o.k,lovely litter of pups,but against all the"dont pick the runt" ext i have fallen for the swimmer,who is v. cute and loving.(the other were as well):)
He is all most standing now(short periods of time..50,60 seconds)before reverting back to swimming position.He doesnt keep still andmoves around quite good considering.I know the breeder wasnt going to sell him on but i think we could presaude him.Are we been daft, the money isnt the issue we dont want the pup because it would be cheaper(not sure as we havent asked) but because i feel that he is a real little fighter.what would the long term prognosis(sp?) be,health issues.Has anyone experianced a swimmer either as a pet or part of a ltter youve bred.We ruled him out the first time we went to see them but not sure now.Any help please?Will post a differant question when thanking for advice as i dont seem to beable to reply to my old posting:)

I'm no expert but have read that swimmer pups can have respiratory and heart problems later on in life - but others, i am sure, will tell you more.
You can't reply to postings when you are not registered, so you need to do that so that you can ask any other questions that you have, or reply to others who post their advice for you on here.

Buying a puppy is the same as buying anything, get the best you can. Let the breeder deal with the sick pup, buy the best, it is not your responsibility to take the, looking for a word that will not bring the world down around my ears, but can't think of one, substandard. If you go for the sick pup, you will be sorry, unless you are a very special person who can take the pain that this puppy may well bring. Jackie H

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Thank you for your understanding on this matter

Leigh

In my experience, swimmers can develop perfectly normally & you have every chance of getting a healthy, happy puppy in due course (I assume your breeder is doing all the recommended things like supplementing with liquid calcium, exercising on rough surfaces etc) One of the dogs I groom regularly is a former swimmer (Cocker Spaniel) & you couldn't find a livelier, more active young dog with no health problems at all so far (he's 3 now). He is not alone as I know of several other cases with similar outcomes.

Good luck whatever you decide!

Jane

I cannot believe a breeder would have the nerve to sell a swimmer, its irrelevant that it may or may not be ok later....surely the responsible thing to do, if you feel the need to rear it, is to keep it until such times its is as fit as the others, then rehome it giving the new owners the full truth. Just my opinion.

Pardon my ignorance but what is ment by a 'swimmer' :)

Jackie

Hi sam long time no see. I dont think the breeder IS intending to sell the swimmer, its a request on the part of the purchaser. I have reared a swimmer and he grew into a perfectly normal healthy dog, but I did spend an awful lot of time getting him right to start with.

I thought the poster made it quite clear that the breeder was not intending to sell the "swimmer" but was being requested to sell by the poster - quite different. There is obviously no attempt being made to hide the truth or fob off a buyer with a substandard puppy.

Jane

Hi guest, I certainly wouldn't ever buy a puppy that had something wrong with it even if there was a chance that it may turn out sound. If you are determined to have this pupy I would at least wait til it was 10-12 weeks and see how it had progressed, trouble is, by then, all the others in the litter will have been sold. Good luck whatever you decide.