W/C 22nd June 2020

 Monday 22nd June

Jay got Dembe out early at around 5.30am and they had a really good walk on the common. They have been seeing lots of deer and rabbits. Dembe doesn’t know what to make of either. Mollie our Weimaraner would have immediately gone into stalking pose but he just seems to want to play with them rather than hunt and is so slow off the mark they are long gone by the time he takes an interest.

I did a bit of machine embroidery in the morning for the first time in ages and it made a nice change. Dembe spent the morning relaxing on the sofa

He was out for the count and didn’t even notice me coming into the room and taking his photo.

In the afternoon we played on the bed for an hour or so. It was then I noticed that his left ear was inflamed – outside of the ear rather than the canal. So I rang the vets to get him seen the next day. I was worried it maybe mites, the Weims used to get this when they were young but he hadn’t been shaking his head or scratching but it was clear he wasn’t happy with me touching it.

He lay on me for ages just having a cuddle. I swear he would lie on me all day if he could.

Tuesday 23rd June

Dembe had the vets at 9.15am this morning. As Jay is working overnight the plan is he will take him to the vets and then go back to bed and see if he can sleep. Dembe had us up stupidly early this morning, so Jay hasn’t had enough sleep to get through a night shift.

Due to Covid-19 and safety precautions owners are not allowed into the veterinary surgery. When you arrive at the vets you have to park up and then call them from your car to let them know you have arrived. When it is time for your appointment a vet nurse comes out and takes your animal into the surgery. Dembe was having none of it so Jay had to follow at a 2m distance behind Dembe to make him think that his daddy was coming with him. I am glad I wasn’t there as I think I would have probably cried with the stress of it all. Unfortunately I still have flash backs of the day that Frankie and then a week later Mollie died at the surgery. Although it was for the best they were both suffering, I don’t think I will ever get over the trauma. The vets is a hard place for both of us to go.

When Dembe was returned to the car Jay asked the vet nurse if Dembe had been a pain in the ass. Apparently he had loved every minute in there. He had one feeding him treats whilst the other cleaned his ears. His ears were very waxy I had noticed that on the Sunday and had given them a clean. They said there was no infection they wondered if it was a reaction to the wax on his skin or perhaps an allergy. I am wondering if it is his body detoxing from kibble as we have changed his food. It doesn’t contain anything he hasn’t eaten before. The only thing that has stopped is the kibble. I know myself with my allergies things can flare before they get better. He has come home with some ear wash which we have to do every 2 weeks.

that’s my foot photobombing!

He has had three walks today his early morning walk, his afternoon walk and then Jay took him out at around 9pm as he is working overnight and Dembe will have to wait until Jay gets home before going out.

Dembe was really unsettled when his dad left the house just before 10pm . It is the first time in Dembe’s life that his dad has worked overnight. So he can’t understand what is going on. Dembe kept going downstairs and barking out of the window so I had to get him upstairs with me and shut my bedroom door so he didn’t annoy the neighbours. I am worried it will be a very long night.

Wednesday 24th June

Thankfully Dembe did settle down after about an hour last night and we slept well. Jay got in at around 8am and took him for a walk around the block.

We have booked Dembe in for a day time walk with Happy dogs, this will be the first time Dembe has been out with other dogs. I am sure he will have a wonderful time as he loves all other dogs and loves to have a good game of chase.

Dembe got picked up just before 10.30am and he is with 2 other Labradors so it is the Lab squad today on the walk. Happy dogs posted some lovely photos of them out on the walk. Dembe was so good today there was no running away or having to be dragged over the threshold. I got the lead clipped onto his collar and off he trotted to the van. That made me a lot happier as you always worry when a dog is reticent that there is something he is unhappy with but this isn’t the case. He couldn’t get in the van fast enough.

Due to Jays change in shift Dembe is really unsettled. After his walk he went upstairs and slept on the bed with Jay. He spent 5 hours upstairs with his dad.

On Wednesday evening I was getting something out of the cupboard when I came across a collar I bought Dembe last year but it was too big for him. It now fits and must be slightly cooler for him than the leather collar he usually wears.

