Dwarf German Shepherd Dog - Page 1

hellow all the guys here i m with another new topic.does any one knows about Dwarf German Shepherd Dog? give your opinion and knowledge here.

I found this to be an informative website: http://www.accdata.co.uk/dwarfism/ Dwarf German Shepherds are caused by defective genetic material; however, this person is furthering genetic testing by requesting blood samples from those persons who own Dwarf German Shepherds. This is not a breed. This is dwarfism in a particular breed. Other breeds took the dwarfism in their breed and continued breeding dwarfs - hence why we now have the Alaskan Klee Kai which is the promoted dwarfism of Alaskan Huskies.

A similar thing was done with the corgis. When my friend had her latest litter, the pups averaged about 13 oz. in weight. Okay, this is unusually large for a corgi pup, but still, it emphasizes that this is NOT a small breed of dog, just one that has been bred to have short legs. Link to a picture of the pups at 3 weeks:http://pics.livejournal.com/corgwyn Click on the last picture in the second row. The 4th picture is especially relevant, as it show the pup in proportion to a human's legs. My understanding is that dwarf Shepherds have other genetic defects, and multiple medical problems. Is that so? (And just because we CAN do something in terms of breeding doesn't mean we SHOULD...)

I did read on a website when I was looking for an educational one for the OP, a personal website dedicated to a couple's (unexpected) Dwarf GSD who was euthanized at five years old due to medical problems.

Pituitary dwarfism does come with its own set of health issues.. my understanding is that they ar first appear normal and then change as they grow to show differences.. and yes, from what I understand most do not have a verly ong lifespan.. mostly heart issues I think A couple famous widely used dogs were known producers, one in particular....

http://www.shawlein.com/The_Standard/13_Breed_Type/Breed_Types.html The fifth to last picture on this page is two GSD's one standard size and one dwarf.. I believe they were litter mates, but dont quote me on that. Interesting to see, I had never known about dwarf GSDs before.

Uran carries the Dwarf gene, Fedor also carries it. I have had 2 dwarfs. They are sooo cute and very funny, these little tiny things with the Big GSD attitude. Most do not live long a month or 2. The ones who live longer are plagued with medical problems. Most lose their hair and become bald, I have heard of 1 or two that were able to maintain the hair, But this is rare. They have a different look to them, hard to explain. If their health was better they would be so fun. The 1st one did not make it more than a few months, the 2nd one lived over 1 year. It does not mean not to use the dogs for stud. It means to aware and bred away from the issues, this has been pointed out to me many times. I am very big on thinking these things should be out in the open for the betterment of the breed. This is a very good site about them http://www.geocities.com/heartland/meadows/6074/

A lady I know bred a GSD litter that contained a dwarf. She was the sweetest little thing & quite healthy. Sadly I just heard that she died a few weeks ago at almost 12 yrs of age. A good age for any GSD, especially a dwarf. She was adored by her breeder & will be very sorely missed. It's a shame that most dwarfs are PTS when diagnosed, as with a little extra care they can live as good a life as a normal GSD.

We have a dwarf GSD who will be 12 years old on 1st September this year. He did have a very serious heart problem at 12 weeks of age, and given only a few months to live. He proved everyone wrong!!!! He has had skin problems and loss of hair, so occasionally has to have a course of anti-biotics. He is on Soloxine for the thyroid and has now grown a reasonable coat. I know a lot of Breeders would have put him to sleep, but we and our Vet decided to give him a life. He lives in the house with us, and is a very good guard!!!! Nearly everyone that knows him loves him, but we do get the odd sarcastic comment that he should have been 'Shot at birth'!!!! If anyone wants his pedigree, just E. Mail me.

I never heard of a dwarf GSD before, though someone told me once they had a female half the size of my male, who seems smaller than most males. I saw something really funny once-a rottweiler and Basset hound mix. He looked the same as a regular rott just like one with its legs cut off! He was so sweet, too. Have also had mixes called shepherd/lab that were very small.