Monday 13 July 2020

W/C 6th July 2020

 Monday 6th July

I spent much of yesterday in bed and Dembe was by my side for the majority of it. Whilst I was watching a show on Netflix Heartlands , Dembe was fascinated by the horses

Ignore the state of my room I had been too unwell to tidy it up

He goes crazy every time there are horses on the television. Which as Heatland is all about a horse ranch in Canada – is quite a bit.

We had a very lazy day on Monday , I lay on the sofa a lot and Dembe shared it with me

Dembe also likes lying my chest, he weighs about the same as our Weimaraner Willow who passed away in December 2017. But I would never have managed her lying on my chest. His weight is distributed differently and he seems longer in the body than she was. He is ok until he moves and digs me with his bony elbows.

I’ve taken this photo from later in the week.

As I spent a lot of Monday lying down Dembe kept bringing me toys to see if they would make me feel better. He even brought me his favourite ball.

Tuesday 7th July

Dembe was the life and soul of the party all day

We were a bit concerned that due to the fact he had slept most of the day he was going to be a live wire at dog training this evening. Jay and I were really looking forward to getting back to training and some kind of normality.

I had to spend most of the day flat due to my CSF leak cropping up again, which meant a lot of the time sharing a sofa with Dembe.

Tonight’s dog training session would be the first time since before the lock-down we had been to class. Our last class had been 17th March. I was wondering how much of his training Dembe would remember. I needn’t have worried as Dembe and Jay had a cracking session.

Jay was singled out towards the end of the session to say how well he and Dembe were doing and that now they both needed to be working to a much more advanced level.

Due to Covid-19 each person and dog had a set area in the barn to work in, marked out with tape on the floor. On attending we had to wait outside – socially distanced and then wait to be called in. We then had to sanitise our hands and confirm that we were not suffering any covid-19 symptoms. We also had to confirm all our details were correct and up to date.

Dembe’s mate Rufus was there so they spent ages looking at each other. At one point Dembe was losing focus so Jay brought out his training toy the purple Rhino that Kate from the vets had bought him when we first got him. I will never forget that day. We were both really stressed as it had just been over a week since Mollie had passed away there and two weeks since Frankie. So the place was filled with very unhappy memories for us both. Plus we were worried people were judging us for getting another dog so soon. Kate came out from behind the desk and gave us a hug ( back in the days when you could do that) she had a card welcoming Dembe to his new home and had bought him a toy his purple rhino. We use it as his training toy so it only comes out at the barn. All the other dogs were so jealous of Dembe’s toy that they started barking at him so everyone else had to get a toy out for their dogs.

Dembe did so well at training, he was shattered when he got home and went straight out into the garden and lay down

Wednesday 8th July

Dembe didn’t wake up until gone 5.30am . We were both expecting it to be earlier as he drank so much during dog training last night. He spent the night snuggled up to me as I came down with a migraine at 11pm last night.

He has been very barky today so I have implemented a new noise to put him off. So far so good.

Jay came home for lunch so I managed to get some fab photos

He is being a real fussy bugger with his food. It is looking like we won’t bother with raw food again, most of the time I have to sit there with him whilst he is eating it. The only flavour he really liked was duck and it looks like he is allergic to duck as his ears all became inflamed. Even if he is looking really interested as you prepare the raw food the minute it is put in his bowl he doesn’t want it.

Thursday 9th July

Jay has been doing a lot of 9-6 shifts lately and both Dembe and I hate them. The morning goes quickly and then he is home for lunch and then the afternoon really drags.

Dembe waits for Jay from 4pm some days, either standing at the window barking at everyone who dares pass by or by lying on the sofa by the front door looking thoroughly pissed off.

Friday 10th July

Dembe has a walk with Martin from Happy Dogs later on today as Jay is on a late night today.

Jay has him out nice and early this morning for a long walk. They say Pluto the Great Dane in The distance but didnt manage to catch up with him. Dembe was on the go all morning.

As Jay was on a late night he took Dembe for a spin around the block before going to work. Dembe likes his lead walks at midday / lunch time. He has them when Jay comes home at lunch time and looks forward to them. The walk now will tide him over until he goes out with Martin later on this afternoon.

Dembe is being a right barky little sod at the moment. I have no idea why he has suddenly decided this week that every noise needs a response. He is also barking at me when I refuse to play a game with him because I am busy doing other things. It is ridiculous.

He worked out that it was a Martin / Happy dogs walk today so was waiting by the window for him to arrive.

He had a wonderful time on his walk. If you are on Facebook you can use this link to see him out on his walk and lots of other videos from Happy dogs https://www.facebook.com/happydogs.uk/.

It has made such a difference Dembe having a long walk on the days when Jay is working a late night. He settles so much quicker and is happier for having been out properly rather than a quick walk around the block when Jay gets in late.

Saturday 11th July

I managed to have a nasty fall in the garden today. I have hurt all my left side. As soon as I fell Dembe came rushing out to check how I am and kissed me. He wouldn’t let me get up until he felt it was safe for me to do so. This isn’t something we have trained him to do but something he just does.

As I had fallen and was sore I spent a lot of the day on the sofa

He decided the best place to keep an eye on me was under my elevated leg!

His new toy arrived this afternoon – Grumpy Cat

He seems very taken with it as he took it outside and tore the labels off!

Sunday 12th July

He seems to be loving his new toy Grumpy cat.

Today is going to be a lazy Sunday as I am aching head to toe after my fall yesterday.

Another battle getting him to eat his breakfast today. However as soon as I changed it over to one of our pasta bowls he ate no problem. So now I am left wondering is it the bowl and not the food that is the issue. I will now feed from the pasta bowl to see if that helps at meal times.

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