Monday 25th February
Dembe had the vets today for his last jab lepto 4, although we have been able to take him out for around 3 weeks now we haven’t been able to take him out in boggy areas or standing water just to be on the safe side. In a week’s time he will be fully covered for 4 strains of Leptospirosis.
Kate the lovely lady at the vets and another massive fan of Dembe’s was waiting for his lordships arrival and she came out from behind the reception desk to have a cuddle. She was amazed at how much he had grown in the last week. Dembe was really good and had a nice cuddle, we were taken through to the consulting room quite quickly – Jay and I would have liked to have spent some more time with Kate as she has just been so supportive through all of the trauma of losing the dogs and then getting Dembe who she calls our miracle dog.
We were really keen to get Dembe weighed today as he hadn’t been done for a month. Last month he weighed 6.7kg and this month he weighs 10.8kg which means he has put on 1.25kg each week. His growth chart is hysterical as it is almost a straight line going upwards. I was waiting to be told that he was overweight or something, even though I know there is not an ounce of fat on him. We are really careful with his food and treats because if he becomes overweight this could damage his joints. However the vet was very pleased with his growth and weight.
We asked for some advice regarding his dew claws as all our weims were docked and had dew claws removed ( it was the done thing back in 2003-2006 however the law has changed on this practice and it is now illegal unless they are going to be sold as working dogs). We are concerned with how long the claw is growing and wanted advice on how much this needed trimmed back. Thankfully Dembe’s claws are light in colour so you can see that you should just remove the light tips and no further. The vet gave us comprehensive advice and we are happy now that we know what to do regarding their length.
Dembe had his injection, given to him by a student ( who was very nice) and he had a delayed reaction. He was fine as it was done but about a minute later he got really fizzy, cried, scratched his neck and then ran to me wanting to have a cuddle and some reassurance. Poor baby.
On Sunday we opened the whole garden up for Dembe so he has a bigger place to explore and run around in, after only being allowed on the patio. His main source of entertainment now is attempting to eat stones ( pebbles ) and compost. Its driving us to distraction so Jay has gone and bought some chicken wire type mesh to section off all the pots so he can’t get himself covered in dirt and eat stones!
Also I managed to leave my slippers unattended and they got Dembae’d ( pronounced Dem – bayed)
Tuesday 26th February
Today we went to see our friend Sandra, who popped by last week and is another member of the ever expanding Dembe fan club. Before we went to Sandra’s Jay took Dembe out on the common to burn off some energy. He met a five year old black Labrador who wanted to play.
Sandra lives in a lovely cottage surrounded by a huge garden, which Dembe adored. He would have spent the whole visit out there if he could. Jay took the opportunity to do some training, teaching Dembe sit and stay, using the wait signal. We use the wait signal when putting Dembe’s slow feeder bowl, as otherwise he would knock it clean out of our hands. We also use the same signal to have him wait patiently when having his harness put on and his lead. He knows the command means to sit and wait patiently until he is told that he can move. Dembe was amazing as it was the first time there was any distance involved, I have been working on it at home but this surpassed all of that.
Dembe spent the rest of the day asleep after tearing around Sandra’s garden. He did in the evening attempt to go down the stairs by himself, he managed three and then chickened out.
Wednesday 27th February
Dembe is so good, he never demands to be walked. We have deliberately not stuck to any routine when we take him out so he never gets wound up and over excited like the Weimaraner’s used to. He is quite happy to be walked whenever we decide to do it. He has access to the garden to do his business and he rarely poo’s on a walk anyway. In that respect he takes after his Uncle Frankie and his Granddad Travis ( our first Weimaraner).
Dembe had a lovely time on the common chasing after the ball and working on his recall with Jay. We work on his recall every opportunity that we can as we know when he hits about 6 months old he may decide to ignore it and just do his own thing. Hopefully by continually positively reinforcing it he won’t be as bad as some teenage dogs get. I don’t think I could cope if he ran off and disappeared. At the moment he never wanders very far and when Jay throws the ball if he feels it is too far away from Jay he just refuses to go and get it unless Jay goes with him.
