| Re: runt
In terms of your specific question regarding health concerns that a runt may have in the future....I will address that first.
With our first litter we had a very teeny male puppy. Jenna didn't want the pup and kept pushing him away from the rest of the litter. With a LOT of 2 legged assistance we got him strong and healthy and after a little bit Jenna accepted him and allowed him to nurse too. At birth he was 125grams (about 4 ounces). At the time that the litter started heading to their new homes at 8 weeks he was in the vicinity of 16lbs...his male brothers were around 18 lbs......so there was truly little difference between he and his heavier birth brothers when they left. He as well as vet checked and did go to a pet home. The last time his parents swung by with him he was in the vinicity of 26" and around 115lbs......no health concerns.
With our second litter the runt girl again went to a pet home. She again was checked out by the vet when she went home and found to be healthy. Unfortunately with her we received news from her parents that she was poisoned in their yard and while the clinic was able to save her it is believed that she suffers from some type of damage as a result of the poison as to this day she suffers from seizures and is on antiseizure meds.
With our third litter we didn't really have a runt puppy.....we did have one pup that was definitely lighter than the rest however he gained quickly as a puppy and actually went home the heaviest and has turned into the largest boy from the litter.
I have never had or heard of any specific health concerns that relate directly to a pup being the "runt" or not. I have heard it said that the reason that SOME puppies are born smaller is because they may have a defect.....however that should be ruled out first by the puppies first health check before they head to their new homes.
What I would stress to you however is to make sure that you are in fact getting a puppy from a COE breeder. Things I personally find suspicious is that the breeder already knows at 1 week of age which puppy will be yours. The reasons behind this are many ~~ I personally have a fair IDEA at about 5-6 weeks which pup will go to which home, however usually isn't until about 7 weeks after their final structural eval that I know for sure!! Also in terms of temperament how does your breeder KNOW so emphatically that this one week old pup will match your lifestyle & training abilities? Pretty tough to say in a 1 week old still deaf/blind puppy whether or not it may be the most dominant/bold puppy at 8 weeks to go to an experienced home, or a laid back puppy great for most families. How does the breeder know that this puppy may not make huge gains and may structurally be the best pup in the litter at 8 weeks......is the breeder willing to let their best pup go to a pet home? A few too many flags for me.
Make sure that you see OFA hip/elbow/cardiac evaluations & CERF (eye) certifications. If they don't have them or can't show them to you......best to save the heartache and walk away.
JMO
Heather  |