dembe got lost on the common today, it was quite amusing as when Jay described the area where they had got lost I knew where they were immediately, as I had got lost there years ago with our Weimaraners Mollie and Travis. It was very boggy so Dembe had to be washed off outside when he got home.

Today he scoffed his breakfast.

We played loads in the evening as Jay was late night Dembe wouldn’t be getting another walk. It was hilarious as we were playing “find find” with his blue dinosaur, at one point he couldn’t find it, so he went to his toy box and pulled out his bunny toy that we normally play find find with. He is too bloody clever for his own good.

In the afternoon the oxygen engineer came to check my machine and canister, Dembe was very barky probably because he didn’t hear the door go as he was asleep on my bed and the next thing he knew a strange man was in the house. He did calm down though and then started showing off by going and getting the toys I was asking for from his toy box. The engineer was well impressed by him!

He was so manic this evening it was hilarious, all of a sudden it went quiet I looked down and he was asleep on the floor with his monkey.

Friday 6th December

Today Dembe’s Emma Bridgewater Tiny Tree Decoration arrived

Since 2017 we have had these decorations with the dogs names on, so we have Travis, Mollie, Willow and Frankie our Weimaraners who are now sadly all passed on. And now we have Dembe’s tiny to go with them.

He was a very cuddly boy today wanting to spend the afternoon curled up on my lap

Oh Hubby and I also treated ourselves to, some pint mugs

DD – Dembe’s dad

DM – Dembe’s mum

Saturday 7th December

Today is the day that Dembe gets to meet Santa Paws. We haven’t been to the place before so Dembe maybe a little nervous. We have ensured he has had a quick walk around the block so he doesn’t disgrace himself.

Dembe was very good considering he has never seen someone in fancy dress! He just barked at the photographer and that was only once. As soon as Santa told Dembe to sit he started to pose it was so funny. So here are some shots that Jay and I took. The first photo is the photographers

Love this outtake

he looks like he is smiling

Dembe has been shattered ever since and has slept beside me on the sofa.

Sunday 8th December

Dembe had a lie on this morning and didn’t wake up until 7am. Both Jay and I were in shock. He had a nice long walk up at the Airfield with Jay and then we had a bit of a chill out before his last agility training session of this year.

This week the trainer made a mega long tunnel with a bend in it. Dembe was the first dog to go through it. He adores doing the tunnels and gets so excited we have to try and bring him down again. He was also getting the hang of the weave poles a bit better and managed every other pole. He still doesn’t like the seesaw. I think we will have to go to the wobble board and build his confidence up from there. He just loves agility so much that we have signed him up for the next course in January 2020. Not that he is at all spoiled by us. Jay and I also enjoy it and it gets us out of the house on a Sunday.