Dembe was stuck to me like glue yesterday. He normally potters around behind me about 70% of the time, the other 30% he watches but doesn’t follow. Today he was following me so closely that his nose was continually touching my calf! We call this behaviour herding and Frankie used to do this all the time to me, going up the stairs, moving between rooms my calf would get a nudge by his nose! I have no idea why he did it but it would appear Dembe has the same habit. I have to be really careful when he is doing this as I can end up falling over him.
Thursday 28th February
Probably going to sleep very early last night ensured Dembe was awake at 4.30am and ready for his breakfast. I tried to make him wait until 5am his normal time but he was making a fuss ( we live in a small terraced house so didn’t want to upset the neighbours ) so gave in at 4.45am. We then went back to sleep.
Dembe seems to have discovered his bark again today, everything seems fair game to be barked at. He took exception to the printer churning out some information for me this morning, he ran away from it and stood on his bed and barked at it. He stood in the kitchen and barked we have no clue about what. He also barked up in my bedroom at my slippers. Apparently he wants everyone to know he has a voice.
At 9am we met Ellie, Bruce and Paul down the beach. We had a lovely time, although again Dembe refused to take the hint that he was annoying Bruce. Dembe became obsessed with Bruce’s tail, he is obsessed with his own but he was a bit mental over Bruce’s today. And guess what he barked at it and danced around like a boxer in the ring. It was really funny watching him bark at the tail, even though Bruce seemed unaware it was his tail that Dembe was obsessed with. They actually got much closer together and were running for the ball together. It was good that they could share the same place. Bruce told Dembe off at one point but it’s all hair and teeth ( or handbags at dawn) and a warning shot. He is trying to teach this rambunctious pup some manners and Dembe is just thinking it is all a game.
Ellie took some cracking photos – I always seem to forget to get my phone out.
Dembe was insistent on bring the ball back to me every time despite it being Jay who threw the ball for him. He was very good at giving it to me but all that running back and forth really tired him out. He had the longest run about he has ever had and as its all off the lead he runs himself ragged. He has slept every since he got home only waking up for his lunch.
Later on in the afternoon we went over to Sandra’s again for Dembe to meet her husband Trevor. Trevor is a professional wild life photographer and took some wonderful photo’s of Dembe. He also got some action shots of Dembe running in their garden. Dembe was thrilled to be in his favourite place again and was running around like a loon enjoying all the open space.
By the time we got home Dembe was thoroughly shattered and ate his dinner and slept the evening.
Friday 1st March
Today we had nothing planned for outside the house as it has been such a busy week we all just wanted to chill. Dembe was still knackered after his busy day yesterday so has slept a lot. He normally has a few days a week where he sleeps loads and he hasn’t really had it this week as we have been doing so much. Tomorrow he has his first puppy socialisation class and we will be seeing Leanne and Liam in the afternoon. So today is just a day for relaxing.
We went up the common with Dembe at 11.00am as the weather was sunny and quite warm. I stayed in the car as I can’t manage a walk due to my various medical conditions. So it was daddy and Dembe bonding time. They both love spending this time together.
Shortly after we arrived back from the walk Sandra arrived with a DVD of the photo’s that Trevor had taken yesterday afternoon. I managed to view the disc on an old laptop of mine and they are wonderful . I can’t thank him enough for the photos he has captured not only a wonderful image but also his character. Dembe was really excited at seeing Sandra and had a lovely play with her. They are so funny together as Dembe does these weird barks which sounds like he is trying to have a conversation with her. She is the only person he does this with and its very sweet.
As soon as Dembe had his lunch he was out like a light.
In the afternoon hubby and I cracked on with some jobs around the house that had been needing to be completed for months if not years. As it involved paint / painting Dembe was separated from us by a baby gate but some how still managed to get a streak of paint on his ears. It made us laugh because all our dogs have managed to get paint on themselves. Including the now famous paint incident involving three Weimaraners, a four hour clear up and a lot of teas. That happened in the week that they had destroyed an Xbox 1, tore up 200 cigarettes and countless other bits of damage. One day my heart won’t sink as I recount the story. It took me 7 years to be able to laugh at it.
