Pituitary dwarfism in German Shepherd Dogs: a genetic analysis of some Australian data

Eight pituitary dwarfs have been born recently in six different litters from registered German Shepherd parents in the Sydney region of New South Wales, Australia. A genetic analysis has been carried out to determine whether there is any hereditary basis to the syndrome.
In agreement with recent Danish findings, the Australian data indicate that pituitary dwarfism is inherited as an autosomal recessive condition, with the possibility that some recessive homozygotes die before or soon after birth. Thus the observed proportion of dwarfs in a litter from heterozygous parents is often less than 25%.