Full article and photographs here... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...man-shepherd-Dwarfism-SMALL-man-syndrome.html Is there a test for Dwarfism in GSDs and should the breeders have euthanised the three in Tiger's litter?
Pituitary Dwarfism is a horrible incurable disorder which I wouldn't wish on any dog, no matter how cute they look. Many years ago I knew someone with one, poor thing lt was forever at the vet lost most of its coat, had terrible skin problems the list goes on’ she died at 5yrs, Statistics’ claim that 90% dies in the first week, the other 10% has a life-expectation of 4-5 years) Yes there is thankfully now a Genetic test for it, not sure but think it was first introduced around 2009 .. The test is also validated for these breeds: German Shepherd, White Shepherd, Karelian Bear dog, Saarloos-wolfdog and the Czechoslovakian Wolfdog.
So if Tiger is three years old and there were three with Dwarfism in the litter, presumably neither sire nor dam were tested for it.
Both parents have to be carriers of Mutated gene. So if id taken the trouble (for example) to have my stud dog tested id want to make sure the bitch had also, so No it dosent look like they were tested
First time I came across mention of genetic test for dwarfism in GSD was in an blog about genetic tests available for GSDs. Already knew some things written in it, but some didn't. Found it useful, here it is: http://www.animalabs.com/german-shepherds-dna-tests-genetic-diseases/
