Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Why Labrador retriever puppies develop swimmer puppy syndrome
By Tomihari, Mizuki et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2022·Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Factors contributing to the swimmer puppy syndrome found in Labrador retrievers.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Labrador puppies was observed to have swimmer puppy syndrome, which means they couldn't stand properly. Out of 436 puppies born over seven years, 16 were affected, but most of them recovered well. The study found that these puppies were born in smaller litters and gained weight more quickly in their early days compared to healthy puppies. This suggests that both genetics and early growth patterns might play a role in this condition.
People also search for: swimmer puppy syndrome Labrador · puppy can't stand · Labrador puppy weight gain issues · swimmer puppy recovery · genetic factors in Labrador puppies
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Swimmer puppy syndrome is a disease found in neonatal puppies mainly characterized by the inability to stand, but its direct cause is unknown. Since swimmer puppies were observed infrequently but continuously among the Labrador retriever colony at the Hokkaido Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Japan, based on their birth record and pedigree, factors related to the onset of swimmer puppy syndrome in Labrador retrievers were examined. RESULTS: The total number of offspring over seven years was 436, of which 16 were swimmer puppies. Most of the affected puppies except one recovered steadily. As for the swimmer puppies, the litter size was significantly lower, and the body weights on the 10th and 28th day after delivery were significantly higher than the non-symptomatic puppies. These results suggested that the onset may be related to weight gain in the neonatal stages due to a small litter size. According to the genetic analysis, 26 ancestors common to the affected individuals were confirmed, but the causative individual could not be identified with the inbreeding coefficient. The heritability of the swimmer-puppy onset trait was 0.80, and the heritability for the the 10-day body-weight trait was equally high at 0.78, both of which strongly suggest genetic involvement. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the onset of swimmer puppy syndrome in the Labrador retrievers was associated with litter size and early weight gain, and result of study suggests that genetic influence might be involved.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35351139/