runt of the litter

Not sure if I should have posted this in "general chat" or not, but wondered what other people thought or what experiences you have?

Do you think it's true that the runt of the litter is more likely to have issues? People I've met seem to have differing opinions on this. I tend to think it shouldn't make much difference but if a pup is smaller because it got less nutrients in the womb etc, is this likely to potentially affect it's behaviour as it grows up? Or will it have to fight more in a large litter for food and things?

We were so concerned about doing things right with our last dog that I think we ended up doing it all wrong. We had many issues with him and I don't deny that the buck stops with us for creating most of them (inadvertently) and not understanding his needs/traits more.
But, he was the smallest of the litter by a long way and I just wondered if maybe this added genetically to his behaviour. (Not sure genetically is the right word but I hope you know what I mean).

I tend to think it's how you bring a dog up but so many people say "never pick the smallest/runt in the litter" and I just wondered why?

I don't think there are many true 'runts' these days as the rearing of puppies has improved so much. I know all the small ones in my litters have not had any developmental issues and have been just as robust as the others.
Becky

agreed. I have hardly heard of any runts in litters these days. In the litters that my dog came from, all the pups were thriving.

Felix was smaller than the others in his litter (still is!) his knickname is midget man! He's the most self-assured, confident, bomb proof & trustworthy dog i've ever met though! and very easy to own, he's never been a lick of bother bless him

My last GSD was the runt of the litter and indeed hand-reared because of that. She turned out a normal size, with a lovely temperament, but may possibly have had an underlying problem as she died very suddenly aged 8. However, she was a smashing dog and I never regretted having her.

My first yorkie was the runt of the litter (24 years ago) and he was fine no issues and lived to be 17yrs.

Sounds like a myth then.

Coming to think about it, our last scottie was the runt and he was a sweetheart.....wanted to be friends with all creatures. The cat that used to frequent our garden sussed him out and evenutally decided to move in with us and Toby (said scottie) would put up with all the ear and tail batting the cat would do........even gave up his favourite armchair to her.

We've never really had a runt but in 1 litter we had 1 bitch that wasn't as big as the others. As she was in a litter of 10 I bottle fed her once a day just to make sure she was getting enough to eat.

A girl bought her and had a blue brindle bitch as well that I was quite fond of. I told her I would like the blue brindle to be shown as I would have kept her myself. The girl decided to show both. The tiny black brindle bitch has done really well in the ring.As a pup she regulary got best puppy in breed now she often gets best of breed. Talk about the ugly duckling turning into a swan

Kingsley (Yorkie) was the 'runt'.
He grew to be a nice size, with no issues, and is 13 this year!
He's a bit of a grump now, but thats because he's going blind, and doesn't like it when he cant see everything!

When I went to view the litter Flynn came from, there was an evident runt who caused mayhem amongst the other pups and was very vocal. My immediate comment was "I dont want that one, he's a little git!"

For various reasons, I ended up with that pup although he wasnt the pup i'd initially chosen and put a deposit on. He has turned out to be smaller than both breeds in his make up (although according to breed standard, he is spot on height wise) and is extremely slender.

Character wise, he's very anxious and excitable, extremely noisy and quite snappy. He certainly likes to cause mayhem with my other 2 so yes, the runt in my house does have issues. I have to add is is very healthy though and although smaller than average, he is as strong as an ox.