Did you get the runt of the litter?

[Julie B.]

I am in the process of picking out my second doodle and I have pick of the 4 females in the litter. The one I have my eye on is the runt and that isn't unusual for me since my Luah was the runt and I owned a golden retriever that was the runt also. I have found they turn out to be really good dogs and I was wondering if anyone else has found that to be the case. Granted they have their "weeny submissive issues" but I would rather have those than the dominant tendencies that can occur.

I should add I know that the runt isn't necessarily the smallest because they didn't get enough to eat... they can be the result of a second breeding. End result is they are the smallest amongst their littermates and I think this creates certain personalities...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My experience has been that size doesn't correlate to personality; I have known and had pups who were the biggest in their litters and were submissive, and pups who were on the small side but were alphas. I don't believe that I have ever had a "runt", and I think the term is misleading. My understanding is that a "runt" is underdeveloped and has other physiological issues. The smallest pup in a litter is not necessarily a "runt", if the health is the same as all the other puppies.

[Adina P]

I have a similar notion of "runt" that Karen does. Where the runt is not just the smallest, but significantly smaller than the rest of the litter and also possibly weaker in some way...and has difficulty fending for itself and doing well in the social structure of the litter. Rather than just being 6.5 lbs when the rest are 6.8 to 7.5 lbs--as an example.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Guinness was the smallest of his litter mates. I'm thinking he may be a lot smaller, since he is only 14.5" and 15 pounds at 8 mos. He was supposed to be a "smaller medium". I recently emailed the breeder to see how this compares with the others in his litter now (if she even knows). Her original estimate was that he would be around 25 pounds, but I'm fairly certain he'll never get there. I'll be interested in her answer. He has a vet appointment tomorrow, and I'll also be interested in her opinion on his size. Before we got him, we looked at videos from the breeder of him playing with his brothers & sisters. Although he was much smaller, he did not seem at all intimidated. He seemed to have no trouble keeping up. He still loves to run and play with the "big boys". I don't think of him as being particularly "submissive", but then again neither is he dominant. It doesn't really appear that his smaller size has had much impact on his temperament. I think that's pretty much what Karen is saying.

[Debbie Penny]

Julie, my first doodle was the last born in his litter, now his sister to be is also the last in her litter. I have this notion that the last is the best as they were so polite to let the others go ahead : ) Now whether this has anything to do with either of their personalities, I feel it is a lucky pick. Good luck with your pick, runt vs last vs smallest/biggest. : ) We'll have to wait and see.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have heard the same as Karen and Adina. I thought the whole smallest-as-runt belief has been a little debunked (involves health, psychology, etc...). My mom's cairn was the "runt" if you consider she was the smallest by far, but she is a total ALPHA dog and is now a normal size cairn and has perfect health. Peri was as fat as can be when she was born (probably the biggest of all 4 girls at one point) but is now one of the smallest at 7 months. Her brother is almost 30 pounds and she is 20.

[F, Calla & Luca]

As they say, it depends on your definition. Here are two:
Runt - ... An undersized animal, especially the smallest animal of a litter. ...
Medical definition:runt = small, stunted, weak; an undersized offspring.
I think Calla was the smallest of her litter and was predicted to top out at 35pounds. She now weighs 47 pounds. Luca, was the largest of his litter and weighs about 41 pounds. He tends to dominate Calla but he's older, and was here first so that may all play a part.

[Ann Kendig]

I can't offer any advice on this matter but from what I can see from meeting Luah she has brains and beauty, and very friendly... not to mention very athletic. I wouldn't have guessed that she was the runt of the litter. It will be interesting reading the responses.

[Brewster's Mom]

Nope. I got the opposite, the biggest of the litter. He was also the middle born one (#5 out of 9). Our breeder just emailed me the other day to get an update and I was informed that my Brewster is about 20 lbs. heavier than some of his littermates! Woah! LOL

I was told when we got him that he was more mellow than the other male left, but he definately has a dominant personality. I'm not sure size or birth order have much to do with it. :)

[Missi]

Lizzie was definitely the "runt" of her litter in size and in health it turns out. At 8 weeks she weighed 5.5 lbs and had siblings that weighed almost 13! She's now 55 lbs of healthy doodle, but it took some vet bills to get there. As long as there isn't HUGE weight differences and the puppy is healthy, I wouldn't worry about it! Lizzie is a weeny submissive, but it makes it easy to take her anywhere.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

We have Litermate sisters, Lucy and Sophie! Sophie was the runt of the liter, and is anything but submissive! She is the boss, she is the bully, she is the princess, it is all about Sophie and if you don't believe me, just ask her! When we got them Lucy was 5 lbs and Sophie was 2.5. They are now just over 1.5 years and Lucy is 63 and Sophie is about 48.5. Although smaller, she rules the roost! Lucy, although I wouldn't call her submissive, just tolerates Sophie! She lets her have her way until she gets tired of it, and then she gives it all right back! They are inseperable though!

[Julie B.]

Interesting replies guys... I guess its all about the personality you see at 7 weeks huh? The little girl I like is healthy but she is probably 2 lbs lighter than the other ones. We'll just have to wait and see. This process of picking a pup shouldn't be this difficult but it always is with me. I have ended up with good dogs so the extra thinking is probably worth it. Thanks again for your help.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I think you will know when you get there. Sophie just crawled right up in my lap like please take me home ..... don't leave me here with these other monsters! DH just fell in love with Lucy! and the rest as they say is history!