Week Commencing 4th October 2021

 I have been really rubbish at keeping Dembe's diary up to date this week. Think it was still all the stress from the vets the previous week and being exhausted by it all!

Monday 4th October

Since Dembe had his day at the vets last week he has been incredibly clingy! I am almost falling over him as I go around the house as he just wants to be next to me all the time. On Monday afternoon I went upstairs to get some medication and I ended up spending almost an hour up there having a cuddle with Dembe as he just wanted some close time with me. He is so soppy and affectionate.

This morning was Dembe's first early morning in quite some time, he really wasn't happy about it and refused to get out of bed!

He has got into his new routine quite quickly and is no longer waiting by the window waiting for his dog walker(s) to arrive. It used to break my heart to see him waiting and knowing that due to his limp ( which we now know is  bilateral elbow dysplasia ) he wasn't going out. We now spend lots of time playing, cuddling and generally making a fuss of him.

Tuesday 5th October

I really wasn't very well on Tuesday having a migraine at both ends of the day and alas I didn't take any photos of the boy.

The vet rang in the afternoon as they had the report back from the orthopaedic specialist, who confirmed out vets belief that he has the beginnings of Bilateral Elbow Dysplasia. We were given 3 options, 1. CT scan to see what is happening to the elbows, would involve a general anaesthetic. 2. Arthroscopy, camera inserted into the joints and a good look around, again would involve a general anaesthetic. 3. Conservative management, using supplements, reduced exercise, weight management, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy etc . We have opted for option 3, we have insurance but as they have both said it is only at the very early stages we don't feel it warrants any invasive action at the moment. 

The vet also advised us if we had slippery flooring, which we do, to get some mats down so that he doesn't hurt himself. We have already ordered some mats and are just waiting for them all to arrive. 

We will use pain relief as and when he needs it. We have been referred to hydrotherapy and are waiting to hear back from the physiotherapist.

Wednesday 6th October

Jay was on a late shift today, so he took Dembe out on a walk around the block for his first walk at 5.30am. Then at around 9am he went up on the common with him.

As readers of this blog will know we have a nightmare with Dembe and his food. Sadly some of this problem is of our own making. Every time he turns his nose up we panic and then add something to his dinner to make it more exciting. All this has done has taught him if he refuses to eat then he gets something better. So starting from this evening I will be playing hardball and teaching him if he doesn't eat then he gets nothing until his next meal. It will be hard but it is getting to the point where he is refusing everything apart from cheese and corned beef, which is not a balanced diet! as much as he likes it.

I had a very cuddly boy again, so he had lots of attention lavished on him. As I was getting some sewing done Dembe positioned himself out on the chairs so that he could see me whilst enjoying some time outdoors.

He did make me panic as I couldn't see him later on in the afternoon. I looked all downstairs for him, only to spy him hidden by the Yukka.

Spot the Labrador!

Dembe and I were both shattered so we had an early night as we always tend to when Jay / daddy is working.

 I emailed Happy Dogs and Creature Kind today to formally tell them that Dembe would not be returning for walks with them. It is really gutting as he loves his social time with his friends but we have been told his main walk needs to be no more than 25 minutes and no crashing around or being an idiot. For those that are unaware Elbow Dysplasia is a life long condition that will need to be managed,

Thursday 7th October

The way Dembe was sitting on the sofa made me think of King Dembe so I drew a crown on his photo! 

Dembe thought it would be really clever to turn his nose up at breakfast. So after 20 minutes of it being down and barely being touched it was picked up and put in the fridge ready for his dinner. He looked really shocked when none of the usual treats were forthcoming. Jay nearly cracked but I said to him that Dembe has us wrapped around his paws. For him to be healthy he needs to be eating the meals we give him and not rely on being topped up with treats all day long! 

