Week Commencing Monday 27th September 2021

Holiday week:

As this week was a holiday week I haven't kept a strict Diary. It has also been quite a stressful week which those of you who follow Dembe's page on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/thedembediaries or know me personally will know.

On Wednesday this week ( 29th September ) Dembe had to go to the vets for the day to have some X-rays taken of his front legs. Dembe has had an intermittent limp for a few months this year and conservative measures of rest and pain relief were just not working. He was also showing signs of being stiff when he got up after being laid down for a while. All things we should not be seeing in a dog that isn't even three yet.

Dembe had to have both legs x-rayed, 3 different positions for each one and to do this he would need to have a general anaesthetic. We really didn't want him to have to under go a G.A but we had done all we could and we needed to know what was going on with him and that he wasn't in pain.

Dembe's daddy dropped him off at the vets at 08.30am and so began the longest day of our lives. We were told that we should hear something by 2pm and that if we hadn't we should give them a ring. Jay caved at 13.50 as he needed to know Dembe was ok. We found out that he was fine and that he had been out for a little walk and  had been to the toilet. We were told the vet should ring us back in an hours or so.

The vet rang back around 90 minutes later and if it was actually possible those 90 minutes seemed longer than the whole of the rest of the day. Sadly she told us that Dembe has bilateral ( both legs ) Elbow Dysplasia, - you can find out more about ED here. The vet told us that his left leg is more badly affected than his right. However both legs are only showing very subtle changes on the x-rays. The  x-rays will be sent to an orthopaedic specialist who will provide us with their expert opinion.  The good news was that there were no bone fragments floating around the joint, so he wouldn't need any immediate surgery. As the condition was discovered early treatment will be conservative management, getting his weight down, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. He will adore hydrotherapy as he is a water baby, as those who follow the blog know! We were allowed to come and get him straight away.

I have never been so glad to see my baby boy in all my life. He really wasn't with it when I saw him walking down the car park. Everyone kept telling us what a lovely boy he is and they thought it was so sweet that he had come down with his blue dinosaur. The vet nurse talked us through after care and said he would probably be out of sorts for 24-48 hours. She also told us that there was a risk of him having diarrhoea as that was a side effect of one of the medications he had been given. They had also given Dembe's nails a trim. She said that he doesn't like his legs or feet being touched, I said no doing his nails is a two person job! 

When we got home I said to Jay do you think he wants to go around the block but Dembe made it clear that he didn't want to by going straight into the house and jumping on the sofa with his carrot.

 

Our little space cadet was really out of it.

Dembe had a really awful time after the general anaesthetic. He cried solidly for 24-36 hours, only stopping when he slept, briefly! Or when he was eating or out for a walk. He had awful diarrhoea as a side effect of the medication he had been given. As he won't go to the toilet in the garden this meant Dembe had to be taken around the block frequently. Poor Jay was out at 9pm, 10.30pm, 1.30am, 2.30am and 5am on top of the frequent trips around the block during the day.

The crying went on through most of Thursday, just a little whimper constantly. It was clear looking at him that he still wasn't fully out of the G.A. His eyes were like saucers. I was very relieved when his natural treat box arrived and he was very interested in it. The chewing broke up the crying.

 He had a huge hairy cows ear to chomp on and that cheered him up.

He was so sad and pitiful it was heartbreaking that we couldn't comfort him. The first time he was really happy and started looking more like himself was when he had a present delivered from his Auntie Beverley. She had sent our beautiful boy a Turtle toy. He wagged his tail like mad and was so happy he paraded it around the bedroom!

That was the first time we saw a glimmer of the Dembe we know and love since he had come home from the vets.

 

He was still having diarrhoea on Thursday during the day so I had to ring the vets and get him some stuff to soothe his belly. The vets advised us that it might take 24-48 hours to resolve.

Dembe was a lot better Friday still a bit whingey but we had longer spells between cries and he spent an awful lot of time sleeping.

As you can see from the photos his eyes are totally different and he is fully present.

By Saturday he was completely back to normal!

As Jay went to go and see his mum, our neighbour and friend Kim walked him around the block for me so that Dembe could have a wee. Also on Saturday the diarrhoea was completely gone as well so he was much happier in himself. He really didn't do well with a general anaesthetic and it was awful not being able to comfort him.

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.

