Tag: mobility scooter

W/C 17th August 2020

Monday 17th August

Every since last weeks car accident Dembe has been very clingy. He has always been really good when Jay leaves the house in his uniform and it has never bothered him. Now regardless of what Jay is wearing he cries and is really unsettled for a few hours. It is draining as I just don’t seem to be able to reassure him, despite playing with him and giving him lots of cuddles. I think that he is just picking up on the high amounts of cortisol being pumped out by myself and Jay, due to the level of stress we are under since 11th August.

I can’t even go to the bathroom alone at the moment without him lying at my feet

From Sunday evening but accurately portrays the energy level in the house at the moment

It was raining really heavily on and off today but it was still reasonably warm, for a little while Dembe and I went out on the patio under the gazebo and listened to the rain. Dembe is happy at the moment as long as he is stuck to me like glue!

Jay is on an early today so finished at 4pm. The traffic is horrendous as they have shut the B3180 over the common, which is one of two main routes out of the town. It is taking up to an hour to get onto the common, so after work we opted to take Dembe down the beach. We forgot to check the tide time table though and the tide was in and only a small area that Dembe could run around on. So I suggested that Jay took Dembe onto the Maeer, which is a sandy / grass area behind the seafront. Dembe loved it, lots of dogs to play with. I have never seen him pant so hard after a run around. Jay said he was a lunatic and just didn’t stop.

Dembe was so excited he didn’t go for a poo so Jay had to put him on his lead and keep saying busy busy to get him to go to the toilet. If Dembe is really enjoying himself playing with other dogs sometimes he will just rather play than go to the toilet.

He was so shattered when he got back from the Maer he had a huge drink and then laid on the cold stones outside on the patio.

Tuesday 18th August

Jay was day off today but was in and out all day long due to having to sort stuff out from the car accident. He had to go to the police station and fill in some paperwork, due to the road closures and road works it took him nearly 3 hours. Dembe was really upset the whole time he was gone. He kept looking out of the window and crying for his dad. It breaks my heart that he has become so unsettled and insecure after the accident.

He has also become a lot more barky, he is on his guard constantly and any strange noise outside and he runs to the window and barks the place down. He is clearly shaken up after the accident.

Jay took him down the Maer again this afternoon for a run around.

He had a wonderful time again, loving playing around and chasing / being chased by other dogs. Again he came home had a drink and then flopped onto the floor.

Wednesday 19th August

Today and tomorrow Jay is on a late night at work so Martin, our dog walker will be coming and getting Dembe for a nice walk on the common.

Jay took Dembe out early, the weather was absolutely dreadful and they both came home drenched. Jay used three towels on Dembe drying him off before he broke free and came upstairs. He jumped onto the bed with his pheasant toy in his mouth and curled up next to me ( to avoid any confusion I am talking about Dembe). As he leaned against the left side of me I got soaked as his fur was still wet from his earlier walk. Jay said he thought it was the wettest they had ever got.

Dembe and I slept curled up together until 8.20am. Dembe is still being really whingey at the moment and incredibly clingy. I find it distressing as I don’t know how to make things better for him so that he knows that he can relax and doesn’t have to be on guard all the time.

Dembe always knows when it is a dog walking day and from about 2.15pm – 2.30pm he will stand by the window watching for Martins arrival. He has learned the sound of the van and will watch as Martin takes it to the top of the cul-de-sac and then brings it back down outside the house. I have finally managed to capture Dembe watching him.

You can see the sheer concentration on his face as he is working out if that is the van. When he starts barking that is Martin pulling up outside.

Today Dembe had company with two other dogs on the walk, the weather was still grim really heavy mist and a bit of drizzle. He loves having the other dogs on the walk and even though they were older dogs they still had a bit of a play with him. When he got home I gave him a little hose off in the back garden and a dry.

With him going out in the afternoon he now settles down in the evening really well for me.

Thursday 20th August

Jay took Dembe out at around 6am and then they both came back to bed. Me and Dembe woke up at around 8am. At 8.20am we had the phone call we had been waiting for from the insurance company to say our car was a write off. Jay managed to get another 200 quid out of them to out towards our new car. We spent the morning drawing up a short list of cars to see tomorrow.

As Jay was late night he took Dembe out around the block again at 11.30am so he could have a sniff and go to the toilet which he did. Jay said he did an elephant size poo! He said he nearly needed a fork lift truck to carry it to the poo bin LOL

Today Martin and Dembe were on their own for their walk. Martin took Dembe to the Reservoir on the common which I have to admit is somewhere Jay and I have never managed to explore properly, although I really would love to. He couldn’t wait to go off with Martin and practically dragged him off down the drive and jumped into the van with out so much as a backwards glance. I have to say all my concerns and fears are gone now with him going out with Martin. There is now way he would take himself off down the drive like that if he didn’t enjoy getting out or being with Martin.

Before Martin came and got Dembe he had been a bit crazy for a couple of hours so he was having a nap just before Martin arrived. He was still full of beans for a while when he got home and was standing out in the garden barking at me!

Friday 21st August

Jay had to take today off work as we needed to go and look at cars now that the insurance have said it is a write off. We will only have 7 days with the hire car now before the insurance company give it back to the hire company. We are having to have a bit of a road trip as we haven’t found any cars locally that are any good for us. We need a big car even though there is only the two of us as I need to have a mobility scooter in the boot / trunk and have Dembe on the back seats in a car harness. So there is a minimum width requirement for the boot / trunk so that my scooter is able to fit. This is limiting us a great deal. If we could do without my mobility scooter we would have bags of room! We would also be able to get something smaller and newer. However we do have a short list and they are all 90 minute drive away in Somerset the next county over. I am just a bit concerned with how Dembe will cope with the car journey as we have done so few long journeys and with the car crash just over a week ago he is still a little stressed about going into the car.

We needn’t have worried as within 20 minutes he settled and was quite happy just watching the world go by out of his window. He reminds me so much of Frankie when he does that, Frankie loved sitting looking directly out of the window. Although Frankie would bark at everything that came near the car Dembe doesn’t do that and I will be honest sometimes we forget he is there because he never makes a sound! Unless he is particularly excited to be going to dog training or up the common.

I made sure to pack some chews for him, a nylabone and an antler chew. Previously on car journeys longer than 10 minutes he would like to lie down and have a chew of his antler or nylabone. This time he wasn’t interested. He just wanted to see what the world outside was doing. Whilst his dad was paying for the car in the garage office we went back and sat in the hire car, the photo above is him sat waiting. He has got incredibly clingy towards Jay since the accident.

On the way home Dembe was an absolute angle no crying or fussing he actually lay down and went to sleep sprawled across the seats.

We did have a chuckle as every so often we would hear hims snoring or changing position. He would have been exhausted as normally he would sleep for a few hours in the morning, he had been on the go since 6am this morning so he just was out like a light all the way home. The only time he woke up was as we hit Woodbury Common, he obviously recognised the smell and knew we were nearly home.

In the afternoon he flaked out on the sofa next to his dad

As we were chatting yesterday afternoon we realised that this hire car was now the third car that Dembe had been in with us and our car which we are getting Tuesday will be the third car we have owned since he came to live with us in January 2019. He is a very upwardly mobile doggy.

Saturday 22nd August

Dembe didn’t wake up until around 6am this morning so Jay took him out for a good run. Jay is on a 9-6 today. Dembe and I went back up to bed for an hour or so at 6.50am and Dembe slept cuddled up under my left arm with his head on my shoulder. Since the accident he is sleeping like this a lot. Previously he would only do it few times a week. Now it is every day. We are thinking about booking in a one to one session with Martin and seeing what we can do to help ease his insecurities that he has developed before we get any long term behaviour issues with him. I want him to be happy and confident and not permanently exhausted because he has been looking after me or Jay.

