W/C 14th October 2019

 

Monday 14th October

I got woken up at 6.30am by having Dembe drop his new yellow tyre toy on my head. Not the best way to come around on a Monday morning. He is utterly obsessed with his new tyre toy and is taking it with him everywhere. I always get woken up by being brought a toy but usually he is carrying it in his mouth and its a soft toy like carrot so it doesn’t hurt if it is dropped on you!

Dembe destroyed a toy today for the very first time. It was a bit of a shock as we have made it to almost 11 months old without any deliberate toy destruction. It is a bit sad as he picked on one of the two pigs that I made Jamie last year. He started last week by chewing both piggies tails off. I thought it would stop there but he continued I looked up only to see him surrounded by a sea of white stuffing. Oh well. Piggie got put in the bin.

Today has been a tough day for emotionally, some decisions needed to be made and although they are ultimately for the good of my mental health and sense of worth, these are decisions that I weigh up for weeks before hand, they never come easily to me. Dembe seemed to sense my pain and crawled up onto my lap at every opportunity he could. Just lying on me letting me know that he was there for me. His ability to be in tune with me is scary sometimes. I worry about the burden that is placed on him but he seems to love his role as my protector. It is a shame humans aren’t more like dogs, at least they are honest with their feelings / likes and dislikes. They have pure motives and emotions.

Tuesday 15th October

Jay was day off today.

We took Dembe to the vets again to be weighed. Jay and I were so sure after his week of being on a diet he was looking better – it wasn’t a little diet this was quite extreme, cutting out 90% of his treats and cutting his food portion down. We felt that he was showing more signs of a waist and his ribs were becoming easier to feel.

He had put on 200g, I won’t lie I was devastated. We were working so hard to get this under control I couldn’t for the life of me work out how the F**k he had gained weight. Even Jay had lost more weight than usual this week as he had been doing so much more walking with Dembe. For him to gain made me worry that there was a medical reason behind his weight gain.

The vet nurse was very nice but it still felt like I was being lectured and that I was a shit dog owner. I don’t think the staff even think about what a contentious issue weight maybe for the owner. I have been bullied all my life over my weight, its the go to thing people use to upset me and always has been. Even though as a kid I was tall for my age and was no way overweight. So hearing them discuss Dembe’s weight like he was morbidly obese really punched my buttons. He did get them back though by pissing all over the floor and in the waiting room. Unfortunately that added to my feelings of inadequacy as we should have chucked him out in the garden before we went as he hasn’t pee’d inside for about 6-7 months, He must have been desperate to do that. Although to be fair it was his Auntie Mollie’s favourite thing to do, piss in the vets waiting room.

I also object to this being made such a humungous issue when 800g ago it wasn’t a problem. It’s not like he needs to lose 10 kg, he could probably do with losing 2-3kg. But they were quite happy with his weight at 32kg but 800g over… I was told that if I gave him any treats I was to take that out of his food allowance for the day. The problem is that Arden Grange don’t tell you what his foods calorie content is, so if he has one small frozen carrot I have no idea how much of his food should be removed from his total for the day. They had a poster in the consulting room stating that 100g of carrots is 30 calories. Yet if I fed Dembe 100g of carrots (4oz) he would be shitting through the eye of a needle. God knows what would happen if you gave that amount to a yorkshire terrier. These things are relative. Dembe has one small carrot not a sackful and I won’t feel guilty about giving him a carrot when he would normally have a denta stix.

So the vet visit upset me all day when normally we enjoy our visits down there. So I wont be going again for a while. Jay will weigh Dembe by picking him up and weighing on our home scales. He doesn’t need to go down for at least a month as we will need to check his weight for his worming tablets.

The day ended much better at dog training. We let Martin know that changing Dembe from a metal bowl to a ceramic bowl had solved 90% of his eating issues. Adding in the small portion of adult Arden Grange food had tipped it over to 100% successful along with also changing his meals to breakfast 65% of his daily amount and dinner 35%. He had a good look at Dembe and said what a difference in a week and that his waist was coming back, he was getting the tuck of his tummy back and more definition on his flanks. He couldn’t quite believe the poster about the carrots. Most people when putting their dogs on a diet would give carrots as a treat, to single them out as if they are a bad food seems a little strange, in my opinion.

