W/C 27th January 2020

 

Monday 27th January 2020

Dembe woke me up at 7.45am by coming into my room and barking. I was asleep so I am guessing that he had perhaps tried more subtle ways but they had failed to rouse me. Jay had taken him out at 5.15am as he was on an early. Despite having Agility training yesterday it seems he is full of beans today.

Today he decided to bury his Antler chew under the rug in the lounge. He took every toy out of its box. He was fizzing with energy it is exhausting!

He slept in his wicker basket this morning up in his dads room whilst I got some sewing done. He has started to use the wicker basket now that it has gone upstairs. He never really used it when it was downstairs preferring to sleep on the sofas.

He is incredibly hungry today and was looking for his dinner from 3pm. He has been very unsettled and barky all day. Quite out of character.

Dembe with Find it Bunny

Tuesday 28th January

Dembe is a very tired boy. This morning we had some horrible news. My dear friend Imogen rang me very early to tell me that her dog had passed away earlier this morning. It was so upsetting hearing her so utterly devastated that I was crying, whilst trying to speak to her. Dembe crawled up onto my lap and licked my face attempting to comfort me. Jay and I had a rough day after this as it was just so upsetting. Rest in Peace Bors.

We had dog training this evening, again this week there were reduced numbers so there were only 4 dogs in class. Max the GSD was much better until someone wasn’t watching where they were walking and allowed their dog to get too close to him, so he reacted. I felt so sorry for the owner as he is trying so hard. We know what it is like to have a nervous aggressive dog, every time something like that happens it really dents your confidence. He had been having such a great training session and Max had been much better. It is such a shame.

Dembe had a fantastic lesson. I thought he was the best in the class, I know I am biased. He worked really hard. A little bit barky to begin with. Jay took the nose band off and worked him with the figure of 8 lead on his neck and he walked like a dream. Our hope of getting him to walk well on a normal lead looks like it may happen. But if it doesn’t it really doesn’t matter as he is so good in so many other ways.

You always know when Dembe has worked hard during a training session as he puts himself to bed. He was shattered after using all that brain power.

Wednesday 29th January

Dembe slept a lot of the day which is totally normal for him when he has had an intensive training session like he did last night. He didn’t really come to life until around 4pm!

Even though he is fully grown now he still loves sitting on my lap. He is on my lap multiple times a day. Either draped across me or fully on my lap.

Jay was on a late night tonight so Dembe had a long walk in the morning. He has been a nightmare today as he is refusing to go to the toilet in the back garden. He keeps going outside and just standing there but doesn’t go. Then he comes inside and starts crying. I know it is because he wants the toilet but due to my disability I can’t walk him and Jay is at work. This is the first time he has refused to even wee outside which is utterly ridiculous.

I gave up trying to go to bed as Dembe would sleep for 10 minutes and then start crying again. I don’t have the energy or the strength to be ( safely ) travelling up and down the stairs for a dog that is refusing to go to the toilet.

Thankfully Jay came home and took him around the block. The silly bugger had 4 wee’s – one was his first ever big boy wee ( cocking his leg) and a huge poo. No wonder he was crying. But he could have quite easily gone outside in the garden rather than get so uncomfortable.

Thursday 30th January

As Dembe went out around the block late last night he didn’t wake up early wanting to go out for his walk. Jay had to practically drag him out of the house for his walk. When Dembe got back he put himself to bed In Jays room until I got up at 7.15am.

Dembe is really enjoying his home cooked meals. I managed to get off Facebook a load of empty plastic take away cartons, which are ideal to weigh out his food portions and freeze them. Each box contains enough for two meals. So we made 21 days worth. I was really lucky as well as hubby managed to pick up some reduced price chicken livers and some cheap mince. Dembe has never eaten this well apart from when he was a puppy. I am so much less stressed around meal times now. Where as before I used to have to sit with him and cheer him on. Now he can be left to eat and won’t wander.

Dembe knows the days his dad comes home for lunch and 10 minutes before he arrives goes on dad watch. He will stay there until he see’s Jays car. He then runs off and greets Jay with a toy in his mouth. It is super sweet.

Having a nap after helping in the kitchen !

We have played Find it with Find it bunny every evening this week. Dembe has got much better at using his nose to find his toy rather than relying on his vision. This has mean’t Jay and I have had to get more and more creative with out hiding places.

We had a really good laugh at Dembe this evening as he went mental as some opera playing in the film The Untouchables. We can’t work out of he likes opera or if he just hates it. It was very funny as the first time took us by surprise, so we whizzed the film back to see if he would do it again and he didn’t disappoint.

