3 years, 3 months ago
How many puppies are in the average litter?
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M$1 Answer
http://www.royalcanin.us/library/littersizeindogs.aspx
"AKC performed a three year study involving 15 breeds, in order to gather data on litter sizes, ages of dam, number of litters, etc. A total of 728,271 litters were included in this time period. The representative data gathered is truly reflective of the breeds involved. Just to illustrate the information on some of the breeds, we’ll look at 2 breeds from each large, midsize and small breed dogs. Labrador Retrievers had a typical range of 5 to 10 puppies, with 7.6 average puppies, looking at over 85,000 litters. German Shepherds were evaluated with just over 44,500 litters, showing a normal range of 4 to 9 pups, and an overall average number of 6.6. In the American Cocker Spaniel breed, 39,000 litters provided data showing an average litter size of 5, with a normal range of 3 to 7 pups. Shetland sheepdogs produced over 28,400 litters in this 3 yr period, revealing a typical litter size ranging from 2 to 6 pups, and the average litter size was 4.3. Yorkshire terriers were represented by just over 53,000 litters, ranging from 2 to 5 puppies per litter with an average of 3.3. Chihuahuas had identical results based on 55,500 litters. The point being that if one expects a German Shepherd to consistently produce 8 pups with each litter, thinking that an "average litter size", he might conclude that she is not performing up to her potential if she’s producing 4, 5 or 6 pups, which is well within the normal range for that breed. Likewise, while Chihuahuas and Yorkies have a typical range of 2 to 5 pups, 80% of all litters are 4 pups or less. "
"AKC performed a three year study involving 15 breeds, in order to gather data on litter sizes, ages of dam, number of litters, etc. A total of 728,271 litters were included in this time period. The representative data gathered is truly reflective of the breeds involved. Just to illustrate the information on some of the breeds, we’ll look at 2 breeds from each large, midsize and small breed dogs. Labrador Retrievers had a typical range of 5 to 10 puppies, with 7.6 average puppies, looking at over 85,000 litters. German Shepherds were evaluated with just over 44,500 litters, showing a normal range of 4 to 9 pups, and an overall average number of 6.6. In the American Cocker Spaniel breed, 39,000 litters provided data showing an average litter size of 5, with a normal range of 3 to 7 pups. Shetland sheepdogs produced over 28,400 litters in this 3 yr period, revealing a typical litter size ranging from 2 to 6 pups, and the average litter size was 4.3. Yorkshire terriers were represented by just over 53,000 litters, ranging from 2 to 5 puppies per litter with an average of 3.3. Chihuahuas had identical results based on 55,500 litters. The point being that if one expects a German Shepherd to consistently produce 8 pups with each litter, thinking that an "average litter size", he might conclude that she is not performing up to her potential if she’s producing 4, 5 or 6 pups, which is well within the normal range for that breed. Likewise, while Chihuahuas and Yorkies have a typical range of 2 to 5 pups, 80% of all litters are 4 pups or less. "
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M$
I was about to just say 6 but your answer just kills that. Well done.