I have a question about swimmer pups. I have a litter of 3 week old pups. The pup that was the smallest keeps wanting to throw 1 of his front legs out instead of getting it under him to stand. I don't think he is a true swimmer, because he has his back end under him, and can get that end up. I have him on bath rugs, so the surface is not slippery. I try to keep him on his side as much as possible, and I have been doing wheelbarrow exercises with him to get him to get his front legs under him. I also took gauze and wrapped his front legs to keep them in more. I only do that when I am there to watch him, because he gets so mad. Any other suggestions?

try searching the forum for swimmer pups, there is lots of good info in the old pages.
I had really good success when I took my pup outside. She had much better footing on the grass and was more interested in things so made more of an effort. Good luck!

How young was your pup when you took it outside?

3-4 weeks old. she was still pretty wobbly on her feet but it sure helped with getting her footing.
I found she made greater strides outside then all the other things I was doing inside.

about the same age I had a slight swimmer, I did gentle range of motion on her legs, kept her on her side whenever possible and made hills and valleys to climb over in the box. She is perfect now at 12 weeks, no issues!

What we did for our swimmer puppy was to make a sock shirt for her and then stuff it with batting so it forced her to use her front feet while it also made her work her back legs. In our experience taping her front legs didn't work because she wouldn't use them at all then - she would just lay there. So we taped her back legs, which along with the shirt forced her to get off her belly and use her front legs. A doctor from Perdue that we use also suggested that we keep her moving - every 2-3 hours wake her up, move her around, change the position in which she sleeps. Granted though our swimmer girl was an extreme case. She is 8 weeks now and couldn't be better.

Thanks for the responses. I have made a jacket for him out of a preemie onesie and a sock, and stuffed it with eggshell padding. He is now laying on his side without any trouble.