hi i have been watching my bitch all the time since having her pups new years day. she was really clumsy and kept sitting on them. however i have noticed her get a little better and when she sits on them and they cry she gets up and moves. however i weighed my dog at 5 tonight so it was ok then, she is in the same room as us so have been watching constantly. i went over to assist the runt on the teet and noticed one puppys leg was really curled up, i am really worried now as its not using it to crawl. its not crying or anything but it wont straighten it and the ankle area does look a bit swollen. i thinks mags must have sat on it. what should i do........

Didn't your 'vet' notice it when docking?

no it was fine then. its been fine all the time up until this last couple of hours. it wont use it to crawl.

It's a vet job then.
Trauma or infection (bearing in mind the surgery yesterday) need to be ruled out, infection can travel to any or all the joints.

It may be a developmental problem which would have become more apparent as the joints and tendons grow. I've seen similar in a baby goat where the flexor tendon didn't allow full extention of the limb.

the tail docking was sat.do you honestly think that could have affected that...bearing in mind a couple of years ago tail docking was done on many breeds.

i hope its ok. its going to vets tommorrow. we have just popped around to see the vetinery surgeon as she lives around the corner she said it dont look right.

> the tail docking was sat.do you honestly think that could have affected that...bearing in mind a couple of years ago tail docking was done on many breeds

All needs ruling out, I've not seen it in a docked puppy before but I seldom believe in coincidence.

ok i will let you no what they say tommorrow. just a quick other question whilst you here. have you had litters before if you have when i am cutting there claws. is it just the front i do and do i just take the very point off. can you take it to short like you can when they are older.

I'm not a breeder, but would just take the 'hook' off I think.

thanks that what i did but i felt like i was just taking the tiniest amount and when i rubbed my finger over it after it still feels a bit sharp

From 1 week old I start to take the hook of the nail (Just the tiny tip) just hanging over a pair of small human nail clippers and take a little bit - once a week. The nail clippers will do until they are about 6-8 weeks ( breed dependent).

The primary reason for keeping them short is for the mommy's comfort.

Was this one of the pups with hind dew claws? 

yeah it had back dew claws. we took it to vets this morning and it is definitly using it alot better now. the vet said its not broke but may just be bruised he said to leave it alone as its so young and it will heal itself. he said if it no better in a few days or a week bring it back down. i am relieved tho.