Nautering a Monorchid/Cryptorchid? - Page 1

What is your take on neutering, and is it ABSOLUTELY necessary?  Thx in advance  Nan

Sorry NEUTERING, it won't let me correct the topic.

Depends on how risk-averse you are. If you're willing to accept the risk of the retained testicle[s] becoming strangulated, which will then require emergency surgery, then you can leave the dog 'intact'; if you'd rather not take that chance, then neutering is the best course of action to follow.  Personally, I wouldn't take the risk because there are times when I have to board the dogs, and any signs of testicular strangulation could be missed, and there are also days when I'm working away from home for 13-15 hours a day and needing to rush the dog in for emergency surgery would be problematic.  YMMV.

Cryptorchids have a significantly higher risk of developing testicular cancer (up to 10x greater).

Years back I lost my GSD to cancer that  probably could have prevented.
 He had a retained testicle and I never neutered him and when he was about seven years old the retained testicle turned into a cancerous tumor that had spread to his liver and was just a big mass, he had to be put to sleep on the operating table.
   I  hate learning the hard way...had I knew that could happen he would have been neutered.
  Ask your vet, I'm curious to what he will say...
      Good luck with your decision.

I am currently dealing with this exact situation. I've decided to neuter my boy when he is 2 1/2 years. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I believe the dog needs to mature to his full potential before removing his testicles. I see alot of tall lanky males with smaller heads that have been neutered when they were young (under a year).
Personal decision but I wouldn't leave him intact for his lifetime due to the high risk of testicular cancer....so sorry to hear that story, Mira...

Thank you for the insight and that is what I have been told by most vet's;  they need to come out and off.  Really hate to neuter at all but he would not be breds anyway, don't want a couch potato though.  Did you guys notice personality changes after neutering;  the only experience I have with this problem is my male that I neutered at 10 months;  was not happy to have to do that and he died young anyway from DM.  so am somewhat paranoid needless to say.  Know the DM is unrelated BUT the dog changed a lot after the neutering and not necessarily for the good.  Just grasping for info at this point.

I would ask my vet if I had a decent one;  can't seem to find and thank god my present dogs are healthy as my trip last Friday to my local vet was a joke;  he said some really stupid stuff even the hub's picked up on it.  JHC.  I will keep looking.  Am between Fallbrook & Oceanside in So. CAL. if anyone can recommend a vet.  Thx  Nan

Interesting that out of just 4 responses, we've already hit on a dog that became affected with cancer as a result of a retained testicle--I generally don't mention the cancer risk anymore, because there's always someone who comes back and bitches that "...the incidence of that type of cancer is so low to begin with, that a tenfold increase doesn't really amount to much".  It IS true that testicular cancer is rare in dogs, whether they have both testicles descended, or they have one or both retained, but if it's YOUR dog that is on the losing end of the gamble, that's no real consolation when you know you could have avoided it altogether if you'd just neutered him.  Still, rather than have that argument again, I've taken to only discussing the strangulation of the retained testicle[s], as it is far more common than cancer yet puts the dog's life at great risk if not identified and corrected surgically immediately.

GSDK9Trainer's got the right idea, as long as he/she is a responsible dog owner who doesn't permit his dog to breed any female during the waiting interval before neutering him, which I trust is the case.

Hexe, I would never do that...I love this breed way too much to contribute to any health issues in the lines. I wish everybody was more responsible with breeding but alas....this sadly isn't the case. But thanks for the benefit of the doubt!

If you had a vet you trust and the vet trusts you then see if you can just have the testicle that is retained removed....

  Like you say..."Most vets"  you need to keep looking for the exceptional vet...
 
   I know having the vet I do that she would do an operation like that for me cause she knows I am trying my best to breed healthy dogs and would not breed a Monorchid.
 
   I don't believe that they get testicular cancer rather that the foreign body that is retained causes inflammation over the years and the body rejects it.

  Sounds unbelievable, but there has to be a vet that will not be so paranoid to think the only reason you want to keep the other testicle is cause you want to breed him.

  Just let them know you don't want to end up with a sluggish overweight couch potato, not to say that all spayed/neutered dogs are sluggish overweight couch potatoes.

 And if you can't find a vet that will just take the one testicle out, than wait until he is 2 or 3 years to have him neutered, then he will be fully grown and possibly won't have as much of a change in behavior...
  Responsible dog owners don't need to neuter or spay their dogs.

Thank you Mirasmom for your thoughts, however, I have not bought the dog as of yet and can't even believe I am considering him, however, he is a REALLY nice puppy almost 4 monrhs old and in training now and owners have been holding him to see if the testicle will come down and have decided that it will probably not, SO.  That is the scenario.  We will see, will be a getting a video of his OB and retrieve.  In the meantime will be trying to find a vet.  Thx  again,  Nan,

And, yes they do become lazy couch potatoe's; at least my wgsl did as I neutered him at 10 months and he became  very rangy and lengthy and structurally unsound after that;  so I am really not looking forward to jumping right into that again.  Great days,  NAn