Hi there,

New to the forum, GSP and dogs too! We're excited to say that we're *this* close to picking a purebread GSP from a litter born in mid-july (to take home mid-september).

We went and visited with the pups last night and there was one that "picked me" for lack of a better phrase: she climbed right up on my lap and plopper herself down. When she left to go play with her littermates, she always somehow ended up in my lap again.

Our first concern is her size: she is the smallest of the litter (I dislike the word "runt"). According to the owner, she is not timid at all, and in fact we witnessed her playing tug-of-war with the biggest male, roughhousing with her sisters and when the water dish was put down, she was one of the first to get to it. Still, we have heard that the smallest of a litter can have behavioural problems...does anyone have any feedback on this?

Second, her coat: we were hoping for a dog with a more spotted coat, but this one is almost all white except for her head and one spot on her back. Does the coat colour change as they get older, or will she always be white?

Finally, my wife really want to go skijoring with our dog...do you think a GSP will be suitable?

Thanks so much!

...Mike

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the pup!

I wouldn't worry about size, my smallest grew to an average size adult and the second smallest is not the biggest.  The smallest as an adult was average at birth.  She's a bit fiesty but that's just her personality.

GSPs will usually continue to get ticking until around 2 years old.  One of my males had one small spot on his back as a pup and now has lots of spots.  I'm at work right now and don't have pictures but some pups will change a lot, others not as much.  By any chance did you look at the pups feet?  From what I see, the darker the feet the more roan or heavily ticked.  Lots of spots on the feet usually have more ticking, mostly pink seemed to stay white with little ticking.

First, welcome to the forum!! Would love to see some pictures of your future pup.

In my last litter I have 11 puppies, 3 girls and 8 boys. To of the girls were the biggest puppies in the litter and the third was the smallest by half. Today, a year later one of the biggest girls is an average size GSP, the big girl is on the smaller side, and the one that was tiny is right in the middle of her two sisters. Small at birth really has no bearing on their future size. It only means that they did not have as good a spot for getting all they needed on their mothers uterine horn. As long as she is eating and growing now, I would not be worried. Take a look at the parents if you want to get a general idea of future size. Also, size has nothing to do with temperament.  That is to a degree genetic and then is influenced by early socialization and experience. The parents temperament is a good barometer for the puppies future temperament.  Ask also about the socialization of the pups. From your description it sounds like the puppy you are looking at will be fine.

As for white, can you see any, even faint ticking, in the white area. If so that will darken as she gets older. If not, then she may have a few tick spots pop up, but probably not too many. There is nothing wrong with that color though as the standard only say liver and white. In fact, the field trial folks love that color because it is easier to see in the field.

And I think you already have the anser on skiijoring. The only thing I would caution is wait until the puppies growth plates have closed before you start any serious pulling or running. For shorthairs that is usually between a year and a year and a half. I would recommend waiting until she is a year and half to start the skiijoring. You can however let her run along with you if you cross country ski after she is old enough to keep up and not tire out, probably sometime around 6 months or so. Folks in snow country are also using shorthairs on mushing teams too. Some in the Skandanavian countries are crossing shorthairs with malamutes hoping to get an even better skiijoring dog.

Good luck!!

Here's another example of color development:

Ozzy and his littermates at around 2-3 weeks:

Oz at 8 weeks:

Oz all grown up : )

BTW I also vote for taking the puppy that picks you!  The color may grow on you--when I first saw Chelsea (the white one in my avatar) I thought "Ooh, I don'n want that ugly white dog!" but I soon thought she was the prettiest thing ever.   

One of my first GSPs was the "runt" and she grew into a normal, medium sized dog.  She was always "feisty" and assertive--my mother said it was because she'd been stuck with the "least hind titty" as a pup and wasn't having any more of THAT! 

Wow, thanks for all the feedback everyone! You have all really put our minds at ease with your advice! Here is a photo of the little girl we're considering...

Another one

Welcome aboard!

You can see some ticking on her legs! I kept the "runt" from our litter and she is so sweet. She beats up brother and wins all the time. At 10 months, they are about the same size. I wouldn't worry at all.

I can smell the puppy breath from here!

Cathy

I think this might be the color yours will be....cuz now she is about 4 or 5 weeks old and still has lots of white...

Here are some pictures of my white and ticked dog...note he has all clear/white nails except for one black one....

This is my oldest at 8 weeks old when we brought him home


This is him at 2 yrs old