W/C 11th May 2020

 Monday 11th May

Jay’s first day back at work after 7 weeks off due to Covid-19. We were both concerned with how Dembe would cope as he has been awful when Jay has left the house in his Civvies, howling and crying until he returns despite the fact that I am still in the house. However as soon as he saw that Jay was in his work uniform he knew his daddy was going off to work and was fine.

As soon as Jay left for work Dembe settled down on the sofa and went to sleep. He did take longer to settle down for his mid morning nap ( Dembe not Jay ), he also took longer to settle after Jay had gone back to work after his lunch break. But considering what we were expecting – howling and crying he has coped very well with Jays return to work today.

When I went up to bed this evening Dembe beat me to it and I was greeted with this bundle of fluff!

Tuesday 12th May

Jay was day off today so Dembe was in his element , climbing all over his dad . I unfortunately woke up with a migraine, I think Dembe had known I was ill during the night as he was superglued next to me and followed me every time I staggered to the bathroom as my balance was shot.

Dembe and Jay playing all the time together it is so sweet to watch. Jay lies on the floor every evening and he and Dembe mess about and have bonding time.

When I lie on the floor to do Pilates it is a different story, Dembe climbs on top of me and uses me as a chewing post for his cows ear!

Dembe reminds us so much of Willow, one of our Weimaraners ( she passed away in 2017 after a short illness ) . She was a glutton but was very particular with what crisps / chips ( and before I get slagged off he gets them very rarely) Dembe is the same. He loves Walkers ready salted but doesn’t like pringles, skips, wotsits etc which is exactly the same as Willow. She would take them and then spit them out which is what Dembe does. He will sit and beg for your food and then when you give it to him he spit’s it out.

He does love his new venison sausage treats.

Wednesday 13th May

Dembe slept on top of me all night long, I am beginning to thing he recognises the pips before the 5am news on the World Service ( radio station) as within minutes of the news starting he starts crying wanting out for his morning walk . As Jay is late night this evening he took Dembe out, gave him breakfast and then went back to bed. Dembe is very good and will go back to sleep.

We had a good day together until 4pm when Dembe started crying non stop because he wanted out for a walk. Dog walking by companies is still very limited and following strict Covid-19 protocols, so for the time being Jay is coming home on his dinner break to walk him. I made the mistake of telling Dembe his dad would be home soon

He cried by the back door until Jay got in.

I was really limited with what I could do as I hurt my back in the afternoon and I am struggling to walk or bend!

Thursday 14th May

I was really out of it all day due to the diazepam I was taking for my back. Dembe was more than happy to sleep alongside me.

Here he is sat beside me whilst I am eating my breakfast, on toast watch!

In the afternoon I refilled his paddling pool ( nice and easy just sitting on a chair holding the hosepipe) Dembe went absolutely crazy. Running around in circles, jumping in and out of the padding pool, trying to eat the water coming out of the hosepipe. I managed to capture this classic photo of him just about to bark at me

You can see from this photo he is drenched, he couldn’t get enough of the paddling pool and playing out in the garden. I started to teach him to retrieve his ball from a cardboard box.

Friday 15th May

I didn’t wake up until 8am and Dembe was nowhere to be seen, today was Jay’s first early shift. When I came downstairs I found Dembe curled up on Jay’s dressing gown. He loves sleeping on his dad’s dressing gown. He stayed downstairs with me for 10 minutes and then buggered off back upstairs to bed!

He really wasn’t happy that the gardener was in next doors back garden and barked at him non stop. I had to bring him inside as he was barking so much at the poor bloke. He is hilarious with Ben and Kim the other side. If he hears them out in the back garden he runs to that side of the garden and tries to see them over the fence. Which he can’t as the fence is too high. He barks to get Ben’s attention. Quite often I hear Kim, Ben’s mum say “Sorry Dembe he is in his room at the moment”. It is so sweet as Dembe adores Ben. He also loves Freddie who is around 6 years old and lives two doors down. Freddie when he see’s Dembe says “hello Dembe” and Dembe trots over for a cuddle from him. This is a totally alien situation for Jay and I having a dog that other people like. Everyone was terrified of the Weimaraners, even though they never bit anyone or did anything they were just loud and large. Dembe is barky but his arse is in the air wanting to play and we have much better control over him.