I admit is horrible knowing he is hungry but I am not to blame for that. He was given breakfast and decided he wasn't going to eat it. This refusal of food knowing that something better will be offered is also a sign of intelligence. I have to say his wind has been much less frequent and less foul smelling since moving over to raw. He is also pooing a lot less and the consistency has become a lot firmer so easier to pick up. Probably TMI for some but Dembe has always had issues with wind and his poo being loose. Even as a small puppy his wind was horrific. That is why we moved him off the Kibble that the breeder had him on as it really wasn't agreeing with him. We have tried a variety of kibble since all expensive stuff but he still has the bowel issues. So that is why we decided to move to raw food for him.

Today would have been Frankie and Willow's 15th birthday, it is the 3rd birthday without Willow and the 2nd without Frankie. They are missed everyday the same as their mum Mollie. They were such a massive part of our lives.

Mollie & Frankie

Both of the above photo's are Willow

Both the above photo's are of Frankie.

Dembe picked at his dinner this evening, we know there is nothing wrong with him as he will eat a cocktail sausage. He is trying it on and it is going to be a battle of wills, only mummy will win this!

Friday 8th October

Daddy was on an early shift today, so Dembe was shattered as he had an early walk up on the common. Plus Jay took him for a walk around the block before he left for work. On both occasions Dembe refused to poo. Which was very silly as when Jay is on an early shift he has the longest stretch without a walk.

Again he ate very little breakfast, which was silly as there would be no treats forthcoming. This is the longest he has not eaten properly for, he is probably expecting me to cave as usual but not this time as I am fed up of trying to get him to eat.

At 11am Dembe started crying and going to the door wanting out. He was very persistent poor lamb. Thankfully Jay was popping back to give me some medications that I needed. So when he came back he walked Dembe around the block. Dembe had two enormous poo's, Jay said he nearly needed a forklift to pick them up😂😂😂😂😂😂 When Dembe got back he was much happier! As Jay had come home then he didn't come back for lunch.

Dembe was really into his blue dinosaur today. He kept jumping onto my lap with his blue dinosaur in his mouth. He likes lying across my lap having a cuddle with a toy in his mouth! 

I told him at 15.30 that his dad would be coming home soon. He ran to his toy box got his carrot and stood at the window waiting for his dad to get home.

Dembe did eat this evening however shortly after he threw it all up. He has been sick a couple of times this week. I think he may have an issue with the Golden Paste or the Salmon oil we have started him on. So after an hour when he hadn't been sick I gave him some more dinner but a much smaller portion with no supplements in. That did the trick and he kept that down. So the plan is now to not use any supplements tomorrow to let his tum settle. Then to slowly reintroduce them one at a time.

Saturday 9th October

Jay is on a late shift again today, so Dembe's first walk was around the block and then at 9am Jay took him for a longer walk up the common. As we didn't get up until late Dembe didn't have his breakfast until after his common walk. Today I threw caution to the wind and put a big portion of raw food in with his minced beef. I decided if he didn't eat it then he would go hungry until this evening. To both of our amazement he polished off the lot. No fussing, no walking away from the bowl it was head down tail up and the bowl was licked clean! I said to Jay we may have a few days where he doesn't eat but we know that he will eat it and not to pander to him! 

Dembe has spent a lot of the day sleeping in the lounge or out on his favourite chairs in the garden.  We have lots of cuddles and playing with his blue dinosaur again!

This evening for his dinner I gave him more raw than the minced beef ( I have been slowly trying to get him to swap over from minced beef to his raw food)  and again he polished the lot off.  I was amazed and Dembe looked so pleased with himself when I told him what a very good boy he was. Just goes to show that he has learned to be fussy and he has trained us expertly to give him nicer food he if refuses rather than just letting him go hungry!

Jay popped home at 5pm and took Dembe for a walk around the block. He will be back just after 10pm and will walk Dembe around the block again for his last wee-wee's. 

I am writing the blog early this week as we are going to see Uncle Paul tomorrow for the first time in ages we are going to his house. Dembe always goes crazy when he sees uncle Paul.