We discussed the 200g weight gain and Martin said ignore it, Dembe could have been a bit bloated. He said to just keep doing what we are doing as it is obviously working by looking at Dembe. Dembe is already starting to look leaner.

At the end of the session, our last one for this course, Martin let all the dogs try going through the tunnel which is part of the agility training course. Dembe was terrified the first time he got led up to the tunnel and bolted back to me. However with me at the other end of the tunnel with Jay he couldn’t wait to try it out and his third go was even more successful he was so proud of himself. All the dogs that had a go loved it.

We have signed him up for a short agility training course on a Sunday from 10th November and we will be attending the new obedience training course when that starts on the 12th.

Wednesday 16th October

Can you believe it little Dembe Morris is 11 months old today. That has just flown by. Today Dembe surprised his dad when they were up the common by being brave and going for his very first swim

I am afraid it is a poor quality photo as Jay thought he had videoed it for me but alas he hadn’t. There was around a second of usable material so I managed to take this screenshot.

Up until today Dembe has never swum, when he was little and we took him to the beach he would run away from the tide coming in. But he has always loved the hosepipe and the shower, along with his paddling pool in the summer. Today with a little coaxing he had a swim, Jay said he was really good swimming in the proper position rather than trying to sit up in the water he was flat. I am gutted I wasn’t there and there isn’t any video.

Jay was on late night today so when Dembe was taken out it was for a nice long walk and well swim. We had to hose him off in the garden when he got back as he was covered in sand and mud. He is so good though and allows us to clean him off.

He was pretty shattered after his adventure this morning.

As it was dry this evening I threw the ball in the garden for him to use up some of his energy before I went to bed. Dembe decided to stay downstairs and wait for his dad.

Thursday 16th October

Dembe has been an incredibly cuddly and affectionate dog this week. He knows that I am feeling battered and bruised. He gets on my lap several times a day and just lies there until he either goes to sleep or he decides to go and get a toy.

Friday 18th October

I was waiting for ages for Dembe to settle down this morning so that I could crack on with what I wanted to do. He wanted to play, to be cuddled and then all of a sudden he ran over to his toy box picked up his carrot and gave it to me. Once I had his carrot he ran upstairs and went to sleep on my bed. He does this most mornings if I am on my sewing machine or embroidery machine. I would normally feel guilty that he has taken himself off to bed. No more though if he is going to go up there anyway even when I am not on my machines. It made me laugh that he gave me carrot to look after whilst he slept!

Again this afternoon all he wanted to do was lie on my lap. I was quite grateful that he was looking after me as I had such a terrible headache in the afternoon. It took me a while to work it out but I was having a low CSF headache. I suffered a spontaneous leak in 2016 and know the signs. My headache only went when I lay down for an hour, the minute I stood up it came back. Maybe that is what Dembe could sense yesterday and that is why he was stuck to me like glue?

Saturday 19th October

We had another cuddly day today. Jay was late so Dembe got taken on a long walk this morning so that he would be ok with only going out once today. Jay took him to the place where he had a swim on Wednesday and he had another swim.

I was so pleased to see it as this was the first time I have seen our boy swim and he took to it like a duck to water pardon the pun. He had Dembe in and out a few times .

A friend popped over in the afternoon, we haven’t seen her in a while and she couldn’t get over how big he has got. I had to do two emergency surgeries on Dembe’s crocodile toys whilst she was here as there was a danger of him pulling out the stuffing. Both had seams rip due to playing. So I tend to do repairs as I see they need done rather than leave them.

We had a quiet rest of the day cuddling and playing.

Sunday 20th October

Dembe’s new food bowl arrived ysterday but his breakfast after his walk this morning was his first time having a meal out of it. Up until now we have been using a pasta bowl. I am so pleased that he seems to love his new bowl as much as we do.

He was so pleased after he had his meal we were laughing our heads off at his crazy waggy bum!

