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German Shepherd With Dwarfism Still Looks Like A Puppy At Two-Years-Old

German Shepherd With Dwarfism Still Looks Like A Puppy At Two-Years-Old

Fur-ever young, I want to be fur-ever young.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

While teaching a puppy the tricks and trade of living with you can be difficult, it's hard to argue that it's one of the best phases of owning a dog.

They're so small and young and just trying to learn about the world around them. But, as with most things, they eventually grow into the dog they were always meant to be, which is totally fine (I'm not crying, you are).

But there is a dog that has come to our attention that, despite being two-years-old, still looks like a puppy.

@ranger_thegshepherd/SWNS

Let us introduce you to Ranger, who is a purebred AKC German Shepherd who has 'Pituitary Dwarfism'.

At this age, he should be much, much bigger however because of his condition he hasn't grown much since his puppy days.

German Shepherds are predisposed to Pituitary Dwarfism and Ranger was diagnosed with the rare condition after he contracted a parasite called Giardia. As he was recovering, his owners realised that Ranger wasn't growing as he should.

Ranger's guardian Shelby Mayo said: "When we originally got Ranger from the breeder, he was smaller than all his other littermates, but we figured that was because he had a parasite called Coccidia.

@ranger_thegshepherd/SWNS

"In the weeks following we took him home and he was parasite free but later on ended up getting a parasite called Giardia.

''At the same time, we also discovered that Ranger had a large infection on his neck.

"We were eventually able to get the infection under control, fast forward a few months later we were finally able to get rid of Giardia.

While it might seem cute, a side effect of his dwarfism means he sheds fur and has flaky skin caused by hypothyroidism.

Shelby said they were able to get treatment for some of those health issues after a concerned fan from Ranger's Instagram page reached out to them.

@ranger_thegshepherd/SWNS

"One of our followers who also has a Dwarf German Shepard told us to get his thyroid levels checked as many dwarfs suffer from hypothyroidism," Shelby said.

"So our vet checked his thyroid levels and sure enough he was low, this can cause hair loss and a loss of appetite.

"After getting Ranger on Levothyroxine and using this soap his fur grew back and the dryness went away."

Shelby adds that at the moment Ranger seems really happy and isn't afraid of running around and doing all the things that normal dogs do.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: Community, Animals