W/C 3rd May 2021
On Sunday 2nd May we travelled down to see Dembe’s Nanny Morris for the first time. This was the first time she had met him properly. Dembe also met his cousin Darcy who is a 12 week old Labrador. They played for quite a bit and Dembe was thoroughly exhausted after being chased around the garden by Darcy.
Monday 3rd May 2021
Today is a bank holiday so Dembe is thrilled as his dad is home again today! So it was a full on Daddy and Dembe love in. He spent the majority of the day on the sofa curled up next to Jay.
The liveliest he got all day was when I had a cheese sandwich for lunch!
Tuesday 4th May
Jay was day off today so Dembe took full advantage of having his dad at home and ensured he had lots of cuddles. We cooked up all of Dembe’s meals for the month, he is really enjoying his new food Highland Essentials and we don’t seem to be having the smelly windy pops that we were experiencing from him on the previous food. So I would say his tummy is more settled on it.
I had to go and have my second covid jab today which was down at the vaccination hub. Dembe decided for the first time ever that he was going to bark at anyone who got near the car. He was very impatient even though I was in and out. He had assumed when we all got into the car he was off out for a walk up the common, which he had as soon as Jay had dropped me home.
He had a huge dinner this evening as he had all the scraps that were left over from batch cooking his meals.
He crashed very early this evening he was still getting over meeting Darcy!
Wednesday 5th May
Daddy is back to work today after a three day break which Dembe has enjoyed every minute of. Jay walked Dembe 3 times before he went to work. As Jay had been home for three days Dembe’s routine was all out. So he was happily curled up on the sofa asleep before Sophie arrived.
He recognised the sound of Sophie’s van and was barking to let me know she was outside. He was mad keen to get out for a nice walk with his friends. Polo was there as well, so he was very happy! Dembe was picked up around 13.20 today, it was Sophie and Beth today. He was being a right floozy with Sophie getting lots of cuddles from her before getting in the van.
As is usual when Dembe has an afternoon walk with Sophie he came home and almost immediately started to demand his dinner. He does this by sitting in front of the fridge, as his batch cooked meals are defrosted in the fridge for him. He had an enormous dinner and then went to sleep, he didnt have the manic hour after eating, just straight to sleep.
Thursday 6th May
We have reduced down the number of walks Dembe has each week as we know that he needs them more on Jays 7-4’s and late nights than he does on Jays middle shifts. So we are going to see how he adapts to not having a walk on the 9-6 and go from there.
He was walked twice before Jay went to work and again at lunch time when Jay popped back for a bite to eat. He has been very good all day with not having the walk and has settled really well. Sleeping a lot of the time today.
His natural treat subscription box arrived today and he was very enthusiastic when I brought it into the house. I have given him a rabbits ear to have a munch on.
He is always very keen for me to get involved when he is chewing on something. I am so lucky that he gets me to hold whatever revolting thing he is chewing and he pays me in saliva as it trickles down my hand and arm…..YUCK!
Dembe was really good until about 5pm and then he was unsettled as he wanted to go out which he would have been even if he had a walk in the morning. He was really good and was patient until his dad got home and gave him a nice run up on Woodbury Common.
He was knackered again this evening and was crashed out on the sofa ages before we went to bed.
Friday 7th May
Today Dembe had his first walk with Martin from Happy Dogs, he was very pleased to see Martin and insisted on having a fuss made of him before he would jump in the van.
If you have Facebook you can see the Facebook Live Martin took on the walk. https://www.facebook.com/415343231815686/videos/174377927908704
Dembe found a very big, very muddy puddle and part way through the video emerges into the shot wearing what looks like very thick brown leggings! I laughed my head off when I saw it. He has just decided that all puddles and bogs need to be explored. Up until now we have always been very lucky in the fact that he didnt like to get dirty. That all changed about 2 weeks ago and he decided he was a proper Labrador!
When Martin arrived back he asked me “are you ready?” to which I replied “no you can keep him a bit longer” as I had no idea what state Dembe was going to arrive back at. Thankfully he was just very wet. Martin had got him to go into a stream and have a swim and he had also rinsed him 3 times with his Mud Daddy. I was relieved!
As soon as he got in he jumped on his favourite sofa and lay on his towel whilst he dried out.
During the afternoon I gave Dembe another chew to keep him occupied.
He really enjoyed this chew, I have no idea what it was, they all smell revolting to me!
Saturday 8th May
I woke up at 6am with a migraine so took some medication and went back to sleep. Dembe was sleeping right beside me when I finally woke up at 8.30am. He always knows when I am not well and wont make a fuss for his breakfast when I am poorly. He was starving when I got downstairs and got his breakfast.
We are having a quiet day today due to my migraine which he seems quite happy about.
Daddy popped home at lunchtime to walk him around the block, when his dad left for work, Dembe just went straight back to sleep.
The sofa by the front door is his favourite spot to nap whilst he waits for Daddy to come home!