We have all had a lazy day as Jay is in work at 4am tomorrow which means he will be getting up at 2.30am. So we have kept everything very chilled out. Dembe just loves having his mum and dad at home with him. Although I don’t get my usual amount of cuddles with him.

W/C 7th October 2019

 

Monday 7th October

Well today was a write off I had a hemiplegic migraine something I haven’t had in a few years and ended up being in bed pretty much all day. Dembe was an absolute hero and stayed with me. He wouldn’t even let me go to the bathroom without being stuck to my side.

Due to having the migraine there are no photos and nothing in his diary. He was just my darling boy, sleeping with his face pressed against the left side of my face.

To make up for it here is his video that I shot on Sunday night of him doing his sock trick.

Tuesday 8th October

We decided that today we would take Dembe to the vets and get him weighed and then go on into town and have a walk around ( well for me a scoot around).

The vets was upsetting as he had put on 600g which meant he has to lose weight. He was 32kg last month and although his weight gain has massively decreased – at one point he was putting on 2kg a month, now his weight should be settling. I was a little annoyed as last month at 32kg there was no mention that he needed to lose weight but a different veterinary nurse and now all of a sudden it is a different story. He still has a waist but it isn’t nipped in enough. He is already on a much smaller amount of food than he should be but I know in my heart he gets too many treats so those will all be cut down too. At least it was only 600g and not 2kg, I would have died of embarrassment.

After the vets we went for a mooch around the town centre, we went all around the indoor market, he was a bit naughty as he jumped up at the counter in the market to see what everyone was doing. I managed to pick him up an American Football Kong as both of his current ones had broken so had been thrown away. As we were going around the market a tiny wee toddler walked up to him and gave hims a stroke. She was so cute, she said to him “hello little doggie” Dembe gave her a sniff whilst his tail went bonkers. His head was the same height as hers so it made me laugh when she called him a little doggy. He was so curious about her.

After the indoor market we walked all the way through the town to give Dembe some exposure to traffic noise, crowds, wheelchairs, pushchairs and any other item he may not have come into contact with before. He coped really well and did himself proud. He was pretty exhausted by the time we came home, as we had been out for an hour. All he did was sleep pretty much for the rest of the day.

We had dog training this evening, Dembe was having a bad day at the office. He was knackered I think from earlier and was just finding it too difficult to concentrate on Jay. He kept getting distracted by Suki the giant Schnauzer. Suki was struggling too which is a real a shame as there were only the two of them in class this evening and they could have got so much more out of it. I have to remember though that out of 11 weeks training he has had two bad nights and tonight was still nothing compared to the nightmare of his very first training class where Jay and I wanted the ground to open up and swallow us.

We had a really long chat with Martin the trainer before class as we have been having awful problems with Dembe refusing to eat his food. He doesn’t have any medical issues as he chews his bones and chew toys, he eats everything else but his food. Martin said it was weird as another one of his clients had contacted him this week to say they were having the same problem with their dog and he is on exactly the same food as Dembe.

So we came away with a plan, firstly to change his food bowl from stainless steel to pottery. Then to add in some adult food of a different flavour to see if it is the food that is the issue, as possibly it is one batch that just doesn’t taste the same as it did previously. To aid his weight loss we need to reduce his food by 30g a day and split his meals so he has a smaller evening meal than breakfast. Still give him treats for training but to make them smaller and to work for longer before he gets one. Martin had a good look at him and said to us not to panic, Dembe only needed to lose a few pounds, needed more of a nipped in waist and feel his ribs a bit more. He wants us to weigh him next Tuesday and let him know if he has lost weight / stayed the same or gained. I felt much happier after speaking to Martin. He also said Dembe shouldn’t be put on adult food as a way to get him to lose weight as he still needs the puppy food mix of protein and crabs, just cut the meal size down. So fingers crossed next week he has lost some weight.

He loves dog training so much he cries all the way there with excitement. We really need to do some more lead training with him it is just a bit of a nightmare getting Jay to do lead walks as he prefers going up the common.

Wednesday 9th October

Dembe was cream crackered today, he spent a lot of the day fast asleep.

