Why do some large dogs have only 3 or 4 puppies?

Answer 1

I still don't know. But it's not neccisarially bad or dangerous so don't worry. we have a German Shepard Male and my dads friend is a breeder. They bred together and had only one healthy happy pup. As of now it's only several weeks old.

Answer 2

Yes, dogs can give birth to only one puppy. This is what we call a singleton puppy. They are not unusual but they are very uncommon.

Singleton puppies may be a bit over-energetic, over-nippy and socially shy because it doesn't/didn't have siblings to play with. This can be resolved by adopting a stray puppy.

Answer 3

Yes they can. My dog was the only pup in the litter.

This can be because the father is much bigger then the mother dog, not allowing her to carry more then one pup. It can also be because the mother is older, or because its her first litter. There are many reasons why a dog would only have one pup

Answer 4

The question is very vague, so it depends on what you mean.

If you wonder why they are moved one at a time, the adult carries them in their mouth and can only move one at a time.

If you mean they adult is moving one puppy and leaving the rest it could be because either that puppy or the others are ill and the adult is trying to protect them, or the puppy is the runt and is removed to help the other puppies chances of survival.

If the adult is moving puppies to differnt places and not keeping the litter together it could be for protection, if the adult was spooked by something, or just lack of maternal instincts.

Answer 5

no dogs should always have at least 3 puppys because of the way dogs were made

Answer 6

maybe she had accidently lay on the rest suffecating them by accident and then buried the dead and that's why we only have 1 :(

Answer 7

The size of the dog, lack of fertility, outside factors that would cause her to abort one or more puppies.