Runt of the litter
 

Does the runt of the litter have later health problems because of its birth size? The one I am looking at was 2 oz. at birth and too small or weak to nurse. He is being raised with an eyedropper so far.
Does birth size correlate with the size of the dog when it is full grown?

No,it doesnt mean there will be health problems later on at all.My oldest yorkie (Lady) weighed in at 8oz when I got her at 7 weeks,so you can only imagine what she weighed at birth.She was the runt of the litter too and has always been super healthy,she was also helped to eat by her former owner because of her birth size.Right now she is 15 months od and weighs in at 2lb´s and we havent had a single problem with her at all.
Her mom has only had 3 others like her in her time as a breeding female,and ALL have grown into tiny but healthy yorkies:) I have another female who is 8 and a half lb´s at 10 months old and she has ALWAYS had problems:( Diarrea,vomiting etc..she has a VERY sensitive tummy:rolleyes: Tiny DOESNT always mean sickly;)

The little boy, Dobby, pictured on my webpage is only 19 ounces at 1 year old. He was so small at birth the vet didn't think he stood a chance. Well he competed with 4 others for nursing rights, (of course we helped by making sure he had equal time with mommy) and is doing just fine. I keep in close contact with his new family and see him off and on. He is a little spitfire. His new mom called the guiness book to see if he was the smallest and he was 1 3/4 of an inch too long. If you go to the link of Grace Mick Feb 29, 2004 you can see all 5 of them in a bed and he is so tiny. Oh, and of the 5, he was the first one born.

www.simplyyorkies.com

I have female who was born super small and has had to be helped to nurse, supplemented and now is almost 5 weeks at 10 ozs and will eat soupy canned food really really well better then her litter mates. Im not used to this small of a puppy.
In my experience right now she seems less mature then her mates, not as strong, doesnt really have teeth yet like the others and walks with alot less agility then her ever soooooooo fat litter mates. Kinda hunch backed right now with her backlegs very wide.
Im used to puppies being at least over a lb at this point. With those of you that have experienced little ones, did they mature slower then your bigger puppies?

I have heard just because he is a runt doesnt mean he will be small all his life. He could become bigger then the others when grown up.

I am not a breeder but I have bought a small puppy like you describe....she was not born a runt...breeder said she was same size as all the rest...but eventually did not grow like the others....when I went to look at puppies she did not want to sell this one because she thought she might die!!! All her litter-mates were gone to homes.
When I first went and saw her (I am a peds nurse...had my infant scales with me)...she was 12 weeks and weighed 13 ounces!!! Except for feeling REALLY SKINNY & boney, she was very active and playful.....I talked the lady into letting me buy her...brought her home at 14 weeks...weighed 1 pound 1 oz.
The past 4 weeks I have been concerned she was "developmentally delayed".....seems to fall alot and not very coordinated! But the past week I have noticed a tremendous difference!!! She plays WILDLY with my chihuahua..and I think Apple has become her physical therapist....(and paper trainer!!)...I spent alot of time on different forums asking about puppies and what physical skills she should have at this age. I do think she is behind in development.
At 4 months she now weighs 1 pound 15 oz (last night) and doing great. She is getting to be a very picky eater but I give in because I fear her not eating.
The vet is pleased with how well she is doing. I thought she would get a bit bigger than this but I think she will be somewhat small. I think I took a roll of the dice with her...but love her to death!!!!! I do hope she gets bigger.

THanks Debi.....that helps. I think she is just gonna be a very slow starter. The thing that is great is she eats like crazy. Mom is trying to wean everyone and I dont want her weaned, I really think she needs that extra boost. She is definitely developmentally delayed at this point.

Dolce was pretty tiny when i got her too...she was 11oz. at 8 weeks. The next month after that she still had barely reached 1 lb. I was a little nervous that she was so tiny because i was only used to having big dogs. She progressed wonderfully and now at 7 mths she is around 5 lbs. and holding. From what the breeder said and the calculating i did on weight she is right at what I thought she would be. I have never had ANY health issues with her and she is super smart so i dont think all babies that are born tiny have problems.

My parents dog Katie(yorkie) was the runt of the litter, she ended up living a long healthy life. I think she died when she was 14? She had a slight hump back, but, she was only 3lbs. as an adult, very fragile little girl. :aimeeyork

Sibelle , my friend's Yorkie weighted 1 oz at birth . She is now 2 years old and only weight 13 oz . He had lots of troubles keeping her alive when she was a puppy .

Runt of the litter
 

Thanks to all of you for sharing the information. Unfortunately, the little guy didn't make it- he was just too tiny and frail. However, the breeder says his brothers are doing great and are up to 1/2 lb. each at two weeks. Piper's mom

Oh so she has the WORLD'S smallest yorkie huh-------------yeah right.

hershey seems to have a hump back and he is only 14 weeks.. is there any way i could fix this problem? i dont understnad how he got it in first place

Sounds like Hershey has a roach back. If so, his neck is probably short and front legs look shorter than the back. That is not considered a "disease" that can be fixed. It is frequently seen in breeding without the knowledge of the ancestors of the puppy. They are still lovable, no matter how they look..

Gucci was the runt of the litter. At 12 weeks she weight 1.3 lbs. She is 8 months now and she weights 5 lbs. The only problem we have with her is a bad case of ringworm wihich she still on treatment for.