Thursday 25th June

Jay took Dembe out early, it was already 16 degrees just before 6am. He bumped into Dembe’s mate the Great Dane and the chocolate Labrador. Jay found out that the Great Danes name isn’t Rufus but Pluto! He is crap with names. They ran around like crazy and had a good play. Apparently Pluto looks for Dembe every day on his walk.

It was unbearably hot all day

Dembe and I spent the majority of the day hiding indoors as it was just too much being outside.

Jay came home at lunch time and checked the temperature of the pavement and it was too hot to walk Dembe on without the risk of burning his paws. I don’t think Dembe was that interested anyway.

We had a bit of a play Thursday evening, nothing too energetic as the heat was still way too much.

Dembe’s new bed arrived yesterday, he refused to go anywhere near it last night but has been sleeping in it today.

Friday 26th June

The little bugger had us up at 4.30am. Jay took him out just after 5am, they didn’t see Pluto even though they went to their usual spot. It was still really warm out at 13 degrees. It was so hot last night Dembe was sleeping out on the landing to find somewhere cool.

He has now suddenly decided that the raw food is ok after messing us about at the start of the week. He went a day without eating properly and us having to remove his bowl after 20 minutes because he wasn’t eating. When he realised their would be no sardines or cheer-leading to get him to eat he suddenly scoffed the lot and wanted seconds. We had cut back on the amount of raw he was having with the food I had prepared, so he was now having 1/4 of a pack ( warmed up) and mixed with his usual food. Then he was eating the rest of pack I had prepared for his dinner later without mixing it with anything! What a bloody nightmare he is.

It was a slightly cooler today but Dembe still wanted to stay indoors and just have lots of cuddles.

On his walk this evening Dembe was playing with an 18 week old puppy. Jay didn’t recognise the breed so he asked the owner what it was…..it was a double doodle. WTAF? apparently a double doodle is a Labradoodle crossed with a Golden Doodle, no doubt they have paid through the nose for nothing more than something that is a cross breed. It is crazy. Mind you dog prices have gone crazy since lock down. Labrador puppies are going for well over £1500 – not KC registered and over £2,000 for KC registered. I feel very sad for all these dogs that are suddenly going to be hit with separation anxiety once people start returning to work.

Saturday 27th June

What is up with Dembe he keeps waking up at 4.30am. I had to keep him entertained until after 5am so that Jay could get some sleep. Jay is on a late night so after walking Dembe they went back to bed. Dembe is really good at going back to bed now and will settle immediatley.

I didn’t wake up until 8.20am and Dembe was ready for his breakfast. He polished off half a pack of raw food and a tiny amount of his old food ( the stuff I was cooking) mixed in. He isn’t messing about any more and eats what he is given which is good. His favourite variety seems to be anything chicken or beef based.

Dembe had a quick walk around the blog before Jay went to work at midday, he then played with our neighbours dog Skye a small Jack Russell terrier. They love having a game of chase. Dembe was a bit unsettled after his dad went to work. He decided to have a bit of a bark out of the window and then bark at me silly sausage

Caught him right at the start of a bark

In the afternoon Dembe and I played his favourite game Nudge

As Jay was on a late night he popped home at around 5pm and took Dembe up the common for a walk so that he got out before Jay got home after 10pm. Dembe was a really good boy and ate his dinner with no issues at all. We went to bed at around 7pm.

I was just settling down in bed when I felt something jabbing me in the leg. I felt under the duvet and discovered this

Dembe had stolen a wooden peg from the garden, chewed it up and then buried it in my bed for me!

Sunday 28th June

Lazy day today as we are all shattered!

W/C 15th June 2020

 Monday 15th June

Jay was on an early today for the first time in what seems like forever. When I woke up at 08.20am I found Dembe asleep in his dads bed lying on top of his dressing gown. He loves sleeping on his daddy’s dressing gown. As I wasn’t feeling great we had a lazy day.

Dembe took himself outside for a bit and had a sunbathe. He loves lying in the sun, he reminds us of Molly and our first dog Travis who were both sun worshippers.

Dembe really made me laugh today, I was sat on the toilet when he barged in and brought me his football. He tried to pop it onto my lap but I told him “out” and he was most surprised that I didn’t want to play with it. He stropped off into the bedroom.

He is just so ridiculously photogenic.