* * *

Take care and have a good week

W/C 30th August 2021

 Sunday 29th August 2021

Today we are going to Nanny Morris' house to meet up with family and have a catch up before the summer ends. Jay is going to help his brother trim the hedges at the front of the house. Dembe is such a good traveller now, we went through a really awful period with him from probably 10 months where he suddenly decided he didn't like the car and would kick up a fuss vocally. Still it was nowhere as noisy as the Weims got when travelling. Since Dembe has been going out with Dog Walkers he has become such a brilliant traveller. He just lies down in the back of the car and goes to sleep. Occasionally he will sit up and then he will almost immediately lie down again. He is always silent in the car and you could forget that he was there.

When we left home the weather was really overcast and looked like we might be in for a spot of drizzle. The skies then cleared when we got to Nanny's house and the sun was blazing. It was really ridiculous how quickly it heated up.

Dembe's cousin Darcey was also at Nannys house. My goodness how she has grown, she is still shorter than Dembe but still full of puppy energy. Poor Dembe was trying to get away from her as she was continually chasing him and trying to tug on his ears. He was telling her off like an adult dog would but she was refusing to listen. A few times we had to separate them to give Dembe a break as he was getting annoyed with her. They did manage to get into trouble together. It went very quiet and we went to look for them, they had managed to get in behind Nanny's bins and were covered in very smelly black water ( bin juice) both of them had to be hosed down which did very little for the smell, the little scamps.

Dembe was so exhausted on the way home that he just slept, we had to wake him up when we got home.

He loves the garden at Nanny Morris' house and it really is a lovely big garden with plenty of space for him to have a proper run around in.

Monday 30th August ( Bank holiday for us)

Dembe was exhausted after his fun and games yesterday. We had only been up for around 10 minutes when this photo was taken and he had got up with me and then went back to sleep.

He is very happy that his dad is home today and is ensuring between naps that he is getting cuddles and play times with his dad.

His favourite thing to do today has been to take his carrot outside all the time!

We had quite a lazy day as we were all knackered after going to see Nanny Morris.

Tuesday 31st August

Well Dembe is making the most of having his dad at home, he is ensuring he gets lots of cuddles with Jay and playing silly daddy and Dembe games. Jay had to pop out this morning for his routine blood tests that he has bi monthly and Dembe was unhappy that he was being left behind. He stood by the front window and made a nuisance of himself. At one point he was barking so much when I was upstairs I stopped what I was doing and by the time I could see him Dembe was on the sofa pretending he was asleep! He is such a crafty bugger at times. Like I wouldn't know it was him that was barking!😂😂😂😂😂

He wanted lots of attention today, he is normally quite demanding for cuddles but today it was a little extra. I caught this poor quality photo of him demanding my attention this afternoon whilst I was on my computer.

His daddy took him on a long walk this afternoon to burn off some energy. It was very humid out and they were both hot and bothered when they got back to the car. As soon as we got home Dembe went out on the patio to lie on the slabs to cool down.

Wednesday 1st September

How is it September already? What is going on with this year? Today is Jay's first shift back at work after a few days off. Unusually for a Wednesday he isn't on a late shift but a 9-6. We have kept the walk with Creature Kind this afternoon as when we booked Dembe's walk we thought he was on a late. Dembe will be going out with Beth this afternoon as Sophie is on holiday. He knows Beth and likes her so I am sure he will be a good boy.

There will be no Polo with Dembe today but there will be another Fox red Labrador called Reggie out on the walk with him. When I have seen photos of Reggie I have had to do a double take as he is so very similar to Dembe. The only way I can tell them apart is Reggie has a black nose where Dembe's has stayed pink this year. Also Reggie wears a harness which Dembe doesn't.

Photo Credit Beth from Creature Kind

The boys got on brilliantly and had a fab time out on their walk together. Dembe is such a sociable happy dog. He loves having the company of other dogs on his walks.

Photo Credit Beth from Creature Kind

Beth was very pleased with Dembe on the walk, she said he was a very good boy who played with all the dogs on the walk. He was shattered when he came in, he went straight into the kitchen had a huge drink then plonked himself on the sofa and went to sleep. He slept for 40 minutes and then woke up demanding his dinner!

Jay finished at 6pm and as soon as he got home he took Dembe out for a quick walk on the common. Dembe settled down and went to sleep as soon as we got home. Too much fun!