As I was writing up this week’s diary entries he was squidged right up beside me.

chewing a cows ear

Jay was on a 9-6 today so by 4pm this afternoon ( despite being walked at lunch time)he was bouncing off the walls. Barking, climbing onto my lap and demanding that I hold the dried cows ear whilst he chewed it! I was covered in blonde fur!

Dembe was playing with me lying on the floor, I love the cheeky look of his face in this one.

Sunday 23rd August

Jay came down at 7am this morning to find a pile of puke by the front door. Dembe was ok in himself but weirdly had slept in until 6.45 which is unheard of. I heard Dembe downstairs at 5am as I went to the toilet but ever since he was a puppy he has taken himself downstairs during the night if he is too hot upstairs. So I wasn’t concerned.

Dembe is fine in himself, so as a precaution we gave him a much smaller breakfast later in the morning to ensure it stayed down. Thankfully it has and he seems fine.

Hopefully that is the end of it if not I have some medicine in the kitchen I can give him that is good for settling upset doggy tummies.

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W/C 20th January 2020

Dembe is shattered after the fun of agility training yesterday. Jay took Dembe out early, he is much happier about going out in the dark these days. Unlike when he was a pup and he would refuse to get out of the back of the car.

We had a lazy day together snuggled on the sofa. He was very pleased when Jay popped home for lunch . He brought a selection of toys into the kitchen for Jay to attempt to get off him. He likes greeting Jay with a toy in his mouth. If Jay comes in and he doesn’t have a toy, Dembe will run off and get one to show to his daddy. It is so very sweet.

He had a good walk when Jay finished work.

Tuesday 21st January

Jay is day off today and took Dembe for a quick walk up the common, quite early. He will be having a longer walk this afternoon whilst I am at Physiotherapy.

Jay went to Old Common whilst I was in my physio session. Dembe met lots of dogs and had several games of chase. He still isn’t keen on leaving me anywhere, he can get quite stressed out. By the time I got out of physio he was shattered.

I took this photo about 10 minutes after we got in. He was so shattered but he was determined to attempt to keep an eye on me.

We had dog training this evening – it was bloody freezing! I had so many layers on I could barely walk. Tights on under my jeans and 4 layers on my top half. Dembe had an excellent training session, he was the best in the class this evening even if I do say it myself. Unfortunately Max the GSD seems to have taken a dislike to Dembe and was growling at him. He decided last Sunday that Dembe was in his crosshairs and he seems to have continued this week. Thankfully there is plenty of space between them so Max can grumble all he likes.

Wednesday 23rd Janaury

where have my ears gone?

We had a quiet day as Dembe and I were both pretty shattered after the dog training session last night ( plus I also had physio ) . He slept the majority of the day. He only came to life when Jay came home for lunch and again when he finished work.

Dembe started throwing his toys around the front room at about 5pm and kept that up until Jay arrived home just after 6pm.

He is eating really well at the moment and seems to be really enjoying his food.

Thursday 23rd January

I woke up with a migraine at 2.30am, so I got my soft collar on and dosed myself up with pain meds. Dembe was in with Jay so it didn’t wake him. I have to sleep sitting up when wearing the collar so I was propped up in bed when Dembe came in at 5.30am and started barking because he didn’t know who it was in the bed! Idiot. I calmed him down , he then jumped on the bed and covered me in kisses. I could feel that all his back hair was up. He settled down beside me and I stayed in bed for as long as I could. We managed to sleep until 8am which is unheard of. Jay took Dembe out at 6.30am but I slept through that.

We had a very low key day due to me struggling with the migraine all day.

Friday 24th January

I had a funny turn today where I came over like I was going to faint ( it happens quite a lot but usually I can just sit there and be ok) . My eyes started rolling in my head so I had to slip down off the sofa, get on the floor and raise my legs up. As I got down on the floor I was fully expecting Dembe to go mental as me lying on the floor is normally the signal for a mummy pile on and play time.

I was so shocked when Dembe quietly got off the sofa and curled right up beside me, resting his face against my face. Normally I would have been trodden on and toys dropped on my head. It was really out of character for him. When he wasn’t lying face to face with me, he was lying on my arm so I couldn’t get up. We stayed on the floor for 30 minutes before he moved and brought me a tennis ball. How did he know that was just what I needed? I sat on the floor for a bit ensuring I was ok to get up and then we both headed upstairs and lay down on my bed for a few hours.

As you can see from the photo’s I took at the time he was stuck to me like glue. He hasn’t been trained to do this, he picked up that something was wrong and then stayed on the floor with me until I was well enough to move. I am so very proud of my little pudding. He is my hero.

Saturday 25th January

I am feeling a lot better today thank goodness, as Jay is late night so I will be on my own from just after 12pm until 10pm. Jay took Dembe out for a nice long walk to ensure he didn’t go too mental later with not having a second walk.

As expected Dembe got all his toys out of his box on Saturday evening

Crocodile was being thrown around the lounge along with tennis balls as he attempted to entertain himself. In the end I gave him a bulls tail chew to occupy him and bring the energy levels down. That worked and around an hour later we toddled up to bed where he settled down beside me immediately.

Sunday 26th January

Dembe is full of beans this morning, despite having a lovely long walk with Jay first thing. I had to take my slippers off which is a rare occurrence as my feet were too hot. Dembe deciding that we weren’t paying him enough attention then stole them and sat chewing the labels out of them. He also seemed to spend a very long time just bathing in the smell of my feet, strange animal.

We had lesson 4 of Dembe’s agility training course today. He mastered the weave poles and the long jumps. He was the first dog to manage 4 jumps today.

Dembe has been asleep ever since we have been back.

I forgot to share, Dembe now knows that we don’t react to his barking and we have been teaching him the command speak and then cease – it’s been a bit hit and miss. So now as barking no longer works he has started howling. Little bugger.

W/C 2nd December 2019

Monday 2nd December

Dembe was shattered today after Agility training yesterday and refused to get up and go for a walk before Jay left for work at 6am. Dembe stayed in bed with me whilst Jay got ready which is most unusual as he normally goes into scrounge mode as soon as he wakes.

Poor baby has an upset tummy today and has done 3 huge mounds of very loose poo in the garden which were an absolute delight to pick up as you can imagine! We think he is wheat intolerant, he is fine in himself, not even a gurgling tummy. Just not a solid poo in sight so he has been dosed up with some tummy meds to settle everything down. He didn’t want his breakfast when we got up but at 8.30am came into the kitchen looking for food so ate it then. He didn’t eat his dinner last night so I gave him that so it didn’t over load his tum with a bigger meal ( his breakfast is his biggest meal of the day) . Thankfully he isn’t being sick bless him.

His bottom is a weapon of mass destruction, it smells so bad I am gagging and trying to not be sick. He is passing it without making a sound so the first I know of it is when the smell hits me. It is making my eyes water.

I managed to get some more Christmas decorations up, Dembe insisted on joining me and climbing onto my lap covering me in kisses. He is so soppy. He has been such a good boy and left all the decorations alone.

Thankfully this evening he is back to solid poo…probably TMI

Tuesday 3rd December

I was awake at 4am due to injuring my back and neck yesterday . Dembe stayed asleep whilst I sorted out pain medications. At 5am I gave up and came downstairs, he then went into Jays room and woke him up as he wanted us all together.

At 11am we took Dembe out for a quick walk ( he had one earlier) as we wanted to ensure that he was fully toileted before we took him to Darts Farm, where he would be working for the first time in ages.

