The runt of the litter?

[cptn]

Hey, guys!

As I've said before in my other threads, I am getting an orange and white, male, American Brittany! Today, my breeder sent me photos of the three boys to choose from, and one of the boys is the runt of the litter. In the pictures, they are about a week and a half old, but now they are about three weeks.

Based on the pictures, the runt of the litter looks the most attractive with his markings, but I was hoping to have a bigger, sturdier dog, and I've heard that some runts have health problems down the line. So, I have a few questions.

Does the runt of the litter automatically mean smaller dog in adulthood, or can runts grow to be the biggest dogs out of the litter?

Also, as breeders and dog owners, have you ever had bad health experiences with the runt? Because of their size, I hear that they are not able to get as much milk as they need because they are too small to fight their way to a teat, and as a a consequence, they aren't as immune to illnesses like the other puppies. Is this true?

[AzDoggin]

cptn - I can't say anything about the size - I would think that the runt would be smaller....but good things can come in smaller packages too.

You might enter "runt" as a search term on this form and see what you get.

If some of the prior folks come along to comment, just wait, you are in for a treat. There have been some amazing dogs who were runts.

Just as one more FYI - one of the winningest trainers of all time - Delmar Smith - often turned whatever was left in his litter into a champion. I'm sure more than once it was the runt.

Good luck.

[jetjockey]

My dad has the "runt" of the litter. He got her at 4 months old from a pro Brittany trainer. She was offered to me as a hunting dog because my Brit is with him during the trial season, which kills a lot of my hunting. That "runt" is now 32 lbs and she's an absolute beast. She is bird dog to the core and absolutely awesome. The trainer sold her because she was so small and didn't think she would make a trial dog. Boy was he wrong, and I kick myself for not taking her. She's AWESOME!

[RayGubernat]

At that age it is not really possible to tell whether the pup's size is meaningful. It could just be the result of being farthest away form the nourishement when inside the womb. It could change.

Even if it does not, the is an old saying...It ain't the sizxe of the dog in the fight...it's the size of the fight in the dog. Some of those runts had to fight and clwa and scratch for food from day one so they get TOUGH...quick.

I did not intend to get a runt but the breeder sent me a smallish female some years back. She grew out to be about 30#, which is rather small for a pointer. She is tough right down to the toenails. She can run step for step with dogs literally twice her size, outrun some and outlast most. She likes me so she stays with me, whether i am walking, or riding. I can put her down in just about any kind of competition and not be concerned about how she will do. Dynamite does indeed come in small packages.

If you like the breeding, trust the breeder and piock the pup you want to spend the next ten or more years with.

RayG

[cjhills]

It is a crap shoot. We have had runts that caught up and did great and runts that didn't. If a puppy is born the same size and gets a little behind for some reason he has no chance to keep up without help.The stronger ones double in size the first week, so the smaller one is very quickly out of the race. They usually catch up if they are allowed to nurse alone and supplemental feeding.
If he is born smaller chances are good that he will stay smaller. Not always but generally.
I think health proiblems are fairly common in runts such as imunne system difficiency. There are of course exceptions, as I am sure we will hear, but unless I wanted a smaller dog I wouldn't pick the runt and I hesitate to allow people to buy the runt because of later health problems. The odds don't favor good results. WE are better off keeping the rnts to see how they grow and selling them as started dogs or pets.
One thing, some small dogs are really good bird dogs CJ

[jarbo03]

My first britt was the runt of the litter. He ended up around 50 lbs and was an incredible hunter, lived healthy to the age of 14. He was a very slow working dog, and had no training, I was 10 years old when my father gave him to me. Not quite sure he ever knew his name, but time after time out of all the dogs, he is the one who produced the most birds almost every trip. Later in his life we bred him to my dads high strung female and got my last Britt Buck from it, he was an amazing dog.

[cptn]

pupbritt.png

Here is a little visual aid for you! Isn't he adorable?

[JIM K]

dad and me raised beagles and hunting labs.have not had litter in over 10 years because dad was older and i was working 16 hr days away from home.
back to runts.

i had runts that grew as big as others. people passed on runt but some had best colors and turned out to be very nice dogs.
i like SMALLER dog but all runts dont stay small.
owners that did take runt seemed to have no more health problems than a non-runt.
i used to tell owners,DOG WITH BIGGEST HEAD IS ONE I LIKE.
some runts had big heads and did turn out to be very good hunting and family dogs.

its like me, if i get chance to pick my latest puppy,runt or not, if it has BIGHEAD , that will be one i pick no matter color of dog etc. :roll:

old school thinking way of picking puppy.
take care jim k

[fuzznut]

If it were me... I would not commit till the puppy is older, say 5 wks or so. That way you can see how much he has caught up to the rest of the bunch.
Some very little puppies just don't make it at all, others catch up and you would never know they were they were the smallest.
The photo shows some things that would concern me right now, but they may all dissapear with a bit of age.
Dual

[rinker]

I have raised approximately 50 litters of pups over the years. In every litter of puppies there will be a range of sizes just like in every human family. I am a lot taller than my brother for example. Some times the puppy that is small early will catch up in size or even be bigger than his litter mates, some times not. The only thing that I have noticed pertaining to size is that smaller puppies tend to mature faster than larger puppies. Big puppies tend to go through a faze like a six foot tall thirteen year old boy, they are so clumsy that they spend all of their time tripping over themselves. This all usually evens out eventually.

