2012
How it goes with Calhoun.
30 December 2012 | 
Author 
Sunday, December 23rd, Calhoun’s scrotum starts to swell, and really very much! This is of course very painful and with a cold cloth I try to cool it. It does help something but it didn’t decrease a lot. Monday I go back for control, Rens gives a spray for it but this only makes things worse! Partly because he lays constantly on his good side, his skin soon starts to blemishes. First Christmas Day my sisters are coming to eat and I quickly call Astrid if she does have some baby powder or talcum powder. She got it and will bring it with her. Also I have some small strips of Terry and in combination with the powder I get Calhoun’s skin dry again. But it remains to be careful because the skin is well broken. I’m busy with it day and night because the last few nights he’s quite restless. Over time there are formed large crusts and on Friday morning it all looks much better, not so swollen and red.
I had been given antibiotics for 5 days, so on Wednesday evening he got his last tablet. Thursday the wound looks still beautiful, not thick, not red. But in the course of the Friday afternoon, red spots began to form and the operation wound looked a bit swollen. All this time Calhoun has had no increased temperature, 37.8 was the highest! But now it was 38.8 and I made myself great worries. Of course I immediately got new antibiotics, but that night Calhoun was very restless and his temperature had risen to 39 degrees. For a Deerhound really not good. It also seemed as if he was afraid in the dark and he slept again with us on bed. On Saturday we went to the vet again and he gave Calhoun an analgesic injection and said that I could increase the Tramadol (painkiller) something. Once home, Calhoun calmed down over time. Very calm, he seemed drugged! He didn’t feel like eating that night, despite the can of tuna I had stirred through it. Fortunately he ate the most, with the medicines. I was hopeful that Calhoun would sleep well, but after an hour and a half I heard him get up and jump off his bed, he insisted on sleeping with us. By the morning he started squeaking, he didn’t need to urinate. He continued to beep, even after he had been out and had eaten with long teeth. I was at the end of the board and sent an email to Cecilia van der Drift, the animal interpreter who helped me so well with Amy. Although it is Sunday, I received a mail a few hours later that she had some time for us tonight. In the meantime, Calhoun was happily quieter and sleeping.
At the end of the afternoon, Cecilia called and after half an hour I was not only reassured and a lot wiser but also Calhoun made a much quieter impression. The fear of Calhoun arises from the fact that he does not know what is going on with his body, everything feels different than normal. He has muscle pain (I thought so) due to the other load of his muscles and joints. He doesn’t have much pain but it feels irritated. However, he is relieved to get rid of his sore leg and he also understands why that happened. Cecilia also told him that when the chemo cure starts he gets all sorts of other feelings, but that eventually all comes well… and we’ll just stop there.
It is now half past nine in the evening, Calhoun is quiet, he has eaten well and is sleeping well, how long, we will notice that.
Will you keep your fingers crossed for us ??
It's going well with Calhoun.
Last night, by half past seven, we were able to pick up Calhoun. Operation succeeded, Hound still alive. Happy!! I always have the nerves anyway and certainly after Cwillyaigne! After discussing some of them, we heard Calhoun shouting, he had heard me and thought it was time to go home. When I came back, he got out of himself and got full confidence from his kennel. Rens had already said that he was looking at how Calhoun reacted in terms of standing up and moving but he was completely perplexed when Calhoun walked in the corridor and then with minimal help in the car jumped. That looked very promising! Once at home he did not want to urinate at first but right in and on his bed. He laid himself very smoothly and easily, without help. Of course I made a delicious meal for him, with lots of tuna through it, and he ate it all wonderfully. After one and a half hours he needed to do a pee. He thought I was nice to be outside and to "walk", he wanted to necessarily the fence and only 200 meters away he did a gigantic puddle. Immediately he turned around and "walked" back home at very high speed. At home he found that he was allowed on our bed (that's all sick hounds) and coaxed himself. I greased the sutures with Calendula ointment so that they would not irritate and soon Calhoun fell asleep. After a while he became somewhat restless and had to urinate again. That went fine again. The night is reasonably quiet. At one point he found the waterbed a little too hot and had a few hours in the kitchen sleeping on his bed. By five o'clock this morning he wanted to stay with me again and he was sleeping well until we were awakened by a squeaky Brandir who also wanted to have some attention. Calhoun has eaten well again this morning and has moved several times during the day. He's getting more and m
ore handy on three legs, I'm really looking forward to seeing how quickly he has what he can and can't but actually he can do everything! However, I have laid a cold, wet rag over his wound several times, it is of course a gigantic bruising and cooling does wonders. To prevent him from licking too much, I throw a large, very thin towel over him or get a cut, airy, very stretchy trouser. Rens did not get the results of the biopsies last night, so it is a osteosarcoma. Hopefully it hasn't spread yet and heals the wound quickly so that we can start with the chemo cure. Do you thumb a bit for us?