Friday 31st January

I had a helper in the kitchen today whilst I was at the embroidery machine. He slept on the kitchen floor whilst I worked. At some point though he decided enough was enough. I know this because when he gets bored of me sewing he always tried to jump on my lap.

He brought me his puppy to try and persuade me to play with him. It doesn’t take much! So as soon as what I was working on was finished I packed up for the day.

We had a lot of games of find it bunny again this evening. It really wears him out quickly when we play this as he has to engage his brain and nose.

Saturday 1st February

How on earth is it February already? I know a lot of people are saying January lasted forever but for me it really didn’t it seemed to fly by!

He was full of beans today and wanted to play non stop!

Sunday 2nd February

Been a bit of a crazy day. We had a flying visit from Leanne and Liam. Then we took Dembe out for a walk to burn off some energy before attending his agility class. He met up with a female Labrador and they ran around like loons. Unfortunately Dembe got absolutely covered in mud from nose to tail so we had to quickly nip back home hose him off, dry him and then all jump back in the car to go to this class.

Due to Dembe’s impromptu bath / shower we ended up being slightly late but thankfully the class before us was late out and we didn’t miss anything. Dembe had a really good class apart from the constant barking which was driving me mad!

When we got home Dembe had his dinner and has slept for the rest of the day!

W/C 17th February 2020

 

Monday 17th February 2020

As Jay was on an early today Dembe had a lead walk around the housing estate before his daddy went into work. Dembe then came back up and went back to sleep with me when Jay went off to work.

As usual Dembe knew his daddy was on his way home for lunch before I said anything. I walked into the lounge and found him on daddy watch again!

He did the same again in the evening as it is still light now when Jay finishes on an early shift, which feels like the first time in forever.

We had quite a lazy day today just pottering about and having lots of cuddles.

Tuesday 18th February

Really crazy busy day today by my standards, quite a normal day for anyone who doesn’t suffer with a chronic illness. Jay was day off and we had a long list of jobs to get through.

At 10am Dembe had his year health check and his vaccinations. The last time he had his vaccinations he was put up on the table, this time the lump was on the floor. Before he had his jabs the vet weighed him, he came in at 33.3kg which was a bit of a surprise as he certainly isn’t looking pudgy at the moment. The vet was really pleased with him, said she goes much more by body condition, Dembe has a clearly defined waist, you can feel his spine when you run your hand along his back and you can feel his ribs without seeing them. She said he may get heavier again but as long as that is muscle mass and not fat it is ok. We were chuffed to bits as basically we have been avoiding the vets for such a long time due to being made to feel like we had a horrendously obese dog. The vet asked me what I was feeding him as he was in such good condition.

Dembe managed to show us up in the vets by cocking his leg and scenting. I am guessing he wanted to show off that he is a big boy now and can do big boy wee’s!

With Dembe in the car we then headed into Exeter to the sewing machine shop as my machine was ready to be picked up after its service. As both Dembe and I were knackered we stayed in the car whilst Jay went and collected it. Dembe is definitely getting much better at being in the car and no longer makes such a fuss. We have worked out that many times the fuss was simply he needed to go to the toilet. So now any car journey longer than just going up to the common he has a quick walk around the block so that he is comfortable.

We were then home for a few hours before I had to head off to my Physiotherapy session. Whilst I was at that Jay took Dembe out for a nice walk on the common. He had a swim whilst he was there and played with a black Labrador called Reggie.

In the evening we had obedience training, Dembe had a really good session . One of the other owners came up to Jay before the session and asked him how much training time he was putting in with Dembe between lessons as he couldn’t get over how well Dembe was doing. That made us super proud parents!

Wednesday 19th February

As Jay is late night Dembe has had a really long walk on the common this morning. With all of us home he was really quite active this morning , bringing us toys and chucking crocodile around.

He also tried to get involved in my blog post for the other site I run The Myasthenia Kid. He is just letting me know he thinks cuddles are more important than that silly nonsense.

In the afternoon he took himself up to bed whilst I did some sewing. I needed to check that my machine was now running smoothly again after developing a fault. So far so good.

We were both shattered so were in bed and settled down for the evening by 18.30 which is unusual for the both of us. When Jay got in just after 10pm he took Dembe around the block for a walk to ensure he had been able to go to the toilet.

