Testicles and genetics - Page 2

I gues everyone is right. Every individual dog is different, you would have to check if she carries the gene, BOTH male and female must carry the no-drop-teste gene to produce it, but chances are she carries it, so like MOONS says, carrier shouldn't be bred as to take that out of the breed, we all must do our part for the betterment of the German Shepherd . Good luck

"Female had 4 litters. In 1 litter, problems with testicles. Then they choose another stud dog. Next litter-no problems. The third litter, again another stud male-no problems. the last litter-again another male-no problems. It looks that she produced puppies with testicle problems only in combination with one male."

The problem with this thinking is that after the first litter, you know the female carries the recessive for testical issues.  Even though it didn't manifest itself in the subsequent litters, she has now almost certainly passed that genetic information on to some of her offspring.

If everybody knows everything about genetics than the dog with testicles problem will not be born anymore.

I have to say I wouldnt dismiss such a female either JUST because of that.  It would depend on if she was breed worthy herself, what her hip/elbow/health status was, if she was titled, etc...

I mean seriously, if we stop breeding EVERY SINGLE DOG who has close relatives with ANY problem, we would have no more dogs to breed!  While retained testicles are a pain to deal with, and we should try to breed away from it just like any other issue, it really isnt near as bad or serious as many other issues that we could be dealing with!  A male with retained testicles can still work and/or make a great pet - just cant be shown or breed.  Would rather have that pop up than MegaE, or the host of other health issues that can happen in this breed. 

Now if it happens in several generations and you cant seem to get away from it, then ok maybe it is time to rethink what you are breeding.  But to not breed an otherwise worthy dog just because she has litterbrothers with missing testicles?  I dont agree with that.

However, I would try to find a stud dog who had a good production record for this. 
JMO of course
Valerie

Come on then, please tell me...why does one ball matter so much??

It is a fault in the standard.  It also can cause some pretty nasty health problems in the male. Hormone issues being the most common.  I have heard of cancers but havent been able to find any published study on this topic.  And it costs a fortune should you have to fix the dog.  A minor surgery can become a major one is a minute. 

   
  What you need to know is, why the the testical did not drop.

If the testical did not drop because the cord that is attached to the testical is to short then yes, that is a genetic problem.

If the spermatic cord is long enough and the inguinal ring simply closed before the testical droppped, then it is not a genetic problem.

So on the female pup you are speaking of, you would not know until she is breed and produces males that are affected.

Unless the owner has a vet surgically bring the testicals down into the scrotum you can not say for sure if this is genetic. ( thus seeing if the spermatic cord is long enough )            

With most of the pups retaining a testical my guess is that it is genetic in this case.

Why do you think the ring closing too soon isn't a genetic issue?

I would not breed her, too much of a risk. They shouldn't have repeated after the 2nd where no male had descended testicles.

Blitzen,

The spermatic cord being long eonugh is the genetic component that one should be concerned about.
The inguinal ring is also supposed to close thus functioning properly.
Timing is the problem if the testical has not dropped the ring closes and it can not drop into the scrotum.
Like in a c-section sometimes a pup just is turned or not in the correct position.

Thanks