He is obsessed with my lap at the moment and every chance he gets he is climbing on it. Regardless of what I am doing!

Modelling my crocheted blanket.

His dad took this photo of him sunbathing on Friday lunch time.

Saturday 16th May

The little sod woke me up at 7am and then spent the rest of the morning asleep beside me on the sofa!

Sunday 17th May

Dembe woke me up just after 5am, so Jay got up had a coffee and then took him out on a walk on the common. He gave him breakfast and then went back to bed. I was then woken up at 7.30am with a stuffed dinosaur being dropped on my head and being kissed by my hairy prince!

Dembe came downstairs with me had a cocktail sausage and then disappeared back up to bed staying upstairs until his dad woke up at 9.30am!

We have had a lazy day catching up on all the exciting household jobs and having lots of Dembe cuddles.

W/C May 4th 2020

 

Monday 4th May

It was a mental day today as he was on the go constantly. He just wouldn’t rest and settle down. Constantly playing with toys and demanding attention. Lock-down has spoiled him.

Jamie got this shot of Dembe this morning on their walk and joked that Dembe is the worst hide and seek player ever!

Dembe was thrilled today as his Kong replacement toy arrived today. As soon as it came out of the packaging he wouldn’t let it go. He has had one before but managed to loose it up the common. Hopefully he will be careful with this one.

He couldn’t wait to take it outside and dump it in his paddling pool! Everything gets dunked in the paddling pool. His kong toy and his paddling pool are his two favourite things.

He was quite barky this evening as he had worked out where I was keeping his treats and kept showing me where they were.

Tuesday 5th May

Dembe met a Great Dane puppy on his walk this morning and had no idea what to make of it. At one point he came charging back to Jay as he saw the pup galloping towards him. They had a game of chase with Dembe being able to run underneath the Great Dane without having to lower himself at all. Jay said it was the size of a small horse and as crazy as Dembe when they were playing together doing zoomies.

On his afternoon walk a little girl kept throwing Dembe’s ball for him and he kept bringing it back to her. We are just so thrilled we have such a lovely mannered dog that doesn’t really ( he very rarely jumps up, usually does it after I have told someone he doesn’t jump) jump.

Dembe likes playing nudge at home with Jay. This is where he nudges a ball towards Jay and then Jay taps it back to him. He will play it for ages and has got very good at getting it straight back to Jays feet. This is a game he has taught himself.

Wednesday 6th May

Dembe got his very first taste of ice cream from the ice cream van and he loved it.

Thursday 7th May

I have been really rubbish at keeping my diary again as someone keeps moving it. I need it out or at least visible so I remember to write in it everyday. Someone likes to tidy it away in ridiculous places and then deny ever having touched it! When I know it is only ever kept in one place if it hasn’t been moved. Anyway the diary entries are going to be a bit rubbish as there aren’t any for the rest of the week.

Friday 8th May

VE day 75th anniversary. Today is a bank holiday in the UK but due to lock down it doesn’t feel any different to any other day. One of the neighbours has put some bunting out but thats about it for the street celebrations today.

After his walk this afternoon Dembe slept on the lounge floor for ages.

Saturday 9th May

Today Dembe was manic again first thing, continually bringing me toys and being a pain in the bum by putting his head on my laptop keyboard!

Dembe was spoiled by his Auntie Heather today who bought him Codfrey the 2nd a usb charged reasonably life like gold fish. Initially Dembe wouldn’t go anywhere near it and then as we recorded he got braver and braver. Last night in front of his mate Ben ( next door neighbour ) he walked around with it in his mouth and the tail flapping against his face.

A few people were convinced it was real and I had to explain that it was just a toy!!!

Sunday 10th May

We are having a relatively lazy day as Jay is going back to work tomorrow after being off the last 6 weeks. I am concerned to how Dembe will take it as he adores his dad and has loved having him home. Plus he has got used to going out in the middle of the afternoon and will now have to wait to go to the toilet.

It is almost as if he knows his dad is going back to work as he hasn’t left him alone all day. Throwing himself over his lap, sleeping beside him and just wanting to be with him constantly.

Jay took some cracking photos of him this morning.

With Jay going back to work I am hoping to get into a better routine with things.

I forgot to say Dembe has been sleeping in my arms all weeks bless him. Which is fine until it gets really hot and then it is like sleeping in a furnace LOL x