Out of curiosity...

JHarper · #1 7th March 2007, 06:23 PM

I have a few questions about the new puppy I will be getting shortly.

He is priced differently than his litter mates for a few reasons.

1-He's the smallest.
~would the fact that he's the runt of the litter mean that he'll have any health issues, or anything of that nature?

2-He's got half a collar?
~He's only got white on half of his chest. Now I'm not going to be showing him or anything, but is this a reason to lessen the cost of the puppy?

I used to consider myself knowledgeable when it came to dogs, but I must be rusty, because these questions have me awfully confused.

Thanks in advance for any info and advice.

Donna1969 · #2 8th March 2007, 04:45 AM

If his littermates are being sold as show pups, his price would be less than theirs. As for being the runt making his price less..did the breeder state that or are you just thinking it because he's a different price and he's the runt?

Regardless, being the runt shouldn't affect the price of the pup. Plenty of "runts" grow in to beautiful average sized boxers. My Carson was 1 bigger than the runt, he's in perfect proportion now. The runt of his litter is now the biggest of all of them. Like human babies, you can't determain adult size from the size at birth. And to answer the ?, no being the runt is not indictive of having health issues. Just as many runts have a perfectly normal life (health wise) as the others in the litter. Both my white Boxers were the runt (ok Carson was the 2nd smallest..not technically the runt) and both grew into average sized boxers with no health issues.

Half a collar might be a reason to lower his price from show to pet pup. If his markings don't fall into the AKC standard, his breeder knows he can't be a show pup and therefore, possibly, lowering his sale price.

JHarper · #3 8th March 2007, 04:52 AM

The only reason she said for his price being lowered, was because of the half collar. However she did state that he was the runt of the litter.

My only concern, is that the mom might give him less attention.
I've heard that mothers will pay more attention to the others in the litter, because the runt is less likely to survive.

Is this true with dogs? or just other animals?

Donna1969 · #4 8th March 2007, 07:12 AM

I've never heard of a mother dog ignoring a pup strictly because its the smallest of the litter..hey, someone has to be the smallest,,and the biggest etc.

I think if your pup was having a problem with being ignored by its mother, not nursing etc, the breeder would intervene and help the pup.

That being said, as I stated, Carson was the 2nd to the smallest in his litter. He was very close to being the runt. He did perfectly well nursing, as did the runt. All the pups have grown into gorgeous healthy dogs. My Blizzy was the runt of her litter and she grew into the largest of all of them. Echo was the largest of her litter and she ended up being the smallest of all of them at a year of age.

Don't fret. I'm sure you're pup will be healthy and happy.

I have heard that if a baby (cat, dog, whatever) is very sick, the mother does tend to ignore the sick one and tend to the healthy ones..survival of the fittest. But if you have a responsible breeder who's in tune to what is going on with the litter and the mother, the breeder will see one pup not getting the nurishment, nurturing it needs and intervene.

JulieM · #5 8th March 2007, 10:28 AM

There are "runts", and then there are smaller puppies. A true runt will be sickly and may be unlikely to survive; smaller puppies are normal as far as health and development, and just happen to be significantly smaller than their littermates. In most Boxer litters, there aren't true runts, but rather smaller puppies who typically to mature to normal size.

It's a little odd that the price would be different because of a half-collar; there is no difference at all as far as show potential goes between a half-collar, a full collar, or no collar at all. Pricing based on color/markings alone (aside from mismarks and white puppies) is often a red flag for an irresponsible breeder, so please consider this purchase carefully.

JHarper · #6 8th March 2007, 01:50 PM

After our visit with the breeder and her family today, the little puppy that we will be getting is very very small. he is the size of my hand. (I'm a girl)

However he, and the rest of the litter, seem very healthy. They were exploring, playing and crawling all over me.

The breeders home was very clean. She has a 9 month old son also, so it kinda has to be =P

The parents...well I'd want them for my own! they were great! The dad was playing with our daughter, and even through what my mom always called a 'puppy spaz' was still gentle with her.

anyways enough of my rambling. I'm just happy that he's healthy, despite his small size. And hopefully he'll grow out of that, I've been wanting a big dog. lol

Donna1969 · #7 9th March 2007, 06:30 AM

The size of a female's hand? How old is this pup? Because newborn (just born) pups are that size!

croakin1 · #8 9th March 2007, 12:54 PM

My Lewis was the smallest out of his litter, and by a longshot, too. He was pretty much less than half the size of the biggest pups in the litter, which made him look like a grape being compared to a watermelon! There was originally 11 pups in his litter, but one white one died early on for reasons unknown to me, so that left 10 pups for the mother to care for. Lewis wasn't as strong as the others and probably couldn't put up much of a fight for food or attention. He has always been thin, but happy and healthy, regardless. He is now 11 months old and is on the small side, but not overly so. He weighs 55 lbs, which is decent for his age. Check out my gallery, it should make you feel more confident about your pup being fine even though he's starting out small.
My girl, Jorja, was one of only 5 pups in her litter and was much larger than Lewis was when we brought him home. The pups in her litter were all about the same size and very healthy... I'm assuming that being part of a small litter allowed them to get equal amounts of everything. She's beefier than Lewis was at her age, but they seem to be equal as far as physical and mental abilities, character and attitude.
Your avatar shows a very cute little guy!

JHarper · #9 9th March 2007, 01:02 PM

Yes thank you, that does make me feel better. I sent another e-mail to the breeder, asking what she was supplementing for him, since she said she was feeding him extra.

He's just so tiny, but very energetic, and playful. I cant worry too much right now, They grow by leaps and bounds in just a week. so we will wait til we pick him up to start worrying =P

SILLY6PAK · #10 9th March 2007, 05:41 PM

My Jasmine was the runt and lived to be 14 years. No health problems until the last year and then arthritis finally took her. If your ruunt is like mynne then you are in for a life of love and happiness. She was always small. 45 pounds as an adult.

JHarper · #11 9th March 2007, 08:37 PM

I called her vet's office, and asked about the puppy. Although the vet herself was in surgery, the girl who answered the phone was able to tell me that the puppies were healthy, and the vet advised her to supplement their food because they were all a tad small.

But other than that, the vet hadn't listed any problems in their files.