It was very busy at Darts Farm but Dembe was absolutely brilliant. Totally focused on Jay and waiting for his commands. He got petted by a few people but they all asked if it was ok before they did. We are always happy to accommodate if we are asked first.

Dembe had his first go in a lift today. He wasn’t too sure and had a little panic. He tried to jump up on my lap and managed to hit the accelerator of the mobility scooter. Thankfully I had the where with all to immediately remove the key to cut the motor, so I only moved an inch or so. He did get down and then calm down. The lift journey was seconds as it just goes up around 10 stairs to the right of the lift. It was just the first time he was in such an enclosed space.

Temptation was all around him in Darts and he touched nothing. Even the cuddly toys left on the floor were ignored along with all the tasty morsels in the food court area. Many dogs would have struggled to run the gauntlet of all those fabulous items. Dembe knows once he has his jacket on he is working and he is to follow Jay at all times.

He was shattered when we got home. He slept for much of the afternoon and was quite surprised when we got his lead out in the evening ready to go to agility training.

Hi Christmas decoration arrived whilst we were out at Darts Farm

Tonight was class 5 out of 6 classes of his Obedience training. We finished on a real high as Martin the trainer told both Jay and the other handler that they were both working at an advanced level. Martin said he wished he videoed the session as it was so good. Both dogs were off the lead doing sit, stay and walking to heel in each others presence. Back in June / July when we were doing level one beginners I would never ever have dreamed that Dembe would be the super star he is now. I told Martin that had we not have paid the money for the lessons after week one I would have never had returned due to being mortified at his behaviour. Now he is a star pupil. We use so much of what Martin at Happy Dogs has taught us at home. One of Dembe’s favourite games is leave – where we ask him to leave a toy and then after 30 seconds we allow him to take the toy back on the command of take. He also loves the “find it” game where we hide his bunny given to him by Imogen and Dembe has to sit and stay whilst it is hidden then we give him the “find find” command. His tail goes nuts and he has now started to rely on his nose more when searching rather than being purely visual which is how he started.

I was welling up watching Jay and Dembe work together as a team, they are clearly devoted to each other. They have both really grown in confidence.

Wednesday 4th December

Dembe was shattered after all that running around yesterday, he slept for the majority of the day.

He even took himself up to bed in the afternoon which is unheard of.

We are having issues getting him to eat again, it seems that he likes a new food for a few days and then decides that its not that good and makes a meal ( pun intended) out of eating it. Jay and I have to be his cheerleaders as he eats . We have tried making him snuffle for it, handing it to him. If it was a cocktail sausage / piece of ham he would take your fingers off. I think he is always going to be a pain in the arse when it comes to eating his food.

Jay and I are getting excited as we are taking him to meet Santa Paws on Saturday.

Thursday 5th December

Dembe spent the whole night cuddled into me either curled up between my waist and knees or with his head on my face, I love it when he sleeps like this, it makes me feel so loved. When I come back to bed after nipping to the toilet during the night he gives me a kiss to let me know he is there. I have never known such a sensitive and affectionate dog.

He did however wake at 5am , so we got up and I let him out. He was a good boy this morning leaving Jay alone until gone 6.30am before going upstairs and waking him up.

Jay and Dembe got lost on the common today, it was quite amusing as when Jay described the area where they had got lost I knew where they were immediately, as I had got lost there years ago with our Weimaraners Mollie and Travis. It was very boggy so Dembe had to be washed off outside when he got home.

Today he scoffed his breakfast.

We played loads in the evening as Jay was late night Dembe wouldn’t be getting another walk. It was hilarious as we were playing “find find” with his blue dinosaur, at one point he couldn’t find it, so he went to his toy box and pulled out his bunny toy that we normally play find find with. He is too bloody clever for his own good.

In the afternoon the oxygen engineer came to check my machine and canister, Dembe was very barky probably because he didn’t hear the door go as he was asleep on my bed and the next thing he knew a strange man was in the house. He did calm down though and then started showing off by going and getting the toys I was asking for from his toy box. The engineer was well impressed by him!

He was so manic this evening it was hilarious, all of a sudden it went quiet I looked down and he was asleep on the floor with his monkey.

Friday 6th December

Today Dembe’s Emma Bridgewater Tiny Tree Decoration arrived

Since 2017 we have had these decorations with the dogs names on, so we have Travis, Mollie, Willow and Frankie our Weimaraners who are now sadly all passed on. And now we have Dembe’s tiny to go with them.

He was a very cuddly boy today wanting to spend the afternoon curled up on my lap

Oh Hubby and I also treated ourselves to, some pint mugs

DD – Dembe’s dad

DM – Dembe’s mum

Saturday 7th December

Today is the day that Dembe gets to meet Santa Paws. We haven’t been to the place before so Dembe maybe a little nervous. We have ensured he has had a quick walk around the block so he doesn’t disgrace himself.

Dembe was very good considering he has never seen someone in fancy dress! He just barked at the photographer and that was only once. As soon as Santa told Dembe to sit he started to pose it was so funny. So here are some shots that Jay and I took. The first photo is the photographers

Love this outtake
he looks like he is smiling

Dembe has been shattered ever since and has slept beside me on the sofa.

Sunday 8th December

Dembe had a lie on this morning and didn’t wake up until 7am. Both Jay and I were in shock. He had a nice long walk up at the Airfield with Jay and then we had a bit of a chill out before his last agility training session of this year.

This week the trainer made a mega long tunnel with a bend in it. Dembe was the first dog to go through it. He adores doing the tunnels and gets so excited we have to try and bring him down again. He was also getting the hang of the weave poles a bit better and managed every other pole. He still doesn’t like the seesaw. I think we will have to go to the wobble board and build his confidence up from there. He just loves agility so much that we have signed him up for the next course in January 2020. Not that he is at all spoiled by us. Jay and I also enjoy it and it gets us out of the house on a Sunday.

W/C 11th November 2019

Monday 11th November

This week has been quite nostalgic as incredibly our little pup turns one on Saturday. We can’t quite believe that it is happening. He is still our tiny baby, who needs protecting.

Jay was back on an early shift today. Dembe and I have our morning routine down pat, so he gets restless after 9am if he hasn’t been given his frozen Kong to entertain him whilst I get myself sorted for the day. He always runs upstairs and goes into my room, hiding between my wall and the bed. Its his favourite spot for eating the contents of his kong. Sometimes I forget he is there and it is only when I hear the slurping I remember.

I can quite honestly say I don’t know what I would do without Dembe He gives me the reason to get up in the morning, a lot of the time because he has woken me up by bouncing one of his toys off my head. He is my company during the day. Jay was right when he said around 12 months ago when I said I didn’t know if I wanted to be tied by another dog once we had lost the Weimaraners, we needed a dog and I needed it more than him. I am so glad we have Dembe, the empty house would have killed me.

He was so good at understanding that Jay was back at work today, there was no crying when he left the house, which he has done all week when Jay popped out to the shops.

We have had a day filled with cuddles.

I sent Dembe’s photo to happy dogs last Sunday- the one where he was falling asleep sitting up after his agility training class. They loved it and used it on their facebook page.

Tuesday 12th November

We are a bit thrown this week as Jay is working today and not his usual day off. I have a hospital appointment tomorrow so Jay has swapped his shifts so he can take me. Dembe seems to be fine with the change but it is me that is convinced it is Wednesday today.

Dembe decided this morning that I shouldn’t start sewing until much later so he sprawled over my legs and had a cuddle. He refused to move and I was struggling to get my mojo going.

