The same seems also to exist in cats!!!


Disease Names:

Swimming Pup Syndrome
Organ System Involved Musculoskeletal
Alternative Names:
Flat puppy syndrome
Swimmer puppies
Swimming puppy syndrome

Brief Description:
A condition in which the legs are spread out to the sides and do not support the body, with subsequent compression of the chest area. Presenting Signs Puppies affected by this syndrome appear weak and are unable to stand or move about. These puppies can only move by pushing themselves along on the chest. They still feed well and continue to grow despite being unable to move easily. Failure of the legs to support the body results in the compression of the chest and abdominal area. Severe compression leads to difficult breathing and lethargy. When the puppies are on hard, smooth surfaces with little or no traction to help in movement, they make swimming motions with the legs. This is what characterises the syndrome as 'swimming pup'.

Mostly it is the time between 10 and 14 days of age, when the puppies are coming up onto their legs.
And suddenly you are noticing one, who is not able to stand up, like all the others can do in comparison.
A really immediate reaction can safe his/her life!

Experiences from pig breeding help. Breeders of pigs know this syndrome very well. - But lots of veterinarians seem not to know anything about and try to help by massage and taping the legs together etc., surely there had been some rare successes.

But - a long lasting process, not easy to handle for the breeder and the puppy!!!

The information is, that it may be a metabolic problem. Are you feeding unsaturated fatty acid? Please never feed unsaturated fatty acid to the mother!

I´ll try to declare amateurish: out of chemical point of view unsaturated fatty acid have free arms. Especially vitamin E likes to dock onto such "free arms", which is essential for builing up muscles. With that metabolic problem vitamin E leaves the body unprofitably with the urine. The puppy is not able to build up muscles to stand up at the right time!

It is necessary to give a daily injection of vitamin E plus Selenium. The puppy will come up within 2 to 4 days and develops as normal as the others! For Newfoundlands the weight differences should not be very big at that time, as an injection of 10 milligram per day should be correct!

Please give comments! What have you experienced?! Did this advice work with your swimmer puppy?

Unfortunately until now I never saw a picture and froget to do it from mine...