W/C 25th February 2019 Dad’s on holiday

 Monday 25th February

Dembe had the vets today for his last jab lepto 4, although we have been able to take him out for around 3 weeks now we haven’t been able to take him out in boggy areas or standing water just to be on the safe side. In a week’s time he will be fully covered for 4 strains of Leptospirosis.

Kate the lovely lady at the vets and another massive fan of Dembe’s was waiting for his lordships arrival and she came out from behind the reception desk to have a cuddle. She was amazed at how much he had grown in the last week. Dembe was really good and had a nice cuddle, we were taken through to the consulting room quite quickly – Jay and I would have liked to have spent some more time with Kate as she has just been so supportive through all of the trauma of losing the dogs and then getting Dembe who she calls our miracle dog.

We were really keen to get Dembe weighed today as he hadn’t been done for a month. Last month he weighed 6.7kg and this month he weighs 10.8kg which means he has put on 1.25kg each week. His growth chart is hysterical as it is almost a straight line going upwards. I was waiting to be told that he was overweight or something, even though I know there is not an ounce of fat on him. We are really careful with his food and treats because if he becomes overweight this could damage his joints. However the vet was very pleased with his growth and weight.

We asked for some advice regarding his dew claws as all our weims were docked and had dew claws removed ( it was the done thing back in 2003-2006 however the law has changed on this practice and it is now illegal unless they are going to be sold as working dogs). We are concerned with how long the claw is growing and wanted advice on how much this needed trimmed back. Thankfully Dembe’s claws are light in colour so you can see that you should just remove the light tips and no further. The vet gave us comprehensive advice and we are happy now that we know what to do regarding their length.

Dembe had his injection, given to him by a student ( who was very nice) and he had a delayed reaction. He was fine as it was done but about a minute later he got really fizzy, cried, scratched his neck and then ran to me wanting to have a cuddle and some reassurance. Poor baby.

On Sunday we opened the whole garden up for Dembe so he has a bigger place to explore and run around in, after only being allowed on the patio. His main source of entertainment now is attempting to eat stones ( pebbles ) and compost. Its driving us to distraction so Jay has gone and bought some chicken wire type mesh to section off all the pots so he can’t get himself covered in dirt and eat stones!

 

Also I managed to leave my slippers unattended and they got Dembae’d ( pronounced Dem – bayed)

Tuesday 26th February

Today we went to see our friend Sandra, who popped by last week and is another member of the ever expanding Dembe fan club. Before we went to Sandra’s Jay took Dembe out on the common to burn off some energy. He met a five year old black Labrador who wanted to play.

Sandra lives in a lovely cottage surrounded by a huge garden, which Dembe adored. He would have spent the whole visit out there if he could. Jay took the opportunity to do some training, teaching Dembe sit and stay, using the wait signal. We use the wait signal when putting Dembe’s slow feeder bowl, as otherwise he would knock it clean out of our hands. We also use the same signal to have him wait patiently when having his harness put on and his lead. He knows the command means to sit and wait patiently until he is told that he can move. Dembe was amazing as it was the first time there was any distance involved, I have been working on it at home but this surpassed all of that.

Dembe spent the rest of the day asleep after tearing around Sandra’s garden. He did in the evening attempt to go down the stairs by himself, he managed three and then chickened out.

 

Wednesday 27th February

Dembe is so good, he never demands to be walked. We have deliberately not stuck to any routine when we take him out so he never gets wound up and over excited like the Weimaraner’s used to. He is quite happy to be walked whenever we decide to do it. He has access to the garden to do his business and he rarely poo’s on a walk anyway. In that respect he takes after his Uncle Frankie and his Granddad Travis ( our first Weimaraner).

Dembe had a lovely time on the common chasing after the ball and working on his recall with Jay. We work on his recall every opportunity that we can as we know when he hits about 6 months old he may decide to ignore it and just do his own thing. Hopefully by continually positively reinforcing it he won’t be as bad as some teenage dogs get. I don’t think I could cope if he ran off and disappeared. At the moment he never wanders very far and when Jay throws the ball if he feels it is too far away from Jay he just refuses to go and get it unless Jay goes with him.

