Runts

[xfactor]

good looking pup! hope he does well

wondering if runt of the litter has more "drive" be it for hunting or life in general because they have to work harder to survive?

[Iron Glove]

"Good things come in small packages."
Our first Toller was the runt of her litter and she's been great - makes up with attitude for what she lacks in size and she's still goin' strong.
The wife was ( is ) a runt too - tells everyone she's 5 ft. but she's actually 4 ft. 11 3/4 inches. Been married to her 40 years and she just said to me today "Why don't you spend a bit of your tax refund on a new quad ??" Gotta love "runts."

[Montana]

You never know what size a pup will be when mature... I kept a pup from the litter the runt was in. She was the largest pup in the litter.. She's 5 months old today and is quite small.... I would have guessed she'd have been in the 40-45 lb. range when mature, but she's going to be lucky to hit 35 pounds. I gave my daughter a pup about 4 years ago... He was far from the largest pup in the litter... a little smaller than average. Today he's one of the largest Springers we've produced... About 21" at the shoulder and weighs 52 pounds. A littermate of his went to a friend... He was the largest pup in the litter by far... He ended up at about 38 pounds. So, when it comes to size how large a pup is at 7 or 8 weeks of age is really no indication of what their adult size will be. The parents and grandparents size is the best indicator of how large a pup will be when mature, but not always!!! Having said all of that, size is really irrelevant....it's the overall health, brains, hunting desire, and heart that really matter.

[Foxton Gundogs]

Our runt from the last litter was 1/2 the size of the rest. "Peanut" is now about in the middle of the pack size wise approaching a year old. As you say, you just never know. As I once heard from a spaniel man who had way more knowledge than I will ever have, when questions about a certain little spaniel "She runs big and looks big running and in the end what more does one want from their dog"

[Foxtail]

When I was a kid, our cat was the runt, about half the size of the other cats. He turned out to be a 22 pound monster of a tom cat ruling the neighborhood. He had been shot for eating the neighbors chickens, hit by a couple cars, had his face ripped open by who knows what. He had been witnessed chasing coyotes a couple times. We watched him chase a friends 2 massive coon hounds around the truck until they jumped in the back to hide and he paced around the truck until they left. He killed 100s of rabbits, a dozen or so weasels and 2 small raccoons. He finally died at 18 years from getting run over by a car. I have absolutely no problem picking a runt.

[Montana]

"Good things come in small packages."
Our first Toller was the runt of her litter and she's been great - makes up with attitude for what she lacks in size and she's still goin' strong.
The wife was ( is ) a runt too - tells everyone she's 5 ft. but she's actually 4 ft. 11 3/4 inches. Been married to her 40 years and she just said to me today "Why don't you spend a bit of your tax refund on a new quad ??" Gotta love "runts."

Now you tell me.....wish my wife had been a runt, but we're going on 38 years and I guess I can't complain too much....... I get to hunt as much as I want, but I'm not sure if she's just being kind or if she likes it when I'm gone...

[Foxton Gundogs]

Now you tell me.....wish my wife had been a runt, but we're going on 38 years and I guess I can't complain too much....... I get to hunt as much as I want, but I'm not sure if she's just being kind or if she likes it when I'm gone...

The answer may lie in how many dogs you take with you, I know it does sometime in my case lol

[Cdn-Redneck]

"Good things come in small packages."
Our first Toller was the runt of her litter and she's been great - makes up with attitude for what she lacks in size and she's still goin' strong.
The wife was ( is ) a runt too - tells everyone she's 5 ft. but she's actually 4 ft. 11 3/4 inches. Been married to her 40 years and she just said to me today "Why don't you spend a bit of your tax refund on a new quad ??" Gotta love "runts."

spend a bit of your tax refund on a new quad!! Can I have your accountants name please!!