Saturday 2nd March
Today was a busy day for the pupster, he had a walk on Woodbury Common with Jay at 8.30am. Thoroughly enjoyed himself and came home a little muddy. He loves exploring the common with his daddy and chasing after the ball. He had a quick wipe down and then we organised ourselves for his next big adventure puppy socialisation classes.
There were only two other puppies at the class, a cocker spaniel called Red (5 months) and a Silver Blue French Bulldog called Loki, that was absolutely tiny but hilariously funny as it had little man syndrome / Napoleon syndrome. Loki kept Red and Dembe in their place at one point he had Red on his back and was holding his throat. All from a dog that in all reality was about the size of a large Guinea pig.
Dembe was a little overwhelmed by it all and that really surprised us as out on the common or on the beach he loves meeting other dogs. However Red was manic, leaping over people, charging around and bumping into Loki and Dembe. Dembe initially wanted up into my arms to get away from the pair of them. However when some treats were introduced he was happier. There was a treat ball, that dispensed treats as Dembe nudged it along the floor. As he picked that up so easily the lady that runs the class brought out a wobble Kong, so instead of rolling it along the floor the dog has to nudge the Kong to make it wobble which will make the treats fall out. Dembe had that cracked in a matter of minutes. He spent the rest of the class hoovering up the treats whilst Red and Loki play fought. He would get a bit handbags when they nudged into him whilst he was eating, it was hilarious that there was utter chaos beside him but he was just happy eating….can’t think who he reminds me of.
Dembe was the only dog who ventured into the ball pool. Jay put some treats in there so he could have fun snuffling them out.
He wasn’t being very co-operative when having his photo taken today. I have countless photos of a blurred head!
The rest of the day was action packed too. Our friend Angie popped over to meet Dembe, bringing a toy for him and flowers for me. It was really lovely to see her. Angie has known us for years and had met the dogs properly a few months before they passed away. It was hard as yesterday for some reason the tears weren’t far from the surface, although I love talking about our Weims, it can be difficult to not let the emotion overwhelm me. Last night I found a video of them all on my husbands Instagram account and sobbed my heart out.
Then later on that afternoon Leanne and Liam came over, it was lovely to see them and I really enjoy their Saturday afternoon visits. Liam was surprised that Dembe had grown again and I had to explain to him that Dembe would be bigger every time he see’s him for at least the next 12 months. Liam’s confidence around Dembe is increasing with every visit. As soon as Liam came in he went into Dembe’s toy box and picked up the ball so he could throw it for him. Liam is adorable and Dembe really enjoys spending time with this very special 5 year old.
Dembe was pooped after all the excitement today and was asleep from just before 6pm for the rest of the night.
Sunday 3rd March
Dembe has another busy morning ahead but then he can chill for the rest of the day. This morning we are off to Uncle Paul’s house, where we haven’t been since Dembe was around 9 weeks old. However he has seen Paul on a regular basis as he pops into ours, so he knows him and loves the cuddles.
This morning Dembe decided he was going to have a shower. I knew that was going to be the case when I walked into the bathroom and found him trying to launch himself into the toilet bowl. You forget how big he has grown and how with each extra centimetre a whole new world of trouble can be got into. I died of shock this week when he jumped up at the hob and his feet were nearly on the top of it. I don’t encourage jumping up, I don’t like dogs that jump up, so he was swiftly told to get down. As you can see not getting on top of jumping up means that they can land themselves in trouble with things like burnt paws etc. What shocked me though was how tall he had become in such a short space of time. Where is my little dinky dot?
Dembe wandered into the shower whilst I was having mine and had a good wash. He does love the shower and we regularly just let him get wet and don’t shampoo him as we don’t want to disturb the natural oils in his coat. However he has been a mucky pup this week and I wanted him to be as fresh as a daisy to see his uncle Paul.
Dembe had a lovely time and was thoroughly shattered by the time we left. He fell asleep in the car on the way home. After such a busy week he had a very long nap in the afternoon.
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