Dembe was stuck to me like glue yesterday. He normally potters around behind me about 70% of the time, the other 30% he watches but doesn’t follow. Today he was following me so closely that his nose was continually touching my calf! We call this behaviour herding and Frankie used to do this all the time to me, going up the stairs, moving between rooms my calf would get a nudge by his nose! I have no idea why he did it but it would appear Dembe has the same habit. I have to be really careful when he is doing this as I can end up falling over him.

 

Thursday 28th February

Probably going to sleep very early last night ensured Dembe was awake at 4.30am and ready for his breakfast. I tried to make him wait until 5am his normal time but he was making a fuss ( we live in a small terraced house so didn’t want to upset the neighbours ) so gave in at 4.45am. We then went back to sleep.

Dembe seems to have discovered his bark again today, everything seems fair game to be barked at. He took exception to the printer churning out some information for me this morning, he ran away from it and stood on his bed and barked at it. He stood in the kitchen and barked we have no clue about what. He also barked up in my bedroom at my slippers. Apparently he wants everyone to know he has a voice.

At 9am we met Ellie, Bruce and Paul down the beach. We had a lovely time, although again Dembe refused to take the hint that he was annoying Bruce. Dembe became obsessed with Bruce’s tail, he is obsessed with his own but he was a bit mental over Bruce’s today. And guess what he barked at it and danced around like a boxer in the ring. It was really funny watching him bark at the tail, even though Bruce seemed unaware it was his tail that Dembe was obsessed with. They actually got much closer together and were running for the ball together. It was good that they could share the same place. Bruce told Dembe off at one point but it’s all hair and teeth ( or handbags at dawn) and a warning shot. He is trying to teach this rambunctious pup some manners and Dembe is just thinking it is all a game.

Ellie took some cracking photos – I always seem to forget to get my phone out.

Dembe was insistent on bring the ball back to me every time despite it being Jay who threw the ball for him. He was very good at giving it to me  but all that running back and forth really tired him out. He had the longest run about he has ever had and as its all off the lead he runs himself ragged. He has slept every since he got home only waking up for his lunch.

Later on in the afternoon we went over to Sandra’s again for Dembe to meet her husband Trevor. Trevor is a professional wild life photographer and took some wonderful photo’s of Dembe. He also got some action shots of Dembe running in their garden. Dembe was thrilled to be in his favourite place again and was running around like a loon enjoying all the open space.

By the time we got home Dembe was thoroughly shattered  and ate his dinner and slept the evening.

 

Friday 1st March

Today we had nothing planned for outside the house as it has been such a busy week we all just wanted to chill. Dembe was still knackered after his busy day yesterday so has slept a lot. He normally has a few days a week where he sleeps loads and he hasn’t really had it this week as we have been doing so much. Tomorrow he has his first puppy socialisation class and we will be seeing Leanne and Liam in the afternoon. So today is just a day for relaxing.

We went up the common with Dembe at 11.00am as the weather was sunny and quite warm. I stayed in the car as I can’t manage a walk due to my various medical conditions. So it was daddy and Dembe bonding time. They both love spending this time together.

Shortly after we arrived back from the walk Sandra arrived with a DVD of the photo’s that Trevor had taken yesterday afternoon. I managed to view the disc on an old laptop of mine and they are wonderful . I can’t thank him enough for the photos he has captured not only a wonderful image but also his character. Dembe was really excited at seeing Sandra and had a lovely play with her. They are so funny together as Dembe does these weird barks which sounds like he is trying to have a conversation with her. She is the only person he does this with and its very sweet.

As soon as Dembe had his lunch he was out like a light.

In the afternoon hubby and I cracked on with some jobs around the house that had been needing to be completed for months if not years. As it involved paint / painting Dembe was separated from us by a baby gate but some how still managed to get a streak of paint on his ears. It made us laugh because all our dogs have managed to get paint on themselves. Including the now famous paint incident involving three Weimaraners, a four hour clear up and a lot of teas. That happened in the week that they had destroyed an Xbox 1, tore up 200 cigarettes and countless other bits of damage. One day my heart won’t sink as I recount the story. It took me 7 years to be able to laugh at it.

