The Dembe Diaries: August 2020

Monday 31 August 2020

W/C 24th August 2020

Monday 24th August

Jay is on his usual early shift today, so Dembe and I are keeping each other company. Since the car crash on 11th August he has been exceptionally clingy and barky. I am sure he is picking up on the stress in the household as he is constantly on guard at the window reacting to every single noise.

He is obsessed with carrying his bone cushion that he got from Alison and Mike at Christmas. It goes everywhere with him, out in the garden , up stairs where ever he can take it.

I received this gorgeous necklace in the post on Monday morning from a friend. I had no idea about it so was really taken a back when I opened it. It has all of the Weimaraners names on it Travis, Mollie, Willow and Frankie. I have been looking at getting something like this for a while, I will treasure it always.

Tuesday 25th August

We were up early this morning as Jay is picking up the car today from a garage near Yeovil which is about an hours drive from where we are. He got Dembe out early and then took him around the block again before Paul got here just before 10.30am.

Dembe was really excited at seeing his uncle Paul. Paul is the only person Dembe goes mental about being here. He literally can’t contain his excitement. His bum looks like it will fall off as his tail wags so fast when his uncle Paul is here. Paul is the person Dembe see’s the most out of our friend group and he is more like family really.

Poor Dembe isn’t coping at all at the moment when Jay leaves the house be it for work or anything else. He has always been unhappy when his dad leaves the house not in his work gear but now he gets upset when he leaves for work and takes ages to settle down. I hope with time Dembe gets over the stress of the accident, it is sad to see him affected by it mentally.

When Jay left to go and collect our new car with Paul, Dembe camped out in the lounge by the front door so he could watch through the glass to see when his dad came back.

In all the time we have had Dembe I have never seen him wait like this for his dad to return. It is breaking my heart because his dad will be gone for hours.

When his dad got home at around 2pm he was so excited he could barely contain himself! Jay took him straight out for a walk around the block as we needed to sort some stuff out in the new car before we could go out for a drive in it with Dembe.

Wednesday 26th August

I had a dreadful nights sleep and ended up going downstairs at 2.30am. Of course I was accompanied by my shadow who since the accident wont let me out of his sight.

I went out with Jay and Dembe at 5.30am in the new car, it was lovely!

Jay was on a late night today so Dembe had a quick walk around the block at 11.30am and then he was out with Martin from Happy Dogs. Dembe practically dragged Martin down the drive in his haste to get into the back of the van and out for a walk. I am so happy that he loves going out with Martin so much as it means he gets a good run around on the days when Jay doesn’t finish until 10pm.

It also means he is really chilled out in the evening and doesn’t need entertaining whilst we wait for Jay to get home.

Thursday 27th August

Jay is on a 9-6 today, so he got him out at the usual time and then went back to bed for an hour or so.

Dembe seems much more settled today than he has been since the accident on the 11th which is a relief. He has been barking less and isn’t reacting to every outside noise. Whilst I did a few little jobs around the house Dembe felt relaxed enough to take himself upstairs and go to sleep on my bed. Which he hasn’t done since the car crash. I am sure some of this is because he can now feel Jay and I are relaxing a little.

Dembe was crazy this afternoon getting all his toys out of the box, running around doing zoomies. He messed about so much that he wore himself out! He ended up napping on the floor with his football.

Friday 28th August

We had a lazy day today as we both seemed to be shattered after all the stress of the last few weeks.

Dembe has been obsessed with playing nudge this week at every opportunity. He nudges a ball towards you with his nose and you have to push it back to him with your hand or foot. Whatever you can get to the ball. He will play this for hours!

His favourite balls to play nudge with are this green ball which glows in the dark ( which Harry and Bev got hims when he was a tiny pup) and his football.

Saturday 29th August

Dembe still hasn’t worked out the sound of his dads car pulling up on the drive so today we were out in the garden when Jay got home for lunch. Dembe was barking like mad when he heard the front door go.

In the afternoon we snuggled up on the sofa together

We also played nudge for 90 minutes

By 15.30 Dembe knew that his dad would be coming home soon, so started his usual vigil by the window

This evening we went up to my parents caravan which was the first time this year. Dembe loves it up there as he can play on the grass and see my parents dog Maggie who will chase him. By the time we came home Dembe was shattered. It was so nice to see him playing up at the van again.

In the evening Dembe got on the big sofa and hid amongst the cushions but I could see him spying on me which made me laugh.

Sunday 30th August

Dembe was up early at 5am getting Jay up for a walk. He then went straight back to bed. When I woke up at 8.15am he came straight downstairs with me and begged for his breakfast which is unusual for him as some days he doesn’t want to eat until gone 10am.

