Mom was the runt, what can i expect???

[jonnyrotten]

Hi all,

Thanks to those who replied esp. Ethar, ok i have a couple more questions: The Dam of our pup was the runt of her litter, will this affect the size of her pups?? but the granddam was quite a big girl, what should we expect??? Also after reading thru the archives i noticed that someone had posted that most people on here feed Canidae because they like their dogs to be smaller!! Is this true, or just that you want your dogs to get enough nutrition and no more/less????

I am not really hoping for a HUGE dog, preferably i'd like her to be more like moms size, and i also want to feed Canidae ( as ive said countless times,LOL!!) Thank you
Not sure if this belongs here!

[Nancy Estes]

I think you probably misunderstood some of the posts about Canidae. It is healthier for a puppy to grow at a slow, steady rate rather than growing large very quickly - putting extra stress on growing bones, joints and such. This does not mean that feeding a slightly lower fat and protein food will make the dogs smaller as adults; it is simply a means of achieving slow, steady growth. Many people mistakenly think it's a good thing to feed their puppy a super high protein/fat diet so they will grow large quickly. Not the case though.

As for the eventual size of your puppy, it will depend on genetics. Without knowing a great deal about the mother's littermates and their sizes, her parents and their littermates, the stud and his parents, and so on, you'll just have to wait and see.

Nancy

[jonnyrotten]

Thanks for clearing that up for me, i thought that was the reason, but with canidae do you feed less than you would with a commercial food (puppy chow) due to its better ingredients??

As for the size thing i just wondered that because the dam was the runt could this smaller size be passed down? At the vet yesterday she weighed 9.5lbs at 8 1/2 wks.

[Nancy Estes]

And your puppy is a perfectly normal weight for the age. If the mother was the runt because of genetics and there is a history of small dogs in her background, then there would be a chance that your puppy could be small too. A dog is not going to grow any larger than its genetic makeup will allow for. Of course, it can be fatter but that's not the same thing ;)

Nancy

[lblax]

our last shepard was the runt and he actually turned into the biggest of the litter but do have the vet keep a close check on your dog as ours said they are runts usually for a reason and if born in the wild the runts are always left to dye by there mothers. one of the usual ailments for runts are liver and kidney failures at young ages ours at 7 just keep a close check on them!!!

[Skip]

by iblax..
the runts are left to 'dye' in the wild...

Where did your vet get this info?

[ June 10, 2001: Message edited by: Skip ]

[WorkinDogz]

Skip,

I think lblax is referring to unhealthy, sickly "runts". (Please correct me if I'm wrong lblax!)

In that respect; it is survival of the fittest. A weak pup normally is removed from the other whelps by the dam and left to die.

Some breeders practice this as well. There is no tube feeding weak pups. No drastic measures to save them.

I trust my brood bitches AND Mother Nature personally.

"Runt" to me means nothing more than smaller size. If there's more to being the runt than just a size differential; then in my mind it moves to viability of the whelp.