Small pup?

[MNpurple]

I'm soon to be getting a lab pup, currently they are a week old and the way the litter turned out, there are 2 black females for me to choose from. One female is right with the rest of the litter in size and the other is slightly smaller than the rest. They will begin eating their puppy mush in about 2 weeks. Is a pups size at 1 week of age any indication that it will always be smaller, like this one currently is?

I dont want a runt, and am wondering if after one week,am I down to only one pup to choose from? I have heard people say that even when they go home at 7 weeks, there still can be big changes. You could come back in a year and a smaller pup may have overtaken a larger pup in overall size, true??

Either way I am thrilled getting a pup from this litter, but just looking for insight!!!

[Bruce H]

My wife and I breed dogs (not labs) and it has been our experience that the size of a puppy in relation to the rest of the litter is seldom an indication of the relative size of the dog as an adult. Same as in humans. What we always tell people is to look at the size of the sire and dam and the size of the grandparents as an indication of how big or small the puppy may be as an adult, but that is in relation to the breed standard.

I can't tell you how many times the smallest pup in one of our litters grew up to be the largest and vice-versa. I'm afraid it's really a crapshoot, at least in my experience.

Good luck with your new pup!

[Phil from Maine]

I dont want a runt, and am wondering if after one week,

One week is a little early to tell, I also had a litter of pups and the smallest stayed the smallest so I am not to sure about the small one out growing some of the others. But, why not the runt? In a lot of different litters the runt has come out being one of the smartest. AlsoI am not sure if the parents are trialed to give you some kind of info as to there hunting ability, or is the pup just going to be a pet or not. Myself I would like to see the parents working some what to give me an idea as to what I want and expect from my new pup. Not all will turn out like the parents but, your chances are better for it. If they have the credentials then I would consider if I was looking if not then? If they do not and they are trying to push a sale then I would probaly go some place else. That's my 2 cents for whatever it is worth to you.

[HuntinWidow]

From what I understand, most litters do not typically havea true "runt". There are some that are smaller as with any other animal. The litter that we are looking at right now had a female that was slightly smaller than everyone else in the bunch. She is now the same size as the other females in the litter. The boys are definitely blockier than the girls. One boy is a monster but the rest are very much the same size.

Have a great time picking out your new addition....