Well we are looking for a puppy, we have one spotted but there is only one question, the breed of dog is West Highland White Terrier so only a small breed of dog, and the mum only had 2 pups, is this normal, unhealthy? I am have come accross a few other litters with only 2 pups, but is this normal? There is a female and a male pup. Thanks!
Thanks for your answers so far, but I really dont think showing a dog makes it any healthier? Just a theory!?
Also, the woman is applying for KC Registration at the moment, and that is in waiting (Takes up to 3 weeks).. If it gets accepted, will this be more of a guarentee that the pup is healthy?
You need to concern yourself more with official health test certificates than litter size if you are looking for healthy puppies – especially with westies… they have so many allergies and illnesses at the moment it isn’t funny.
To answer you question, it is not unhealthy for a b1tch to only have 2 puppies.
The size of the breed is irrelevant, it is just dependant on the individual dam.
I have known a b1tch of my aunts to have 2 pups one litter, then 11 the next time she bred her and then 1 in the litter after that – all the puppies were fantastic examples of the breed.
It would actually imply the puppies will be healthier as they have had better access to milk and more one on one interaction from mum.
The only concern i would personally have is if you wanted to get the b1tch to breed westies yourself because it is a good indication of the litter size you could expect from your own b1tch.
Breeding should never be about the money, but it is always better to breed more than less when it comes to covering your expenses.
Tags: Westie, west highland white terrier
Ask your vet or a Westie breeder.
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It isn’t abnormal no, with smaller breeds they often do have small litters. If it’s the dogs first litter, then quite often it will only be small.
The main concerns you should have are, that the breeder has had the dog health checked, and has titled the dog in shows. If not, then I would look for another breeder.
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That’s not uncommon, especially if its the dam’s first litter! If you really want to check the health of the pups, the best thing to do is to contact previous puppy buyers and ask them about their dog’s health.
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Just think of smaller the dog the smaller the liter but that sounds crazy to me i suggest you ask the breeder for a pedigree and also ask how many times has this happened….if not that then ask a vet near you…
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in college for dog behavior/owner of thurl bread kennel
Yes this are healthy puppies. It is usual for West Highland White Terriers to have a small amount of puppies. They are small dogs so they have less puppies because of their size. To learn more go to http://www.animalplanet.com , or watch Dogs 101 on animal planet.
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I agree with Herbie – it isn’t unusual for a small breed dog to have litters of 1-4. It’s more uncommon for litters to be over four than for them to be tiny. I would focus more on the breeders practices and the adult dogs’ credentials – meaning look for genetic testing, show or work/field history, genetic guarantee for minimum of four years, etc.
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/finding_good_dog_breeder.html
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Owned by Mutt
You need to concern yourself more with official health test certificates than litter size if you are looking for healthy puppies – especially with westies… they have so many allergies and illnesses at the moment it isn’t funny.
To answer you question, it is not unhealthy for a b1tch to only have 2 puppies.
The size of the breed is irrelevant, it is just dependant on the individual dam.
I have known a b1tch of my aunts to have 2 pups one litter, then 11 the next time she bred her and then 1 in the litter after that – all the puppies were fantastic examples of the breed.
It would actually imply the puppies will be healthier as they have had better access to milk and more one on one interaction from mum.
The only concern i would personally have is if you wanted to get the b1tch to breed westies yourself because it is a good indication of the litter size you could expect from your own b1tch.
Breeding should never be about the money, but it is always better to breed more than less when it comes to covering your expenses.
References :
Not uncommon, no. Unhealthy- could easily be a result of a high COI (coefficient of inbreeding- a measure of how inbred a dog is, the higher it is the more inbred the dog is). I’d want to take a look at the pedigrees to see how many dogs are on there more than once, and on both sides.
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a dog can have one pup and it can be normal…i let mine tie twice to guarantee all eggs are fertilized…
i send my litter registration in by the time my pups are 3 weeks old and get them back in 10 to 14 days…
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pom breeder
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