Saturday 2nd March 

Today was a busy day for the pupster, he had a walk on Woodbury Common with Jay at 8.30am. Thoroughly enjoyed himself and came home a little muddy. He loves exploring the common with his daddy and chasing after the ball. He had a quick wipe down and then we organised ourselves for his next big adventure puppy socialisation classes.

There were only two other puppies at the class, a cocker spaniel called Red (5 months) and a Silver Blue French Bulldog  called Loki, that was absolutely tiny but hilariously funny as it had little man syndrome / Napoleon syndrome. Loki kept Red and Dembe in their place at one point he had Red on his back and was holding his throat. All from a dog that in all reality was about the size of a large Guinea pig.

Dembe was a little overwhelmed by it all and that really surprised us as out on the common or on the beach he loves meeting other dogs. However Red was manic, leaping over people, charging around and bumping into Loki and Dembe. Dembe initially wanted up into my arms to get away from the pair of them. However when some treats were introduced he was happier. There was a treat ball, that dispensed treats as Dembe nudged it along the floor. As he picked that up so easily the lady that runs the class brought out a wobble Kong, so instead of rolling it along the floor the dog has to nudge the Kong to make it wobble which will make the treats fall out. Dembe had that cracked in a matter of minutes. He spent the rest of the class hoovering up the treats whilst Red and Loki play fought. He would get a bit handbags when they nudged into him whilst he was eating, it was hilarious that there was utter chaos beside him but he was just happy eating….can’t think who he reminds me of.

Dembe was the only dog who ventured into the ball pool. Jay put some treats in there so he could have fun snuffling them out.

He wasn’t being very co-operative when having his photo taken today. I have countless photos of a blurred head!

The rest of the day was action packed too. Our friend Angie popped over to meet Dembe, bringing a toy for him and flowers for me. It was really lovely to see her. Angie has known us for years and had met the dogs properly a few months before they passed away. It was hard as yesterday for some reason the tears weren’t far from the surface, although I love talking about our Weims, it can be difficult to not let the emotion overwhelm me. Last night I found a video of them all on my husbands Instagram account and sobbed my heart out.

Then later on that afternoon Leanne and Liam came over, it was lovely to see them and I really enjoy their Saturday afternoon visits. Liam was surprised that Dembe had grown again and I had to explain to him that Dembe would be bigger every time he see’s him for at least the next 12 months. Liam’s confidence around Dembe is increasing with every visit. As soon as Liam came in he went into Dembe’s toy box and picked up the ball so he could throw it for him. Liam is adorable and Dembe really enjoys spending time with this very special 5 year old.

Dembe was pooped after all the excitement today and was asleep from just before 6pm for the rest of the night.

 

Sunday 3rd March

Dembe has another busy morning ahead but then he can chill for the rest of the day. This morning we are off to Uncle Paul’s house, where we haven’t been since Dembe was around 9 weeks old. However he has seen Paul on a regular basis as he pops into ours, so he knows him and loves the cuddles.

This morning Dembe decided he was going to have a shower. I knew that was going to be the case when I walked into the bathroom and found him trying to launch himself into the toilet bowl. You forget how big he has grown and how with each extra centimetre a whole new world of trouble can be got into. I died of shock this week when he jumped up at the hob and his feet were nearly on the top of it. I don’t encourage jumping up, I don’t like dogs that jump up, so he was swiftly told to get down.  As you can see not getting on top of jumping up means that they can land themselves in trouble with things like burnt paws etc. What shocked me though was how tall he had become in such a short space of time. Where is my little dinky dot?

Dembe wandered into the shower whilst I was having mine and had a good wash. He does love the shower and we regularly just let him get wet and don’t shampoo him as we don’t want to disturb the natural oils in his coat. However he has been a mucky pup this week and I wanted him to be as fresh as a daisy to see his uncle Paul.

Dembe had a lovely time and was thoroughly shattered by the time we left. He fell asleep in the car on the way home. After such a busy week he had a very long nap in the afternoon.

w/c 18th February 2019 – a very social week

 Monday 18th February

Today was a very special day for Dembe as he got to meet his number one fan Sam, along with his sister Gemma and his mum Sarah. Sarah and I used to work together many years ago, she knows both myself and Jamie, we have kept in contact via social media since I left work in 2008.