Thursday 20th February

I don’t remember much of today. I was terribly ill with a hemiplegic migraine the likes of which I have never suffered so severely from before. It is now Sunday and I am still struggling with the associated amnesia from the day before and the day after. I am going to see the doctor in a weeks time to get checked out as I was so very ill and to be honest the level of memory loss has frightened me. Jay had to take the day off work as I wasn’t safe to be at home alone or look after Dembe. I have vague memories of Dembe asleep on my feet at points during the day whilst I went between hurling my guts up and being semi conscious.

Jay however did manage to take this video of Dembe having a word with the recycling men

Friday 21st February

I am still struggling with amnesia after my migraine. Jay has left notes all over the place for me so I remember to do stuff. One of which being to feed Dembe. Dembe is sticking close by me and barking a lot at any noise he hears outside bless him.

Saturday 22nd February

Much the same as yesterday I am afraid. Dembe and I having a lot of cuddles. I did manage to get some sewing done. But that is pretty automatic for me. Other than that I do remember we played find it bunny for a bit. I confused Dembe as for the first time I hid bunny upstairs in Jays room. It took him an age to find bunny!

Sunday 23rd February

We have knocked Agility training on the head for the time being, so we have done a few bits of housework and played with Dembe. He loves having the whole pack together. Earlier when Jay nipped to the shop he started howling as Jay had left us. If Jay leaves us when he is wearing his uniform for work it is ok but he isn’t allowed to leave in his everyday clothes! Dembe was not happy!

He had a lovely long walk in the afternoon

I love the way he is trying to sleep with one eye open so he can continue to keep an eye on me!

W/C 10th February 2020

 

Monday 10th February

From Sunday afternoon Daddy and Dembe bonding time

Jay was on an early today so he took Dembe out at around 5am before he then had to shoot off into work. Today Dembe needed to be on his best behaviour as I was holding the inaugural session of The Stitchin’ Bitches – a small craft group I was hoping to set up to meet once a month and discuss our craft projects / get hints and tips from like minded others.

Dembe went a bit crazy when Gill the first person to arrive came in but by the time Sue and Sandra came he had calmed right down. He was a very good boy and was loving all the extra attention he was getting from our visitors. The meeting went well and Dembe was shattered after they left.

We had a very quiet rest of the day but I have to share this video with you, which we took this evening. Dembe goes absolutely crazy for cheese and will jump from one sofa to another – sometimes he covers a space of around 2 metres. Normally he does a spin midair but tonight he didn’t. But it is still quite impressive!

Tuesday 11th February

Jay was day off today so he took Dembe for a nice long walk up the common . We had to hose him off after his walk as he was covered in mud splashes. He went out again just before 10am as we were heading into Exeter and wanted to ensure that he didn’t need the toilet whilst we were out. I needed to drop my sewing machine off for a service and for a repair.

Dembe was beautifully behaved in the sewing machine shop. It has really horribly steep steps and he was a bit scared of them but with patience and gentle encouragement he managed them no problem at all. When he first got into the shop Jenna ( the lady who owns the shop) petted him. Dembe sat straight down and gave her his paw so he melted her heart immediately.

When we got back home Dembe had a very long sleep, he normally sleeps for most of the morning but with going out he hadn’t been able to do that. We took him out again just after 3pm for his afternoon walk. Again he had to be washed off on his return.

As dog training had been cancelled on Sunday we were having a double session this evening, one hour of agility with one hour of obedience after. Due to this we had our dinner early

Dembe decided to stick to sitting practically on top of me whilst I was eating!

Dembe enjoyed his agility training session. We have decided for the time being it will be his last agility session as he refuses to do half the obstacles and spends a lot of the time waiting around to use the ones he will do. This inevitably leads to him barking because he is bored. Also I can’t stand the idea of having to listen to this obnoxious poisonous woman sit and slag everyone else off in the room for an hour every Sunday. It is a shame but she really is the most vile individual I have had the misfortune to come across. She literally drains the life out of you. Good luck to anyone who is unlucky enough to be sat beside her in the next class. This isn’t a criticism of the dog trainers we use, we love them. It is just I can’t have another 5 weeks of dealing with this woman for the good of my own mental health.

Due to Dembe having agility before obedience he was a barky little sod throughout the whole of this lesson. As soon as he was stood still not doing anything he would bark. It was one of the worst sessions we had been at with him. It really crushes your confidence with him when he behaves like that and it only seems to be the training centre that he behaves likes this. I am sure he likes the echo that his bark makes in the barn.

Wednesday 12th February

Dembe and I had a really lazy day today as we were both shattered after the two hour training session. I was also in a bad way with my neck and back so needed a quiet day. We spent the day on the sofa.

