W/C 19th July 2021. HOT, HOT, HOT!

Monday 19th July

The UK is currently experiencing a bit of a heat wave at the moment so it is important that all dogs walks are done in the coolest part of the day. Jay took Dembe out for an early lead walk before he went to work. Martin from Happy dogs picked Dembe up at around 9.30am. It was already quite warm so Martin walked the group in shaded areas, unfortunately that area didn’t have a good enough signal to do a Facebook live. When Dembe got home I hosed him down in the back garden. Martin told me what a very good boy he had been.

We had got up incredibly early ( for me and Dembe as we like a lie on, after Dembe has had his first walk of the day), we were up at 6.30am. Dembe was starving hungry straight off the bat which is unusual for him. He really isn’t the typical greedy Labrador and is an extremely fussy eater. It was so unusual I took a photo and sent it to Jay to prove to him Dembe was having an early breakfast.

I managed to get some sewing done today, whilst Dembe slept after his happy dogs walk. When I went to take some photos of my finished pieces Dembe couldn’t help but get involved in the process.

During this intense hot spell we are having at the moment Dembe has taken to lying on the patio flag stones in the shaded part of the back garden.

To help cool him off in the afternoon I filled up his paddling pool.

He enjoyed this immensely, he loves water and goes crazy when the hosepipe is out. As a result of his love of water and the heat at the moment we have bought Dembe a spinkle mat which is coming tomorrow.

Tuesday 20th July

It is as hot as Hades! When Jay walked Dembe on the common at 4am it was already 17 degrees centigrade.

I found two ticks on Dembe, one on the front of his chest and one in his armpit. He was a very good boy and let me remove both of them using the tick removing tool I bought from Amazon. He did however run up the stairs with his carrot after they were removed. It seems that he thinks we can’t get him when he runs up the stairs. Martin our dog trainer has said that is more a Golden retriever type of behaviour as they are sensitive souls.

My phone just refused to focus properly on the tick so this is the best I could do. Both ticks were of similar size. Both sites where the ticks were removed are lightly swollen so I shall keep an eye on them. Mollie our eldest Weimaraner was the same when she had ticks remove the skin would swell slightly where the tick had embedded itself.

Thankfully he did forgive us for removing the tick!

Dembe’s sprinkle mat arrived at around lunch time. We got it assembled quickly and put it outside for him to have a play with.

When the jets were on he refused to go anywhere near it. So I turned the jets off and he was more than happy to play in the water that had collected in the bottom. I turned the water back on to put the jets on whilst he was on the mat he was fine with that, thank goodness.

Dembe had lots of little walks to the shaded lane that is very close to our home. He took full of advantage of Jay being home and must’ve had about 6 walks today.

Here he is looking as gorgeous as ever!

Wednesday 21st July

Dembe woke up just before 6am, on waking I gave him a cuddle and discovered another tick on his chest near his front leg. He was very good boy and allowed me to remove it from him cleanly using the tool. We think he is picking up the ticks from the lane as it is used by Foxes and Hedgehogs. I have checked him all over several times today to ensure I haven’t missed any. I have gone online and ordered some rose geranium oil to apply to him before he goes for walks as this is supposed to be as effective as Deet at keeping the little critters away. For the minute I have used some peppermint oil on him to put them off as this is effective too.

His paddling pool needed cleaned and filled so we had a laugh with the hosepipe and the crazy dog again! He does love the water.

Due to the heat I cancelled Dembe’s walk with Sophie from Creature Kind, she had just emailed me to discuss the situation, she offered to take him out earlier but as Jay was on a late shift it wasn’t worth it. He was actually ok about not going out. The heat was so oppressive that he was quite happy to just have cuddles on the sofa with me.

Jay popped home at 5pm and gave Dembe a walk around the block, it was soooo hot. We hosed him off before the walk and then again when he came back. Dembe was more than happy for an early night and we were up in bed by 7pm.

Thursday 22nd July

It is still crazy hot! Dembe is having a very early walk on the common and then Jay will walk him in the shaded lane at Lunch time and then again when he gets home from work. It is too hot to have Dembe running around being a nutter, although to be honest he has slept most of this last week due to the heat and I don’t blame him.