At one point during the day I went upstairs and found him asleep on my bed like this. It took me ages to get him to wake up so we had lots of cuddles.

This morning when I gave him his breakfast I switched his bowl to one of our pasta bowls. Martin had suggested that perhaps his bowl was giving his food a metallic taste. I gave him 65% of his food for the day for breakfast. He did eat better out of the pasta bowl. He needed a bit of encouragement but he did eat it a lot better than he normally would. I wormed him after breakfast as he was due, today he decided instead of like all the other times he has been wormed that he wouldn’t eat the tablet out of my hand. I wrapped it in ham and gave it to him. He ran off upstairs and hid beside my bed. I made my way upstairs to see what he was doing. He had taken the ham off the worming tablet and was now eating the tablet by itself. Bloody satan that dog!

He had 35% of his total daily food in the evening and I have moved his evening meal to 4pm so he has longer between eating and bed time so he burns more calories off rather than it bulking him out. This was another of Martins suggestions. He ate his dinner much better again and I didn’t have to hand feed him at all to get him to eat. Tomorrow his adult arden grange is arriving. I got Salmon flavour as Dembe loves fish. The Weims all loved this flavour too so I am hoping he likes it as much.

Thursday 10th October

We woke up at 6.30 and came downstairs. I had to stand in the back garden to get Dembe to come outside and go for a wee. He will hold on for stupid amounts of time if you don’t go outside with him and say the magic words Busy Busy!

He is full of beans today after barely being conscious for most of yesterday. As Jay is on a late night he took Dembe out for an hour’s walk for the first time.

It was a walk Jay used to do with the Weimaraners many years ago and hadn’t done it for quite some time. Dembe loved it although he was getting very tired by the end of the walk. He came home had some breakfast and went to sleep for a bit. Just as well because before the walk he was throwing his carrot around the lounge to demand his daily exercise.

Dembes new food arrived this morning too late for his breakfast but in more than enough time for his dinner. I knew his interest was piqued as he was sniffing the bag like mad. I took a video to show Jay how his new food had gone down . He is only having a 3rd of his food as the Adult food as he is still a puppy and this is to see if the taste of the puppy food was the issue.

As you can see it went down very well. He even went back and licked the bowl.

Jay’s shift time got changed before he went into work so he went in earlier and was finishing at 7pm. After Dembe’s dinner and before Jay got home he went absolutely crazy. You would have thought he hadn’t been out for a walk all day.

He did get taken out for a very quick walk in the evening as he has got to a stage where he would rather poo on a walk than in the garden, which none of our boy dogs have done before.

Friday 11th October

Jay was late night tonight so Dembe got taken out for a long walk but not as long as yesterday as it would have been too much for him two days on the bounce.

Since my migraine on Monday I have had awful after headaches and today was one of those days. So although I did a couple of hours sewing, I spent the rest of the day cuddling my baby on the sofa.

I just love his expressive eyebrow in this photo.

I went outside with him to get some photos as I suddenly realised in the afternoon I hadn’t taken his photo. He wasn’t going to play ball, I asked him to sit so he laid down.

Tonight with his dinner he had his first taste of tinned Mackerel and went crazy for it. He hoovered his food down with zero cheerleading from me. Each meal time is getting better and better.

Saturday 12th October

Today is flu jab day for me so Dembe is all confused as to why I am up and dressed so early. He was very excited when Jay came back from work to take me to the doctors surgery to get my jab. They waited in the car whilst I was in and out in 5 minutes. Poor Dembe when Jay dropped me home he thought his dad would be back again soon and refused to leave the sofa by the front door. He lay so he could see through the frosted glass panels when Jay would reverse up the drive. After an hour he gave up and went to sleep on the sofa.

I forgot to say when we came in from the car Dembe was acting like I had left him for hours. It was a struggle getting my coat and boots off as all he wanted to do was sit on my lap and give me lots of kisses the silly devil. He is funny you never know how he will be.

We have had a lazy day after the rush to get out for the flu jab. He has been ridiculously cuddly.