We have had lots of cuddles today, he is so affectionate. Every time there was a long stitch out on the embroidery machine, we played or had cuddles.

Again I have got really emotional at the thought of him turning one. There are so many things upsetting me about it, the fact he is no longer a baby ( he will always be our baby ), that that marks one less year with him ( I think that I have become very hung up about worrying about him passing away after we lost Frankie and Mollie at the start of the year within 7 days of each other. This has caused me major anxiety all year if I am honest). I try really hard not to think about it but it is very hard after the events at the start of the year. Jay is struggling to understand why the thought of Dembe turning one has me in floods of tears. I wish I knew why it is effecting me so badly.

We had dog training this evening, Jay felt he was letting Dembe down but he wasn’t. Considering he normally hasn’t worked a full day before attending he did very well. Once Dembe settled he also did really well. Jay is far too hard on himself.

Wednesday 13th November

Jay was (finally) day off today, so he took Dembe down the beach for his morning walk. Dembe had a wonderful time playing with other dogs and swimming in the sea.

Jay said that there were a couple of barrel jelly fish that had washed up. Thankfully Dembe steered clear. Dembe needed a quick hose down when he got home to remove the salt from his coat. He was absolutely ravenous and wanted his breakfast immediately.

We had a quiet morning, Dembe took himself up to my bed for a bit and had a sleep.

Jay took Dembe out again at 2pm as I had a hospital appointment at 4pm. Due to road closures we were going to have to leave at 3pm. Unbelievably we managed to get a parking space straight away, so Jay and Dembe walked with me to the main entrance. Jay gave Dembe a walk around the hospital grounds and used it as a training session for him. It is a good environment to do it in as it is noisy and lots of people. It replaces the tranquility of the training room.

We got home at 16.45 and Dembe was starving as his dinner was late. He then after dinner went crazy for a bit throwing his sprout and crocodile around the lounge.

Thursday 14th November

Dembe went and woke Jay up just after 6am this morning when he worked out that he just wasn’t getting anywhere with me! Jay had him up the common before 7am . It was chilly at minus 1 but Dembe was still keen to get a swim in

I have been working on my embroidery machine this morning and instead of sloping off upstairs Dembe has been sleeping on the sofa with his head pointed towards the kitchen table so he can keep an eye on me.

It has been a day of cuddles and play with Dembe

As Jay was on a 10-7 today we spent the late afternoon on the sofa. Dembe slept and allowed me to carry on with my crochet.

Friday 14th November

Jay has two late nights on the bounce this week, so we decided that we would go and get Dembe’s birthday present today. First though we went to The Range and did some Assistance dog Training with him. He did really well and was very well behaved. We stopped and chatted with a member of staff and he patiently waited. He walked on his lead like an angel. I am not easily pleased and those of you who have read the blog from the beginning know that I will be very honest about how he behaves. I do have high standards. I am so impressed with him and everyone who see’s him when he is wearing his vest are always amazed at how young he is and how calm he is. Obviously he has his moments but not when he has his yellow jacket on.

After The Range we took his jacket off and we went to Pets At Home, where he got to choose his birthday present. He went mental for a huge Monkey and the staff were laughing at how excited he was.

We gave it back to him when we got home and then he kept carrying it around wagging his whole body. He wouldn’t let Jay or I near it as it was all his.

Monkey ( we are so original ) has been dragged all over the house and shown to us.

We had quite a quiet day with Jay being on a late night.

Saturday 16th November

OMG baby boy is 1!

Happy birthday Dembe

Jamie contacted the presenter John Scott and asked him to do a shout out for Dembe’s birthday which he did bless him. This is the 3rd time Dembe has been on or mentioned on the show since January this year.

Dembe had so many birthday wishes sent to him on social media it was really wonderful. People said some really gorgeous things about him. They have loved seeing him grow up over the year and how he has mended our broken hearts, He really has.

Here are some photos of when he was really tiny which in someways seems like a lifetime ago and in others like it was yesterday.

This is him now, the handsome devil

He had a lovely birthday and had lots and lots of treats.

Sunday 17th November

Dembe just wouldn’t settle last night and didn’t go to sleep until well past 11pm. As a consequence he didn’t wake up until gone 6.50am. I had to check the clock twice as I just couldn’t believe it. I was sure the little bugger would have me up at 5am!

Jay took him out for a nice long walk this morning up on the common. We avoided the beach due to the fact he was sick at Agility training last week possibly because he had sea water. He was starving when they got home. At around 10am a friend and her husband popped over for an hour and Dembe was giddy as a goat. I was dreading training as he was so excitable. He did however have a long nap once they left.

We then took him up to Woodbury common again for a run around and the toilet before attending agility training at 12.30pm. Dembe was confused and it wasn’t until we arrived that he twigged where we were and got excited.

Today Dembe built on what he learned last week and he has now jumped over two little jumps. He started learning how to do the seesaw. He was very nervous at first and would only put his front paws on and then would jump off again. Jay and Martin worked with him and the third time Jay took him to the SeeSaw he actually started going on it. I was discussing with Martin that it took Dembe a while to be brave enough to climb down the stairs. We did it over many training sessions to build his confidence up. Martin said Dembe is a thinker which makes him ideal for assistance work because he thinks about what he does. When he is acting like a loon it can be hard to see but when he gets that yellow jacket on he is a different dog.

He also started learning the weave poles as well. He loves the agility training and his bond with Jay is incredible.

Dembe was absolutely shattered after his agility training session again. He has been conked out for most of the afternoon and is snoring his head off on the sofa beside me now.

W/C 21st October 2019

Monday 21st October

Weird day today as Jay was on stock take, so he was up at 2.30am to be in work by 4am. Due to this Dembe didn’t get a walk until Jay got home from work until Jay got home just after 1pm. Dembe was very good, he did get up with Jay but went to sleep on the sofa by the window. He has got used to me getting up with insomnia, so he knows to be quiet and just go to sleep. When Jay left for work Dembe came back up to bed with me and we then didn’t wake up until gone 7.30am which was amazing!

The morning whizzed by and before we knew it Jay was back from work. We took Dembe straight out, which was just as well as he was bouncing off the walls by then. Dembe had a play with several dogs up on the common which meant he burnt off more energy than normal.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing with Jay fighting the urge to go to sleep. He was feeling really cold because he was so tired and Dembe kept stealing his dressing gown belt.

Tuesday 22nd October

Jay was off today , so he and Dembe went for a nice walk up the common first thing. Dembe is eating so much better now that he has his new bowl, he comes back from his walks starving hungry and demanding to be fed. At 3.45pm each day he comes and finds me to let me know he wants his dinner. It makes me laugh as before we had to wake him up for his meals as he really wasn’t that bothered.

Dembe was shattered after his long walk this morning so he crashed on the sofa beside me whilst we caught up on the previous evenings The Walking Dead.

I managed to get some sewing done in the afternoon . Dembe wasn’t too happy about this despite the fact his daddy was home. So he went out into the garden with his carrot and lay down staring at me!

We went out for Dembe’s afternoon walk at around 3pm. As my parents were at the caravan we dropped in to them on the way back. Maggie wasn’t up for playing she wanted to eat the dog treats I had brought with me. Dembe had a great time though as there was practically no one on that part of the site he played fetch with my dad and Jamie. He loves running after the ball.

He was worn out after playing at the caravan park and went to sleep on the 10 minute drive home.

Wednesday 23rd October

Dembe was shattered all day after all the fun at the caravan. He was very cuddly in the morning when I first came downstairs and lay across my lap refusing to move and let me get up.