Calhoun
This morning I brought Calhoun to the vet. At the moment his left rear leg is amputated. On Monday evening, November 26th, I see, while Calhoun walks me off, that it is slightly thickened above his left heel. It is only at least undeniable. The moment I get over it with my hand, my heart beats a few strokes. I know enough. The next day I sit at the vet and it makes equal pictures and takes biopsies of the lymph node. It is clearly visible on the pictures. The next day we get the rash, not cancerous cells in the lymph node. That is all but the next day there
are biopsies of the tumour under anesthesia. Result: nothing found. Calhoun has quite quickly really suffered from his paw. When he has raced, he stands on three legs. Larger biopsiess have to be taken so on Monday 3 December but again under anesthesia and with a thick needle tissue out. The results we get a little later does not matter much, but it indicates the direction of osteosarcoma. The biopsies must be descaled and that will take a while. This just turns out to be weeks. After two weeks of waiting the tumour has grown and Calhoun really hurts a lot. Unlike with Craffitsh, who had only last hurt. 
On Wednesday 19 December I was sitting, that waiting is really horrible and I am like the death that the cancer has spread in the meantime. I call Rens and talk what to do. We make a principle appointment for amputation for today. (I write it easier on it than it was!) I talked to the pathologist yesterday, but it also says that the final result is very likely to be osteosarcoma. Partly because of the enormous pain that Calhoun is experiencing and hoping that it has not been sown yet I remain with my decision, hopefully Calhoun can then be with us for a while without pain. 
In these pictures you can see how very quickly such a tumour can grow. In 18 days time from barely visible to such an egg. I'm now waiting for a call from Rens. Luckily I have Rescue Spray that keeps me a little calm. That this Calhoun has to come over I find so awfully bad! He is now just at its most beautiful, grown out to a fantastically beautiful, stable hound with such an incredibly fine character. He is super sensitive, which is quite tricky but on the other side so appropriate to him. He is extreme in everything. And as far as I am concerned he is the most successful Deerhound ever because what other hound has ever performed to win the combination of European coursing champion (+ many other coursing titles), 2 x the Jahresausstellung in succession and world champion (+ Many other beauty titles), Glean!!?? It will hurt an awful lot to see him on three legs rondhupsen but better than that I have to say goodbye to him now. I don't have to think about it!! I am also absolutely convinced that it will succeed to be happy yet again, he is a true life-loveer. And his sister, Cheytah, who has yet to wait for him!
We said goodbye to our Amy.