Tuesday 16th June

Dembe is once again turning his nose up at his food. The temporary fix of mashing sardines into his meals is working but it really can’t go on forever because at some point he will turn his nose up at these as well. I wish I knew why he is such a fussy eater. It has been building for weeks and it is so distressing for me. I think because we lost Travis at such a young age ( 10 days short of his 3rd birthday due to kidney failure) I do stress out about these things much more than most people.

We have taken the plunge and ordered 15kg of raw food. I got a bundle so a mixture of the meals they do and as a new customer got 20% off as well https://www.prodograw.com/raw-dog-food/ . I don’t receive anything for this I’m just making other people aware of this brand and it seems reasonably priced compared to some others I have looked at especially the delivery charge and the prices of the food. Lets hope he doesn’t turn his nose up at this either!

We plan to gradually move him from his old food onto this food but we shall see! I was hoping we could keep him on a mixture of raw and his home cooked meals but the way he is turning his nose up at everything is making doubt we will get away with that.

The local fire service have rung me up and provided me with a smoke alarm ( additional) and a carbon monoxide alarm. For those of you who are unaware I am disabled and I use oxygen on occasion which means I have a concentrator – a machine that pulls oxygen from the air and concentrates it and a huge cylinder in case of power cuts. My home has to be registered with the emergency services as there is a risk of explosion due to the Oxygen cylinder. As part of the kit I was issued today we got a plastic hand on a stick to test the fire alarms with so we don’t have to climb on a chair to reach them. Dembe decided immediately he didn’t like it!

We had to do some training with him to get him to accept that the stick wasn’t there to hurt him or cause issues for him. He is a strange bugger who will react to all sorts of things. By the end of the day we had him eating treats off the hand

Jay managed to get this photo of Dembe when out on their walk this morning

Wednesday 17th June

Dembe woke up at 5am, he had a big walk with his dad and then they both went back to bed.

Today Dembe has a walk with Martin from Happy Dogs as Jay is on a late night. Dembe has worked out that something is going on today as he is in a barky mood and keeps looking out of the window to see who is coming!

When Martin arrived Dembe was barking and wagging his tail. However once I opened the door and Martin handed me the lead to attach to Dembe’s collar Dembe decided to run upstairs and peer at both of us through the banisters! I went and attached the lead. I thought I might have to drag him to the front door but he came down the stairs and walked beautifully to the door for me. He then jumped over the door step, dragged Martin to the back of the van and jumped in. Obviously he was playing hard to get!

He wasn’t as tired today as he was last week but he was much calmer than the Dembe I usually have to deal with on a evening when Jay is working!

We had a lovely quiet evening!

Thursday 18th June

Dembe has been ridiculously cuddly all day my permanent little shadow. Every time I bend forward I get smothered in kisses. I lent into my bottom drawer to get some fabric out and he jumped on my back ( I was sat on my bed )

I have been telling Jay for ages every time I get something out of the chest of drawers Dembe jumps up on me. Now I have photos he may believe me!

He took himself off to bed this morning whilst I did some sewing. Then just before 1pm he came down and stood at the window waiting for his dad to get home for lunch

Dembe’s raw food was delivered this morning and he was very interested in it. So I am hopeful, who knows. I could have just wasted £40!

The weather is foul today. Normally we would go outside for part of the day. Today we have played on my bed whilst I was having a rest

In the evening I put my crocheted blanket down on the floor to capture its progress, Dembe did his usual and lay on it.

Friday 19th June

Again Dembe is my shadow today. Jay is on a 12-9 so he has taken him out twice this morning to ensure he isn’t desperate to go before Martin arrives at around 4pm. Dembe is all over Jay this morning as he always is when Jay is home. I am wondering how he will cope next week when Jay does a night shift for the first time since Dembe has been with us at 8 weeks old and he is now 18 months old.

He was much better today with Martin, he was barking and wagging his tail when he saw Martin arrive. When I opened the front door he stayed on the sofa, I clipped on the lead and then had to nudge him off the sofa. He then happily trotted to the van and jumped in!

His first raw food meal is tonight. I decided on the rabbit – well he didn’t like it. I have since read some of the reviews and Dembe isn’t alone in his dislike of Rabbit. I also read some blogs this evening about transitioning from kibble / normal dog food to raw and some dogs like their food warmed / flash fried for seconds to release some of the aromas and make the meals more appealing. I have got a beef and chicken out for tomorrow so we shall see how that goes. I’m concerned in case I have just wasted a lot of money.