Thursday 2nd September

Jay is on a late shift today, so Dembe's very first walk of the day was around the block. Then Jay took him out again after his breakfast at around 9am. They went up to the common and Dembe had a fab time playing with lots of other dogs.  Just before Jay left he took Dembe around the block again to ensure he would be ok for the afternoon until he came home on his break at 5pm.

Dembe slept most of the afternoon , when he got up and came into the kitchen I noticed he was limping and seemed very stiff. I was really upset as we thought we had finally cracked it with his leg. It looks like we will have to get him to the vets and have an x-ray to find out what is going on with his leg. As I had pain relief here from last month I put that in his dinner ( which I fed him early so that he could have the meds immediately) . It usually takes a few hours before you can notice any difference in him but within an hour he was walking a lot better. I have a week's worth of medication so I will give that to him to get his leg to settle down again. He is moving a lot better.

Jay came home at 5pm and walked Dembe around the block, Jay said he was moving well and no issues. So that's good. Dembe was very cuddly this evening and we had lots of cuddles on my bed when we went up to bed. As I was cuddling him I noticed that he was slowly crawly towards the clothes airer I had up drying off some washing. He had seen one of his dad's socks and very carefully he removed it from the airer and then played with it before coming back to me for another cuddle.

When Jay got back at 10pm he walked Dembe around the block again to ensure he would be comfortable for the night.

Friday 3rd September

Dembe is doing so much better today, moving around easily and no longer stiff. He is very tired as his daddy is on an early shift today and Dembe is not an early morning boy! When I got up he just glared at me and went back to sleep. He followed me downstairs around 30 minutes later but it was another 40 minutes before he demanded his breakfast.

As he point blank refuses to eat alone we let him eat his dinner in whatever room we are in. This morning he scoffed his breakfast in the lounge. After breakfast he jumped up onto my lap. This is our usual morning routine, he always has a 10-15 minute cuddle on my lap after his breakfast. He then usually gets off and goes onto the small sofa to have his post breakfast snooze. If Jay is home he stands in front of him crying until he gets Jay to walk him around the block! He has us wrapped around his paws.

He was very pleased to see his daddy at lunchtime, Jay took him around the block and Dembe checked on his manor 😂😂😂😂 Jay and I had an experiment to see what would happen with Dembe should we sit next to each other on the sofa and have a cuddle. We were on the small sofa so there wasn't much room. Dembe launched himself up onto the sofa, managing to some how squeezed between us and then gave us both equal amounts of licks on our face! Silly sausage.

Carrot is still a firm favourite here as you can see from the photo. He loves having cuddles and bringing his toys with him! 

Dembe's natural treat box arrived this afternoon. Dembe always gets so excited when it comes and demands a treat as soon as I have closed the front door. I gave him Beef Trachea which is one of his favourites. This month there is a huge black cows ear which I know he will love. Later on I gave him a rabbits ear. He demolished that within minutes! His dad made the mistake of leaving the full treat box on top of the storage box that holds Dembe's food. So Dembe kept going out to the kitchen and sitting in front of it, occasionally barking to let us know where it was. I had to empty Dembe's treats into the Emma Bridgewater tin we keep them in and get rid of the box or he will sit out in the kitchen for the rest of time.

Jay took him out for a long walk after work at the Model Airfield on the Common.

Saturday 4th September

Daddy is on another early shift today, so Dembe had to get up early for his walk on the common before his dad got home. As soon as they got back Dembe came up to bed with me bringing his very first toy Baby blanket with him. I woke up at 7am which is unusual for me, Dembe stayed in bed until 7.40am not impressed by the early start at all. Again he didn't want his breakfast until around 8.10am, he scoffed the lot.

After I had got my usual morning jobs done I let Dembe have one of his natural chews from his subscription box.

That one he will keep on the go for hours, I am sure at some point it will be brought for me to hold whilst he lies across my lap chewing it. Now however he is very keen for his dad to get home and walk him around the block.