There are two pieces of advice that I give to people about choosing puppies. The first is that if there is a puppy in a litter that you clearly do not want (due to some kind of health or conformation issue, not just color, etc...), then you do not want any of them. The second is that there is only one way to make sure that you end up with the largest pup, fastest pup, best nose, best style, etc..., and that is to buy the whole litter and raise them to eighteen months or so and then make your pick.

[AzDoggin]

The second is that there is only one way to make sure that you end up with the largest pup, fastest pup, best nose, best style, etc..., and that is to buy the whole litter and raise them to eighteen months or so and then make your pick.

Funny ...but true.

[Sharon]

My best setter is a runt. She was born dead and I had to revive her. Also had to put her on the nipple often as the big boys kept her out. She is still after 6 years , very small but it doesn't affect her in hunting or trials.

[3Britts]

First of all, are you talking runt, as in smaller and weaker with health problems, or are you talking about a smaller dog. Size does not matter in ability, but health does. I have two large Brittanys and one small Brittany who is every bit the bird dog as the other two. In fact, she has placed in every single trial that she has been entered in, with only one of those trials being held by a Brittany club. Don't let size put you off.

[mydoghasfleas]

A buddy of mine bred their lab a few years ago and ended up keeping two pups. One was a huge chocolate pup, the biggest body (and head) of the litter. The other was the "runt" she was half the size of her brother when they were born. Today she is still only about 50# but her brother is 110#. She is faster, smarter, and an all around better retriever than him. Her favorite game with her brother is keep away because hes not quick enough or smart enough to get any toys from her. Its very funny to watch. I would say with that litter I would of been lucky to score the runt, great dogs all around.

[TraditionsGSPs2010]

If it were me... I would not commit till the puppy is older, say 5 wks or so. That way you can see how much he has caught up to the rest of the bunch.
Some very little puppies just don't make it at all, others catch up and you would never know they were they were the smallest.
Dual

+1 I would wait even longer if possible. Once those pups start in on the mush, the smallest might start catching up in a hurry. Even if it doesn't, it still doesn't mean it won't catch up later on.

Hopefully your breeder is not asking you to chose now but is more just showing what he/she anticipates being available.

[deseeker]

I had a 10 pup litter with a small male that was 2 1/2 pounds lighter than the other pups when they went to their new homes. He now is bigger than his 7 sisters and and 2 brothers--44 pounds. I've had 2 other small pups in other litters than have ended up about in the middle of their littermates size wise when
done growing. I'm sure there are runts that stay small, but the ones that I have had in my litters seem to catch up when they don't have to compete for the food supply.

[SHORTFAT]

Saved a runt they were going to destroy about two and a half years ago... Got her for free, but no papers and I agreed to get her fixed and not breed her... Love her & wouldn't trade her for the pick of that litter!

[Wildweeds]

Saw the very same thing last year with the litter I had,2 monster sized pups,4 large pups 2 mediums and a runt that was 1/4 the size of the largest pup............ fast forward 7 months,the runt has caught up and is maybe 10 pounds lighter than the largest pup and but bigger than his sisters which were larger at birth,they grow to their genetic code with the proper feed of course.

I have raised approximately 50 litters of pups over the years. In every litter of puppies there will be a range of sizes just like in every human family. I am a lot taller than my brother for example. Some times the puppy that is small early will catch up in size or even be bigger than his litter mates, some times not. The only thing that I have noticed pertaining to size is that smaller puppies tend to mature faster than larger puppies. Big puppies tend to go through a faze like a six foot tall thirteen year old boy, they are so clumsy that they spend all of their time tripping over themselves. This all usually evens out eventually.

There are two pieces of advice that I give to people about choosing puppies. The first is that if there is a puppy in a litter that you clearly do not want (due to some kind of health or conformation issue, not just color, etc...), then you do not want any of them. The second is that there is only one way to make sure that you end up with the largest pup, fastest pup, best nose, best style, etc..., and that is to buy the whole litter and raise them to eighteen months or so and then make your pick.

[Montana]

A true "Runt" is small because of a health problem....usually a bad heart. Every litter has a pup that is the smallest and a pup that is the largest. People mistakenly call the smallest pup in the litter a runt. I've seen many pups that were the smallest in the litter end up being average size when mature. I've also seen the biggest pup in my litters end up being average size when mature. It is important to have a vet check a pup that is abnormally small to determine if it is due to a bad heart or some other health problem. If the vet finds nothing, the pup will should fine..... It might be a little smaller when mature or of average size, but odds are that it will not be larger than average.

[ymepointer]

wait til they are a little older for sure, you just can't tell how big or small they will be at this age.

[cptn]

Thanks, guys!

I am going to wait until 6 weeks to make my decision.