This afternoon I took Dembe on to the shaded part of the patio and practised getting him to sit nicely with a huge bag of treats beside me. I also used the opportunity to give him a quick groom as the hair in the house at the moment is just bonkers. It has never been this bad ever! There are huge great rolls of hair appearing out from under furniture even though the house is vacuumed twice a day at the moment due to all the bloody hair! Honestly how he isn’t naked is beyond me.

I know I am biased but I really do think that he is such a handsome boy. I know every dog owner says that about their dogs but he is just gorgeous. I am utterly besotted with him as is his daddy.

Dembe is going absolutely crazy for Cottage cheese and petit filous deserts – both human foods, which he can have a little of sometimes. He loves the cottage cheese so much that I have been letting him have the last dregs in the tub. Until now he has never stuck his nose fully into a food container or carried it around. We laugh because Frankie our Weimaraner, who sadly passed away two weeks before Dembe came home with us used to do exactly the same. It is so sweet to see him doing stuff that the other dogs did. He makes us laugh when he races into the kitchen when he hears the Fridge open just like Willow used to. Willow was so bad if she heard a kitchen timer go off she would race you to the kitchen LOL!

Friday 23rd July

My goodness what a cuddly boy Dembe is being today, I cant bend down without being kissed and I can’t sit or lie down without being cuddled, brought a toy or kissed to death. He has managed to lick my eyeball 3 times today!

I had a lie down on the bed and he couldn’t get close enough to me for a cuddle.

It was slightly cooler this evening than it has been all week so Dembe was much more active. He wanted to get me lots of toys out and have me play with him for ages. I don’t mind as it was lovely to see him more comfortable rather than struggling with the heat.

After having a massive play session he then crashed on the lounge floor and went to sleep!

Sorry this week has been a bit shorter than normal. We are having a new boiler fitted on Monday so we have been getting the house ready. We will be doing the final prep on Sunday which would be my normal day for writing up his diary, hence why it has been done earlier. Hopefully it will go smoothly.

The next two weeks Jay is on holiday so I shall be taking a two week break from Dembe’s Diary and will catch you up August 9th 2021.

 

W/C 12th July 2021

 Sunday 11th July

I had to share this photo from last Sunday, Dembe photo bombing baby Yoda!

Monday 12th July

Dembe is back to having proper dog walks this week as his limp has gone and he is now walking fine, getting up and just back to being the nutter he can be when wants to be. He was picked up by Martin from Happy Dogs and he was so pleased to see him after not seeing Martin for over a week. Dembe stopped and had a cuddle before jumping into the van, he doesn’t always do that as most of the time he is just desperate to get in the van and out for a walk . You can see Dembe out on his walk by using this link if you have Facebook .https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/1811875565658796

Dembe was pretty tired after his walk and spent quite a while lying on the floor afterwards cooling down. The weather wasn’t brilliant very thundery and humid, with rain showers.

He was very excited to see his dad just after 1pm when he popped back for lunch and to take Dembe around the block. Jay was brought Dembe’s carrot to look at.

Dembe was getting quite impatient for his dad to finish work this afternoon. He stood at the window for ages watching the world go by and went mental when his dad arrived.

Tuesday 13th July

Jay was day off today so as usual the Daddy and Dembe love in commenced from waking. Dembe spends as much time as possible getting a cuddle from his dad and lying next to him on the sofa when Jay is off work. He will be very pleased soon as Jay has 2 weeks off work.

Today was an orange dinosaur day, this toy was bought by our friend Carolyn. When Jay’s dad passed away she sent Dembe a toy as she knew he would be fretting with his dad being upset and not understanding why. It is one of his firm favourites that is presented to us at least once a week. He has a thing for his dinosaur toys.

He is also obsessed with his new Tennis balls that I picked up on Amazon called “The Dogs Balls”, which with both of us being so immature makes us laugh. It is even printed on the balls! Dembe is still trying to work out how he can carry both at the same time. Every time Jay and I are out in the garden Dembe brings a ball with him on the off chance that we will play nudge with him.

Ever hopeful

The tennis balls are really good as they are slightly larger than standard tennis balls, so we don’t have to worry about Dembe choking on them.

Dembe has started a new thing in the last few weeks where if he is lying on the floor or the sofa and you walk up to him to give him a cuddle he will roll over onto his back and let you rub his belly. Something he has never let us do previously. Belly rubbing always met with him mouthing our hands, luckily he is very gentle. He is becoming a huge softie.

