What is the oldest a male shepherd pup can go with only one testical down? - Page 1

I have a 5 1/2 month old male working line Shepherd pup that only one Testical has dropped. How old can they be before you should be concerned? I am not planning on using him for breeding.

The general consensus in the medical field is that if the testical has not dropped by the time the dog has reached sexual maturity (7-9 months) then that is the time to remove it. Other opinions say you can wait up to 18 months, so you have a wide range there.  Keep in mind that this is not simple surgery like a neuter - it is much more invasive, with a longer recovery time,and the testical itself can be hard to find in some cases. If it were me I would do it sooner rather than later - and yes, please don't breed, this is a genetic fault which can be passed on.

I have checked and out of 5 male litter mates he is the only one that his testicel has not dropped, is that still considered a genetic fault? He is only 5 1/2 months old..

Yes it is a genetic fault.  I have a 7 year old companion service dog and he was the only male in the litter (3 sisters);  his breeder would have kept him had he not been a monorchid;  and I would have not gotten him from that breeder as he is a really well bred nice german boy.  I neutered him at 10 months and I wished I had done it sooner; about the age of  your boy as they recuperate faster as puppies;  it was a major surgery on my boy at the 10 month stage as he is a big boy also.  The reason you do not leave that testicle internally is that supposedly it can become cancerous, and I did not want to take any chances.  As you can probably tell the testicle at 5 months is substantially smaller now then when you wait.  I recommend that you neuter him now for easier recovery and does not give the internal testicle time to travel too far hopefully.   Nanci

SRUFF,
Has your vet seen the dog yet?
I would say at this age its time to see the vet.
I have seen dogs live long healthy lives without surgery, but breeding is out.
Have him looked at.

I had a beautiful GSD that had a retained testicle, and I chose not to neuter him, and it turned cancerous when he reached the age of only 7 years, it was very sad, it caused a mass to grow in and around his liver, I think the body tries to reject it, I would wait till he is seven months, cause a lab I had, dropped the second testicle at 6 months, and they were normal in size, just a late bloomer I guess, but have it removed if it never drops.

If this is genetic, is it wise to breed any of the littermates?
Could they also be carriers?
Is there any work being dog to isolate this gene and create a test for it?

I have had this happen with my Duke....we got him fixed when he was 6 monthes old...it ended up it was in his stomach so it was a huge cost,and major surgery  for him,but he is now a year and hes  the love of my life....i just didnt want him accidentaly breeding.............Tina                                       lerg=