# Do runts grow slow?



## ebonicrobot (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm concerned about my dogs wieght. My dog is 18 weeks and weighs only 15 pounds. Im pretty sure hes a runt his mom stopped feeding him two days before i picked him up and he has an under bite. I took him to the vet and the doc said he is perfectly healthy but is just really small and that I shouldnt worry. The mom and the dad was both around 60-65 pounds, the dad was short though. My wife told me that she read somethere on the net that runts dont usually grow alot there first year. I feed him Innova large breed puupy dry mixed with some wet. Could it be something i feed him?


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## ThaLadyPit (Oct 12, 2008)

ebonicrobot said:


> I'm concerned about my dogs wieght. My dog is 18 weeks and weighs only 15 pounds. Im pretty sure hes a runt his mom stopped feeding him two days before i picked him up and he has an under bite. I took him to the vet and the doc said he is perfectly healthy but is just really small and that I shouldnt worry. The mom and the dad was both around 60-65 pounds, the dad was short though. My wife told me that she read somethere on the net that runts dont usually grow alot there first year. *I feed him Innova large breed puupy dry mixed with some wet. Could it be something i feed him*?


For starters, this breed doesn't need to be fed Large Breed formula of any brand. The Large Breed formula is intended for dogs like mastiffs. You're giving him too much nutrients and vitamins, which can cause him to have slight deformities later on in life due to overgrowth of the bones in such a short period of time. How much do you feed him.. do you use a measuring cup? How often do you feed him, 1x a day, 2x a day? Puppies should be fed at least 3x a day until they're 6 mos old. How old was this pup when you got him, since you say the mother stopped feeding him 2 days before you picked him up. Was the breeder not helping the litter transition to solid food during the course of the mother weaning them? I'd need more info before I can help you any better. Thanks for understanding.


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## william williamson (Feb 26, 2006)

it's not A big deal.if youve got A 35# pit full grown,thats equal to about 70# of anything else.
small pits are way cool.I had a 33# dog and he was pure hel!.


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## MISSAPBT (May 10, 2009)

william williamson said:


> small pits are way cool.


Ditto, Little pocket rockets are the BEST!

To the OP don't worry about his weight, alot of people think oh my dogs bigger than yours, therefore he is better. Totally wrong  Be happy with your little dog  hell, Grace is only around 25lb


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## ThaLadyPit (Oct 12, 2008)

William and MISS... Thanks for bringing that up, in my haste to answer his question and inform him of the food he's feeding, I left out the fact that sometimes just b/c the parents are big doesn't mean the offspring will be big. Thank you very much for touching on that!


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## MISSAPBT (May 10, 2009)

I have feeling that if people buy the large dogfood it will make them grow bigger hehe


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## william williamson (Feb 26, 2006)

ThaLadyPit said:


> William and MISS... Thanks for bringing that up, in my haste to answer his question and inform him of the food he's feeding, I left out the fact that sometimes just b/c the parents are big doesn't mean the offspring will be big. Thank you very much for touching on that!


it's called balance hun-nee.and "got cho back".



MISSAPBT said:


> I have feeling that if people buy the large dogfood it will make them grow bigger hehe


now ain't that something?
30 years ago,as a result of having several dogs on the yard I fed field trial extra protien.which it actually had.
then when they'd go to keep and start to show muscle when I'd be running them folks would think it was the dog food.
then,when I'd feed them and they'd see the steamed vegetables and different meat cuts they were lost.
were I to win a lottery i'd feed them the old diet from when I would have a dog in keep.
right now it's all I can do to keep them in lamb and rice.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

I have seen the runts turn out to be the biggest in the end , thr runt isnt always the smallest , and the parents arent always the best to use in refrence to how big your dog should get lol I found that out with my red nose freak LOL . As long as your pup is healthy and her coat looks good and she has a good amount of energy what more can you ask for?


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Unless the runts have other health issues they are no different than any other dog in the litter and actually can turn out to be bigger in some cases. The last litter I had, the runt of the litter I was a little worried about because he did grow slower but that is only in the nursing stage by the time Spartacus (now Earl) was 2 months old he was the bigger puppy of the litter. At this point your pup is no different than any other puppy and actually is standard size for most pit bulls. You need to have him on a good puppy food NOT large breed and just let him grow at his own rate. Do not try and bulk him up there is not need for that if you want him to reach maximum size but plan on neutering him, let him mature till about 2 before you neuter him.


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## ebonicrobot (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for the response guys. I just now started feeding him large breed dog food. When i do research i get mixed answers because it seems that alot of people are feeding their pits large breed dog food. Large breed Innova has less protien than the regular stuff. I feed him half a cup 2-3 times a day and I use a measuring cup. I think he is pretty cute he looks like a little muscle!!! Other than the small underbite he looks really good. His coat looks and feels nice.