5-7-1999
Edle Emmy vom Welzerberg
7-12-2012
After long deliberation and roads, mulling and pondering I decided to give Amy her rest. On the one hand she was still very good but regularly she showed that she was actually on. She suffered from her back and this made it problematic to help her. Her legs also started to move more and more uncoordinated, making them very unstable at times. Once she walked a little hundred meters, it was going again. The last two days she wanted to walk with us in the morning and that actually went well. Of course I applied the distance (about 800/900 meters) but a small half hour we were soon on the road. Her only let me dare no more. It had happened a few times when I came home or came under the Douce, that she was somewhere in a corner on the ground and could no longer get up. Big fear eyes and a very high heart rate ensured that I immediately took the Rescue Spray and gave both her and myself a shot. It was then hard to get her up and it always hurt her. Most old hounds become very skinny and weigh almost nothing more but Grandma Amy not, who had not fallen off yet and weighed still 39 pounds. Even in terms of 
muscularity it did not stop. But all in all, we also walked quite a bit. She did not always give it good if she had to urinate or defecate and therefore always lay on a pad and towel but recently the towel was rarely wet. She always cared better when she had to go outside. And once outside she found it nice and could really want to walk a bit. Sometimes she stayed still for a long time to look just a little bit around, here I always got the pip because certainly in the middle of the night in your pyjamas is not such a fun! In fact, she had to go out every night. A few weeks ago we made her a collar with a light, so we could follow her a little in the woods, but when she became more unstable I always went for the certainty. On the belt she felt more confident and then put it on a "walk". This became less the last days (except at night!) and also her appetite took off. One day she wanted to old chicks the other day chickens necks and sometimes just her mash. But with some grated cheese on it or a can of tuna through it we got the necessary pills and supplements well. As supplements that have done her really well she got Cholodin (against dementia), Cosequin (relief for osteoarthritis), L-carnitine (good for heart and muscle) and vitamin B (good for lots of things). Her hearing also suddenly hardhollend backwards in the last weeks. This also made her uncertain as she occasionally was terrified when you suddenly "came around the corner". 
The last weeks became Amy softer. They grunted no longer so often against Brandir and the other as they came too close. But occasionally she suddenly popped out of her slipper to make it clear that she was still the boss. Brandir always stayed extremely sweet and submissive but tried to become her boyfriend. And that succeeded! At one point when I was hugging Amy, Brandir soon crawled behind Amy on her bed and slowly dropped. Amy did not look at or tolerate, even that he came to lie against her. Also, Brandir was allowed to brush her ears and yuling a bit. Unique!!! On December 1st we took the Christmas pictures. We both wanted Amy to get up, even though we knew she didn't have to live 
for so long. I have been in contact with Cecilia van der Drift twice, she is an animal interpreter and explains telepathically contact by means of a photograph. The first time she told me that Amy wasn't ready yet, Amy had a few times suffered from fever and high heart rate and I thought it was her end. Amy indeed decided otherwise and snapped all the way up. Only the pain in her back stayed and became even worse. At last she could barely lie down on her and then to get back to the end was a crime. Also, despite the Furosemide, it was occasionally cramped. The second time I called Cecilia more or less panic because I didn't see it anymore, Amy thought it was still a day too early to die, but she wanted to get used to the idea first. OK, tomorrow. Thursday I called to the clinic but Rens, our vet, couldn't get there until he had 7 hours of service and then had to stay on call. Then just Friday. I told Amy how the fork was in the stalk and that she still had to stay with us for a day. Friday morning she wanted to walk again, but after dinner, what was reluctant, I saw that she was going to take a distance. Since it had snowed and it looked perfect for the Christmas picture I wanted to make new pictures with Amy. Now it could still! Amy actually had no meaning at all and stribbelde what to do.. Very occasionally I may also be selfish and insisted that she was in the picture. And it succeeded! This Christmas photo will be made public soon. 
Last night, Rens came. Amy is quietly asleep in her own dignified way. It hurts, a lot of pain to say goodbye to such a large part of your life, but it is acceptable. She has had a good, long, rich life and has made many friends that they all fix, like her children and grandchild, will or has already come across on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.
See you my favourite Amy!
Big fun for Brandir and Bernice.
Last week Sonja was here with Bernice. As soon as Sonja came to the terrain with her camper Calhoun had watched it and started screaming. I was still just in time to close the door so that Sonja could ride the terrain in a normal way and park the camper. Here at home it was a uproar of your Welsh, all insisted to welcome Sonja. When Sonja opened the camper door and left Bernice out, it ran straight to us and after opening the lower door, it was a big fun for Bernice and Brandir. We have not seen these two for the first hour.
