Dwarf German Shepherd Dog - Page 1

We also have a pure breed dwarf German Shepherd, he has an amazing vet who has done alot of research for him. He discovered a synthetic growth hormone which hepls his hair loss and skin condition. He as a hormone injection every 3 weeks and so far is up to his 4th  which he had just has yesterday. We have seen amazing results so far. His bald patches are growing lots of fur back, his skin doesn't itch as much and he has even started to get a wee bit of his adult coat. He is nearly a year old now and weighing 14kgs. We had full blood tests done when we discovered he had it at 7 months old and they all came back clear. He will have another full blood test at about the time of his 5th or 6th injection but so far he is doing really well. We are keeping a positive attitude and our wee man is a delight...the only difference with him so far compared to other German Shepherds is his size. I am happy to help with any querries you may have if you also have a dwarf.

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we also had a dwarf who we saddly lost last year she was nine years old she had an operation on her heart at 16 weeks to close a valve which had not done so when she was born and apart from that she never had a days illness in her life our vet never informed us about hormone replacement  or we might have tried it. I know you will get a lot of enjoyment from your pup as they are very special little dogs
Sheena McCarvel

Tig's dwarf GSD, Nemo, loves to herd (I imagine he's a bit old for that now!) and will do a mean bark-and-hold on an oven mit!

They act like big dogs in a small dog's body...

Here's a thread with more info:  http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/139918.html#155893

I will ask Angus' vet at his next visit what the hormone treatment is called and post it on here. All I can remember him telling us is that it was a synthetic hormone which is very similar to a pig or human hormone and a fraction of the cost. We pay $25 (New Zealand $) per injection which is far cheaper than the hundreds the pig or human hormones cost. So far we have been getting excellent results. Angus sounds very like TIGs dog Nemo. He is very much a big GSD only in a small body! :) He has a big loud bark and can scare off any visitors who come to the door...only when I open it they see wee Angus. Very cute.

Ellen
I wish you luck with your little guy. Talk about serendipity. I haven't been to the board in months and was just quickly checking something for a friend tonight when I saw this post. Feel free to email me ( more reliable than PM since I don't often come here anymore) if I can answer any questions. How old is Angus and what is his pedigree? Nemo came to me at 6 with very bad skin yuckies and pretty bald from the withers on back but by using natural supplements I was able to cure the skin stuff and grow hair.

Sheena, sorry to hear you lost your little one. What was her name and pedigree? Do you have a picture? I agree wholeheartedly they are special ones. Not only do I thank God for the gift of Nemo but I thank him for the brightness and joy Nemo brings to others lives as well because where ever we go, he puts smiles on peoples faces and in their hearts. He has always been able to identify the "soul weary" and they get extra special treatment and care and loving from him whereas with others he is merely a polite tolerant GSD.

K9 and Sunsilver thanks for giving her the info on Nemo. Actually not too old at all for the herding - it's still his greatest love ( after taking care of the soul weary). For his 11th birthday last August we took him to Linda Rorem's ( great herding trainer in Pescadero California). She had just gotten in some pgymy goats which he got to work and boy did he like that since their kinky little tails were right at face level - oh so nice for grabbing. When he was younger in order to keep up with the big dogs he learned the trick of grabbing a tail and going along for the ride.He especially like to do this w/ his great friend Betsey who was a coat. He would also do it with Julia's Cora ( wonderful bitch) including one time when she ran 6 blinds with him hanging on! So you can see why those little sheep and goat tails appeal to him. The entire time Linda worked with him she smiled and laughed cause he is just such a hoot when he herds. Let me tell you the stock knows he's a big dog and react accordingly.  I had asked Linda to bring her ducks figuring we would try him on those thinking it might be easier on him. Well, he was totally insulted and not interested. He would turn his back to them and go to the fence and try to work the sheep in the next pen. Unfortunately distance and the economy really limit how much I can take him herding. I would love to put a basic AHBA title on him but it's just not in the cards. He does come out with us to Schutzhund training most Sundays to smooze the people and put the young dogs in their places. Then he directs the goings on the my front seat of my van, telling us his opinio the entire time. The little fat head a couple of weeks ago I had left the window open a little too much and he jumped out ( giving me heart failure) so he could join the party. Knock on wood he' s still doing ok tho his coat has thinned a bit and of course he takes more naps these days.

Ellen, keep us posted and let us know more about Angus.   Beth

Hey, I just remembered, there's a picture of Nemo on Linda Shaw's site!

And, of course, that's him in her sig picture.


http://www.shawlein.com/The_Standard/13_Breed_Type/Breed_Types.html

i have a dwarf german shepherd!!!

We bought our pup from what we though was a reputal breeder. When we finally noticed that he wasnt growing I had made multiple calls to Shepherds of the Mount (breeder) asking if this was normal giving her height and weight measurements. Which she told us he was fine. Then we went to the pet store the one day and saw a gsd that was younger then bullet and almost twice his size.

We began to worry and continued to call the breeder to see if there was a problem. I did my own research and found that he was a dwarf. Emailed her and she gave 2 options to get our monies back. Put him down and show her the vet note saying he was terminated or give him back (which then she would have prob put him down). So we went with niether option.

Bullet is a full of life dog that has an awesome personality. He keeps up with our full grown gsd Mele and our wheaten terrier Sassy just fine.

He is now going on 3 and we can start to see things really progessing now. The typical life span is 2-5 years. He has lost most of his fur. He has a bald rat like tail. His back only has a few patches of fur left. His head and paws both have hair. But, I can see he is starting to lose little bits on his head also.

Now when I watch him relaxing his breathing is starting to look labored. GSD have high tolerances for pain, so we arent sure if he is in any. But, if he is he isnt showing it as of yet.

As of now his back stands at 15 inches high and weighs 19 lbs.

We have him on thyroid meds (soloxine) but his hair continues to fall out...

I have made a dwarf german shepherd facebook page... anyone who has a dwarf gsd please go on and post your story along with pics of your pup to help others later :) thank you!!!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112730725426249&v=app_2373072738#!/group.php?gid=112730725426249

See this thread for a much better discussion:

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/forum/28757.html

GET HIS HEART CHECKED OUR DWARFHAD A HEART PROBLEM AS A PUP AND WE GOT HER OPERATED ON AND SHE LIVED UNTILL SHE WAS NEARLY 9 WITHOUT A DAYS ILLNESS IN HER LIFE  SHE WAS A FAB LITTLE GIRL PICS OF HER CAN BE FOUND ON MY WEB SITE PDB KENNELS AND BREEDERS UK JANEFIELD GSD
SHEENA MCCARVEL