Sam is besotted by dogs and had been following Dembe through his mums Facebook account and the photos I had been sending Sarah.  As Sam is away at college during term time we had to wait for him to be home so that he could come over with his mum and sister. Apparently it was all Sam had been talking about that morning and for a few days prior. He had even brought Dembe a present which he adores and has been playing with loads.

I was a little nervous as Dembe on occasion can be boisterous like all puppies can. I think I feel the boisterousness more because I have been so used to my old doggies ( and calmer doggies) that I have forgotten what a whirlwind of energy they can be. I didn’t want him getting over excited and hurting Sam by accident. I couldn’t have been more blown away by the intelligence shown by Dembe. He was very gentle around Sam and very calm. It was as if he sensed that Sam needed that and adopted the body language and temperament to be the best pup he could. This photograph taken by Sam’s mum Sarah encapsulates the joy both of them shared on meeting.

This makes my heart melt every time I look at it.  Dembe was very careful around Sam’s ears to ensure he didn’t interfere with his hearing aids.  I made sure that Sam got plenty of one on one time with Dembe.

Gemma was a little hesitant as she was scared of dogs but by the end of the visit was confidently approaching Dembe and petting him. It was lovely to see her confidence grow. Both Sam and Gemma asked great questions about puppies and dogs. Sam was planning what he was going to buy Dembe for Christmas even though I told him that Dembe would just like to see him. I felt very humbled.

Dembe did manage to embarrass me though as he has a bit of a humping habit and today was no exception. Which lead me having to explain it is more a dominance thing than a sexual thing at the moment. Nightmare LOL !

After all the excitement of the visit Dembe slept a lot of the afternoon

He did wake up later on that afternoon and had a mad half hour playing with the toy Sam had given him.

 

I managed to capture this one of Dembe when he had just woken up from a nap.

 

Tuesday 19th February

As each week passes Dembe’s character develops a little more. There isn’t a day that goes by when he doesn’t have me in stitches. Dembe wakes at 5am every morning and wants his breakfast, no matter how hard we try we can’t get him much past 5.30am. However now the little minx has access to the stairs after having his breakfast and going to the toilet he now goes back up to bed and will sleep until 06.30am – 07.00am. At least I can also get back to sleep and the 5am wake ups are no longer feeling like they are slowly killing me.

Jay took him up the common today for a run around and a chase of the ball. He loves meeting new dogs and exploring the great outdoors.

In the early afternoon I wasn’t feeling well so took myself up to bed, I was fully expecting Dembe to join me upstairs but he must have sensed I needed to rest and he stayed downstairs with Jay.  A little later on I came back downstairs, Dembe greeted me like I had been gone for days bless him.  I needed to get some sewing jobs completed so Dembe came out in the kitchen with me and slept on his bed.

Dembe is really enjoying having what we call the big boys bed downstairs to lie on, he also loves a ball that is his favourite.

 

Wednesday 20th February

Dembe managed to escape out of the front door this morning. I didn’t even see him do it, I just had a feeling that he had managed to get past me and then I turned around and saw him sauntering down the drive. It was a very real heart in mouth moment. Thankfully we have worked hard on recall training from the minute he got home with us six weeks ago ( on Friday ) . I also always walk around with a pocket full of treats these days so on calling him back I was able to reward him. Even though he seemed a little annoyed that his jaunt had come to a premature end.

Its a busy week for Dembe and I as today he is meeting my best friends dog Bruce. He met Ellie a while back but she hasn’t seen him for around 3-4 weeks. Bruce is a cockerpoo who they have rehomed.

With the benefit of hindsight it would have been better to get Bruce and Dembe to meet on neutral territory. Dembe was full of himself as he was on his home turf and Bruce because this was a new house and new people / dog was feeling insecure. Unfortunately Dembe was just too much for Bruce today and was ignoring Bruce’s cues to leave him alone and back off. In order to keep the peace I had to keep Dembe on a long lead, so that I could prevent him from annoying Bruce who was finding the situation a bit stressful. Eventually both calmed down but not before I was utterly exhausted. We have arranged to meet up at the beach next week as we need to get them used to each other so we can spend time at each others houses.

