Swimming puppy syndrome...

Libra926

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May 5, 2010
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Vegas and Orion
Have I ever talked about this before? I don't think I have. Orion didn't start walking until she was almost 6 weeks old. She was unable to get her back legs underneath her. They were splayed out. This photo shows the problem.

So, we got on the internet and came up with "swimming puppy syndrome"

How to Make a Hobble for a Puppy with Splayed Legs | eHow.com

If this is not corrected..these babies can suffer horribly.
We struggled with helping her correct her walking for several weeks.
After learning how to Hobble her, she was walking on her own (after the hobble sessions) after 4 days. She hasn't stopped since.

Basically..Hobbling is tying the back legs together so she can walk...but the prevent the legs from splaying.
 
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Bella'sMom

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wow that is interesting. I never knew about this.
Baby O is so darn cute, I just giggle everytime I see a photo. And her personality shows in all of them.
 

wfd38383

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i agree with bella, i have never heard of this before...very interesting
 

BruceP

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She sure is making up for lost time!!!!!!
Interesting article, thanx for sharing. :)
 

TessaAndSamson

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I think you may have briefly mentioned this once??? Wow I had never heard of that before though. Glad she developed properly in the end! She was a precious baby! (and of course she still is :) )
 

kazzy220

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Jul 31, 2010
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Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
Wow ... I have never heard of this before and didn't know a thing like this existed!!

Are you sure she wasn't just saving her leg strength for later so that now she has extra bounce?? I've seen the video of her jumping onto that stool ... maybe her middle name should have been "Tigger"!!! :heart:
 

Gertie's Mom

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Aw, what an adorable video! She is an absolutely gorgeous puppy! Makes me want another tiny one! I didn't know about this either. How did you know what to do to help her walk? Thank goodness you fixed her up!
 

Telly03

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Wow, that was a simple yet brilliant fix... I would have been tempted to change her name to Forest Gump :p She sure did overcome this with incredible spunk and style :)
 
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Libra926

Libra926

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  • #14
Since O was the first puppy that my mom had, we really didn't know what to do. So, I love to google and that is exactly what we did. When she didn't start walking according to the puppy schedule...we found answers on the internet. The results told us what to use and how to hobble her. She really tried to walk on her own, but it was such a task for her. We don't know if having no litter mates was a culprit. She had no motivation to get up and move. So, by hobbling her, it allowed her to play. Her back legs were hobbled so they wouldn't splay past shoulder length. That made it so she could move around without human help. That video was the first day of her being hobbled. It didn't take long for her to learn those muscles. I'm glad we didn't wait any longer...she was already over a month old.
 
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Libra926

Libra926

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May 5, 2010
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Vegas and Orion
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  • #15
ohhh...and if you watch the video carefully, you can see her legs wanting to splay out. I have a few more videos of her being hobbled if anyone wants to see.
 

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