Wednesday 14th July

Jay is a late night finish today and Sophie from Creature Kind is on holiday this week helping her new puppy settle in, so today was Dembe’s first walk with Beth from Creature Kind. Poor Beth was a bit nervous as it was the first time that she had taken Dembe out by herself and she knows how over protective we are!

Dembe was happily dozing on the sofa when Beth pulled up outside. I managed to capture the look on his face when he heard her van.

Beth took some lovely photos of Dembe and the gang

Photo Credit Beth Creature Kind

Photo Credit Beth from Creature Kind

Photo credit Beth from Creature Kind

Photo Credit Beth from Creature Kind

Dembe was knackered when he got home, Beth told me he had been as good as gold on his walk and had been playing with Polo for most of the walk. He went to sleep immediately on getting home only waking 30 minutes later to demand his dinner. We had an early night as I was quite poorly today. Dembe was more than happy with that.

Dembe has another new thing he has started doing which stems from him taking my socks off on command. If you say “Dembe find the sock” he will search the room looking until he finds the sock, be it clean or dirty. Thankfully when you ask for him to give them to you he does and he doesn’t eat them like some Labradors have been known to do.

Thursday 15th July

Today Dembe is having a rest day after his walk yesterday. We have worked out that he doesn’t need a walk on Jay’s 9-6 shifts, this is usually Jays shift after a late. So today he gets to rest after his mad adventures with Beth from Creature Kind yesterday. With him being that bit older, he will be three in November ( I know I can’t believe it either) he is much calmer, before he would be fizzing with energy and bouncing off the walls without a big walk. Now without a big walk he is more than happy to settle himself down and go to sleep for the day.

Caught mid yawn

As the end of the week is supposed to be boiling hot we filled Dembe’s paddling pool. He loves jumping in and out as you fill it and attacking the hosepipe trying to bite the water. He really enjoyed himself!

Dembe was really lovely and chilled all day, due to the high temperatures he spent most of the day sleeping and coming to me for cuddles.

Bless him he was so hot this evening that he couldn’t even be bothered to shag his bed! He pulled his bed out and then just lay down.

Friday 16th July

Well I managed to not take any photos of Dembe today which is a rarity. I was just so busy with multiple phone calls from our car insurance company. You may remember last year we were involved in an RTC, where a BT open reach van reversed into us. Well our insurance company and the legal company working for them to do my personal injury claim have been diabolical. So I ended up putting in a formal complaint about them both. So today was spent on the phone, multiple times with various departments. Thankfully it is all sorted, the driver of the BT van admitted liability, so we are getting our excess back and they have also thrown in some compensation. I am planning on getting Dembe a new Dogs and Horses Collar when the cheque arrives. He deserves something nice as he was in the accident too.

Dembe had a walk with Martin from Happy Dogs first thing, he was so happy when he got home as he had obviously enjoyed himself that he ran into the house to get his giant carrot and he presented it to Martin! Martin said he was a good boy on his walk, so that’s also lovely news. No video from the walk as they were walking in a forest to keep the dogs cool and Martin couldn’t get a signal.

Dembe was such a good boy with me on the phone as well. He just kept coming up to me checking I was ok.

Saturday 17th July

Bugger me it is so hot!

Dembe bless him is lying around sleeping. I have got the hosepipe on him a few times now to cool him off. He was very tired this morning as Jay was on an early shift.

The heat has been putting Dembe off his breakfast and he refused to eat it until gone 9am this morning. Poor baby I really feel for him with his double coat.

Here he is lying down on a damp towel after being hosed off outside to keep him cool.

Have a fab week everyone and thank you all for reading xxx

 

W/C 5th July 2021

 Monday 5th July

Dembe had been doing really well over the weekend and he had stopped limping, so on Sunday I contacted Happy Dogs to let them know he would be ok to be walked. Sadly though when Martin brought him back he was limping again. Martin said he was limping from the minute he jumped out of the van. It isn’t as pronounced as it was but still not good. I decided to cancel his walk on Wednesday with Sophie at Creature Kind and give him a week of proper rest. He only had those two walks booked this week anyway so he isn’t missing much.