Dembe was a bit barky today after it being quiet here for weeks during the gay time the kids are now on half term and he can hear them out in the street. So every so often he is barking when they get too loud for him.

We changed the net curtain today in the lounge so immediately Dembe had to check it out!

He was back at the window doing his duty for neighbourhood watch.

Dembe was so excited today when his daddy came home for lunch . He jumped on Jay and smothered him with kisses. He then brought him his carrot (toy), he always likes to bring Jay a toy when he comes home at lunch time! When Jay went back to work Dembe watched from the window.

Dembe put himself to bed in the afternoon whilst I did a bit of sewing. He reminds me so much of our first dog Travis who would go to bed when Jay and I were at work. As we went out the front door Travis would be climbing the stairs!

As it was raining this evening Dembe worse his new waxed jacket for the first time. He looks lovely in it and it kept him nice and dry.

Thursday 24th October

Dembe allowed me to have a lie on this morning and didn’t wake up until 7am. After I got up he went into Jays room and woke him up by dropping his antler chew on Jay’s head. So Dembe was really popular for a while!

Jay took him out for a huge walk as he was late night. When they got back Dembe ignored me and went straight into the kitchen demanding his breakfast, what a difference from a few weeks ago where we had to practically beg him to eat at every meal.

We had a really quiet day Thursday with lots of cuddles.

Friday 25th October

Dembe spent quite a bit of today lying on my lap. That seems to be his favourite thing to do when it is just the two of us.

I had to get some sewing done so Dembe took himself upstairs as soon as he worked out I was getting ready to start. He stayed up there until Jay got home for lunch. He was really dopey and cuddly still when Jay got through the door.

Dembe went back up to bed after Jay went back to work as I just wanted to finish off the project I had been working on. He wandered back into the kitchen at 3.30pm which meant he knew it was nearly time for his dinner. As it was Friday it was Mackerel day, as I was getting his dinner ready he was spinning around in circles with excitement.

After his dinner we sat on the sofa and had cuddles until Jay got home.

The weather was really horrible we have had a yellow weather warning for wind and rain today. It hasn’t stopped. So Dembe had his coat on again today for his walk.

Saturday 26th October

We had a lazy day today me and Dembe. Jay was on an early, so Dembe came back to bed and we didn’t get up until 6.40am. Of course tomorrow will mark Dembe’s first proper clock change – fall back. We are expecting him to wake us up at silly o’clock. I think he is going to be early!

My friend Angie came over in the afternoon. Considering Dembe hadn’t had a walk this morning he didn’t go as mental as he can sometimes although he wanted Angie to throw his ball for him continually.

I found out today that Dembe is terrified of a dowel rod. I think earlier in the week it was in my room and he knocked it, so he is now convinced it moves on its own. Yesterday I used the dowel to hang an item from to see how it would look. Earlier today I put it on the stairs to remind me to take it back up with me. An hour or so later Dembe was barking the place down. He was barking at the dowel rod. I took it upstairs and put it just inside my bedroom door. A few hours later he was barking upstairs. I checked on him and he was barking at the dowel. When I picked it up he couldn’t get away from it quickly enough he was absolutely terrified of it. He literally ran across the room. So I have now placed it on top of my wardrobe out of sight. I have never seen him so scared of anything in my life silly bugger.

I was trying to get some decent photographs of Dembe and Jay as they came back to the car after their walk, I failed!

We had some very loud fireworks here this evening. Dembe barked at them. We managed to get him to settle down. He doesn’t seem to be as frightened of them as the Weimaraners were. So fingers crossed that continues.

Sunday 27th October

Dembe didn’t get the memo about the clocks changing this morning, he had us all up at 5.30am!

He had his breakfast and then Jay took him out for a walk. He then came home, lay across my lap and slept like this for 30-40 minutes. The whole time Jay and I were trying to find some match sticks for our eyes as we were just so bloody tired!

On the spur of the moment we decided that we would go and explore Haldon Forestry park as I had seen on a disability website that it had good access for scooters and wheelchairs. We decided this at 8.30am and we were at Haldon for 9.20am. Dembe absolutely adored it and was going crazy with all the sights and new smells.

All Dembe has done is sleep ever since we got back. He slept all the way home too!

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 23rd September 2019

Monday 23rd September

Jay was on a 9-6 again so Dembe got a good walk before Jay went to work. He took him to Woodbury Castle but as it was early they didn’t meet anyone.

Dembe and I were really knackered all day so we kept sneaking off to bed and having a quick lie down .

He sleeps on my shoulder quite a bit, he also likes sleeping with his face pressing against my face. It is really lovely and it makes me feel so close to him when he does this.

Dembe is still loving his new toys of Broccoli and Carrot!

As I said we kept disappearing up to bed and having a lie down

His new collar ( British racing Green leather from Ann Rees ) and his I.D tag have arrived. I was very disappointed with his copper tag as the copper colouring started coming off within a few days. He managed to break his second Dogs and Horses collar last week so I have given up on them at nearly £30 a pop and have gone cheaper. I have also picked up a cheap collar to act as a stand in should this one break.

He had sardines for tea as he didn’t have them last week. He ate his dinner no bother funny that.

Tuesday 24th September

Today I had a trip to the hospital for an appointment with ophthalmology, my letter stated I could be having up to 3 hours worth of tests before I got to see the consultant, so I decided that I would attend alone and Jay would stay with Dembe. It was too long to expect Dembe to behave as he still is a baby at only 10 months old. It was weird though as it is only about the second or 3rd time I have left him for any length of time.

Jay said he was absolutely fine and just slept beside him on the sofa. When they picked me up at the hospital Dembe could hardly contain himself and was spinning in the back seat.

Tuesday afternoon I was shattered after all the stress of going to the hospital by myself. Its a huge deal for me and it makes me very anxious. Dembe was so good he just settled beside me on the sofa and slept. He was very clingy after I had been out without him.

A tiny tongue out Tuesday for a change.

As I was so exhausted Jay took Dembe to dog training by himself. I was gutted but I could barely stand by the evening let alone sit up in a chair for an hour and converse with people. To make sure I didn’t feel left out Jay took some Photos of Dembe at the class. They were working on recall and Dembe got to use the zip line attached to the ceiling first. Its not one the dogs slide down! It is a straight cable that hangs parallel to the ceiling. The dogs are attached by a long line to their lead and it means they can practice recall without the fear of them absconding or getting into fights with other dogs.

Apologies for the quality of the photos, hubby took them and David Bailey he ain’t.

Dembe and Jay had a fantastic time at dog training. Daddy spoiled Dembe way too much and they got through an entire bag of treats. When Dembe got home he was so excited to see me. Jay said he had slept all the way home in the car so he couldn’t understand where he was getting the energy from to go mad now.

Wednesday 25th September

Jay is working a 10-7 today and it is our 19th wedding anniversary. It can’t be helped but I have lost count how many time that he has worked a late or a stupid 10-7 on our anniversary.

Dembe got a good run on the common before Jay went to work. They went to the Model airfield and they bumped into Dembe’s friend Sid the cocker spaniel. They had a mad run around playing chase.

Dembe seems to be shattered after dog training last night and has slept lots today.

As he was so sleepy today I managed to get a load of sewing done. He stayed on his bed in the kitchen so he was close by me.

Thursday 26th September

I spent most of last night with a dog sleeping on my head which was cute. Most nights at around 2am Dembe goes into Jays room and spends the rest of the night in with him. If Jay is on an early though Dembe will then come back to bed with me. For a change though last night he spent the whole night with me.

Jay took him out up the common before 7am as he was on another 10-7 shift. I really hate this shift as it means you don’t have a morning together like you do on a late and you don’t have an evening together either. It is a shit shift like an 11-8.