I ended up taking the rabbit away and giving him some sardines with his usual meat loaf. After he has been out for a massive walk plus two shorter walks I want him to eat a proper meal.

Oh and the raw food stinks – but I have a super sensitive sense of smell…..how will Mr Weak stomach cope?

Saturday 20th June.

Dembe spent the whole night squished right up against me which is really unusual. He may sleep on the bed but he never really wants to be lying right beside me, 9 times out of ten he will sleep on the floor. I should have realised something was up as at 2am I woke up with a migraine. That’s why he was my body guard!

Dembe’s second raw meal went a lot better, I flash fried it for about 30 seconds and he polished it off in record time. This one was the chicken and beef and he loved it. He was looking for more.

Thankfully the new med’s I have been put on worked brilliantly but I was left feeling pretty rotten and exhausted. Dembe decided that the thing to do would be to bring me his football to make me feel better

When that didn’t work he then decided the only thing for it was the chest plant

This is where he lies right on my chest and has a cuddle. He also lies like this when he is preventing me from getting up from a faint as he knows I’m not well enough to get up or he will stand over me.

We had a lie down in the afternoon for around an hour and had lots of cuddles.

Sunday 21st June

I think at this rate Dembe is going to be asking for either over time or danger money! I really wasn’t feeling great today but decided I would plough on regardless. I was doing ok and then all of a sudden just felt like I was going to pass out. I was just saying to Jay “god I feel really faint” and the urge to sit on the floor gripped me. As I managed to get down as far as the coffee table and it was lights out Vienna. I came around with Jay at my feet saying “OMG are you ok?” and Dembe stood over me refusing to move and every so often licking my face.

Whilst I recovered and basically until Dembe was happy for me to get up off the floor, I was stood over. This was a revelation to Jay as he hadn’t seen this actually happen before he has only had me telling him about it. Once Dembe is no longer concerned he went off and brought me back his tweed puppy toy all proud of himself for protecting mummy!

We have had a lazy rest of the day!

And he still hates the rabbit flavour.

W/C 8th June 2020

 Monday 8th June

Dembe is sulking as Jay is back to work today after his holiday and the minute Jay went to work Dembe took himself upstairs to bed. It reminded me so much of Mollie who was Jays dog and would sulk something terrible every time her dad left the house without her. I basically wouldn’t see her all day as she would hide upstairs in his bedroom.

Jay is late night tonight and today is Dembe’s first walk with Martin from Happy Dogs. Both Jay and I have been really anxious about it as Dembe has never been away from us previously, he has never been walked by someone else or been in someone else’s care for more than 30 minutes ( and that was just once).

When Dembe left the house with Martin he really wasn’t sure, his body language was showing he was not feeling good, body low to the floor head down, ears down etc. I felt like a terrible mother. Thankfully when he got in the van there was no howling which was what I was expecting. About 30 minutes later Martin did a Facebook live so I could see Dembe being walked and that he was ok. This helped ease my anxiety greatly.

I had thrown myself into a project on the sewing machine and normally I never hear a car pull up outside but today I heard when Martin pulled up. Dembe couldn’t wait to get back to me it was obvious he was shattered.

As it was the first walk it was early and Jay and I had prepared for that. I should have been clearer on Jays working hours so his next walks will be done later in the afternoon . Jay popped home at 5pm to take Dembe out for a quick walk around the block and then headed back to work.

waiting by the window for his dad

I had a very quiet afternoon as Dembe was shattered and in the evening he settled very quickly for me.

Tuesday 9th June

Dembe decided that 4.39am was the perfect time to go out for a walk this morning, so I range Jays phone to wake him up and let him know his baby wanted out. I must have gone straight back to sleep as I didn’t hear them go or come back. The next thing I knew it was 8am and Dembe was fast asleep beside me on the bed.

At 9am I went in to wake up Jay and we ended up all having a cuddle on his bed

As usual Dembe was all over his daddy today because he was at home. He is always glued to Jays side when he is on a day off. However if I am sick ( sicker than normal) or when Jay isn’t here he is all over me.

