My German Shepard is very small?

She weighs about 25 pounds now at 11 months old. She had a rough start in life and I fear it stunted her growth somehow. She is very healthy now except for skin allergies which are easy to handle, is it possible she is a mini GSD-- is there such a thing?

she might be mixed with a small dog.

It is possible that stress could've caused her to not eat as much, not being fed enough, or other cause. It is unlikely that any of those would get a female shepherd that light. A mini-German Shepherd breed does not exist. It is extremely likely that it is a mix, most 'German Shepherds' are actually mixes.

Neither a "German Shepard" nor a "mini-GSD" exist.The translation of of the real name of the breed developed to HERD sheep in the German boundary patrolling way is German Shepherd Dog.In many breeds - the GSD being one - there is a recessive allele that affects the pituitary gland (the producer of the prime growth-regulator hormone). Pups with a pair of that allele are miniatures. In a litter, they can often walk UNDER their normal litter-mates by the time the litter is ready to re-home.At 11 months, your bit.ch should be somewhere near 63 lbs. The required weight range for an adult GSD bit.ch is 22 to 32 kg (48½ to 70½ lbs). Her 25 lbs is small enough to suggest that either she is a pituitary dwarf, or a crossbred.It is important to know WHICH she is, because the outlook for pituitary dwarfs is NOT good. Firstly, they never grow an adult coat, so as each puppy hair gets broken they gradually become bald.Worse, they invariably develop very painful renal (kidney) problems, with most dying at about 3 years old. However, one in my country was put on protective drugs and then gained a CDX; at the age of 8 years he gained a 3rd in his training class at our 2008 GSD National, before his genetics started to catch up with him.Your vet should instantly recognise the symptoms of pituitary dwarfism. So take her to visit your vet.If she is a dwarf, start the protective drugs.If she isn't, accept that she is a cross-bred but can live a long life (unless she is unlucky and has inherited some of the other "bad" genes that get passed on when owners are careless about their on-heat bitches).• Add http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source to your browser's Bookmarks or Favorites so that you can easily look up such as feeding, vaccinations, worming, clubs, weights, teething, neutering, disorders, genetics. Most of its public sections apply to any breed.• To ask about GSDs, join some of the 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with them. Each group's Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos in your messages.Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly"In GSDs" as of 1967