Because I don't want to leave Grandma Amy alone for too long if I'm not at home, we've only been able to take a big walk on Friday afternoon. Simon was back home (after a trip to England and Spain for his work) so we could get out of the door with peace of mind. , all 8 hounds in the car and direction disk. It was wonderful weather and the hounds enjoyed it clearly. Only Calhoun was baled because he had to stay on the leash because of an injury to a toe. It was very relaxed walking because the Huntsman was on the leash, the two youngest (6 months) were working with each other and the others are so old that they do not hunt when they see nothing.
After such a walk it is of course good rest…….
… although not for long!
Granny Amy
Granny Amy
Meanwhile, Amy is 13 years and 4 months. She has come through the summer quite well despite the enormous heat we had every now and then. Fans and wet keeping with the plant spray do wonders. In terms of nutrition I changed it a bit. Her nierenergie was in spite of her holistic droplets somewhat on the low side and not to load the kidneys too much, I now pour boiling water over the flesh. In fact, she doesn’t like this as well, but with some tuna or cheese it goes back to it as a cake. Standing up is very difficult to do. We usually have to help her here. The distances they are running are also getting shorter but occasionally they feel like it and walk just a short kilometer. She also lately leaves her urine running. She usually beeps when she needs to but when she really sleeps, and she can do it very deeply, she doesn’t notice it and she has a wet bed. Now we lay a placemat and a towel underneath her bips. Only a coaster made sure that her bed was not wet, but the urine pulled too much into her rich coat which, of course, had to be cleaned again. An extra towel underneath ensures that her fur remains “dry”.
Last week she was suddenly very sick. 40 degrees of fever and a heart rate of almost 200. I really thought it was her last days but in consultation with the vet we put her on the Synulox (antibiotics) and after two days the Fever was gone and the heart rate returned to normal. She was going to eat again and after a few days she suddenly stood behind me while cleaning the chicken coop. Now every day she is at least 1x out of herself on what doesn’t really make me happy. The risk of slipping or making a mistake and then not being able to get on the end is of course quite large. If I am not at home… I get the 
pipzenuwen of it. But yes, I can tie her her bed! She loves to rummage around in our grove and can sometimes really be “gone”. Now I discovered where she stands, behind in a corner of the forest together with Brandir looking at whether there is not a cat or hare at the neighbors. Today she has been standing up five times and has walked together for at least one and a half kilometres. She also puts her feet down less often, it looks like she’s getting younger and more active! But we remain realistic and live day by day.
Posted in 2012, Deerhound in general, O'Cockaigne Estate | 
Tags: Edle Emmy vom Welzerberg | 
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Cody is back home.
Cody is back home.
On the way back from Hungary, 12 June, we got an emergency call that Cody had to be picked up urgently. Angelique, the owner could no longer take care of him due to circumstances. As soon as we got home, I picked up Commander Cody, as he was officially called. Cody is a brother of Coney and Caintha, and is also already 9 years old! When I picked him up he was shaved two weeks before and looked like this picture. He seems like a great puppy and behaves, despite his slight heart problems, too. It was, of course, getting used to him but after a few days he started to play.
The funny thing was that he searched old toys! With this multicoloured donkey he played a lot as a puppy, 9 years ago. He also wanted to play with Calhoun but he didn't dare to play with your old uncle?!
By now we are a few months further and Cody feels completely at home. He has demanded the guest room and there is a prince Gelmatras that I have ever gotten from Angelique. It should be so! His fur has grown con
siderably again and he is going to look more like Cavanaugh, a real woolly. He is only much lighter in color and finer in construction.
Meanwhile, we decided that Cody will stay here. He is doing well and has a lot to his liking. He enjoys the forest walks and, like his sister Coney, loves to walk through the largest dredging puddles. The more dirty, the more delicious!