He is barking at everything again today and unfortunately it is quite noisy out in the street as people are getting all the DIY jobs done whilst the weather is nice after a bit of a grotty week. Today he did the same as he did earlier on in the week. I was upstairs and he started barking, I told him to stop a few times but he was ignoring me. I stopped what I was doing and he must have heard me as when I peered downstairs he was sat like a little angel on the mall sofa trying to con me into believing that he hadn't been a barky bob. He is bloody hilarious.

That's all for this week. See you next week.

Week Commencing 23rd August 2021

 Monday 23rd August 

Firstly thank you for joining us over here on Blogger!

Martin and Luke from Happy Dogs arrived jut after 8.30am to take his lordship out for a walk. I was still watching The Handmaids Tale from the night before, so it wa only because of the way Dembe was barking that I realised the Happy Dogs Van was parked up outside. 

We had got up early well at least I had, I surfaced at 7am but Dembe didn't wander downstairs until 7.30 despite the fact he had woken me up crying for his breakfast. I got him his breakfast and he turned his nose up. No amount of coaxing could get him to entertain eating it. So it got wrapped in cling film and put back into the fridge. When he turns his nose up he then doesn't get anything until his next meal time. He is such a fussy dog and he will turn his nose up just because he wants to see what we will add to it. Spoilt bastard.

He was a very good boy on his walk for Martin and Luke, he is coming back when called and not disappearing ahead like he was doing earlier on in the year. 

His new water bowl arrived from Pet Planet today, we have a stand that raises the height of his water bowl. The stand and the bowl were bought back in 2006/7 for our Weimaraners. Dembe has always enjoyed having a raised water bowl. Sadly the bowl was starting to develop small rust spots so for safety we needed to change it. It took me two days of searching online to find a bowl that wold be big enough to sit on the stand. I really didn't want to have to find a new stand as well as a bowl. 

Sadly the water bowl arrived with a huge dent in the side of it due to inadequate packaging. Pet planet were amazing! They answered my email within ten minutes of me sending it and sent out a new bowl for Dembe, ensuring this one would be wrapped properly. We will use the dented one for when he is visiting Nanny Morris' house as his cousins Darcy and Dusty will also be there and they will all use the one water bowl then. The mat under the water bowl we bought from Amazon a while ago now.

I finally managed to get Dembe to eat at 3pm. I added sardines to his food and he still turned his nose up. From experience I know when he does this if you change the bowl his meal is in he will then eat it. So I swapped out the bowl for an Emma Bridgewater pasta bowl and the little sod ate the lot.

He kept making me laugh this afternoon by sitting at the other side of the coffee table like he was waiting to have a chat! 

On Dembe's walk up the common this evening we discovered that he has learned how to pick black berries from the copious amounts of bramble bushes on the common. Our second dog Mollie knew how to do this and taught all our other dogs to do this, first Travis and then Willow and Frankie. With Dembe being an only child we don't know where he has worked this out from whether it is an innate ability or he has been shown by another dog on one of his walks. For a dog who doesn't like any fruit to find that he is helping himself to black berries is hilarious.

Tuesday 24th August

Jay was day off today so Dembe made the most of it and caught up with all the cuddles that he missed on Monday. I got up at 7am and left Jay sleeping, Dembe scoffed his breakfast and then went upstairs and started dropping his carrot toy on Jay's head to wake him up. I woke up with a migraine and the longer I was up the worse my head felt so I ended up going back to bed at 8.30am until around 11am. Dembe came up with me sleeping with his head facing towards the door so he could guard me.

When it was time to take Dembe out for his afternoon walk, I was well enough to come along for a change of scenery, sitting in the car whilst Jay and Dembe went for their walk. Jay decided he would take Dembe to the pond for a swim.

Dembe had a fantastic time splashing around in the pond chasing stones and collecting the sticks that Jay threw for him. He was drenched when he got back to the car. As we approached home we witnesses a road traffic collision ( RTC ) . A large white van hit a van that was parked outside of someones home and damaged it. The van made no attempt to stop and carried on. As we have a dashcam, we pulled over and spoke to the people who owned the van, they had been in the garden and were completely unaware that their van had been hit. They were ever so thankful that we had stopped and were going to provide them with stills and the footage of the incident itself. 

