Pituitary Dwarfism German Shepherd Dwarfism

Ranger the german shepherd is two but you d be forgiven for thinking he s still a puppy.

Pituitary dwarfism german shepherd dwarfism. Pituitary dwarfism in german shepherd dogs is characterized by combined pituitary hormone deficiency cphd and intrapituitary cyst formation. He has pituitary dwarfism which means he looks young for much longer than is normal for his breed. Pituitary dwarfism is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder and is encountered most often in the pastoral breeds particularly the german shepherd dog where 20 are now estimated to carry the faulty gene. You may have heard of the growth disorder pituitary dwarfism pd before but did you know pd most frequently affects german shepherds.

Pituitary dwarfism leads to a growth retardationaround 11 of german shepherd are carriers of the gene responsible for the disease. Although there are conflicting statistics online all studies show german shepherds have a far higher rate of suffering pd compared with other breeds. Sisters shelby and darcy mayo knew the dog might end up smaller than other german shepherds because he was the runt of his litter. We know that precious may look quite comical but she is a pituitary dwarf and desperately needs our help to find a new home as a matter of some urgency.

Ranger has pituitary dwarfism a genetic condition that primarily affects german shepherds but can also affect such breeds as the saarloos wolfdog and the karelian bear dog.