I hope we can enjoy this delicious Doug for a long time.
Posted in 2012, Deerhound in general, O'Cockaigne Estate | Tags: Commander Cody O'Cockaigne | Comments Closed
New "Scottish Deerhound Primer" by Barbara Heidenreich.
The new "Scottish Deerhound Primer".
Since today, the new "Scottish Deerhoun Primer" by Barbara Heidenreich, Fernhill Deerhounds from Canada, is downloadable. Barbara wrote her first primer in 1970 to make her puppy buyers Deerhoundland. In the meantime it has been adapted and re-released several times and now it has been adapted to the digital age so that everyone can download it, print it and read it above all.
I really recommend it to everyone. There are an awful lot of important Deerhound-specific issues mentioned, all written by people who have a real sense of Deerhounds. For example, there is a recipe for the Magic Meetballs, a delicacy for Deerhounds who really do not want to eat or quickly use after e.g. An operation. Also the values of the heart are in it, so that if you have your Deerhound examined by your veterinarian you can show these values so that no misunderstandings arise about the dimensions of the heart as they are rather different from a normal canine heart. And so it is full of interesting facts. A real must! Go to http://www.fernhill.com/about-deerhounds/your-scottish-deerhound-primer/and enjoy and learn.
Barbara Thanks!!!
And then the clock stood still.
After a long deliberation and roads I decided to contact Luc Janssens again and ask him if he wanted to operate Cwillyaigne once more. She obviously suffered from her jaw. She often shook her head and while walking she often put her yuling in my hand, she could not chew a pensstaafjes or nibble on a cow's hoof. She wanted to play with Calhoun again and when Brandir was there she found that great! But playing did not, it hurt. Slowly I saw her go back mentally, she became less cheerful and enjoying a walk was no longer there. Very occasionally I let them loose in the woods, at the beginning of this year she also hunted but the last few months trudged them pathetically behind me. No, the fun was nice from there. That's why I came to my difficult decision, I knew the risks but had the utmost confidence in the Anubis team.
First a CT scan was made to see if there were any strange changes to the jaws and whether it was possible anyway.
Oops
A very young naughty Prudence thinks you can lie down on her sheepskin. 
"But what is there anyway"?
"Oh, there Comes".
"Ah, it's Gizmo though".
The older Deerhound: based on our old Amy.
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!
Granny Amy and the hare.
The colder it gets the more delicious Grandma Amy finds it. The last days she even goes back for a whole round! The day before yesterday she walked about 6 kilometers and she was almost 2 hours outside. She loves that, that cold. This morning after her walk she met the newest toy of Calhoun on our site, a hare! Well that had to fly here of course! I was again terrified because of the weird antics she got, but could still quickly grab the camera for a few "unique" pictures. For, say, what Deerhound of twelve years, six months and twenty-eight days is still playing? 
Posted in 2012, Deerhound in general, O'Cockaigne Estate | Tags: Edle Emmy vom Welzerberg | Comments Closed
Nice old video
This old movie was mentioned on the American Deerhound-list. Interesting to see how the Deerhound looked, among other things, less fur/garnish, longer legs and not of that pointed snoetjes. Enjoy it! Http://www.britishpathe.com/video/deer-hounds
Grandma Amy Twelve and a half years!!!
Hurray!!! Today Grandma Amy, Edle Emmy vom Welzerberg, has become twelve and a half years! She is still in very good health and mentally there is also nothing wrong with her. She knows exactly what she wants and as it has always gone with her; Her will is law. As soon as Simon wakes up, Amy also stands up to take his place in bed. She loves that and it always takes me at least 10 minutes to get her back from bed. The slice of cheese, which she gets at our breakfast in the morning, you don't have to forget! And I'm late with making their supper, Amy lets see it though! 
We hope to be able to enjoy her for a long time!
Posted in 2012, Deerhound in general, O'Cockaigne Estate | Tags: Edle Emmy vom Welzerberg | Comments Closed