Hi, has anyone had any experience with Staffordshire bull terrier pup having problems walking. Our female Staff has pups. they will be 6 weeks old. 5 of these walk just fine and they are extremely active. 1 Pup (the biggest one of the lot, is extremely strong, however he does not walk properly on his rear legs. Despite this, he is extremely mobile and gets around. I think the most appropriate description would be that he looks like a frog ...rear legs at almost a 90 degree angle to the body..almost like he is doing the splits..don't know if that makes sense. Gently tying the two rear legs together (with a little bit of play on the string\cotton band) seem to help a bit and he stands properly then. The other pup refuses to walk al together. These two were the biggest pups out of the 7. I have taken them to the vet and was told that there is a chance that it might be a spine/back problem.  Not the sort of thing that you want to hear. I would really welcome any suggestions/advice. Many thanx Jean

What have you got them on?  If it's just paper and they are chubby pups it may just be a simple thing of them being frightened and slipping.  If they are on vet bed then it may be something more sinister.

Sorry I'm no help but I hope that they improve soon.

Thanx for the reply.....I do have them in a big whelping box. The whole box is lined with newspaper. On top of the newspaper we use a blanket with some towels....it is easier to keep these clean....We did put the one pup that is willing to walk on a carpet last night and it works!!!(Obviously still with the two legs tied together) He walks....:-)...so I must try and find something with a liitle more grip and place this in the box. I am extremely concerned about the other pup, he appears to be very weak and struggles to eat by himself....We feed him by hand at the moment. The vet also took a blood sample yesterday and sent it away for analysis (full blood count). The results revealed absolutely nothing......Is there any way that I can boost this little guy.....I am determined to pull him through....any advise will be very welcome..... 

I am no help either but wish the poor wee things all the luck in the world!

Hi Jean i had a  staff pup like this a couple of years ago. We took him to the vet just to check everything was ok and the vet told me to put him on carpet with his food a little way in front of him so he had to go and get it. He soon realised he had to get up and walk for his dinner and was running round like mad after a week of making him do this. News paper is very slippy for babie puppies and sometimes it takes a bit of encouragemant just to get them started a bit.

Regards Gwen

i had the same with my pups cause my house is tiled, so once they are out of the whelping box and in the pen or running around of a day time they were slipping everywhere . Funnily enough now this has turned into a game they chase after each other and go slipping thru the pen or across the floor and they love it

i find the heavier pups have trouble with balance then the thinner pups if it continues i would have the pup checked or try moving it to a less slippery surface and see how it goes

just keep feeding him seperatly i have 9 pups, so feeding time is a frenzy pups running everywhere jumping on each other and what not and some pups dont get the right amount.

No matter how many bowls you put down they always want to eat out of the same bowl, and the only way to get the other pups the right amount is to seperate the ones who just never get enough. Try also putting some milk replacers in the food and if mum is still satified with a little feed everynow and again put that pup on for a little feed for a few days this will probably perk the pup up.

I have one pup who sleeps alot more then the other there is nuthing wrong with her she is just smaller and gets pushed away from food all the time i feed this girl smaller amount more often and over two weeks she has been improving alot and playing more.

Ahhh, glad that it's helped.  You'd be amazed how a simple thing like that can remove many of your worries :d

Hope that they continue to improve.