Jay and Dembe bumped into the lady with 5 Labradors. As soon as they recognised Jay they all ran over and sat in front of him as they know Jay almost always has treats on him to dish out. Dembe had a good play with them. It is so strange owning a dog that can play with other dogs and isn’t nervous aggressive. Mollie was like that as well but with Frankie and Willow both being nervous aggressive it meant she never really got to play with any other dogs. Dembe really enjoys running around playing chase. He will now do the chasing as well as being chased himself.

Dembe and I messed around playing quite a bit today as I ensured I had regular breaks from my embroidery machine. He has been a bit barky today though. He has barked at everyone at the door today even if he knew them or saw them yesterday.

From 4pm this evening he was crazy. He got every toy out of his toy box and was throwing it around the lounge this went on for nearly 3 hours. You would think he hadn’t been walked in days the energy he had.

Friday 27th September

As Jay was on a late night he took Dembe up the common for a really good walk in the hope that would keep him calm for me! On the whole he was a really good boy for me as he always is. We just have a bit of madness in the evenings after he has eaten his dinner.

We have found this week to get Dembe to eat his dinner if we sit in the kitchen with him and praise him for eating. Give him a stroke and hand feed him some kibble he will eat it up and it stops this walking away from the bowl and then not going back to it. God knows what has started him off being so weird about his food the last few weeks. With us encouraging him and making a fuss he seems much happier eating. He was a bit strange as a pup when it came to eating his meals as he would walk away from it and would need our encouragement. Then he settled down and was a good eater, then out of nowhere started being a bit funny. I am hoping it is just a phase as he gobbles everything else given to him. So we know he isn’t sick.

He had a nice little snooze in the afternoon. I had to take a photo as he just looked so bloody cute!

In the afternoon at around 4pm he started getting all his toys out again and throwing them around the lounge. He loves Carrot and Broccoli. His favourite thing to do is bring carrot to you whilst you are sat on the toilet! Carrot is definitely the one that gets to go all over the house being carried.

Saturday 28th September

It is going to be a shorter blog entry this week due to the fact that I am out tomorrow with friends and when I get home I will be in no state to write up his blog entry for this week. He will be spending tomorrow with Jay. It will be interesting to hear how they get on as it is the first time they have spent any prolonged time together!

As you can see Dembe still likes to barge into the shower whilst I am in there. He just loves water but he has never been in the sea or a river for a proper swim. We will have to do that next year when the weather is nice.

We are having a lazy Saturday so that I can rest and have energy for tomorrow. Dembe is just going with the flow

W/C 16th September 2019

Monday 16th September

As Jay was on a 9-6 , I know what has happened to his early shift on a Monday?? He got Dembe up the common nice and early so he could have a good run before work.

We had our usual lazy morning

Jay didn’t come home at lunchtime due to issues at work but we were ok just pottering around. I managed to get some sewing done in the afternoon whilst Dembe slept.

Dembe went absolutely crazy when I put his car harness on as he knows now that this means daddy is on his way home and a walk is going to follow soon after.

Tuesday 17th September

Bit of a disaster this morning, we had planned to go down the town and have a walk around with Dembe but less than 5 minutes into our trip my mobility scooter packed up. It has been dodgy since I got it up and running in January. Randomly losing power and refusing to move when I had been sat stationary. With going up on the common with it we had been expecting this to happen at some point. Thankfully I managed to limp back to the car but not without it losing power on the middle of a zebra crossing, which was a little hair raising. So we didn’t get to do the training we had wanted to do.

This evening we had dog training class number 2 of obedience training level 2/3. I have no idea why Dembe thinks that the dog training class is the best place to bark. He barks more here than anywhere else. I think he is like a child that likes the acoustics of the old pig barn. As far as he is concerned it is the best place on earth to have a good bark!

He did really well during the lesson, the trainer used Dembe to demonstrate again. It is wonderful to see what Dembe is capable of. He does get bored really easily and lies down on the floor . We had to change his training treats mid lesson as he decided he doesn’t like pepperami anymore. He will eat it if given to him but he would rather work for a different treat the little sod. Luckily I always carry extra treats for circumstances like this! We swapped over bags and he was supercharged after that.

This week we worked on using a toy to maintain focus with his training. This was the first ever week I forgot to pack a bloody toy!

Wednesday 18th September

Dembe and I were both really shattered after a broken nights sleep and dog training last night. We spent the majority of the day curled up on the sofa together having cuddles. Just after 9am my new mobility scooter arrived.

This morning he ate his breakfast with no fuss, however this evening he has been a bit of a pain in the bum. For the first 30 minutes he ignored it. I went into the kitchen and picked up his bowl and this got his interest immediately. So I then started feeding him a piece of kibble at a time. Eating it like that he had no issue. So I then threw a handful on the kitchen floor and he ate that all up. I then went out into the back garden and threw his food onto the patio a handful at a time . We used to play this game with our Weimaraners Mollie, Frankie and Willow. We called it snuffles and they loved it. Dembe’s tail was going crazy as he found all his bits of kibble.

This evening after his dinner he decided to have a mad half hour so we played the find it game. His “wait” command ( what we say instead of stay) is just so good he impresses me all the time. I can now leave the room and he will wait until I tell him I can move. I go and hide a toy and then tell him to “find it” . He loves it and it really tires him out as he is having to use his brain to locate the toy.

Thursday 19th September

I woke up with a terrible migraine at 5am . My little protector wouldn’t leave my side. I was proper poorly with it most of the day and spent the time split between my bed and the sofa. Dembe kept his energy levels low and just stayed beside me.

He is still wanting his food thrown on the floor rather than having it in his bowl. I sat on the garden bench and chucked his food onto the patio for him.

Friday 20th September

Thank goodness I am feeling much more human today.

Dembe ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast from his bowl and then came up to bed with me. We slept until gone 8.20am which is unheard of, When I came downstairs I saw he had hardly eaten his breakfast so I went outside and threw it down onto the patio and he scoffed the lot. He really is strange.

I had to feed him his dinner the same way

We have been having a lazy day as I am still getting over this migraine. So we have had lots of cuddles.

Dembe has managed to destroy the tugger we borrowed from the dog trainer! So we will be buying a replacement Sunday.

I was taking lots of photos of Dembe today. I was trying to get a nice up close photo of him but he decided that it would be the best time to have a look at my phone LOL

We went up to my parents van this evening and Dembe had a play with Maggie. He was running around like an idiot. Maggie didn’t really want to play chase, all she wanted to do was eat the treats I had come over with. When I stop feeding her she barks at me. I am beginning to think that she is a Jack Russell crossed with a Labrador.

When Dembe holds his ears like this we call him Dobby the house Elf from Harry Potter.

Even Dembe gets sick of me taking photos.

Saturday 21st September

Jay was on a late night so he got Dembe up the common for a nice long walk as he would only be having one today.

This pretty much sums up our Saturday as we were both knackered. There were lots of cuddles and lying around on the sofa.

The only time there was lots of activity was when he had his dinner. He went crazy after for about two hours. Throwing his toys around the front room and barking at them when they got stuck under the foot stool or behind the furniture. I went up to bed and he was still chucking stuff around my bedroom. Then all of a sudden he conked out and settled for the night.

Sunday 22nd September

This morning Dembe and I woke up at 6.30am, with the mornings being darker he is sleeping in much later. As it had been raining outside I gave him his breakfast this morning by spreading it around on the lounge and kitchen floor, which went down well. Jay got him out just after 7am and they avoided the rain. Dembe still came home with a wet belly.

