Dwarfism

[Martininni]

We took our 20 week old labrador puppy to the vets today as he he is quite short for his breed so wanted to get him checked over. The vet wants a second opinion so we are booked in next Monday for this but she thinks that he may have dwarfism. My DH took him to the appointment today and didn't ask the vet many questions. Does anyone have experience of this and know what the implications for his health (if there are any) would be?

And this is another reason why breeders should be banned

Do you want dogs to no longer exist in 15 years, then? If not, then 'breeders' need to exist - anyone who produces a litter of pups is a breeder.

However, breeders are a broad church, and range from the outright dreadful to the extremely conscientious, with every calibre in between.

A pedigree Labrador from a good breeder would include parent(s) tested for dwarfism (not my breed, so I'm not aware of the inheritance).

For me, buying a dog from a breeder who robustly health tests through all the appropriate avenues would reduce my chances of getting a dog with any issues (if, indeed, this pup actually has any issues of this ilk). Breeders need to breed well, and buyers need to buy well.

SD2 is the DNA test you need to look for to test for the most common type of dwarfism in labradors. It's part of the standard panel for Labrador DNA testing.

Op, I would like to add that your boy is just beautiful. Those gorgeous, kind eyes! Labs are beautiful souls. I do hope his health tests turn out well for you both.

And it's worth adding that even with conscientious breeding, shit happens. De novo genetic mutations, recessive illnesses that can't be tested for and are vanishingly rare in the breed, congenital abnormalities.

A good breeder can do a lot to mitigate risk (breeding away from extremes, breeding for a low COI, genetic testing, joint scoring, placing puppies in homes that can cope with the likely breed traits) but life doesn't come with guarantees.

Regardless of the outcome, it would just make me love the little man even more. He is a absolutely gorgeous. I see a Labrador with dwarfism regularly on my walks-he's the sweetest boy.

With respect, seeing who you believe to be both parents doesn't prove anything. He could well be a mix. If they were both purebred parents, they would most likely be registered.

We have seen the second vet today and she has no concerns. She has basically said he is moving well and they would only look at treatment if he is showing signs of pain. She does not think his size is outside of normal parameters and we don't have to treat him any differently in terms of exercise.

Excellent news!

That's great news! An absolute cutie!!!

I wouldn't pay too much mind to comments about the breeder. The amount of money people get for mongrels nowadays is similar to full breed non-KC registered. It would be a huge waste of time to bring a dog to pretend to be the parent when you have another breed of dog.

I've always had pedigree but non-KC registered because we don't care about that and never had a problem. Bad breeders are out there and a massive problem but avoidable with due diligence. Papers or not.

I knew a man years ago that had a little lab, she was lovely, she was a pedigree.
I assume she also had what your dog has.
Not many around I've only seen one and she was a perfect little size.

Amazing news - he is such a beautiful boy!