Repeat Litters Are Interesting - Page 1

So, my second litter is 8 months old, and the difference between them and their older siblings is remarkable to me.  Same parents, completely different animals.  I got more bone, larger ears, more angulation, and overall larger dogs this second litter.

The second litter actually seems more uniform.  All three bi colors look exactly the same, aside from secondary sex characteristics (two dogs, one bitch)

Here are the two bitches from the first litter:

Two bitches from the repeat litter:

Genetics are fascinating :)

That first one's a BITCH??   WOW! I've' seen ASL MALES that had less bone than her!

Very nice head on her, too!

Environment of the sire and dam, environment that the puppies experienced, the stress that the mother and puppies were under also play a role ( part of environment ). Puppies raised under stressful conditions tend to be more reactive to outside stresses as adults. No different than human children and why should they be .. we are all mammals. When the mother dog is under stressful conditions it is reflected in her puppies and vice versa. The mother dog passes along more genetic material in her eggs than the sire does in his sperm but research shows both pass environmental information and responses to their offspring.

The environments were the same. If anything, the second litter was more stressful than the first.

Regardless, when you stop to think about it, it isn't surprising I suppose. I mean, human siblings aren't all the same.

well this is how it goes in genetics....I have 6 children, all have the same environment, same food, same education but they are all soooo different :) same in the dogs!

Two litters same mother and sire .. first litter born in the winter in an outside kennel .. super cold conditions and a stressed mother taking care of her puppies and her first litter under tough conditions. All survived and thrived but they were all pretty much wild and physical with super drives and physical powers. Second litter born in the summer under warm and nice conditions ( still outside kennel ) and they were much more laid back .. still great drives but less wild .. mother dog and puppies much less stressed.  The effect of mothering and rearing differences between children in a family as related to birth order is well documented.  Dogs are no different.  The mother dog passes chemical signals to her puppies through her milk and her mothering style.  Babies, be they rats or dogs, who receive more licking, cleaning and attention from their mother grow up to be more confident .. it's a scientific fact.

Is that a line-bred pairing, or out-cross? How many litters did the dam have before these?   Was the difference in bone in the pups from the second litter apparent at a young age?

This pairing is linebred. The bitch only had one litter prior (the siblings). Both litters were bred by me and I have owned the bitch since she was a puppy.  They were raised the same way.

Difference in bone and general size was apparent at birth.

Your dogs are gorgeous! There is definitely a difference. If you don't mind me asking, did you feed the mom and the puppies from each litter the same thing? If so, may I also ask what you fed the mother while pregnant and the puppies when they started eating?

First litter mom was mostly kibble fed, second mostly raw fed. Both litters were weaned onto raw and then added kibble later.