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Runt Of The Litter...


Chula

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Chula was by far the smallest of the puppies in her litter. She is still really small (she's just about 33 pounds, weighed yesterday) and slightly under 20 inches. She's just about 8 months and 1 week old.

 

Are there other behaviors that tend to go along with being the "runt"? I don't know that she is actually a runt since she will probably end up "in standard" as far as female husky size goes, but she's obviously small. She used to be food aggressive, but we've managed to train that out of her with lots of time and patience. She'll now eat out of a bowl while my hand is in there, and she'll "leave" a bowl of food when given the command, something she NEVER did when she was younger. I always assumed that food aggression came from having to fight for food because she was the littlest.

 

Anyone else with have the "runt"? Any runt-like behaviors you've had to deal with? Or health problems?

Edited by Chula
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I had a runt from an Irish Setter litter.  That little guy ended up being the largest adult out of his litter mates.  As far as behavior goes, it's mostly about their personality and environment.  I never noticed anything unusual or that could be tagged as being runt related with the Irish Setter.

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As far as physiological development is concerned, there is often no difference between a 'runt' and any other pup from the litter.  Runt's are not necessarily premature (where the health issues and behavioral issues stem from in many 'runts') but are more often where they are implanted in the 'horn' of the uterus.  Given that most of them actually do catch up rather quickly.  Given your bitch is already almost 20" she's well within the standard (bottom 'suggested' height is 19" *I say suggested as there is no bottom disqualifying height*).

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Do you know when females tend to stop growing "up"? She hasn't grown much in the last few months, she's about 4 pounds and one inch up from when she was spayed 14 weeks ago. I'm happy with her size, but do hope she fills out a bit once she grows out of puppyhood. OH, on the other hand, feels like she's too small and that we don't feed her enough. 

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Posted Image

This is a picture from Mishka's old owner few days short of turning 8

months

Can't really see it, but she was lanky and just slim looking all around

Posted Image

This is her now, a couple of months short of turning 2, she's not grown much more in height, maybe an inch or so, but has really filled out.

They take ages to fill out, so I wouldn't be too worried :)

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

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Do you know when females tend to stop growing "up"? She hasn't grown much in the last few months, she's about 4 pounds and one inch up from when she was spayed 14 weeks ago. I'm happy with her size, but do hope she fills out a bit once she grows out of puppyhood. OH, on the other hand, feels like she's too small and that we don't feed her enough. 

 

Bitches do tend to mature slower than males do- your breeder should have a better idea of how their lines develop.  My females likely won't finish growing in height until they are closer to 2 years old and full development maturity closer to 4 years old based on the lines they come from.  All go through some pretty gangly 'skinny' phases as they grow, watch their weight and add or subtract food as needed.  I do a lot of adjusting amounts through the first year and a half easily.

 

This is my Kenna at rollie-pollie 8 weeks old

526472_362603540474547_1112065978_n.jpg

 

at 11 months looking like a coyote- I wanted to put food in her all the time!

537801_463084707093096_808174521_n.jpg

 

And now at 14 months

1003691_498070366927863_1026646788_n.jpg

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Frenchie - she's sooooo cute. Chula does have that gangly look going right now. 

 

Midnight Paws - I love the coyote look! She's adorable in that picture. Very elegant in the last picture, but just downright squishable in her coyote stage. I'm very sensitive to Chula's weight because she lost so much weight when she was recovering from intestinal torsion. But I also don't want her to get too heavy because it's not good for her. 

Edited by Chula
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Kiya, was the runt in her group. However, she is the smartest and when I took her to visit the breeder yesterday, we found out she is the alpha in her litter...All because of how her siblings and other dogs acted around her. So crazy that runt would take that role

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Frenchie - she's sooooo cute. Chula does have that gangly look going right now. 

 

Midnight Paws - I love the coyote look! She's adorable in that picture. Very elegant in the last picture, but just downright squishable in her coyote stage. I'm very sensitive to Chula's weight because she lost so much weight when she was recovering from intestinal torsion. But I also don't want her to get too heavy because it's not good for her. 

I think you meant HuskyMom09, not MidnightPaws lol. Lani owns Kenna :P

 

On the side note, wanted to comment that Yuki was the runt so to say, she was the smallest of her litter. No issues here, house training was a bit of a trouble but I had no issues with crate training, teething, mouthing, or the etc. I think it all depends on personality. Yuki was 36 pounds at 7 months and hasn't changed now at a year old. She may grow, she may not. It's a guessing game. My guess is she may grow a couple more pounds but like I said its just a guess with huskies :P

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Our Kallie was an identicle twin (same embryo sac) but her sister was stillborn. She had five larger brothers that she bossed around and is definitely the alpha. I had concerns about her size, but now at two & a bit year, she has topped out at 21 inches and is around 40 lbs. And she is still bossy and the dominant bitch wherever she goes. Her Mom was a short gal at 19 inches, but Daddy was a giant at 25 inches. And two of her brothers are smaller than her now. Our little diva, for sure!

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  • 6 years later...

I’m not sure if anyone is still following this thread but my husky is 8 months old and weighs 33lbs (just like Chula’s). Chula, how much does your dog weigh now... 7 years later?

On 7/26/2013 at 11:45 AM, Chula said:

Chula was by far the smallest of the puppies in her litter. She is still really small (she's just about 33 pounds, weighed yesterday) and slightly under 20 inches. She's just about 8 months and 1 week old.

 

Are there other behaviors that tend to go along with being the "runt"? I don't know that she is actually a runt since she will probably end up "in standard" as far as female husky size goes, but she's obviously small. She used to be food aggressive, but we've managed to train that out of her with lots of time and patience. She'll now eat out of a bowl while my hand is in there, and she'll "leave" a bowl of food when given the command, something she NEVER did when she was younger. I always assumed that food aggression came from having to fight for food because she was the littlest.

 

Anyone else with have the "runt"? Any runt-like behaviors you've had to deal with? Or health problems?

Chula, what is the weight of your dog now? Mine is the exact same age and weight that yours was when you made this post. Curious to know if she has grown. 

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  • 5 weeks later...

This post has been necro'ed but as it does contain important stats, it's worth updating for all.

 

My Honey was also runt of the litter. Very visibly smaller and weaker than every other litter-mate. She's going to be 4 yrs this winter, hopefully.

She's 44 pounds now and is still a tiny Husky, even for a female.  But, she's been gradually growing even in the last year, even if it was just few pounds. Not sure we'll ever reach 50 pounds, probably not. But, she was 39 pounds 6-8 months before her last weighing, and is 44 now, so I suspect she still will gain some weight.

 

Personality-wise, she was a scared dog from day one. She still is. A Rouge Falling Leaf will trigger fight&flight. At home she's not scared, but outside she often is. Every single cat will beat her up, even if they're 10x smaller.

 

On the other hand, she had the balls to approach the BUFFALO (like, 1000x her body mass) in Montana. That just does not compute in my head. A tiny half-pound cat scares her, but a 1000-pound buffalo not ? WTF ?!?

 

Health-wise, obviously, I don't expect her to live to the age of 10. But, I see every day with her as a blessing, so it's all good...

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