The American Beagler Forum

Has anyone ever had a swimmer puppy litter? My gyp had one pup and she is a swimmer pup. Just curious as to what methods of treatment people have tried and how effective they were. And how the dogs turned out. I am doing water therapy and the sock vest stuffed with cotton balls to raise her up. From what I have read, she should start to walk by 8 weeks. She is 4 weeks now, and just "swims" across the floor.

Go ahead and wean the pup ASAP! A single pup gets WAY too much milk and worsens the swimmer situation. Once weaned and on a good quality puppy chow, the pup should soon "grow out of it". I do not really think the leg hobbling or other treatments help very much. The main thing is improve the leg strength to weight ratio. Once the pup is up walking the flat chest and will improve almost immediately. The other thing I would recommend is putting indoor/outdoor carpet (or some other material that the pups claws will grip) so that the pup can begin standing ASAP! I have never seen a swimmer that had any lasting physical effects from being one.

put the carpet down , got a buddy had one and she started walking fine 2 weeks after he put her on the dirt / carpet. Turned out to be the best pup out of the litter.

Thanks guys. The more I read, the more optimistic I become. I put carpet in the box last night. I haven't been able to get her to eat softened food yet, but I have been keeping her away from the gyp during the day anyway. The gyp is wanting her weaned too. She won't have much to do with her anymore so I have to get her eating. Thanks for the tips!

This pup is a year and a half old now and you would never know anything was ever wrong with her. She hasn't been ran consistently, but she has a ton of hunt. Now that deer seasons are over, we will see what she can do. She is going out today.