At 10.30am we went to see Uncle Paul. Dembe goes crazy when he sees uncle Paul. It is getting a bit embarrassing the way he leaps all over the furniture. Eventually he does calm down but he is like a coiled spring on arriving.

We came home for a bit and then decided to go over to Pets at Home so that I could have a go in my new mobility scooter. We needed to replace the toy that Dembe chewed up, as we had borrowed that from the dog Trainer on Tuesday. He needed a collar to tide him over whilst waiting for the new one to arrive and we had hoped to pick up some of his food. They didn’t have the food but he did end up with two new toys, Broccoli and Carrot.

After all that excitement he fell asleep in the car on the way home and has pretty much slept the rest of the afternoon.

Week commencing 12th August 2019

Monday 12th August

I can’t remember if I wrote about this last week or not but we are in the process of changing Dembe’s food over to Arden Grange, from the Breeders own Kibble. There is nothing wrong with the breeder Kibble it is just clear that Dembe just doesn’t get on with it. Since he was a tiny pup his poop has stunk and I don’t mean a little bit. If he had a poop in the garden you could smell it in the lounge. Obviously Jay and I aren’t new to dog owning, we know dog poo smells but even three Weimaraners had nothing on this. If he had a poop on a walk it would take 3 poo bags to subdue the smell but it still stank and he was also going 4 plus times a day.

Since we started to change over to the new food the smell of his poop has decreased 100 fold and the amount of wind he has been suffering from has also reduced. He would be able to clear a room before, as his wind stank even more than his poop. He really seems to enjoy the taste of Arden Grange. Currently we are keeping his food at half and half whilst we use up the last of his old kibble.

Dembe is being very sweet when Jay leaves for work at the start of the day or after he has had lunch. Once Jay shuts the front door Dembe scrambles onto the window ledge and watches him leave. Sometimes he will stay on the window sill for up to an hour just to see if Jay is coming back. Also about 30 minutes to an hour before Jay gets home from work he will get on the window ledge and keep watch.

Tuesday 13th August

As usual Jay was day off today so he got Dembe out nice and early up at the model airfield. He has started to delicately put his feet in puddles, he has always avoided them before. He doesn’t seek them out but will now get his feet wet.

Dembe has been full of beans all day. He spent a lot of the morning / early afternoon on the window sill watching the world go by. It seems to be his thing at the moment. God knows what the neighbours think when they see an almost fully grown Labrador squeezing himself onto the ledge.

In the afternoon we all went back to the airfield and took a different walk. We came across a dog walker with 6 dogs, all who played with Dembe. jay had to take his hat off and I had to take my sunglasses off as one of the dogs a lovely brown Springer Spaniel didn’t like people wearing hats and sunglasses. The walkers black Lab stole Dembe’s American football. This is always very popular with all the dogs we come across and every walk time is spent copaxing whomever has stolen it to give it back.

We also came across a fox red / blonde Labrador that was a year old and if you looked quickly you couldn’t tell the difference between Dembe and him. We asked if he was a Broadleaf dog but he came from Cullumpton and was a year old. They did look incredibly similar.

Dembe is still not cocking his leg as yet when he wee’s. He is definitely scenting on his walk doing lots of tiny wee’s, he tentatively lifts his back leg off the floor but it doesn’t go to a full cocking of the leg.

His poo is most certainly less smelly with the Arden Grange, only needed to be wrapped in one poo bag and I didn’t spent the rest of the walk gagging!

Wednesday 14th August

Jay took Dembe up to Woodbury Castle this morning where they bumped into the lady who has 5 Labradors all different colours. They have been bumping into each other since Dembe was tiny and all her boys love having a game of chase with him. About 20 minutes after they had left the house I got a message from Jay to say they were both soaking wet and could I get some towels ready for their return. The weather is really crappy today.

I gave Dembe a new Yak chew today. He now knows that “get cheese” means he needs to find his Yak cheese chew. He has known the “where’s your kong” means to go and find his kong toy. You can also ask him to “find Crocodile” and he will retrieve it from the toy box.

Another day another arse end of a dog hanging off the window sill.

I went up to bed at 18.30 as I was tired and in pain. Jay wouldn’t be home until gone 10pm. For the first time ever Dembe flatly refused to stay upstairs with me. He kept going downstairs and sleeping on the small sofa by the front door or in his bed. Normally he comes up to bed with me and stays there only getting up when Jay gets home. I kept getting up and checking that he was ok.

Dembe really struggles with understanding that Jay will be late home. He understands early shifts and 9-6. He has a bit of bother with 10-7 as he will quite often start to wait for Daddy to get home from 5pm. A late shift really does unsettle him.

He knows the sound of Jays car now and will only bark when Jays keys are in the door. He is a lot quieter than Frankie, Willow or Mollie were.

Thursday 15th August

Dembe woke up at 5.30am and had his breakfast but he wouldn’t settle back to sleep. He kept wandering between Jay who was downstairs and me up in bed. His campaign to get the pack together eventually worked as I got up at 6.45am giving up on the hope of having some uninterrupted sleep. Which is why I refer to him quite often as the blonde bastard. I really need my sleep as it is always so broken, so I get very grumpy when I get less than I need,

As my eyesight was so poor today a mixture of dry eyes and an unknown neuromuscular disorder I was really limited to what I could do. So much of the day was spent playing with Dembe or giving him lots of cuddles. In the afternoon we played tug of war, oh my days he nearly pulled me off the bench on quite a few occasions!

Of course after lunch when Daddy went back to work and before he got home Dembe was on the window sill.

As Jay didn’t get back until 7pm there was a bit of waiting around. He got taken out for a nice walk to tire him out.

Dembe has a thing for spicy food, if Jay and I have curry he sits and drools. All the dogs we have owned have been crazy about spices.

Friday 16th August

Oh my goodness Dembe is 9 months old today!

Taken the day he turned 9 weeks old
Taken the day before he turned 9 months old

We had another very cuddly day together. Mostly spent with me in disbelief that our tiny little pup has turned 9 months old. It seems to have whizzed by. In all those 9 months he has only spent 8 weeks away from us. I couldn’t imagine life without him now, he is just so bonded to both of us. I have never known such a happy dog, Jay only has to walk into the room and Dembe’s tail goes mental. He loves us both so much and we love him so much more.

I attempted to take a selfie of us having a cuddle to celebrate his 9 month birthday, this was the best shot I got!

I love these two shots of him on the window ledge again. Every day he is up on the ledge watching the world go by or waiting for his daddy.

Saturday 17th August

Today Uncle Paul came over, Dembe adores Paul so was going absolutely crazy. It was the worst behaved he has been. I know why, it was because Jay is on an early shift as he was yesterday, which means Dembe doesn’t get walked until the evening. He was like a coiled spring, trying to dive on top of Paul, whipping him with his tail. In the end I got a brand new Yak chew out and let him have it. After a carrot and a dentastix it was the only thing that calmed him down! Thankfully Paul adores him and when I explained why he was being a nutcase he was fine!

After all that excitement Dembe spent the afternoon asleep!

Can’t believe how grown up he looks in this photo

Sunday 18th August

New day, new window ledge shots. He is utterly addicted to sleeping / being on the window ledge. He either spends ages looking out or he sleeps facing into the room. We think it is because the window is south facing so he has the heat of the sun on him.

He has been on the window ledge about 4 times since we all got up at 7.30am.

We have had a bit of a play in the garden. He loves playing in the garden with the tugger that our friend Angie bought him.

This afternoon we went for a walk on Woodbury common. We went to a different area for a change, which was nice as there wasn’t a soul there. Dembe was in ball carrying mode rather than wanting it thrown and he was happy to trot along beside us. He has got so good with the mobility scooter.

