# Will she catch up to her littermates?



## Tollerowner (Jul 5, 2011)

Our new puppy was the smallest and quietest of the litter at 6 weeks. The breeder said she didn't fight as hard as the others to get the food. 
She is now 8 weeks and just had a playdate with a littermate. Although she has gained significant weight, she is still smaller than her sister.
Developmentally they were identical; same behaviors, same movements... Except for having different muzzle markings, I don't think I could tell them apart. (well, they both respond to their names; I guess that would be a give away)

So, is she likely to catch up, or do I just have a smaller dog?
Just curious if it means anything this early; I would actually prefer a smaller dog.


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## piperboxermix (Jan 12, 2017)

This is just my own experience, but Piper was the 2nd smallest puppy in her litter (12 lbs at 8 weeks), and her brother (the one I keep in contact with) was one of the biggest, if not the biggest. Now, at 6 months, she dwarfs him. She is not only taller, but has much more muscle. But, who knows, he may end up bigger than her in the long run. But as of now, he is nowhere near her size.


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

It's hard to say... she might stay smaller, or she might catch up. My friend's dog recently had a litter of puppies; the smallest puppy was half the weight of the largest puppy when they were born, and now at 12 weeks is the second largest out of the litter of 7.


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## Marvel (Sep 26, 2015)

Agreed, it's hard to say.

Quill was the second biggest in his litter and everyone -- vet, breeder, myself, friends -- thought he'd easily hit 90+ lbs. He is coming up on 2 years old now, and no more than 70 lbs. His brother, who was much smaller when we picked them up, is HUGE compared to him. I'm not 100% sure his weight, but he's taller and stockier and just in general far bigger.

So it is possible she'll catch up, but no way to say for sure!


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## Effisia (Jun 20, 2013)

I'll chime in with the "hard to say" crowd. Annabel was the largest puppy in her litter and now she's the smallest adult. And, in fact, is smaller than the Newfoundland standard at only 95 pounds. So yeah. Hard to say.


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## DaySleepers (Apr 9, 2011)

Unless there's an obvious medical cause to the size difference (types of dwarfism can pop up in some breeds), yeah, all you can do is wait and see. I never saw his littermates since he was a private rehome, but Sam supposedly had a toy poodle mother and a mini poodle father... and he wound up an oversized mini. Now whether I believe the paperwork his last owner got from the breeder is another story, haha.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

Hard too say

Manna was the smallest puppy and now the biggest adult (taller and longer though not quite as broad)


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## SnarkHunter66 (Apr 30, 2016)

No real way to tell... My Rottie mix was the runt of the litter, by adulthood, she towered over the littermate we had kept in touch with.


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## Tollerowner (Jul 5, 2011)

A week later she had put on another 1.4 pounds, but her sister put even more weight on. The sister is much stronger, but Chloe seems to be faster.
But of course they are only 9 weeks; from what I read here, that could all change in a year. Thanks.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

My AKK was the smallest boy in his litter and ended up almost oversized for the breed. You just never know!


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Hard to say, but many/most runt puppies do catch up to the rest of their litter or even end up on the large size. And a puppy who was the same size as the rest of the litter can end up as a small adult.


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