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
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.
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