Dembe’s new walking / car harness has arrived today. He really loathes his car harness and I am sure it is because it doesn’t fit properly, its huge around his chest but fits around his tummy. This new harness fits brilliantly and there is no fighting to get it on him. He also has a nasty habit of pulling on the lead especially if I am out with them on my scooter to the point where he chokes himself. I am terrified that he will pull too hard one day and manage to pop the collar – a safety device to stop him hanging himself should he jump up and catch his collar he can’t hang himself. That is another reason why I never have had any of my dogs in a collar with a buckle as they don’t have this safety feature. It’s fine if you only ever put a collar on when you are walking but all our dogs have worn collars all the time unless having a shower.

 

After a visit and an escape Dembe was shattered and conked out on his big boys bed with his head on the floor. He looked like a skinned rabbit all stretched out.

Thursday 21st February

Dembe isn’t jumping up on the sofa this week, last week he managed to misjudge the distance and went bouncing off. He is jumping off ok but he is insisting on being lifted up. Today he has started jumping back up again and is doing well!

He has always been an affectionate pup but today he is being very soppy. I can’t go anywhere without being showered in kisses and given cuddles. He is such a loving pup I really couldn’t be without him. Even when he is annoying me by following me everywhere and I mean everywhere!

He met Sandra today as she popped in to see us. He was going crazy whilst Sandra was here. They were playing together and rolling the ball on the floor which he loves. I have said that we will pop up and see them next week as Jay is on holiday. Sandra did manage to terrify him by holding the paper that had just come through the door in front of him. It is hilarious at the things this dog will spook at, a folded newspaper being the funniest so far. I let him play with the paper once Sandra had left so that he could work out there was nothing to be afraid of.

Sarah came over for lunch today when Jay came back. She hasn’t seen Dembe for a few weeks and was amazed at how much he had grown. For the first time ever Dembe was interested in what someone was eating and I thought Sarah may lose her chicken sandwich if she wasn’t vigilant!

He was a very good boy today as I needed to do some sewing as I was starting to go stir crazy. He slept on his bed in the kitchen as I worked away at the machine.

Dembe did his first ever bark at the front door this evening. I heard Jays car on the drive so knew he was coming despite being in the kitchen. Dembe obviously hadn’t heard him and when he heard the front door open unexpectedly he barked. I was very proud of him, although he was soon throwing himself on Jay to let him know how much he had missed him!

Friday 22nd February

Dembe is 14 weeks old today and has been home with us for 6 weeks. To be honest it feels like a lot longer. I still miss Mollie and Frankie desperately and found myself breaking down a few times this week over nothing in particular, I was just telling Dembe how much his uncle Frankie would have adored him and how much Mollie would have loved him to play with on the common. It sometimes surprises me how very raw it feels. Mollie passed away 7 weeks ago and Frankie 8 weeks ago and I miss them so very much. I am sobbing whilst writing this, I know the pain will go away at some point but I am having nightmares about their passing. It was brutal and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

Jay took Dembe up the common this morning as he was on a late shift, we still had to rush around though as Jay had a hospital appointment to squeeze in before work as well. Jay took these shots of him yesterday, the first ones we have of him on the common.

 

Dembe was tired after his jaunt to the common so had a little nap

We have noticed that since Monday Dembe has stopped humping his bed, maybe he wore himself out after Monday? Who knows but its rather nice he isn’t doing it at the moment as it does get a bit embarrassing.

However replacing the humping with jumping up is not cool either. All day at every opportunity the dog that never jumped up, jumped up. I had to stop sewing at one point as his paws can touch the edge of the kitchen table, he managed to knock a pair of scissors and a seam ripper off. I wasn’t expecting him to be able to reach that already so that was a bit of a shock!

Saturday 23rd February

I had a bit of a shock this morning as I started typing up Dembe’s diary from my notes and looked up to see this

When did he get so big? He is so tall already. When he first came home we couldn’t see him the other side of the coffee table. When he jumped up his paws only just made it to the top of the table. In a blink of an eye he has just grown so very much. It made me chuckle to see him watching me type up his weekly exploits.

Dembe was very good today as I did a bit more sewing and cleared the decks so that I could do some embroidery on Sunday as I have been itching to stitch out a design.

