Does anybody know any good GSP breeders in the PNW who have a lineage of smaller dogs?
Every litter has a runt.
I have had seven hunting dogs.
Two were runts.
Runts take a bit longer to develop, than a alpha dog. They do have to be encouraged to hunt, but any dog will hunt. The runt black lab I had was the best retriever I had ever seen, but it took her two years to get there.
I even took out my wife's Bichon and hunted over him. I did leave him with a trainer for a month. It was an extra $3 a day for him to go out every day and have a pigeon shot over him. Well, worth the money to have a hunting Bichon.
I had the second pick of 17 puppies and the breeder was appalled that I picked the runt. But she was a good 10 lbs lighter to the "normal" brits. At 72 I no longer look forward to carrying a 100 lb dog that is injured.
The runts always have "more interesting" personalities.