this is interesting
PAST THEORY:
Genetics: that the puppy inherited the problem from the parents and that if you had a bitch that produced a swimmer puppy, she should be removed from your breeding program.
Nutrition: that the bitch was fed inadequately or that she did not utilize the necessary components to give the puppy needed skeletal components, (i.e.) vitamins, proteins, fats, or minerals.
Environmental: too flat a surface, too hard a surface, too slick a surface, bacteria, viruses.
If none of the above fit the criteria, you were accused of poor management. All of the above conditions of swimmer puppies are expanded by the "so called" experts such as vet, professionals, expert breeders, and all those other people who know more now than all the rest of us have the ability to learn.
CAUSE:
The earliest way of determining if a pup has a problem is to pick up everyone of them so you know what is normal and what is not, after you have identified a couple it will become very simple.
What you will notice about these pups is that they are always lying flat on their belly. If you lay them on their side they will immediately return to lying on their belly. This is what is known as the righting reflex. You can observe this by disturbing a sleeping litter of very young puppies and watching all of them 'right' themselves. They immediately crawl upright to their stomachs and begin to look for a nipple. Many of us have seen this very thing and remarked how cute it was, not understanding what really made them seem to explode into action. The righting reflex is the FIRST RESPONSE TO NURSING AND THE CAUSE OF SWIMMER PUPPIES.
Occasionally one puppy doesn't want to return to a normal relaxed state on its side and insists or remains upright causing the flattening of the chest which, if left undisturbed, leads to swimmer syndrome and probable death.
CURE:
The cure for this must be taken as soon as possible and is really quite simple. Check all the pups right after birth and every hour or so for the next couple of days. If you notice a pup that is always on its belly or beginning to show signs of a flat chest what you do is lay mom down and put this pup on a good nipple, full of milk, that is next to the floor of the nest box. It probably wont stay on the nipple at first in anything but an upright position. After it's on, hanging on for dear life, take the pup and turn it on its side, holding its entire body and head down. At first is will resist, but be firm. Make it lie on its side until it is full, making sure it stays on its side. If the pup lets loose of the nipple anytime during this process, start over. Do this several times a day until the pup returns to normal and lays on its side, when that happens you have just cured swimmer puppy syndrome. Sometimes this only needs to be done once or twice. But be vigilant until you are sure.
With this course of action you should have 100% success but remember YOU have to be very observant and very consistent.
__________________ Kimberly |