Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Delayed growth in German Shepherd pups with normal hormone levels
By Randolph, J F et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1990·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Delayed growth in two German shepherd dog littermates with normal serum concentrations of growth hormone, thyroxine, and cortisol.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two German Shepherd puppies from the same litter were brought in because they were growing much slower than expected. While one of the puppies showed signs of a condition called hypopituitarism (a hormone deficiency), the other had normal hormone levels. Despite their slow start, both puppies began to grow steadily and reached normal size by their first birthday. This suggests that their delayed growth might be a less severe form of the same condition seen in other German Shepherds.
People also search for: German Shepherd puppy growth problems · why is my puppy not growing · hypopituitarism in dogs
Abstract
Four German Shepherd Dogs from a litter of 10 were evaluated because of postnatal onset of proportionate growth stunting that clinically resembled well-documented hypopituitary dwarfism in that breed. Although 2 pups had histologic evidence of hypopituitarism, the remaining 2 pups had normal serum growth hormone concentration and adrenocorticotropin secretory capability, and normal adrenal function test and thyroid function study results. Furthermore, the initially stunted German Shepherd Dogs grew at a steady rate until at 1 year, body weight and shoulder height approximated normal measurements. Seemingly, delayed growth in these pups may represent one end of a clinical spectrum associated with hypopituitarism in German Shepherd Dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2295557/