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## MISSAPBT (May 10, 2009)

Glad to hear he is well, have you got any pics of the little guy?

APBT is a medium breed


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

People with pit bulls feed a large breed because they are uneducated about the breed. In no way is a pit bull a large breed dog not even at 65-86lbs that some bullies get is considered a large breed. Now if you have a dog who comes from Bully lines that are over 100lbs then by all means feed large breed food. Lower protein is for slower growth and you really only need that is dogs who grow too fast or in large breeds like great Danes or Newfoundlands.

Deciding how much to feed goes by how your puppy looks I stop feeding 3 times a day when they are around 16-20 weeks old but that is me. The worst thing you can do for a young pup is over feed and get them fat at an early age. Your pup will mature at his own rate and no need to try and bulk him up or really worry about growth for now. He sounds like and average size pup for now and even though his parents were larger at about 65lbs most APBT are closer to 50-55lbs or smaller. It is possible you have a bully instead and not an American pit bull terrier or APBT.

I also would stop the wet food, there is not need for it...... ever unless the dog is sick and you need to entice them to eat. Start good eating habits now 

The under bite is no big deal I have many dogs including show dogs with under bites. It is genetic but not the end of the world even in show dogs they can still Ch in the UKC or ADBA. It happens and as long as it is not extreme it should not cause your pup to be any different or any problems. If the under bite is small and your pup is this young there is a chance the bite can correct as they get older and get adult teeth at around 4-5 months old. I have seen both under and over bites correct as the pup grows correct and some never correct just depends on the pup.

I really applaud your for doing research for you pup there is so much misinformation out there about pit bulls and them being large breeds or bully vs APBT. We have many great experienced members here willing to help. As you start to research more you will learn that a lot of what you heard from everyday ppl was nothing more than ignorance, while they have good intentions for you they just don't know any better. You are on your way to becoming educated on the pit bull breed.


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## pitbullmamanatl (Jun 1, 2010)

performanceknls said:


> People with pit bulls feed a large breed because they are uneducated about the breed. In no way is a pit bull a large breed dog not even at 65-86lbs that some bullies get is considered a large breed. Now if you have a dog who comes from Bully lines that are over 100lbs then by all means feed large breed food. Lower protein is for slower growth and you really only need that is dogs who grow too fast or in large breeds like great Danes or Newfoundlands.
> 
> Deciding how much to feed goes by how your puppy looks I stop feeding 3 times a day when they are around 16-20 weeks old but that is me. The worst thing you can do for a young pup is over feed and get them fat at an early age. Your pup will mature at his own rate and no need to try and bulk him up or really worry about growth for now. He sounds like and average size pup for now and even though his parents were larger at about 65lbs most APBT are closer to 50-55lbs or smaller. It is possible you have a bully instead and not an American pit bull terrier or APBT.
> 
> ...


:goodpost::goodpost:


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## william williamson (Feb 26, 2006)

ebonicrobot said:


> Thanks for the response guys. I just now started feeding him large breed dog food. When i do research i get mixed answers because it seems that alot of people are feeding their pits large breed dog food. Large breed Innova has less protien than the regular stuff. I feed him half a cup 2-3 times a day and I use a measuring cup. I think he is pretty cute he looks like a little muscle!!! Other than the small underbite he looks really good. His coat looks and feels nice.


were you to get 100 dog people in a room,like pit bull people, with your pup,and A pup 3 times it's size,(same age) yours would be chosen far and away as the dog of choice.



MISSAPBT said:


> Glad to hear he is well, have you got any pics of the little guy?
> 
> APBT is a medium breed


please post pics of the pocket pistol.


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## bigworm (Aug 29, 2010)

not meaning to take over this thread but i feed my dog large breed food but he is a big bully is it still wrong should i switch to small breed dog food he is a little over five months and weighs 45lbs i would think hes a large breed what you guys think


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## MISSAPBT (May 10, 2009)

Do medium dog food


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

bigworm said:


> not meaning to take over this thread but i feed my dog large breed food but he is a big bully is it still wrong should i switch to small breed dog food he is a little over five months and weighs 45lbs i would think hes a large breed what you guys think


If your dogs parents were over 100lbs then feed large breed, 45lbs at 5 months sounds like your dog will stay under 100lbs and more like 70-80 as an adult that is still not a large breed.


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## jayandlacy (Sep 21, 2009)

I would just like to add that my Ice Baby was the runt and the last to go from his litter, he was my $50 perfect healthy dog...He now weighs between 68 and 72lbs. it takes up to around 2 years till you know what your dogs final weight and size will be, he had some awkward phases where he was tall and skinny, but now he is perfect  Just love your pup, keep him healthy and see what you get!


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