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male gsd short in stature
#11822 - 08/09/2004 11:56 AM |
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Can anyone give me any advice as to why my 11/2yr old male GSD is only 21 inches in height, he is also short length wise as well. He has been tested for everything under the sun, all results clear, breeder said it was because I took him off the raw diet, could this be right? He is out of a litter of 4.
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11823 - 08/09/2004 12:34 PM |
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Unless that dog is suffering malnutrition, it's nothing more than genetics. Remember, it's not the size of the dog in a fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
DFrost
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11824 - 08/09/2004 01:05 PM |
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The breed standard for a male's height I believe is 22-24 inches at the withers. Sounds like your boy is close. I wondered about this myself when I got my first dog, a showline GSD who I thought was on the small side. Regardless he is exactly the height for the breed standard and a very handsome boy to boot! I believe some breeders tend to breed outside of the standard as a lot of people like a "big" dog. Hope this helps.
Ohno Von Kaykohl Land & Troll Vom Kraftwerk. |
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11825 - 08/09/2004 02:05 PM |
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The breed standard calls for males to be 24-26" at the point of the withers. Females are 22-24". That is from the AKC standard, not that they pay any attention to it.
How big were the parents? I've seen some really nice smaller Shepherds. A smaller dog has advantages -- easier to have in the house, often quicker and more agile in the field, may live a bit longer that a larger dog. Size seems to be inversely related to longevity. At 11 months, the dog still has some growing to do. As long as the dog is healthy, I wouldn't worry about it.
Nice discussion on structure at http://www.workingdogs.com/lshaw1.htm
The FCI standard calls for 62.5cm (26.5") for males and 57.5cm (22.6") for females with a plus or minus tolerance of 2.5 cm (1")
http://www.workingdogs.com/standard_fci.htm
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11826 - 08/09/2004 03:03 PM |
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The FCI Standard calls for 62.5 cm wich is 24.6" !
Not 26, that is a monster IMO. I don't like large dogs.
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11827 - 08/09/2004 04:00 PM |
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There's already been discussion at the SV regarding the GSD becoming too large. The SV board was considering sending memo/ warnings to clubs and breeders reminding them of the stated height in the breed standard, but I don't know how far that went.
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11828 - 08/09/2004 11:46 PM |
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Charlie, Thanks for setting me straight. I knew I was close but I just couldn't remember off the top of my head. Although my showline male is the breed standard, my working line pup at 8 months is already larger. Hate to say it, but I'm a tall guy and I like bigger dogs. JMO <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Ohno Von Kaykohl Land & Troll Vom Kraftwerk. |
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11829 - 08/10/2004 07:09 AM |
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Thanks to everyone who got back to me on this, he is actually 18 months old, but my main concern is that, was it my fault for taking him off the raw diet that caused his short stature? According to his breeder that is why he is short, never heard of this, any thoughts? I hear the breeder kept the rest of his litter, they were bred for colour, all black. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11830 - 08/10/2004 08:48 AM |
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No, that is pure nonsense. If anything, commercial foods make the dog grow bigger faster than raw diet.
I like the smaller GSD - obviously I would not want a breeder *aiming* for smaller size or color but my last male who was topped out at 65# lived 15 very healthy agile years; he had bad hips too but surgery was not common back then so we kept him lean and active.
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Re: male gsd short in stature
[Re: marie monaghan ]
#11831 - 08/10/2004 09:58 AM |
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Just to back up Nancy here...
Raw fed pups tend to reach their full height/stature a bit slower than kibble fed dogs. A prime example is two males from our "A" litter, one was larger than his dam fairly young (he was kibble fed) and the other that stayed with us (raw fed) is just now getting bigger than her...they are 11 mos old.
Also, if he ends up being a bit small, then it's more than likely genetics (assuming he's healthy and well fed through-out his life). Some dogs are just smaller, others are horses, most (hopefully) fall in between. However, with you saying that the litter was bred for color, that makes me question if the breeder knew the genetics behind the litter. You could just have a pup who is genetically limited to being on the low side of the standard or under-standard. By 1.5yrs old, he should already be at his full height and getting ready to start filling out.
Mike Russell
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