Monday 1st April
Dembe was as is usual on a Monday a cuddly pup all day.
Unfortunately at around 16.45 we were messing around ( Dembe and I ) and he clobbered me with his paw. It was a freak accident but due to the fact I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome my skin is extremely fragile. Whilst most people would have got away with a scratch the underneath of my eye was cut open and was bleeding. It was a bit scary and I was just very pleased that I had managed to close my eye before it connected with his paw. As I said total freak accident but I am being very careful.
I had to spend a few hours with some ice on it as the pain was really incredible. Which sounds like I am being a wimp but it really did hurt and I have quite a high pain threshold.
Poor Dembe got scared as I was crying out with the pain when it happened so he ran upstairs and hid in the bedroom. I followed him upstairs and gave him a big cuddle as I wasn’t cross with him, these things happen it was an accident. He quickly settled and was much happier.
We had a quiet evening but out of the blue at 22:30 Dembe decided to throw up his dinner from 18:00. He had been asleep since around 20:00 and Jay had just taken him downstairs to have a wee, which he did and then came in and had a drink and then it was vomitsville. It is the first time he has been properly sick, poor baby. He woke me up at midnight and was sick again but it was just a couple of mouthfuls of bile. I managed to get my snuggle top underneath him so he wasn’t sick on my bed. He was then fine for the rest of the night.
Tuesday 2nd April
We got out early up the common this morning as we are waiting for B&Q to deliver our gravel and other garden bits. As Jay and Dembe got out of the car it absolutely hammered down. Thankfully as they went through the woods at Woodbury Castle they didn’t get too wet.
As soon as our delivery arrived Dembe wanted to watch from the lounge window, he was wagging his tail like mad as he watched his daddy and the delivery driver get all the stuff of the lorry. It is the first time since he was a tiny pup that he has bothered to look out of the window. Now there is no stopping him he loves it.
After the delivery had been sorted we raced down to the vets as we wanted to ensure Kate the head receptionist got to see Dembe when we went to get him weighed and pick up his worming tablets. Kate couldn’t believe the size of him and had lots of cuddles. Whenever we go there she makes such a fuss of him. She weighed him for us and he came in at a whopping 15.1kg / 33lbs / 2st 5lbs. I asked if his weight was ok and if he is overweight as I am paranoid about him getting too heavy and damaging his joints but she assured me he is absolutely perfect. She couldn’t get over how tall he is, she has seen him from 8 weeks old so she knows what a tiny dinky dot he was to begin with.
So far Dembe has been fine with no more vomiting but I won’t give him his worming tablets until tomorrow so that I know that his stomach has settled.
This evening I attempted to do my pilates…
Dembe seemed to think that this was code for climb all over mummy!
Wednesday 3rd April
Dembe is barking a lot today, he is barking at noises outside the house, cars, people talking that kind of thing and also he is barking at the sound of the hail stones hitting the windows and doors. I am trying to discourage him from doing this as I don’t want to annoy my neighbours. It makes me laugh that so many books say that Labrador’s don’t really bark, well Dembe found his bark and now hasn’t stopped using it!
His favourite game today is running upstairs and barking – he is letting me know he has dropped a toy over the side of the bed and he wants me to get it despite the fact he is more than able to jump on and off the bed. The first couple of times when he barked upstairs I panicked wondering what the hell was wrong. Now I just ignore him and use the recall command so he comes back downstairs for a treat.
He really wasn’t impressed with the hail storms we had on and off all day. Whilst it was light hail it was fine but when it went a bit mad and the hail got quite large he ran back inside with his tail between his legs.
This evening he has had a nice walk up on the common with Jay.
Thursday 4th April
Dembe is enjoying standing on the sofa and looking out the window. This is something he discovered the joys of on Tuesday and now there is no stopping him! Sometimes he see’s something and he decides to bark and other times his tail wags furiously. He is a funny little thing who constantly has me in stitches. As I am writing up this diary entry he is snoring very loudly beside me on the sofa!
I am really struggling to complete my Pilates / Physiotherapy exercises as when I get on the floor Dembe thinks it is play time and crawls all over me. It is really funny but it has got to the point now where I will have to wait until Jay gets home so that I can complete my exercises without interruption!