He had his dinner this evening without me being in the room and he didn’t walk away from it. This hasn’t happened for months. I really hope that we have got on top of the meal eating issues. Who would have thought a change in bowls and some food of a different flavour would be enough to get him eating properly.

He knows that Jay will be coming home soon so he is pulling every toy out of his toy box and chucking it around the lounge.

Sunday 13th October

We had a lazy day today after seeing family in the morning. Dembe wore himself out following people around the house and desperately trying to get Maggie’s attention. As soon as everyone left he settled down and went to sleep.

w/c 30th September 2019

 

Monday 30th September

We had an extremely quiet day on Monday as I badly scalded myself with steam form the kettle. The day was spent on the sofa with my hand in a bowl of cold water. Dembe was obsessed with the bowl of water and spent the day drinking from it at every opportunity despite having his own water freely available. Obviously my hand in it makes it taste better!

I had to finish the blog post early last week as I knew I would be in no fit state to finish it on Sunday afternoon when I got back from the create and craft show. It was a shame as there was a cracker of an incident on Saturday afternoon so I shall share it here.

A long one so stick with it

I’ve always felt rather smug when I have seen fellow Labrador owners refer to their dogs as Twatadors. I always felt safe in the knowledge that Dembe was super smart and not a indeed a twat.

Today at just over 10 months old he has indeed earned the title of Twatador.
Minding my own business in the lounge watching TV when I am suddenly aware of a blonde dog attempting to run into the lounge through the baby gate closely followed by a dining table chair.

Twatador formerly known as Dembe has somehow managed to get his leg caught in the cotton shopper bag that is left on the back of the chair (for me to carry stuff upstairs so I have both hands free to fall or use the banisters!) That has been there since before he even came home with us.

The sheer look of panic on his face when he thinks this is the chair is chasing him was hilarious. He managed to wedge the chair in the baby gate and run into the lounge with one foot inside the bag.

I free him from the bag. Check him over. He is fine not even the sense to be embarrassed. The stomach on legs then leaps over the chair and sits in front of the fridge begging for a sausage.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Tuesday 1st October 2019

How the hell did that happen?? How is it October?? That means Dembe will be one year old in November. It can’t be true he is still my baby.

Jay took Dembe out early, it was raining but thankfully they managed to avoid the really heavy showers.

We had a quiet day again as I am still recovering from Sunday and from scalding myself although my hand is a lot less painful today.

We took Dembe to the model airfield for his afternoon walk. He slipped over on the damp grass and managed to get the whole side of his face covered in mud. It is the first time he has got himself dirty like that so it was amusing. He hasn’t rolled, doesn’t seem to have a penchant for rolling in fox shit or eating shit. Unlike the Weimaraners so it always seems funny when he gets dirty as he is such a clean dog.

We had dog training this evening, Dembe was so excited in the car on the way there he was squeaking and crying. He really does love going to the lessons. He was going crazy this evening sniffing the floor . Apparently there had been a dog food delivery and a scent training class on before we got there. So he was lapping it up. He was also enjoying killing and eating crane flies. He and Jay worked really well together this evening. I managed to take two small videos of them working together.

Dembe was shattered after class and fell asleep in the car on the way home. Once home he gave us 20 minutes and then took himself to bed as he was fed up waiting for me to get myself organised.

Wednesday 2nd October

Jay was on a 10-7 so he took Dembe out as soon as it was light enough. The mornings and evenings are getting much darker now and there is a chill in the air. Dembe was over excited when he came home and was throwing his ball around the lounge . Eventually after 40 minutes he crashed and went to sleep.

Sometimes I take a photo of Dembe and it really shocks me how grown up he looks. To me he still looks and behaves like a little puppy but I can’t deny he is looking more and more like an adult dog. Even though he still seems tiny to us.

He is eating better this week as long as we stay with him in the kitchen and act as his personal cheerleaders. I wish I knew what all the faffing about with eating was about as he snaffles junk food and treat with zero issues.

He has started taking himself up to bed on a regular basis this week, He took himself up at about 12.30pm today whilst I was doing some prep work for some Christmas projects. He was so cute all curled up asleep on Jays bed. I went in and gave him a cuddle. He ran downstairs and got his baby bear and brought it up to give me. He makes my heart melt, silly sausage.