Dembe still seems pretty shattered after his walk with Martin yesterday.

June 10th June

Jay is on another late shift today so Dembe is booked in with Happy Dogs again for a walk this afternoon. Both of us are feeling much happier about it,

Dembe woke up at 4.30am this morning, I rolled over and ignored him as it is taking the piss, give it a few weeks and he will be wanting out at 2am! Jay woke up just before 5am and got him out. Thankfully Dembe is very good and will go back to bed and settle for a few hours once he has been out for a walk. I woke up at 8.30am and Dembe was on the bed with me.

Over the last few weeks Dembe has started stealing my slippers whenever I am on the sewing machine. I have to sew in my stocking feet so I take my slippers off and keep them beside me. The other day I found one slipper in the garden and another in the bathroom. I have ordered myself some new slippers as Dembe has torn the inside of them trying to remove the labels from inside them. He is label obsessed and we have to take them off his toys or he will destroy the toy chewing the label.

Dembe was picked up for his walk around 4pm which was the perfect time as he was just starting to become restless and wanting out. He recognised Martin but put the breaks on, I had to put the lead onto his collar and Martin had to pull him out of the house. Once over the threshold he would walk but again looked very submissive. He was the same as a tiny pup when he was first starting to go for a walk, Jay always had to lift him over the threshold. Once outside he would be fine but he always had an issue with leaving the house. I think he may have been worse today as I had been feeling rotten all day and he was perhaps concerned about leaving me… or maybe it is just going to take him a bit of time to get used to leaving the house without us. In a way I’m happy that he won’t just leave with someone as my biggest fear has always been that he would get stolen as he is such a good looking chap.

Dembe was exhausted after his walk. Martin did another video for us to see him walking and Dembe looked very happy pootling along in front of Martin on the Flexi Max lead ( we have the same lead ).

I had a very quiet evening with Dembe out for the count from 6pm, he was snoring his head off. I was happy as I knew that he had been properly exercised and wasn’t like a coiled spring because Jay was on a late night.

Thursday 11th June

I had a very tired little boy on Thursday which suited me fine as I haven’t been feeling right all week. We spent most of the day cuddled up together on the sofa watching films. Normally I am trying to do stuff around the house as I have never really come to terms with my disability. I push myself very hard because I don’t want to be accused of being lazy. This week I have had to dial everything back as I am just so shattered.

This afternoon we had a thunder storm, I am so proud of Dembe he didn’t bat an eyelid. He wanted to go outside and play in the rain

I kept having to call him inside as he kept going out and doing zoomies in the garden, nutcase!

My new slippers have arrived so now when I sew I leave the old ones beside me for him to steal and put the new ones on the work surface so that he can’t get them! I did exactly the same when he was a puppy!

Friday 12th June

Awful weather today so Dem’s spent the majority of the day asleep on the sofa beside me. I managed to capture one of the crazy heavy showers

Dembe saw his mate Rufus the Great Dane on his walk this morning. Rufus’s brother a chocolate Labrador also tried to play for a few minutes but he is a bit chunky and elderly so he struggles to keep up with the youngsters. Apparently every day when Rufus goes for his walk he waits in the area where he would bump into Dembe, he gets very disappointed when Dembe doesn’t join them on a walk. Jay likes to take Dembe to different places for his walks rather than just do the same walk every day. So they only see each other a couple of times a week.

waiting for his dad to get home

Saturday 13th June

Oh my goodness what a cuddly boy I have today! He is just so affectionate. I love the way he puts his paws on my shoulders and then licks my face, it is almost as if he is trying to give me a hug back. Such a soppy boy he really is the most loving dog ( and all our dogs have been affectionate in their way) we have owned.

Dembe watching his dad in the kitchen on Saturday evening

We spent another day on the sofa watching films and having cuddles. Dembe was my crochet inspector this evening.

Sunday 14th June

Dembe started squeaking at 4am wanting to go out. I told him to be quiet and went back to sleep for an hour. At 5am Jay got up and took Dembe out for a walk. I went back to sleep but woke up at 6.30am. Dembe came down with me and slept on the sofa.

There used to be a programme on one of the USA satellite channels called Cheaters, we sing the theme tune whenever one of us catches Dembe in bed with the other!