As Jay was on a late night he took him out for a very long walk first thing. They met a female black Labrador on the walk and they played chase. Dembe came home so covered in mud that he actually looked like a black Lab so he had to be washed off out in the back garden again.

Sadly today there was news of a confirmed case of Alabama Rot in Budleigh Salterton which is just down the road from us. There is a high chance that this dog was walked on Woodbury Common like Dembe is. So it is very worrying indeed as the fatality rate for Alabama Rot is 90%. The only guidelines are to avoid walking in woods and to wash off your dog after each walk. They are no closer to working out what it is that is causing this awful disease and why some dogs contract it and others dont.

When Jay got home just after 10pm he took Dembe for a walk around the block so that he went to the toilet before bed time.

Thursday 13th February

I got woken up at around 3am by Dembe coming in to check on me as the storm was raging outside. It sounded like stones were being thrown against my window – it was huge bits of hail and then out of nowhere we had Thunder and Lightning. Thankfully Dembe just snuggled down beside me and slept. I am so relieved that the wind and the storms don’t seem to bother him.

Jay took Dembe out for another long walk this morning as unfortunately this week he has two late nights on the bounce. Dembe was pickled again so he had to be hosed down outside to ensure all the mud was off him. Especially after hearing yesterdays news. I am also checking him daily to ensure he has no lesions on him.

Dembe was a happy boy as his Cows ears were delivered this afternoon and the ones that have come this time are bloody huge.

Unfortunately Dembe has started getting a bit funny with his food again. He is eating but he is starting to walk away from meals and not seem that bothered about them. So before Jay went to work we went into the kitchen and cooked up three huge instapots full of different meals for Dembe. We have cooked so much that we have had to bring in the small freezer from outside for extra storage. We have put it in my room as that is the only place we have the space for it that is near a socket. So now he has two kinds of Lamb stew and I made him another batch of Scooys stew as that is definitely a favourite. Since changing him over to home cooked meals I have always tried to ensure he doesn’t eat the same meal twice in a day but clearly he is a dog that needs more variety. So fingers crossed this helps him. He is looking really good and much trimmer since switching to home cooking. I was going to cook him another meal but I have run out of containers for him.

Friday 14th February

Happy Valentines day. Dembe ensured he got a card for his dad! It is also mine and Jays 23rd anniversary of being a couple.

I haven’t been up to much the last few days as I have been so out of it due to some medication I am taking due to my back being in spasm. Thankfully Dembe has worked out that something is wrong and has dropped his energy levels accordingly.

He is loving the cows ears, so much so he was desperate to show me the tiny piece he had in his mouth on Friday.

He makes me laugh so much when you talk to him as he tilts his head and raises his eyebrows as you can see above!

On Friday afternoon I decided to lay the blanket out that I am working on to see how big it is. Dembe decided that it definitely needed lab tested.

Saturday 15th February

We had some visitors today as Sam is home from college on his half term. Dembe amazes me, Sam is profoundly disabled and Dembe is so gentle and so in tune that he needs to help Sam. It is so amazing to witness. Dembe was playing. The only person he would give his toy to was Sam, same with the cows ear he was chewing, only Sam was presented with it.

Also Dembe climbed up onto the sofa and very gently kissed Sam, where as with Sams mum Sarah he just charged her and pinned her down waiting for a cuddle. I am in awe of my little boy and his ability to discern the differences between a completely different species. It does make you wonder who is the most intelligent human or animal.

When Dembe realised that Sam was getting ready to leave he staged a bit of a sit in and sat on Sams lap.

Dembe is just so gentle even when he is giving Sam a kiss. He always gives Sam’s glasses a clean and licks Sams hearing aids. But normally when Dembe kisses you he drowns you – he is a wet kisser. Not when he kisses Sam. It is just a sight to behold. I don’t think anyone would believe it unless they actually saw it happen.

Dembe was exhausted after our visitors.

Sunday 16th December

Whilst Storm Dennis ( yes another storm this weekend after Storm Ciara last weekend) rages outside it is a very quiet day in the Morris household. Jamie is full of cold and feeling dreadful. He went back to bed at 11am. I am sat downstairs on my tod whilst Dembe is cuddled up to his dad upstairs.

Dembe has had a nice long walk this morning ……finishing with him being hosed down in the back garden. We have also made the last dish for Dembe’s a la carte menu which is just called rice and meat – beef mince, rice, carrot and spinach. Now just waiting for it all to cool so it can go in the freezer.

This morning Dembe had his one pot wonder for the first time in days and wolfed it down so the variety thing is definitely getting him interested in his food again.

We are on half term now for dog training so we wont be back until a week Tuesday.