runt

Question
My breeder sent me a picture of the 2 pups he keep for himself, beautiful pups. My pup is half the size of his dogs, they are brothers and at 5 months they look like they are 55 lb. my dog is 32 lbs. I new he was the smallest when I bought him but did not think about issues that might come up with runts. He is thick headed and hard to train but I love him and am doing my best with him. Is there any information you can give me on runts? Janet

Answer
Janet,

Because your dog was the smallest of the litter doesn't mean that he's a true runt.  True runts are often killed by the dam as a matter of instinct as they are abnormal and weak.  

The definition of runt includes: an animal of unusually small size.  That there is a runt born to every litter is simply not true and an old wive's tale.

Most puppies will weigh between 1.5 and 2 pounds per week of age.  Your pup is 20 weeks old and should weigh between 30 and 40 pounds...he's perfectly normal.

Remember, being a male, he should weigh no more than 75 pounds when he's full-grown which won't be for another year, at least.  He has about 6 more month of growing taller and then will spend another 8-12 months growing wider and gaining muscle mass.

If he's thick-headed and hard to train, that has nothing to do with being smaller than his littermates.  Each litter has a dominant puppy, a submissive puppy and a range of attitudes in between.

If you are having difficulties with him, it's most likely your fault (barring medical issues, it's usually the owner's problem, not the puppy's).  What are you having trouble with?  If you can give me some specific behavioral and/or training issues and what you've done, method wise, I can help you.