Dembe is fantastic when the front door goes, where ever he is in the lounge I tell him to wait and then repeat the command and open the front door. He stays where he is until the front door closes and he gets a treat. We have had some big bulky deliveries this week and he has been such a very good boy. It is strange that he doesn’t bark at the doorbell or people knocking at the door. My Weimaraners used to sound like the hounds of the Baskervilles when the front door went and I would have to shut them in the kitchen to stop their escape attempts. So this has completely blown my mind that I can open the door without worrying that he will bark / growl or escape.
We are still working on the lie down command and he is getting quicker every day. I am now trying to add a roll over to the end of it.
He is such a good loving boy. I have been reading some horror stories on social media in the Labrador groups I belong to. Pups destroying walls, running away and ignoring commands. Owners terrified of letting their puppies off the lead – so much so they haven’t been off a lead in a wide open space in 6 months which is a shame for the owner and awful for the pup. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my darling boy stays this way forever as he is such a good boy.
Friday 5th April
Today is the day that we start increasing Dembe’s breakfast and dinner whilst decreasing his lunch. We are doing this very slowly over the course of the next 7 weeks as we will also be building up his total amount of food to his 6 month old pup allowance. However if he is really protesting over no longer having lunch in a few weeks time we will reintroduce it – because he is a spoilt little boy!
This is all happening because my dinky little Dembe dot is now 5 months old / 20 weeks. We have owned him for 3 months and I really couldn’t imagine life without my little sausage / pudding / dumpling. He is so very affectionate and loved nothing more than to sit on my lap giving me lots and lots of puppy kisses.
Dembe has been really spoilt today not only has he received his first ever butchers bone but he has had a manic play time with Harry, Bev’s son. He will have to wait for the bone to defrost before he can have it but he simply adored playing today. The photos are with kind permission of Bev.
As Harry found out Dembe is very strong and loves a good game of tug of war!
Saturday 6th April
Dembe is the original nosy neighbour! he is loving standing on the sofa and watching the world go by. Our Weimaraner’s Willow and Mollie also liked to have a good look out of the window.
As Dembe’s bone had defrosted this morning I let him have it for a few hours. He was so excited he wouldn’t stop wagging his tail. Initially he just looked at it not believing that it was all for him.
Dembe was very spoilt today as not only did he have a bone to chew but mummy and daddy also bought him a swanky new collar, which has plenty of room for him to grow into. You can see it ever so slightly in the top photo, it is a beautiful soft grey leather, with silver fittings. It is a wee bit loose at the moment but as we don’t attach a lead to his collar as he is on a harness it’s fine. It also has room to grow as well so should hopefully see him into adulthood. If anyone is interested it is from a company called Dogs & Horses – we paid for ours and I am not gaining anything by telling you where we purchased it from. The soft grey looks beautiful against his red / yellow coat.
Sunday 7th April
Well Dembe was a bit crazy this morning so we got him up to Woodbury Castle reasonably early. What a walk he had he met five other Labradors and was in 7th heaven. The first Labrador he met was a chocolate one called Dexter, who was elderly but still wanted to play. Dembe was too quick for Dexter but they still had a lot of fun. Further into the woods they came across two ladies sat on a fallen tree and at their feet were 3 yellow Labradors and one black one. All the dogs came bounding over which Dembe took in his stride.
Jay tells me that all the Labrador’s then sat in front of him and shoved their noses into his Travis bag containing all Dembe’s treats. Dembe was most perturbed that he couldn’t get anywhere near his daddy for all the hungry Labrador’s. Jay shouted over to the owners to ask if they minded if Jay gave them all a treat. He was told to watch his fingers and thought he knew better, he ended up with a bleeding thumb. More walking wounded than amputation needed!
Dembe was pretty shattered after his morning walk so went straight to sleep. He has been a good boy today and had plenty of cuddles and kisses. The only naughty thing he has done is he decided he was part crocodile again today and has been nipping us which he hasn’t done for ages. A few stern no’s and he caught on we weren’t putting up with it. It’s funny how he can not do something for weeks and then decides he will try his luck again.
I keep meaning to say that he is 100% house trained now and has been for weeks. He is a very good boy and will wait at the back door to be let out.
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