o'cockaigne

The older Deerhound: based on our old Amy.              

Amy is now twelve and a half years old and for her age she is still pretty fit. Big walks with the other hounds of course is no longer and therefore I walk apart with her. It is of course very important that she moves regularly so we oblige her to walk twice a day. Usually this is about 20 minutes, sometimes longer. In addition, they rummages some more about our terrain. Sometimes she indicates that she wants to walk “a lot” and sometimes she is tired, then she returns immediately after she has done her need and goes home. While walking she doesn’t put her feet down well, she stands on the top of her cloves instead of on her pillows. That’s why I try to make her run as much as possible by sand or leaf and especially quiet, but if she has the Kaif in D’r head and wants faster than she can, it’s occasionally wrong. In advance her hand and foot massage helps somewhat.                                                                                                                                                        

In terms of fur care, there is also more time. The older Amy becomes the more hair she creates and the longer it gets. At least once a week she has to be combed very well to remove her woolly undercoat and long dead hair. I comb her while she is lying, because so long standing still is very much in demand. One day one side, the next day the other. There will always be a big bale of hair from each side. Long hairs on awkward places I cut short, as under her tail. I also check her vetbultjes and can detect any undesirable cases.

Since last year she has occasionally suffered from clogged tear ducts, sometimes very sometimes almost not. When she suffers, I clean her eyes at least four times a day. Fortunately there are no red tear streaks, which I find so ugly, but props that make you look so uitwipt with a piece of paper towel. And occasionally a wet patch over her yuling gives her a fresh face again. Her ears I actually have never had to clean, which are not dirty. Her teeth have hardly any attention, but in the meantime it has become somewhat yellow but Tartar does not have it thanks to the fresh meat food. That older dogs on a senior diet should be crap, as long as the organs still function properly they can just eat the same thing as before and that also gets Amy still. About a year and a half ago I found that she was somewhat hijgerig and tired so I took them to a heart specialist. This noticed that the left flap did not completely shut down, but there were absolutely no drugs needed, so it was very low. I didn’t agree with this because Amy didn’t feel good about it. In consultation with my own veterinarian I started to give Vetmedin twice a day and after a few days there was a clear improvement. When it was a little hotter she got the weather more narrow and again in consultation with my vet she got one Fortekortje. Then the weather went totally super! The Fortekortje ensures that the heart rate does not become too high, but if necessary it will increase the heart rate. And believe me, with Grandma Amy that is really still needed! With Vetmedin I have had a very good and long experience with Cinéad and Prudence, both of whom have benefited very much. It supports the functioning of the heart muscle in such a way that it loses little in strength and hardly increases.

To be sure that Amy will get what she needs, I’ll go to her every now and then to the holistic practice for animals “Den Hoek” in de Bilt. Here they can measure exactly what is in the apron and what they need. So far I am very satisfied with this natural healing method and Amy is also more or less a testament to this. Thus they observed the osteoarthritis. In many cloves, both wrists, the right heel and now stuck at even more places, Amy, like many other older hounds, has osteoarthritis. To alleviate this she gets 4 tablets Cosequin a day, this stuff is really fantastic! Also the other ex-athletes get it and run fine. I also lubricate Amy’s knees, heels, wrists and all the cloves with Omni Gel every evening. If it is forgotten a few times, we notice that it is similar to its meaning to walk. To keep her muscles on strength she gets muscle Support, a powder that goes through her food in the evening. Also L-carnitine is good for her muscles. Lately, Amy drinks a little more and has to do a little more. I thought of course similar to her kidneys and that maybe she should have a certain diet. But recently one of the veterinarians of “Den Hoek”, through a photograph of Amy, has found that she has a mild form of bladder infection and too low a kidney energy. Here are her holistic droplets now adjusted and after several days it went a lot better.   When Amy was suddenly a bit around in the middle of the terrain to bark a little year ago, I knew it was time to give something against dementia. Via “Den Hoek”, I got Cholodin. First one tablet a day and indeed, after a short time Amy was clear again. Now she gets 2 tablets a day and she still makes it excellent. She can very well indicate if she wants something. Getting up to drink she finds crap, she just beeps and knows that I arrive with the drinking trough. Sometimes she is not nice, a hind leg that is too much under her can also produce a beep concert. Occasionally she does not have the power to push it down, I can do much better. Just after the death of Craffitsh, she had trouble getting up. I had to help her then by grabbing her behind her head and pulling up slowly. Stood them once then it went fine again, a bit the back hand muscles massaging and walking though. Fortunately, the weather is a lot better. I think it was a reaction to Craffitsh’s passing anyway. In the meantime we have put a lot of rugs and mats in the house so that she can not slide out because she gets a bit more unstable on her feet. Fortunately our house is ground floor, because of this I can always hear if Amy wants something, although it is in the middle of the night. I really sleep and the smallest beep will let me jump out of bed, because even at night she needs to go out.                                                     All in all, an older hound is a whole concern but it is worth it!