Every afternoon around 3pm Dembe and I go upstairs and have a play on the bed. We have upstairs toys that consist of his baby blanket which he left the breeders with, a blue dinosaur, a huge cuddly elephant and a myriad of cardboard tubes of assorted sizes. I have a lie down to recharge my batteries whilst having a game of tug with whatever toy Dembe has taken a fancy too.

This week his lordship has developed an annoying habit of lunging on top of my keyboard when I am using it. It is very annoying as he keeps doing it at the most inopportune times, like trying to place an order or chatting to someone on messenger. He really does pick his moments.

He has also become obsessed with peoples drinks,  well really just mine. It started with every night when we go to bed licking the squash bottles my overnight drinks are kept in. ( due to various medical issues I drink litres of fluids overnight) . He would jump off the bed the minute the bottles were set down on the floor and lick them. He would even try to barge in front of me and drink from the bottle every time I tried to take a sip. Today he has been pushing his luck and has managed to knock over my can of Irn Bru not once but twice. I had just finished clearing up the lake of the orange liquid all over my coffee table and put the table runner in the wash, when he knocked it over again. He was called quite a few things and none of them were good boy Dembe. Its my fault after the first time I should have transferred the drink into a glass. And perhaps moved it further from the edge. It is hard to stay cross with him for long as he looks at you with those big brown eyes and you end up stroking him and kissing him.

Sunday 24th February

Today is the first day of Jays holiday from work. It is his first holiday from work since November. He took two weeks off work at the start of January as he was so unwell after the shock of losing the dogs so quickly. Dembe really helped him, well both of us. We would have been so lost with out him. So we have lots planned to do this week. The first job is sorting out the back garden so that it is clean and safe for Dembe to play in.

From the time Dembe came home until this morning he has been limited to our patio for playing outdoors and using as his place to go to the toilet between walks. It has been washed down every other day with Dettol and hosed down after every poo. Sorry of that is TMI. We haven’t let him explore the decking as it would have been too difficult to keep an eye on him in the middle of the night to ensure he was safe. Now he is bigger  he needs the outdoor space to explore and play in. It meant moving around some plants. We realised that we had two in the garden that could potentially cause problems if not  made difficult for him to come into contact with as they are poisonous. The other dogs never bothered with the Japonica or the Ivy, we have had them both since 2004. The Japonica is in a huge tub that is too big to get through our patio doors – it was a squeeze when the tub was empty! So to get rid of the Japonica would mean killing it, after all these years it just seems sad. So we have moved it into the far corner of the garden and put lots of smaller pots around it making it difficult to reach. As he never goes out in the garden without one of us keeping an eye on him he can’t suddenly decide to get to it come hell or high water.

The banister at the end of the garden also needed screening off. Before when we bred puppies we would put chicken wire along the banisters and attach with cable ties. It looked ugly but did the job. This time I have bought some cheap bamboo screening and we have wedged that between the banisters and the plant pots. It has actually given us some more privacy which is lovely as we are quite overlooked. So the garden is now Dembe proofed.

He has spent most of the day exploring and refusing to go to sleep. He also wouldn’t go to the toilet out there and had an accident on his new rug. I managed to pick him up just as he started – with no warning! and take him to the back door. The rug has been cleaned with biological washing liquid to breakdown the urine so it doesn’t become a favourite place to pee. Eventually though he did relent and at 16.30 he had a wee and a poo in the back garden hurrah!

Due to the fact he didn’t sleep from the minute he woke up until about 14.30, he finally collapsed as I was sat at my embroidery machine. Only he decided to turn his bed into a sleeping bag. The crafty devil managed to work out how to undo the poppers on the back and then crawled inside. We couldn’t stop laughing.

Dembe is cracking us up at the moment as because every time one of us goes in the freezer he dives in his crate. The reason being is I make him frozen kongs for when he goes in his crate. He goes crazy when a kong comes out and practically throws himself in the crate and spins around until he gets the kong. Jay has just got me some ice so I can have a medicinal Vodka tonic and Dembe has jumped inside his crate!

More Dembe Diaries next week, when next Saturday he has his puppy socialisation session.