We have been continuing with his supplements and he likes them, so that’s good. We crush them up in a pestle and mortar and then sprinkle the powder over his meals. They seem to be doing the trick and he is definitely not limping around the house. The issue is more noticeable when he gets up after being asleep as he is stiff. So we shall keep an eye on him this week. If he isn’t right by next Monday we shall take him to the vet. He has only been limping since last Thursday so it is 4 days that is not enough for a sprain or strain to heal.

I am a bit worried with how he will cope with not going out with a dog walker this week as some weeks he is out 4 times. I had reduced it back this month as a bit of an experiment to see if he needed it. He will be 3 years old in November and although he still has his mental activity periods he is more than happy to lie around and sleep. This is the week I shall find out if I can keep him calm and less mobile. Wish me luck.

Thankfully his extra treats arrived this week, as long as he has something to chew on he is a happy boy.

Tuesday 6th July

Dembe didn’t start fussing for his breakfast until 8.30am but first we piled into daddy’s room. It is our morning routine when Jay is on a late or day off that Dembe and I go in and wake him him. We all lie on the bed and chat, Dembe always brings us his blue dinosaur. He has this weird thing where he will have a cuddle with us for ages and then all of a sudden he will jump up and run down to the end of the bed. Jay then has to take the duvet of his feet, Dembe then gives Jays foot a sniff and sometimes a lick. Then he comes back up to the top of the bed again. It makes us laugh every time he does it. We have no clue why he has to check Jays feet!

I was busy chatting away to them both when I suddenly heard them both snoring!

Dembe has had his usual lead walks during the day, Jay has just made them shorter rather than doing a walk around the block to ensure he keeps his leg rested as much as possible.

Again he has spent a lot of the day sleeping and hasn’t seemed that fussed about not having long walks. If we could have got away with it we wouldn’t have taken him out at all but he point blank refuses to use the garden to go to the toilet.

Wednesday 7th July

Jay is on a 10.30-7.30 shift due to the football, normally he would have been late night. Dembe is certainly spending a lot of the afternoon looking for Sophie. I feel sorry for him but he really must rest, there will be other walks.

He got a bit barky around 6pm but it was ok he still settled down.

He is not showing any signs of a limp now and is just a bit tentative when getting up. I had a look at my phone to discover when he last had a limp. It was back at the end of April. I am wondering if we didn’t let him rest it enough and that is why it has flared up again. Having checked his legs numerous times there is no swelling, no heat and he isn’t taking his leg away from you when you examine it. It is his left leg.

Thursday 8th July

We came downstairs to this today

Dembe didn’t notice Cleo on the sofa until we came back in with his breakfast. He went mental it was the first time I have ever heard him growl. He was barking and growling and all his hair was standing on end.

To ensure Dembe hasn’t been a pain the bum for our neighbours I have spent as much time as I can in the lounge with him so he doesn’t stand at the front window barking at every noise from outside. He has spent a lot of the week curled up on my lap ( as much as a full grown Labrador can be on its owners lap ). By staying with him he has been much more settled .

Dembe now lets us know when he wants to go out for a walk, he stands by the front door. If his blue lead is hanging up he will nudge that with his nose. He doesn’t bark or whine he will just stand facing the door. He usually starts to do this just before Jay is coming home.

Friday 9th July

Oh my goodness Dembe didn’t wake up until 6am for his morning walk and then didn’t wake up until 10am for breakfast. He only woke up because I was stirring otherwise he would have continued to sleep. It was really nice to have a proper lie on.

Despite sleeping on until 10am Dembe was still more than happy to spend the majority of the day dosing. Jay was on a late night so that suited me fine, he popped back at 5pm to give Dembe a walk around the block.

Due to having his breakfast really late Demeb wasn’t hungry for his dinner until gone 6pm. Normally he starts begging by sitting in front of the fridge any time from 3.15pm onwards.

He likes eating his dinner in the lounge! Spoilt pup. He polished off the lot.

I managed to capture him licking his lips after he had finished his dinner. Every day we are seeing an improvement in Dembe. He has started running again on walks now.

Saturday 10th July

Today I saw Dembe running and he has no signs of a limp at all. I also saw him walking up hill on the lead after his walk again no limp. This is fantastic news. So hopefully he will be able to resume walks with his dog walkers this week.

Sunday 11th July

We are having a lazy Sunday before the England match this evening.

Have a good week.