His videos of his training have gone down very well with my friends on social media and no one can believe how well trained he is at such a young age. But then a lot of people knew the Weims were a nightmare and had very little training. They were not as willing to please compared to a Labrador.

He is shattered today after last night’s training as he didn’t get much of an opportunity to lie on the floor like he normally does.

His carrot toy is still a huge hit.

Thursday 3rd October

Jay is on a late night tonight so he has us both home with him until 11am. He really does love having the whole pack together. Jay got him out for a long walk as soon as it was light enough.

The weather was pretty grim this evening but he had plenty of energy to burn and wanted me to play ball with him out in the garden for an hour .

For the first time in ages Dembe decided to stay downstairs and wait for his dad to come home from work. Which meant I kept having to check on him because I panic when he isn’t near me and imagine all sorts of stupid things. I know this is from the Weimaraners passing away at the start of the year. I just wish I could stop myself worrying about him constantly.

As soon as Jay gets home, Dembe will come up to bed. It is like he must protect me and keep guard downstairs some nights.

Friday 4th October

Dembe ever since he was tiny has been obsessed with lying over my lap. At least three times a day he will crawl onto my lap and demand attention like a little lap dog. I love him lying on my lap as he is always so warm. Sometimes he will just lie there and have a cuddle. Other times he will fall asleep and I will be forced to sit down and have a rest. He is very good at making me pace myself. We still have a play on my bed every time I go upstairs. I lie down on the bed and he will grab a toy and stand over my lap, then lie on my lap for cuddle. He then throws whatever toy he has got in his mouth on the floor and I have to pick it up for him. He would stay there for hours playing this game if he could. Again it is a very clever way for me to pace myself!

This was him again on my lap in the lounge this afternoon I have no clue why he likes my lap so much but I shall never complain. Even if I do get covered in dog hair.

Carrot is still a huge hit. He had to have emergency surgery this evening as there were a couple of holes where the carrot top comes through. Luckily I managed to fix it. He charges around the house with carrot in his mouth. It is enormous, almost as big as him and he loves bringing it into the bathroom whilst I am having a wee!

Saturday 5th October

Dembe wanted it to be a cuddle day today and I am guessing he knew that my back was horribly sore and wanted me to take it easy. Unfortunately I have lots of Christmas presents to make so dont have the luxury of being able to sit around and do nothing, so whilst my back allowed I cracked on.

He patiently waited in the kitchen for me to finish on my embroidery machine. He did everything he could to make me feel guilty for not spending 100% of my time with him. Lying out in the garden looking into the kitchen. He tugs at my heart strings. I wonder how he would cope if I went out to work everyday and he was left by himself. He reminds me a lot of Travis as he also used to take himself up off to bed.

As soon as I finished and sat down he was on my lap. He really does like lying across it. Even though he weighs around the same as Willow did ( well he did at his last weigh in but I think he has lost weight) he doesn’t feel as heavy as she did. My legs never go dead with him lying on me!

After a long lap cuddle he got himself comfortable as I typed up his diary from this week. He is snoring his little head off. Jay is on a shitty shift, a 10-7. I hate these as you get no morning and no evening. Even though its an hour or two later than his normal shift those 60-120 minutes can seem like a bloody lifetime as you wait for the clock to strike 7pm. The only good thing is that Dembe gets his dinner and it’s all settled before he goes out for his evening walk.

Sunday 6th October

Dembe was a crazed beast this morning. He was chucking his toys around the lounge at 6.30am demanding his walk and when he came home he was still mental. Attempting to do zoomies in the lounge and generally being an idiot. He eventually crashed at around 10.30 but at 11am my parents popped over for a visit with their dog Maggie.

Dembe normally plays chase with Maggie so can’t understand why when he is in the house he can’t play this game. He was a bit of a pain in the arse barking and getting over excited but eventually he calmed down.

As soon as they left he went to sleep on the sofa. Absolutely exhausted after a morning that can only be described as if he had taken some speed!

The rest of the day will be quiet.