I have a very large boned substantial 7 week old male. He had alot of extra excess mass( for a lack of a better word "fat"), in his pasterns(front feet) and hocks down to his back feet. The pasterns are fine now, but the rear has all this soft tissue around his hocks and down to the feet. Its looks like swelling?? Puppy is in no pain or discomfort when handled, manipulated, or squeezed. Is this normal?? never had a puppy with close to this much substance. Should I be taking him to the vet?? He is a little more clumsy when he moves then the others. Any sharing or advice with this issue will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Because your post suggests that you are researching to find out if there is a problem - I will reply with the one time I had a puppy that had edema in the legs. She had an ectopic ureter and was not getting rid of all of the fluid in her body. We did end up dong the (costly) surgery and the swelling went away.

Also, if it is edema in the legs, it can be due right-side congestive heart failure. The vet should check carefully for a right side murmur and or an irregular heartbeat of any kind. I would be very suspicious of heart problems.

You can know if it is edema by pressing it down with your finger. If it leaves a print, it is edema. If it is edema, take him to the the vet. It is never a good sign.

Thank you everyone for there responces. Unfortunately, puppy diagnosis was confirmed Friday as severe TVD.

I am so very sorry...

That's horrible - I'm so very sorry to hear this. I hope you would consider, though, to help the breed and contribute blood to the ongoing TVD study that Meg Sleeper is conducting to try and find the gene responsible for this disease. Feel free to join the TVD group on Facebook as well, if you have any other questions regarding this horrible disease.

So sorry this happened to your precious puppy