Re: [PyrNet-L] Litter Runts

[Charlotte & Jack Perry <pyreau@erols.com>]

Murden, Deanna wrote:
> 
> I would like some feedback from the group regarding the "runts" of the
> litter.  ....  Do any of you readers own "runts"?? are there any
> health problems? Is she maybe just a little under-nourished since she
> has so many siblings?? (mind you, she is definately not sickly!!)  We've > definately tagged her as "ours" 

Hi Deanna,
We often have a pup that is the smallest or smaller in a litter and also
a biggest puppy. The bigger the litter, the more likely that some are
smaller (the "polite" ones are pushed aside by the "pigs"). I think the
question I would ask is how much smaller is the puppy?  There is a huge
range of size and weight in pups depending on genetics, litter size, the
amount of milk the dam produces, etc.  For instance, we have had
six-week-old pups range in weight from 7 1/2 lbs to 15 lbs (not all in
the same litter).  We once kept two sisters that, at 8 weeks of age,
were 3 lbs apart in weight. The small one turned out to be the biggest
when full grown and both are good size. 

On the other hand, if the puppy weighs much less than most Pyr pups
weigh and continues to gain weight at a much slower rate I would have
the pup checked by a Vet.  We once let a "runt" puppy go to a friend
even though we felt we should keep it just to make sure.  Our Vet
assured us that there was nothing wrong with the pup, so we let them
take her home.  It turned out that the puppy had a liver shunt.  The
owners spent quite a bit of money in vet bills and still the puppy died
at a young age.  You should also be aware of the fact that there is
dwarfism in the Great Pyrenees breed in the US and the GPCA has set up a
data base for dwarfism to try to learn more about this problem and
hopefully identify the gene.  Dwarfism can be identified by x-raying the
pup's front legs (using certain guidelines which can be obtained from
the GPCA Health Committee) when the pup is 6-8 wks of age.

Hope this helps answer your question.  Good luck with your new pup.

Charlotte