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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Curious about early pup pics? (18 replies)
Curious about early pup pics? by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 06:06 |
I stumbled across these old pics of my pup received from his breeder at 6wks and 7wks. Was curious to know if anyone else would think his positionings odd? Particular the photo of him laying down...  |
by GSD DEFENDER on 24 June 2012 - 07:50 |
| There is a condition known as "Swimmer Puppy Syndrome" Don't be alarmed! According to the University of Florida, it is NOT genetic and temporary, possible cause- a low grade infection in utero which is also harmless. However, breeders should be on the lookout early on, exercising the pups is the cure because the puppies want to lay flat like a turtle. the name "Swimmer" is because they look like they are trying to swim like a turtle. exercising with something simple like a soft towel back scrubber with handles, holding puppy's midsection up encourages the puppy to get up and walk and is very important, there is no long lasting problems according to UF. http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/281955838/Scrubber_Towel_Bath_Belt.html How old is your puppy now? |
by Hundmutter on 24 June 2012 - 07:53 |
| Nope. He's just doing the "frog dog" thing in the second pic - lots of dogs lie with their back legs stretched behind them sometimes (though I don't actually remember ever seeing one SO young do it ...) Even younger puppies (like, up to 3 weeks or so) tend to drag their back legs around a lot until they can stand up properly (think human babies crawling before they walk). Are you worried about something your dog is doing currently ? |
Hundmutter by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 13:11 |
| No. He' s fine...now, but was diagnosed with severe crippling displaysia at only 20 wks. And I started noticing things pretty early on, just didn't know what I seeing. When I stumbled across these pics, it made me wonder just how early an experienced eye would have noticed theses things... |
by Nans gsd on 24 June 2012 - 15:10 |
| Can you post the x-rays of the diagnosis of HD? Would love to evaluate those for you also. Laying like a frog does NOT designate HD; in fact quite the opposite. So am really sorry to hear about your dogs hip dysplasia; however you CAN make some life style changes for him and he can live a somewhat normal life. Best of luck Nan PS: YOU cannot correctly diagnosis HD without hip x-rays; just guessing is not a fair evaluation so if that is the case, get a new vet. Nan |
by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 15:37 |
| Yea, he was correctly diagnosed. I had him x-rayed and examined by an orthopedic vet. He had the first FHO at 6 months and we just did the second in February. He's doing very well now, but the first year was very tough for him and I even had people suggest putting him down. I will post the x-rays. It just bothered me a lot because the breeder implied that I caused it from the very beginning. I first contacted her at 14wks. |
by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 15:38 |
| P.S. I also sent the x-rays to Fred Lanting who also agreed with my vet. |
by mirasmom on 24 June 2012 - 15:42 |
| He looks over angulated in the picture of him laying down, although sometimes dogs/pups that look over-angulated can have perfectly fine hip readings. Does he have a pedigree you can look at and see his relatives hip ratings, and also I can say the same thing goes for having all the relatives with good hip ratings, there can most always be the exception, the so called luck of the draw. Just wondering if it was noticeable in his pedigree also. |
mirasmom by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 15:54 |
First pic FHO post op pic, after he'd dislocated his hip at 5.5 months. Second is less than 6 months later right before we did the 2nd.  |
by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 16:01 |
Not good positioning, but this was taken right after hip dislocated. Vet did not want to cause him anymore pain by trying to straighten the legs out. |
by Jenni78 on 24 June 2012 - 16:01 |
| Good grief. That's terrible. Good for him that he was lucky enough to have someone do his surgery. How could YOU have caused that by 14 weeks??? That makes no sense. This seems to be one of those cases of true genetic HD. I mean, HD is always genetic, but there are other things that cause joint deformities besides genetics, and they all get lumped in as "HD". I have a dog who is like a rubberband. People have suggested she's dysplastic, but quite the contrary...her pups who also are like Gumby are also xrayed clear. Better joints allow for more flexibility. That early pic doesn't mean anything in and of itself. Obviously you were likely seeing something hinting at this, but that picture by itself is no big deal, nothing you should've known. |
Jenni78 by MightyZeus on 24 June 2012 - 16:17 |
 Saw this on a Facebook GSD Fanpage. Same position as your pup. Therefore I agree that this position doesn't always mean a dog has HD. |
MightyZeus by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 16:22 |
| Though limited, he's doing quite well now, and I am happy that he is no longer in pain. I was just curious on whether or not since his issues began so early on, if his breeder should've seen these signs before selling him to me. |
by Hutchins on 24 June 2012 - 17:47 |
| Good Lord, if one of our puppies showed signs like that at that young age, I never would have let him leave us until I could have gotten him xrayed by our vet. What a shame for you, as I know how hard it is NOT to fall in love with such an adorable pup. If one pup out of the litter is doing that, it would definitely catch my attention. Now if more than one was doing it, I would definitely big in panic mode. Thats just me. Just curious to know, has any other pups from that litter been xrayed and what is their results? |
by Tihannah on 24 June 2012 - 18:02 |
| I don't know. There was only one other pup in the litter and the breeder would never give any other information. I asked once if she would pass on my contact information to the other owner in case they wanted to keep contact and share updates on our pups prior to all this, and the breeder told me if I wanted updates I could just keep checking their testimonials page. Huh??? My experience has been that this breeder is very guarded. |
by Hutchins on 24 June 2012 - 18:49 |
| So sad that we unknowingly get caught up in situations like this. Not sure why the breeder would not want to share information like this that could be detrimental to the breed if either of the puppies were to be bred. As a breeder, I encourage our puppy owners to keep in touch with each other amd share information about their puppies with each other. You would be surprised the experiences and knowledge they can learn from each other. Of course I try to keep in touch with all of them. Have you ever seen anything negative posted on a breeder's updated page? I think not. JMO |
by brynjulf on 24 June 2012 - 19:11 |
| To be honest I am never worried about the "frog dog" position. We have lots of dogs who do it here and they have passed OFA. |
by Hundmutter on 24 June 2012 - 19:54 |
| The X rays show that the poor little sod had no sockets. I'd been wondering how you'd got such an early diagnosis, but it became obvious as soon as you put up these plates. The pup was lucky you had the right contacts and could remedy the situation. Hope all continues to go well. I still don't think the position in the photo had anything to do with it - as others have said, that isn't diagnostic. IMO he and his sibling should never be bred from; and if the breeder is smart s/he won't repeat that litter using the same parental combination (at the very least). A 'good' breeder WOULD CARE about this, and what happened to your puppy, not try to lay off the blame. You did not cause this one by incorrect exercise or feeding, of that I am very sure. |
by vomzellmer on 25 June 2012 - 02:42 |
| Oh my god! I would have some NASTY words for that breeder for even implying that it was possible for any sort of treatment by a buyer causing those hips!! |
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