The American Beagler Forum

I have a litter of seven 3 week old pups ... they all seem to be developing faster than my other litters and have been toddling/walking for at least 10 days now. Most of them have gotten the hang of it, though they're all still very wobbly and uncoordinated, lol
There's one pup though, who is not using her back legs the same way the other pups are ... hers seem to be abnormally far apart and turn out at the hips even when she's balancing herself on all four legs. She sits frequently, also. I have not noticed any other pups that age who have acted like that, nor do any of her littermates have their rear legs spread so far apart. The slightest feather touch on her hind end causes her back legs to collapse under her My first thought is that she has HD or some other problem ... but I tend to overreact ...
Has anyone had pups who progressed like this, or does anyone have any ideas on what could possibly be going on with this pup? She's a feisty little thing & was one of two females I'm thinking of keeping on.
BTW, if it makes any difference, this was an accidental breeding where the son bred his dam.

At 3 weeks I just wouldn't worry too much about it. Once they are 3 or 4 weeks older you can see if it straightens out. I highly doubt hip dysplasia would manifest itself at this age. Just give it some time.

Leah

I am know breeding expert by any means, but I did have one like this, kind of looked like he had legs in the back like a Seal, a friend said don't worry about it, they would straighten up and they did. If I remember correctly he was around 6 wks. before he actually could stand up on them correctly. After that you couldn't tell which one had the problem.

Paul Curtis wrote:I am know breeding expert by any means, but I did have one like this, kind of looked like he had legs in the back like a Seal, a friend said don't worry about it, they would straighten up and they did. If I remember correctly he was around 6 wks. before he actually could stand up on them correctly. After that you couldn't tell which one had the problem.

Thats called a "swimmer" puppy. I had one many years ago and was going to go have him put down but, my hubby said "lets wait" so, I did and about 6 weeks he stood up on his legs and by 7 weeks he was running with the rest.

Leah

I had a swimmer a few litters back too. Vet had me tape the legs so they can't flop out. Don't tape them tight, leave some space between so the pup can still move the legs back & forth ( O----O ). Do it right after they feed, I had to take my pup out cause mom would just chew the tape off. Two times a day for about an hour each and encourage the pup to walk ,play ect. Hope that helps, Dave