We are now going to have a relaxing rest of the day and he will be having sardines with his dinner as he hasn’t had them yet this week.

Week commencing 22nd July 2019 Its HOT!

Monday 22nd July

Dembe let me sleep in until 7.20am this morning which after having me up early the last few mornings was absolute heaven.

It was incredibly hot and humid today even though we had very grey skies. Dembe slept a lot during the day due to the heat. He is however still enjoying his Yak chew it is just a shame it makes such a bloody mess everywhere.

As a treat Dembe had sardines for tea, whilst I was preparing his dinner – kibble and sardines he was spinning around in circles behind me. He has done this since he was a puppy and still get’s very excited at the thought of having his dinner. You only ever have to say to him ” do you want your dinner?” and quick as a flash he is in the kitchen, nudging the kibble storage bin with his nose, just in case you forgot where it was.

It was so hot this evening that we hosed Dembe off in the garden before going to bed. He loves the garden hose and was jumping in and out of the paddling pool having a fantastic time.

His cooling mat has been a godsend this summer helping him stay comfortable.

His latest thing is to fall asleep with his bum next to my head with his tail draped over my face. I keep being woken up with his tail tickling my nose.

We are still teaching Dembe how to pull the light switch in the bathroom, last week on three occasions he left me in the dark when he managed to turn the bathroom light off!

Of course the one time I am ready and waiting with the camera he decides it is far better to play with it than do what he is supposed to. Can’t win them all with an 8 month old puppy.

Tuesday 23rd July

I had an appointment with the nurse at 9am to have blood taken as I hadn’t had any blood tests for over a year at the surgery. We all went down the town but I went into the doctors surgery alone, as I found out that the air conditioning wasn’t working in some areas and it had been way too hot for Dembe the previous week. Quite frankly after that awful doctor last week it has knocked my confidence, even though he did nothing wrong.

Jay took Dembe for a wander around the town, it is a good socialisation exercise so he can get used to noise, people etc. Whilst walking they ran into our dog trainer, his family and their dogs. Jay was terrified Dembe would misbehave and show him up but he was as good as gold.

It was incredibly hot and stuffy today. Dembe slept a lot on the sofa next to me.

At 3pm the sky clouded over and a sea breeze picked up cooling it down rapidly. At 3.40pm we seized the opportunity to take Dembe out up the common, me accompanying them on my mobility scooter. We decided not to take the ball with us as we didn’t want Dembe to rn himself ragged and get overheated. This helped Dembe stay much cooler.

We decided to take a different path at the Model aircraft field, we have now gone on all but one of them now. We are loving exploring the common and being able to all go out together. Dembe is slowly starting to calm down when I come out with him and is reducing the amount of times he jumps on me.

I love this photo it looks like he is throwing his head back laughing x

Our friend Paul came over at 6pm, we hadn’t seen him since the party in June. Dembe was crazy even though he had only had a massive walk an hour or so ago. He loves Paul and has known him since he came home with us as a tiny pup. He has been to Pauls house a few times as well.

We have been blowing bubbles at Dembe, initially he was terrified of them but he has now got braver and chases them around the garden, trying to eat them! We showed Paul who thought that was hilarious.

Dembe was out for the count at 7.30pm. There was a massive thunderstorm over night, we all slept through it all until there was a massive clap of thunder overhead at 12.37am. It made me and Dembe jump but we both went back to sleep.

Wednesday 24th July

The blonde bastard had me up before 6.30am and I wasn’t impressed. He then woke Jay up an hour later so Jay got him out and up to Woodbury Castle by 8am. The weather forecasters say it is going to be hotter again today. Jay is on a late night so Dembe will skip his evening walk, just as well as it will be way too hot this evening.

Dembe and I spent a lot of time out in the garden today, playing with the hosepipe and his football.

Thursday 25th July

OMG it is too hot! Jay got Dembe out early due to the heat. It was already 20 degrees at 8am. We spent a lot of the morning playing in the garden.

By the afternoon it was way too hot for the both of us so we went to bed for a siesta. Dembe insisted on sleeping with his head on my shoulder, gently snoring into my ear!

He makes my heart melt, he is such an affectionate little pup.

Friday 26th July

Dembe’s new fountain for his paddling pool arrived today, this is #3 lets hope this one continues to work as he hates it when he doesn’t have a working fountain.

Again due to the heat Dembe slept all day.

This evening after Dembe’s walk we dropped by my parents caravan. He and Maggie had a wonderful time chasing each other around the site. Thankfully it was much cooler this evening so he wasn’t getting too hot. He loves going to see Maggie and cries on the drive down from the Common to the campsite. Maggie always comes running over to out car once we have parked up to greet us. Tonight I gave Maggie and Dembe a dentastix each. Maggie thought all her Christmases had come at once.

Saturday 27th July

It was a bit cooler today but I think a week of hot weather had taken its toll on Dembe, he has again slept most of the morning but that could be to do with the fact he got us up at 4am. I wasn’t impressed.

I’m pretty shattered too after he kept waking me up between 4am and 8am. I am never a happy bunny when I am woken up for no reason. It always really makes me cross when he wakes us both up and then goes to sleep the minute you are all downstairs.

Later in the day Dembe had a play in his paddling pool and with his new solar fountain.

When Jay got in from work he took Dembe out for a walk. Dembe has now twigged that if we go to the Warren for his walk it means that we will be going to see my parents and Maggie after. About 20 metres into the walk Dembe decided he had enough and wanted to go back to the car. Jay walked him for a little longer and then came back. Dembe cried in the car until we got to the campsite. He and Maggie have enormous fun and Maggie always likes the fact I have a bag full of treats. She is really into Dentastix and was growling at Dembe every time he went near her to stop him taking what she had left. He wasn’t interested in her dentastix all he wanted was his ball that was beside her!

Sunday 27th July

Dembe is in my good books this morning as he didn’t wake up until 4.30am for his breakfast – early I know but Jay has been working early shifts and he tends to feed the boy as soon as he gets up. He came straight back to bed after his breakfast and settled down. I woke up again and it was 6.45am which is a far more reasonable time to be getting up.

It was clear on rising that Dembe was full of beans this morning, so we got him out for a walk before 8am. The temperature was a pleasant 14 degrees C and there was a bit of bite in the sun already.

We met several other dog walkers, all were marvelling at the fact I had a mobility scooter on the common! When the ground is hard and dry it is very easy if not a bit bumpy. The hardest thing usually is the passing place to get past the green bar. Twice this morning I managed to get stuck on a huge pebble due to the axel on the scooter being so low.

Dembe had a wild time playing with lots of different dogs. One a very pale golden retriever played at a frenetic pace for a good five minutes or more. By the time they had finished Dembe’s tongue was hanging out to the side!

We have had a lazy day due to the heat. Dembe has been playing in his paddling pool and with his solar fountain. His new big boys dog bed arrived early this afternoon. It is huge but it will accommodate him lying on his side , stretched out like a skinned rabbit. His bed that we bought him when he was a baby ( a smaller baby than he is now) is just way too small for him. He fills the whole thing when he curls up to sleep in it. When he stretches out to lie sideways the majority of his body is on the carpet. He seemed to like it as he has already dropped a few toys in there. We have added a fleece blanket to it to make it feel more comfy.

Dembe and I have been playing ball in the garden, he really does love chasing after a ball. It must be the working lines Labrador. He also loves to carry the ball around in his mouth and squeak it constantly.

He was treated to a tin of sardines with his kibble this evening, so he was going crazy before I put his bowl down, spinning around in circles.