Regarding Lisa Petrizzo's question about smaller Labradors. I
have read that it is a genetic fault, that pops up very occasional.
in a litter.They are born normally, but at 8wks you can see the difference.
They are healthy, except their legs are shorter. Jill.

Correct, dwarf Labs are Labs with legs like bassetts, I believe Jimmy Hill has one which incited people to want one !! Will they never learn ??
Dawn.

Does dwarfism only affect labradors?
Christine, Spain.

I have seen pictures of Mals with Dwarfism too :( Not a common thing as far as I know ...and I think it was in the US

Melody

No Christine, it can affect any breeds, thankfully not that common though.
Dawn.

Technically all the basset breeds 'suffer' from dwarfism which is the shortening of the long bones in the legs!
Bec

And Dachsunds too then ?
Dawn.

yep but I class them as a basset breed. Basset means low to the ground which I think you can safely say applies to Dachshunds!
Bec

Do you remember the craze on dwarf GSD's a couple of years ago, thankfully I haven't heard of any recently, the two I did know had several health problems.
Dawn.

GSD's suffer from pituitary (sp?) dwarfism which means they are in the correct proportions just very very small. Someone I know locally to me has one but he has now lost all his hair as a result of the problem.
Bec

The two I knew BOTH had liver shunts, one was epileptic and the other (like the one you know) lost all its hair at a very early age.
Dawn.

There are diferent forms of Dwarfism, and the Achondroplatic type are viable (those with short legs) and appear in all breeds as a fluke from time to time. My breeder had one in a litter, and it didn't become obvious until she was about five weeks old. She kept her, as she didn't know if it would make her prone to other health issues. She had legs a bit more than half length, and looked like a large Vallhund!

There wer found to be no health issues, and she could easily have found a pet home, but Ann kept her, and often would laughingly say, this is the culmination of 30 plus years of selective breeding. She thought it quite funny to be reminded that nature will sometimes throw a spanner in the works.

I beleive that there are other forms of dwarfiwm, (e.g. Pituatary Dwarfism) that GSD, and I think Mals get occasionally) probably other breeds too) that really do cause the dog real problems, and an early death, and in my view these should be PTS when discoverd.

When i saw the Jimmy Hill article I did worry that it might start a demand, and would hate4 for anyone to produce them deliberately. If they want a short legged breed then get one!