This morning we had to go and see Uncle Paul as he has hurt his back. I was going to give him an session on my ultrasound machine to see if that helped at all as he was in so much pain. Whilst I started that Jay took Dembe for a walk around the block to try and ensure Dembe wasn’t a crazy loon when he came into Pauls house. It didn’t work he loves Paul so much he just goes bloody crazy. Jay managed to keep him under control but it is very funny as Dembe behaves like it is his house following anyone who leaves the room.

When we got home Dembe was absolutely flaked out as normally he would sleep a lot of the morning but today as we had been to Paul’s he hadn’t.

As this weekend is a bank holiday in England Dembe will be spoiled with having his daddy home until Wednesday at 12pm!

Monday 24 August 2020

W/C 17th August 2020

Monday 17th August

Every since last weeks car accident Dembe has been very clingy. He has always been really good when Jay leaves the house in his uniform and it has never bothered him. Now regardless of what Jay is wearing he cries and is really unsettled for a few hours. It is draining as I just don’t seem to be able to reassure him, despite playing with him and giving him lots of cuddles. I think that he is just picking up on the high amounts of cortisol being pumped out by myself and Jay, due to the level of stress we are under since 11th August.

I can’t even go to the bathroom alone at the moment without him lying at my feet

From Sunday evening but accurately portrays the energy level in the house at the moment

It was raining really heavily on and off today but it was still reasonably warm, for a little while Dembe and I went out on the patio under the gazebo and listened to the rain. Dembe is happy at the moment as long as he is stuck to me like glue!

Jay is on an early today so finished at 4pm. The traffic is horrendous as they have shut the B3180 over the common, which is one of two main routes out of the town. It is taking up to an hour to get onto the common, so after work we opted to take Dembe down the beach. We forgot to check the tide time table though and the tide was in and only a small area that Dembe could run around on. So I suggested that Jay took Dembe onto the Maeer, which is a sandy / grass area behind the seafront. Dembe loved it, lots of dogs to play with. I have never seen him pant so hard after a run around. Jay said he was a lunatic and just didn’t stop.

Dembe was so excited he didn’t go for a poo so Jay had to put him on his lead and keep saying busy busy to get him to go to the toilet. If Dembe is really enjoying himself playing with other dogs sometimes he will just rather play than go to the toilet.

He was so shattered when he got back from the Maer he had a huge drink and then laid on the cold stones outside on the patio.

Tuesday 18th August

Jay was day off today but was in and out all day long due to having to sort stuff out from the car accident. He had to go to the police station and fill in some paperwork, due to the road closures and road works it took him nearly 3 hours. Dembe was really upset the whole time he was gone. He kept looking out of the window and crying for his dad. It breaks my heart that he has become so unsettled and insecure after the accident.

He has also become a lot more barky, he is on his guard constantly and any strange noise outside and he runs to the window and barks the place down. He is clearly shaken up after the accident.

Jay took him down the Maer again this afternoon for a run around.

He had a wonderful time again, loving playing around and chasing / being chased by other dogs. Again he came home had a drink and then flopped onto the floor.

Wednesday 19th August

Today and tomorrow Jay is on a late night at work so Martin, our dog walker will be coming and getting Dembe for a nice walk on the common.

Jay took Dembe out early, the weather was absolutely dreadful and they both came home drenched. Jay used three towels on Dembe drying him off before he broke free and came upstairs. He jumped onto the bed with his pheasant toy in his mouth and curled up next to me ( to avoid any confusion I am talking about Dembe). As he leaned against the left side of me I got soaked as his fur was still wet from his earlier walk. Jay said he thought it was the wettest they had ever got.

Dembe and I slept curled up together until 8.20am. Dembe is still being really whingey at the moment and incredibly clingy. I find it distressing as I don’t know how to make things better for him so that he knows that he can relax and doesn’t have to be on guard all the time.

Dembe always knows when it is a dog walking day and from about 2.15pm – 2.30pm he will stand by the window watching for Martins arrival. He has learned the sound of the van and will watch as Martin takes it to the top of the cul-de-sac and then brings it back down outside the house. I have finally managed to capture Dembe watching him.

You can see the sheer concentration on his face as he is working out if that is the van. When he starts barking that is Martin pulling up outside.

Today Dembe had company with two other dogs on the walk, the weather was still grim really heavy mist and a bit of drizzle. He loves having the other dogs on the walk and even though they were older dogs they still had a bit of a play with him. When he got home I gave him a little hose off in the back garden and a dry.

With him going out in the afternoon he now settles down in the evening really well for me.

Thursday 20th August

Jay took Dembe out at around 6am and then they both came back to bed. Me and Dembe woke up at around 8am. At 8.20am we had the phone call we had been waiting for from the insurance company to say our car was a write off. Jay managed to get another 200 quid out of them to out towards our new car. We spent the morning drawing up a short list of cars to see tomorrow.

