Sirius at a year old
On Aug. 18th 2009, 2 little English Fox red males were born to our Issabella Rose. Issabella AKA Issy. Our Issy is the the best mother of all of our girls. She is the type of mother that would nurse and take care of her pups until they were 6 months old if we would allow it. Prior to this litter she has had 2 very healthy litters with no complications, she always produces enough milk to feed a army. 38 days into her pregnancy we opted to get a sonogram due to fact that she was not gaining any weight. She acted fine, healthy just no real signs of pregnancy. Sonogram showed no fetus. We chalked it up as a missed breeding. At about day 45 she started showing strange signs of pregnancy, still no weight gain but her nipples started to enlarge. After a vet check they convinced us that is was a false pregnancy which is pretty normal. Vet could not palpate no fetal movement nor could I. Around day 58 she started nesting, milks glands were now full . Vets still advise this is possible in a false phantom pregnancy. At 8:00 am on day 60 she went into labor. Panted all day, restless, nested just all the normal signs of labor. After 5 calls to different vets explaining the strange pregnacy I found a vet that reassured me this was in fact labor and she was going to deliver, he warned me that the pups may not be viable but only times would tell. At 9:00 pm Issy’s water broke, by 10:00 pm we were blessed with 2 strong healthy males. The 1st being twice as big as the 2nd but both thriving and healthy. Puppies ate and grew as normal. On about the 10th I started to notice that the little guy that we now call Sirius was always on his back, The only way I could really discribe him was like a little beetle bug that would get stuck on his back that you would have to flip over all the time. A few days later I noticed he Abdomen and chest looked deformed, flat like. Time for a vet check, vet adviced he had not seen this before and recommended we should consider putting him down. It seemed as though his back legs were paralized and his chest was flat as pancake. After talking in lengthy detail we all agreed to give him a chance and to see what happened. I continued to turn him but it didnt seem to be working. I was determined to find out what was wrong with him. After hours of internet surfing and research I was convinced this was Swimmers puppy syndrome.
Dorsoventral compression of the thorax with legs spread to the sides, sometimes with rotation of the humeral, radial and femoral articulations; observed in puppies of 2 to 4 weeks of age. The cause is unknown, but rapid weight gain, as occurs in offspring of bitches with abundant milk and few puppies, may account for some cases. Many affected puppies recover with normal conformation and use of the legs with only minor therapy. Also called swimmer pups.
I started Sirius’s therapy when he was 3 weeks old. His brother was already starting to toddle around. I changed the surface of their flooring. We used a rubber matted type carpet. Every 2 hrs around the clock I would turn him on his side and massage his hind legs. I made mountains and obstacle with blankets. I took him outside a few times a day and encouraged him to walk. Of course mom Issy didnt give up either. She kept him very clean and welcomed my efforts.
I made videos of his success you can view on UTUBE.
It is now week 7 and he shows no signs of having Swimmers puppy syndrome.
The reason Im sharing Sirius’s story is tell anybody with a puppy that has Swimmers puppy Syndrome is to never ever give up on these little guys. With rehab and prayers these puppies can overcome this, of course depending on the severity and with no other deformities.
Sirius is home in Martha’s Vineyard
UPDATE-01/22/2010
Sirius still shows not effects of his early Swimmers Puppy Syndrome .He his Happy, healthy and living the good life.
Sirius
Brother Ford the Therapy Lab
