Runts - Page 1

Having recently helped deliver a litter of working line GSD pups of a co-worker, who is now a friend because of this situation, and watching the runt of the litter fight for "his".  I got to thinking about runts and especially from working lines.  I have some questions.

I always thought the runt would probably be the last born.  The caboose,   (sorry, but my daddy worked for the B&L railroad).  But this one is 2/3 the size of the rest of the litter, and he was born 7th of 10.

Does anyone have any stories of litter runts that made it big?  Any champions, highly titled, or great producers that were runts?

Would anyone who had the 3rd pick of a litter of 10 working line pups, actually choose the runt?  I ask this because a case could be made that since the runt has to work so hard to get "his", he may grow tougher and stronger in the long run.  Is there any reason at all, besides feeling sorry for it, that someone would choose the runt if other pups were available of the same sex?

P.S., the litter owner has offered me any pup of my choosing for my helping him, and since I really don't feel that I deserve one, I was thinking of just taking the runt, if I take anything at all.  I don't want to take one of his other pups, if I take one at all.  Probably won't .   I need another dog like I need a hole in my head.

i have seen several pups that were born the 'runt' that ended up being the same size as most of the other pups. however, if the runt has something actually wrong with it then that may be a different story.  sometimes if your breed several times over several days the pups conceived during the first breeding can be quite a bit larger than one conceived in the last breeding. i have seen the bitch refuse a runt pup and even trying to rescue it the runt still didi not make. But i am not a big time breeder so let's see what others have to say...

A friend of mine purchased the run of the  litter when he was 10 months old. He is now as big as his litter mates and is a FEMA certified search dog.

My gal was the smallest and is now proper size for a bitch and is certified as a cadaver dog at 21 monhts.

I can assume nutrition can assist those born smaller. Any comments are welcome

I bred a few litters years back and it was my observation that often the smallest in the litter grew to the same size and sometimes larger than the littermates. Has DR said, if you bred a few times, and maybe every other day, that small pup may be just a bit premature. Sorry but no great stories for you.....

I have picked many runts out just for the fact they seem to be tougher and more  willed then the bigger ones MPO. My last runt from my litter is now Serving on the Dept. and she is hell on wheels. My runt from this litter also is going to a dept she is very out going still in training.  And  9 years ago I picked out the runt from my first litter and til this day she is hell on wheels, takes no crap very alpha, still working. Do I pick just for the runts NO I look for the over all. I don't pick any puppy that I feel sorry for as that is a expensive puppy in the end (most of the time medical problems)

As Dr said depends on the lock ups. Personally I do one or two so there is not such a big difference in the litter. I know there are some breeders that will say different but I prefer little litters.

I would base it on the over all . If mother is keeping it and the health reports come back clean. Then I would look at it the same way as every one else. But remember time changes everything, they are still young and growing. Give it a couple weeks you will see a difference.

Good luck.

Do Right, isn't there always room for one more??? Post a photo of the new pup when you get it!

as the others have said, "provided there are no medical problems, runts usually end up being similar in size to the others."  it just takes a bit longer.  heck sometimes that's a good thing.  more sound.  we made jokes about one little dog that we bought a few years ago and still laugh when we think of it.  we called her a hamster..........poor little thing.  that's what she looked like when we picked her up at the airport.  she grew into an average sized female, very sound, althletic and healthy.  she was slow to mature both in body and mind.  we were in no hurry as we had several other dogs besides, so she was given plenty of time to mature.  you'd never guess, if you looked at her today, that she was the one we called "hamster."

pjp

Based on a reproduction seminar I attended recently all the pups are conceived at approx. the same time.  The size is due to the placement in the uterus.  A runt should grow to be a normal sized adult provided there are no health issues.  

Jeni

Anyone here Really knowledgable about Runts? I had heard that there are two different types of runts a litter can produce?

One is a runt because it is just the smallest birth weight and undersized in comparison to the rest of the litter, the other is called the "litter runt"? This runt is supposed to be specific to that particular litter, the pup that was either last conceived or less nurished or specifically has a reason in it's litter reference to become a runt during term?

I'm thinking that is why some "runts" develope into the average sized adult dog along with the rest of the litter, while the other is born and remains as an adult, "the runt"?

Can anyone with more knowledge on this subject share?

I did mention exactly that, sometimes the runt has health or genetic problems and many either die or never are as they should be in size / health , physical and/or mental.

I doubt there are many runt experts in the world but i have seen a web site or two that bred for gsd dwarfs so you might check there.