As Jay was late night he took Dembe out around the block again at 11.30am so he could have a sniff and go to the toilet which he did. Jay said he did an elephant size poo! He said he nearly needed a fork lift truck to carry it to the poo bin LOL

Today Martin and Dembe were on their own for their walk. Martin took Dembe to the Reservoir on the common which I have to admit is somewhere Jay and I have never managed to explore properly, although I really would love to. He couldn’t wait to go off with Martin and practically dragged him off down the drive and jumped into the van with out so much as a backwards glance. I have to say all my concerns and fears are gone now with him going out with Martin. There is now way he would take himself off down the drive like that if he didn’t enjoy getting out or being with Martin.

Before Martin came and got Dembe he had been a bit crazy for a couple of hours so he was having a nap just before Martin arrived. He was still full of beans for a while when he got home and was standing out in the garden barking at me!

Friday 21st August

Jay had to take today off work as we needed to go and look at cars now that the insurance have said it is a write off. We will only have 7 days with the hire car now before the insurance company give it back to the hire company. We are having to have a bit of a road trip as we haven’t found any cars locally that are any good for us. We need a big car even though there is only the two of us as I need to have a mobility scooter in the boot / trunk and have Dembe on the back seats in a car harness. So there is a minimum width requirement for the boot / trunk so that my scooter is able to fit. This is limiting us a great deal. If we could do without my mobility scooter we would have bags of room! We would also be able to get something smaller and newer. However we do have a short list and they are all 90 minute drive away in Somerset the next county over. I am just a bit concerned with how Dembe will cope with the car journey as we have done so few long journeys and with the car crash just over a week ago he is still a little stressed about going into the car.

We needn’t have worried as within 20 minutes he settled and was quite happy just watching the world go by out of his window. He reminds me so much of Frankie when he does that, Frankie loved sitting looking directly out of the window. Although Frankie would bark at everything that came near the car Dembe doesn’t do that and I will be honest sometimes we forget he is there because he never makes a sound! Unless he is particularly excited to be going to dog training or up the common.

I made sure to pack some chews for him, a nylabone and an antler chew. Previously on car journeys longer than 10 minutes he would like to lie down and have a chew of his antler or nylabone. This time he wasn’t interested. He just wanted to see what the world outside was doing. Whilst his dad was paying for the car in the garage office we went back and sat in the hire car, the photo above is him sat waiting. He has got incredibly clingy towards Jay since the accident.

On the way home Dembe was an absolute angle no crying or fussing he actually lay down and went to sleep sprawled across the seats.

We did have a chuckle as every so often we would hear hims snoring or changing position. He would have been exhausted as normally he would sleep for a few hours in the morning, he had been on the go since 6am this morning so he just was out like a light all the way home. The only time he woke up was as we hit Woodbury Common, he obviously recognised the smell and knew we were nearly home.

In the afternoon he flaked out on the sofa next to his dad

As we were chatting yesterday afternoon we realised that this hire car was now the third car that Dembe had been in with us and our car which we are getting Tuesday will be the third car we have owned since he came to live with us in January 2019. He is a very upwardly mobile doggy.

Saturday 22nd August

Dembe didn’t wake up until around 6am this morning so Jay took him out for a good run. Jay is on a 9-6 today. Dembe and I went back up to bed for an hour or so at 6.50am and Dembe slept cuddled up under my left arm with his head on my shoulder. Since the accident he is sleeping like this a lot. Previously he would only do it few times a week. Now it is every day. We are thinking about booking in a one to one session with Martin and seeing what we can do to help ease his insecurities that he has developed before we get any long term behaviour issues with him. I want him to be happy and confident and not permanently exhausted because he has been looking after me or Jay.

As I was writing up this week’s diary entries he was squidged right up beside me.

Jay was on a 9-6 today so by 4pm this afternoon ( despite being walked at lunch time)he was bouncing off the walls. Barking, climbing onto my lap and demanding that I hold the dried cows ear whilst he chewed it! I was covered in blonde fur!

Dembe was playing with me lying on the floor, I love the cheeky look of his face in this one.

Sunday 23rd August

Jay came down at 7am this morning to find a pile of puke by the front door. Dembe was ok in himself but weirdly had slept in until 6.45 which is unheard of. I heard Dembe downstairs at 5am as I went to the toilet but ever since he was a puppy he has taken himself downstairs during the night if he is too hot upstairs. So I wasn’t concerned.

Dembe is fine in himself, so as a precaution we gave him a much smaller breakfast later in the morning to ensure it stayed down. Thankfully it has and he seems fine.

Hopefully that is the end of it if not I have some medicine in the kitchen I can give him that is good for settling upset doggy tummies.

Monday 17 August 2020

W/C August 10th 2020

It has been a bit of a shitty week here as we were all involved in an RTC on Tuesday. So keeping Dembe’s diary this week has gone to pot. I have taken photos of the boy. Thankfully he wasn’t hurt and has been ok about going in the car since. Unfortunately we missed his graduation on Tuesday from his Advanced training course, due to not having a car. But hey ho at least we are all alive to tell the tale and it is in the hands of the insurance company now.