Runt of the litter?

[deerhunter]

Just wondering what peoples opinion on the runt is. I'm getting a lab pup there are three males and I get pick of the litter. One of them is just a brute he pushes everyone out of the way but he has a little white on his chest and I don't want that. Then there is the runt he is three times smaller but he is a fighter they have brought him to the vet and he is perfectly healthy but they have to keep him separate from the litter at times because the other ones just over power him. He of course has caught my wife and kids heart and I will admit mine he is going to be in the house do if he did end up smaller that would be good. I use to raise labs before and I never had a runt this small.I'm just curious of some of your opinions.

[TruthWalleyes]

Pick the brute.

I'd also keep the wife and kids at home when picking out a puppy. Runts are usually free...for a reason.

[tacklejunkie]

My lab was considered the runt of his litter and I have no issues.

[corncob]

Runts can be fine, AS LONG AS THEY ARE PERFECTLY HEALTHY!

[Todd Caswell]

Pick the brute.

I'd also keep the wife and kids at home when picking out a puppy. Runts are usually free...for a reason.

Not true at all, as long as they have been vet checked and are healthy theres nothing wrong with a small pup, no different than the largest in the litter. Both of my current dogs were pick of the litters ( stud fee pups) and both of them were the "runts". I don't base my picks on size or color, just what feels best at the time and it's always a dump shoot.

Cooper was the runt male and he seems to be doing OK, grew up to be 62 pounds

Libby was the runt female, grew up to be 45 pounds, a little pocket rocket that has a ton of go, very fun to train and handle.

And then there's Alley 35 pounds, the runt and the left over pup, 30 derby points QAA at 24 monthes and jammed a Open last weekend at 30 monthes.

Morel to the story don'e be afraid of the runts or the left overs..

[Bdog]

Take the middle one.

I also agree with leaving the wife and kids at home, if you can!

[DANR]

The best dog I've had was the smallest in the litter

[tacklejunkie]

[

Your "runt" looks exactly like my runt and about the same weight. Nice pic and great looking dog

I agree with what griz said, as long as they are healthy that's what matters. My runt is a great family pet and a real good grouser.

[Musky Buck]

Hold them all around the midsection off the ground, the one that squirms the least, pick him. That's my uncles step 1 in picking a potentially good dog, step 2 is a bouncy ball, if he picks it up happily, lol, my uncles theory, it did work for me got a great patient trusting lab out of it, but who's to say really lol.

[LABS4ME]

Most people have never seen a runt... but most guys you talk to say they picked a runt. In reality you are picking a small pup in a litter. I've seen litters where pups were 5 or 6 pounds and deemed runts. They are not. Just a smaller pup...

In all the litters I've bred, I have seen only one true runt. A runt is a dog that is very small and fragile when born and cannot hold it's own against it's litter mates during feedings. It does not grow to even get to the small side of average as far as puppy size when it goes home. I was going to put this particualr runt down. My wife said no way. Fed it with an eye dropper and made sure it got on a full teet during feeding till it had it's fill. This puppy looked more like a small hamster than a lab pup when it was born. My friends parents wanted her. I had named her Bitsy... for itsy bitsy. I told her I cannot gurantee what she will turn out as, the vet said a very good chance as normal... she went home at 8 weeks 2.75 lbs but otherwise she seemed normal. She looked like a chihuahua puppy. All the other pups were 7-8 pounds... or more.

She is now mid-50s, smart and strong. Her only downside is some food allergies. I never would have guessed it. But I can honestly say that was the only 'runt' I have personally seen.

Good Luck!

Ken

[Ufatz]

I agree with the health issue. IF the dog is cleared, then you are probably just talking about a "smaller" then average or "smaller" then expected pup. Years ago had one named Lucky and that little lady would just plain tear up the mallard swamps.

Now I have another "little" dog, called the runt, and she WAS half the size of some of her Incredible Hulk mates. Little Abby is now 5-mos and thirty three pounds and you almost gotta put a yard anchor on her to slow her down. But there was the issue of the $1000 hearing aid she chewed up. Oh....and the prescription reading glasses she chewed up. And the fact she loves to bring me nice rocks from out in the yard someplace. I have quite a pile in the house now. Am gonna put 'em back out when she's not looking so she can bring them in to me again.

What a hoot. Some runt!

[deerhunter]

He will probably be three pounds at six weeks just went and some them and he was taking on the brute he is 8 pounds I made my final decision going with the runt. There was only four pups in the litter the other ones are just over six pounds I would guess. The brute just makes the little one look real small he is a goer with his nose to the ground but when I whistle he comes running and the other ones look around

[cavalierowner]

+ 1 to what LABS4ME said. Like him, we have only bred 1 true runt in the approximately 14 years my wife and I have been breeding. This was a puppy that was 3.8 ounces birth weight when 6 ounces is normal. We had to tube feed for several days it to keep it going. It developed normally except that it was half the weight of a normal Cavalier when full grown. Oh, and don't tell that dog he's a runt...he'll chew your big toe off to show you how tough he is

[TylerS]

A runt doesn't always mean it will be smaller than his or her littermates. Often, the runt is "spoiled" by the breeder since it has a tough time getting a nipple, so it will be hand fed twice as much. I've seen a couple runts who wound up being pretty big dogs compared to their brothers and sisters.

[deerhunter]

Well found out the runt does have some health issues so that made that decision