Dembe liked the man whose van had been hit, he came over to the car and put his hand up for Dembe to sniff. Dembe barks at most people who approach him when he doesn't know them. This time he stunned both Jay and I by licking the blokes hand! 

Wednesday 25th August

Today Dembe has a walk with Sophie from Creature Kind booked. He loves meeting up with his best mate Polo for a walk. Polo is also a Labrador and around the same age as Dembe. Sophie arrived at around 12.30pm and Dembe was more than happy she had come to get him. I no longer need to put his lead on as Sophie opens up the side of the van and Dembe charges in. He always put's his nose up to the crate that holds Polo so they can greet each other.

All the photos above reproduced with kind permission from Sophie Start Creature Kind

Dembe was thirsty and hot when he arrived home. He headed straight for his water bowl and had a huge drink. Then he found his favourite spot on the floor and alternated between there and the patio slabs.

After he had cooled down he decided that he had to have some mummy cuddles and climbed onto my lap for a fuss.

He had an early dinner as he is always starving on Wednesday evening due to his walk and afterwards rather than have a mad 30 minutes he flaked right out again.

Jay popped home at 5pm to take him around the block so that he would be ok until he got back at 10pm. Dembe settled down very quickly this evening and stayed up with me on the bed. Jay ran him around the block again when he got home.

Thursday 26th August

Happy International day of the Dog! 

As Jay is on a 9-6 shift today Dembe has no dog walks booked today. Usually on a Thursday Dembe sleeps loads as he is worn out still from his fun and frolics from the day before. He decided that he was going to be a sod again with his breakfast, turning his nose up until I relented and added some cottage cheese to it. He has me wrapped around his paw!

I was having a quick tidy up this morning and Dembe decided to climb up the stairs and keep an eye on me from a better vantage point.

Dembe was very happy to see his dad when he got home at 13.20pm, for the first time ever he brought his dad Cleo the Caterpillar.

We took Dembe up to the model airfield on Woodbury common in the evening. Dembe had a lovely run around and stretched his legs. He settled down really quickly after that and went to sleep.

Friday 27th August

Dembe is still being a fuss ass with his food. He keeps turning his nose up at one pot wonder, even if it has other stuff added to it. Grr so once again he doesn't have breakfast.

As Jay is on a late night tonight Dembe's first walk is around the block at 5am. His second walk is on Woodbury Common. He played with lots of dogs and had a fab time. He was playing with a Black Labrador called Tilly, he managed to get a foamy mouth and share it with Tilly all down her back!

He was really knackered when he got back and was more than happy to lie on my bed and drift off as I sorted myself out for the day.

He is still being a pain in the arse with food, as he hadn't had any breakfast he was starving this eveing and needed no encouragement at all to have his dinner.

He was so hungry an hour after he had his dinner I gave him a smaller portion of his favourite, Meatloaf which he ate straight out of the tub. He is such an idiot as he knows the drill and knows that he will be made to eat what he turned his nose up earlier on in the day.

He was knackered this evening and went straight to sleep when I came upstairs.

Saturday 28th August

As we are going to Nanny Morris' tomorrow I am writing up his blog post today. I will include any photos I take in next weeks diary entry.

Jay was on an early shift today so Dembe's first walk was around the block as daddy was so tired he didn't trust himself to drive. Dembe came back up to bed with me and we didn't get up until gone 8.30am. Dembe decided to only eat half his breakfast this morning so when he had left it alone for 20 minutes it was picked up and put in the fridge.

He has been a bit of a sod this morning and instead of barking out the front window he has been howling. So he had to be told off a few times - mainly just tell him to get down, which to be fair to him he does do.

At one point after being told again to "get down" he stropped off out into the garden.

He has forgiven me though and we have had lots of cuddles on the sofa.

Even though he is a big boy now he still loves to lie across my lap as he did when he was a tiny pupster! I love our cuddles and we have them several times a day. He is the most affectionate boy even if he does very occasionally drive me to distraction!