Anyone have an EXTREMELY small runt in a litter of pups?

[TangoMango]

My Boston had her pups on Nov. 13. All went well, but one pup doesnt seem to be growing. I had them at the vets when they were 6 days old, the runt obviously smaller, but they said all were fine. But this runt is now MAYBE 1/3 the size of the other 3. She is feisty, and eating well, we give her time alone to nurse , so the big ones dont push her aside..She doesnt have any obvious health or conformation issues, just tiny.

Thanks

 

[Leeana]

I bought the "runt" in the litter, the breeders said she was the smallest they had ever bred....i think she grew up to be very pretty though...she is still very tiny for the breed i think.

 

[anoki]

I'm not sure my runt was as small compared to the rest as you are describing yours to be....however, I had a litter of 10 last year, one didn't make it, so 9 were raised. Right from the beginning there was one female that was much smaller than the rest, but she never failed. I weighed them every day, and she continued to gain, but she was at least 1/2 the size & weight of the biggest puppy, maybe 2/3 the size of the puppy closest in size to her....she is still half the size & weight of the biggest puppy in the litter, which is also a female!!!

I always made sure the little one got her own nursing time as well, though I probably didn't need to, she'd always push the others out of the way, and continues to be bossy!!

Miss Jane is a beautiful girl now, though petite, I have gotten numerous comments on how pretty she is.

~kathryn

 

[MountainMeadows]

In my last litter of Havanese puppies one of the pups weighed only 2.3 oz - he was very tiny - less than 1/2 the other pups - 6 weeks later he is still half their size, but just a cute as can be and as fiesty as they come! We call him Raymond, be cause EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND!

Good luck with your new baby, try to make sure she is latched on really well every 2 hourse and if you can, supplement the other LARGER pups so that they get full faster and don't deprive the little one of mom's milk - it seems backward, but that is really the better way to go vs supplementing the little one.

I certainly feel your worry - I know we were pretty much round the clock with our little Raymond for the first 2 weeks and then felt a bit better after that, but still made sure that he had plenty of "mommy time" alone.

Keep us posted!

Stacy

 

[TangoMango]

HEre is the size difference with our runty girl.

And a few of the other mutants. LOL..

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Awwwwwwwww!!! They are just too cute. The last pic makes me think of a pot belly pig.lol (no offense meant, I think he/she is adorable) Too bad I wasn't closer I'd be pointing hubby at your puppies. A Boston is on my Christmas wish list this year.

 

[uwharrie]

over the years I have had a couple of tiny ones. some made it some did not. But as long as she is strong and nursing well and gaining weight I would not worry too much. ( if you are like me you are always worried about all of them) She may always be small or she can catch up with her siblings as she gets older. The important thing is she is gaining weight and nursing well

 

[Vanessa]

Yep, here in Belgium, I had a litter of my German shorthair pointers in 2006. She had 7 pups, not much for a big dog, and the last pup was very small but also healthy. She was very special for me, and I know she would be the one that would stay. And so she did, I had her for two wonderful incredible years, she was my everything. I loved her so much, my special girl. She was as big as her mother, so she had grown like her brothers and sisters. But she died in september, kidney failure. My world felt apart, when I lost her.

 

[lyn_j]

How adorable! Millie was our runt... for the longest time about 10 days she only gained a few tenths of an ounce while the others were gaining by whole oz sometimes. I let her nurse with the others and also bottle fed her for almost 2 weeks.They are now past 7 weeks, she is still the smallest but at the vets for their checkup and to get first heart worm meds.... Millie was 1pound 11 oz, Jazz was 1 pound 15 oz Ruby was 2.4 pounds and Freckles was 2.2 pounds so they are pretty close now. As long as she is growing consistantly at HER rate and appears to be doing well, there was no heart murmer that the vet could detect, just enjoy her elfishness.... .there are dwarves in dog breeds as well.... maybe she is one??? whatever she is she is just toooooo cute!

Lyn

 

[TangoMango]

Thanks guys, Im definitely keeping my eye on her, and she will most likely be the one we keep too.

Reignmaker, LOL, and here we have been thinking she looks like a sloth.

Vanessa, Im so sorry to hear about your loss. Its always so hard to lose one.

 

[Vanessa]

Thanks guys, Im definitely keeping my eye on her, and she will most likely be the one we keep too.


Vanessa, Im so sorry to hear about your loss. Its always so hard to lose one.

Those little ones are always special, I'm glad you are thinking about keeping her too. I promise you, you will have a special bond with her. Just like I had with my little girl. I made a special memorial page on my site for her. For now it's all in Dutch, but I'm working on the translation of my site for some time now, soon it will be in English too. It's hard when you lose one, but I can't live without my animals. So we decided to do another litter with her mother next year. We hope to find a new special pup in that litter. That pup can't replace my special girl, but it will make it easier for me, to give her tragic loss a place in my heart.

I wish you all the best with your special girl, do you have any ideas for a name yet? Here in Belgium we have to find a name that starts with the letter "I". Any proposals?

 

[Boinky]

I had one in my first litter. she started off the same size as the rest the first day but she just didn't progress the same way. she was always a lot smaller I don't think she was able to nurse off mom very well ect but since my liter was huge i was supplmenting as well. I ended up taking her and bottle raising her ...she was still in with her litter but i dont' think she was getting what she needed. She ended up being on the smaller side of the little, but not horribly so like i thought she would be. She as quite a bit smaller though through her firts 12 weeks or so until i found her a home.

how many times was your bitch bred? that can make a difference. if you bred at the beginning of the cycle then did a breeding towards the end..one or some of the pups can be a week younger than the rest and a bit "premature'.

 

[lyn_j]

Boinky I used to think that too until I started working with Dr Escobar. He is the repro specalist . He said that the bitch drops ALL her eggs at the same time when the Progesterone level reached 10.5. Semen is good for 3 days in the bitch so, this is why they recomend every other day breddings. The eggs will all be fertilized at the same time AND, and this surprised me, the puppies will be due for delivery on the 63 day FROM WHEN THE EGGS WERE RRELEASED.... no matter what. I find that fascinating that the puppies start to be puppies even before they are fertilized, so if all the eggs are dropped and fertilized 3 days later then the puppies are really going to be born when they are 60 days old not 63 and those oesky wait till 65 or so are really still just on time!

Lyn

 

[bluetaterbaby]

They are all beautiful! I love Bostons. I use to have several. They are so smart and so much fun! Thanks for sharing!

God bless,

Joan