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SWIMMING PUPPY SYNDROME
This info is to the best of my knowledge, based on my own experience with Zip, vet reports and web research. This is not a medical or professional advice, and results may vary. I can only hope it helps :-)

Zip was born with what is called the "Swimming Puppy Syndrome" ; the pups stay flat on their stomach to nurse, hence creating pressure on all the organs, and keeping their back legs straight behind them (like a frog - hence "swimming puppy syndrome", aka flat chested pups).

Most of these pups die within the first few weeks (the pressure on their organs is too strong, or milk get pushed into their lungs), but those who survive take a long time to learn how to walk, and that's often the main sign of the syndrome.

The cause of this illness is uncertain, but it affects every breed, particularly short legged dogs.

If you ever have a litter like that, the solution theory that makes the most sense to me is Coreen's ; you should take each pup one by one, and put him alone with the mother for a moment. Find a good nipple full of milk, and when he is nursing, gently coax him to turn and lay on his side. Repeat until he does it by himself, while nursing and sleeping, and you should have an healthy pup ; if his not staying on his chest anymore, he should develop normally, using his legs to rotate himself, and the whole regular behavior and development should follow.

Anyway, we caught the illness of Zip when he was 8 weeks ; he had survived the first weeks, his front legs where fine, but was dragging his back legs and his chest was flat. The breeder thought he was just fat and lazy (he is a BIG dachshund, this symptome seems to appear in small litters when the mother has lots of milk), but I was very worried and after doing some research, became certain he was a swimmer (which was later confirmed by 2 vets).

Following our recommendation, the breeder changed the surface on which he was "sliding" (it was very easy for him to drag his back legs over hard wood floors and linoleum, so why even bother trying to walk ?), took him on the grass and put all over her house rough rubber walkways where it was less comfortable for him to drag his legs and that provide good traction. She encouraged him to walk, hold him a lot, and played with him, and little by little, he started to walk.

When we picked him up at 12 weeks, he was walking. His back legs where weak, and he was still dragging them, and letting them fall on the side from time to time, but he was OK. Our first move was to take him to 2 different vets who both said there was no internal nor bone or back damage. We gave him high calcium nutrition, vitamine E, and had him walk a lot on grass and outside to build up those muscles and joints.

Now, at 11 months, he is just fine. Walking, jumping, running, going up and down the stairs. His chest has rounded up, he is developing a beautiful front, and although the joints of his back legs remain weak, the vet doesn't forsee any special trouble.

Since what causes the desease is uncertain, we've chosen to fix Zip, so we wouldn't take the chance to pass the gene (if any) along.

Please, help me pass the word around on this illness which is very little known, and causes a lot of unnecessary death in pups every year. All breeds are succeptible to have it. If you'd like more info, hereunder are the most informative sites I've found. Please let me know if you know anything relevant to the subject. Pixel@learnfrenchinboston.com

http://www.cockerspanielinformation.com/puppies/swimmer_puppy/

http://www.cockerspanielinformation.com/puppies/swimmer_puppy/ella/index.html
http://www.allpets.co.za/sabulldogclub/articles_swimming puppy.htm
http://www.gsdhelpline.com/swimpup.htm

http://www.dogsites.com.au/internet_library/swimmer_puppies.html
http://www.debbiejensen.com/whelp_supplies.html
http://siriusdog.com/articles/swimmers-puppy-chondrodystrophic.htm

Woof,
Pixel.

Your comments.

On 9/30/03, Maria Pacymska wrote:

I'm a breeder of golden retrievers.

In the beggining of September, my lovely bitch Viva bore three puppies. One of them was born dead.
During the first week, the two puppies were growing up very well and they doubled their weight. Back then, I didn't notice that they were lying on the chest only and didn't turn on their sides...
In the second week I noticed that the little male had a poor breath and both of them had a flat chest and forelegs in lateral manner and sometimes spastic. I asked vets, but nobody knew, what was happening.

At last I met one breeder of sprnger spaniels, who told me that my puppies proved to be classic swimmers. I started to rehabilitate them at once: I massaged their legs and spine a few times per day, I lined a floor in the nursing box with "eggs boxes", I turned them on their sides, etc.

Unfortunately, the male puppy died in his second week. I was hoping that I would save the remaining one ; a little bitch who was very active and even began walking around the box and outside on the carpet. Her hind legs were like bear legs, but I thought that it chould change. But I wasn't able to save her either. She was three weeks old when she died...

It's certain, my pups died due to respiratory failure and, maybe, circulation failure. My vet made the autopsy and he found some liquid in the lungs and a heart a little too big. He said that it wasn't pneumonia, but I don't know what to think. My bitch, Viva, is eight years old and it was her fourth litter. Her first and third litters were fine, but the second one was poor ; she bore five puppies and, I know it today, two of them were swimmers and died.That would go in the direction that the cause of disease is genetic. The age of the mother, the size of the puppies, too much milk, may be other factors...

I think, it is necessity to check puppies every day from the day of birth, particularly when there are few puppies in a litter, and to not allowed them to lie on the chest only.

I would like to thank all breeders who shared their own knowledge about this syndrome. It helped me to understand many things connected with the disease. I hope, I'll be able to save my possible affected puppies, nevertheless I wish myself and other breeders only healthy ones.

Greetings for you and Zip.

Maria