Hi everyone my bitches litter are now 6 weeks old, all 9 of them are doing well but there is one bitch who is noticeably smaller than the rest and a bit slower to do things but is eating and drinking well and gaining weight. I work in a vets so have been bringing them into work with me that last few days so they experience the car journey and get used to different things. Most of the puppies dont show any change in behaviour and will still have a wee nosey about and play with you but the runt goes really quiet and doesn't seem to want to move and play like she does at home and sleeps alot. I have noticed that the others do kind of bully her and push her around a bit but if she wants to she can give as good back, anyway sorry for the rambling what I was wondering is should I set up another pen with her and another couple of them and try and spend more time socialising her as she does seem quite shy or should I just leave her to it and hope she comes out her shell herself. One of the girls I work with in the vets is taking her so know she is going to an excellent home but just want to give her the best start possible

ive had 2 like this in 2 different litters ,i just leave them with the litter but do play alot with them ,you might find once shes gone to her new home she will be so different! :) she will want to be with her litter mates even if their abit ruff with her ,pups like this to tend to comeout their shell once in their new familys xx

We had one little bitch like this aswell, the 2 bigger ones went to their new homes and we kept this 1 with us and mum just to keep an eye on her and make sure she was ok, within a couple of days she had come out of herself and was just as confident as the other 2 and was playing as normal. Shes 9mths old now and is doing very well in her new home.

Thanks very much for your replies, I will just keep an eye on her then and she is going to be one of the last to go so hopefully over the next couple of weeks we can bring her out her shell before they start going to their new homes

My little runt turned out pick of the litter and did an awful lot of winning in the show ring.
Only little boy at 10 ounces and all his five sisters were well over a pound and a half at birth , remember they have all the world to grow in
Good luck