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.