In amongst Nikki's litter we had a "swimmer" which means that the puppy is lying on his chest with his arms out sideways. If left like this the puppy will never walk and his chest cavity will be squashed.

Fortunately we discovered this on day 3 or 4...our Vet had had experience with this condition and cured it with a "jacket" made out of the corner of a plastic icecream container and Velcro.

So we strapped the little puppy into his plastic jacket for 3 or 4 hours at a time and for the rest of the time he wore a soft cotton interlock jacket with a large pocket in the front that we filled up with cotton balls. This prevented him from lying on his stomach and after 3 weeks his front legs were in the correct position.

This was our little swimmer about a week old.

and here he is at 8 weeks. Last we heard at 4 months of age he was a perfectly beautiful young Basset Hound and moving normally.

Our thanks must go to our dedicated Vet Ros Fleay and to Coreen Kitto of Oak Ridge Cockers without their help this little puppy would have died. I found Coreen on the Internet and she was a great help from the other side of the world.

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