Testicles! - Page 1

Knew that would catch your eye! My pups just had their vet check, & of course, the 2 that are promised to  folks were the only pups the vet had a comment on, sigh!...the first pup has a very small overbite, so slight it's un-measurable, no big deal, right? But the 2nd pup, was felt by the vet to only have 1 testicle in his scrotum at this point, she said,"He's very young, it will probably descend a little later, get him rechecked in a couple of months if it's not apparent by then." I don't believe the new owner has any plans of breeding, and will neuter this male anyway, & I have disclosed this info to the new owner. The pups were just 8 weeks old this week, do you think it will come down? Just wondering....Thanks, jackie harris

Jackie, it may already be there. Not all vets are good at finding them, especially if they try when the puppy is standing on all 4's.  If it doesn't come down, the dog will still be a great pet. I wouldn't really be concerned about it since it's a pet home and there are plans to neutered the dog anyway.

I think it is a possibility, but nothing more than that. If both testicles are not in the scrotum by six (6) weeks of age, then there is still a chance they will appear. If both testicles are not descended by eight (8) weeks of age, then the odds are not in your favour.

Yes, there have been cases where the second testicle appeared within a few months. If it can be felt in the lower abdomen, it can sometimes be massaged into place. Some puppy owners/breeders have used hormone supplements to increase the mass of the testicles in order to help them drop. In the end, these are not ethical treatments if the dog is to be used for breeding and are perhaps one of the reasons we still have these problems today.

If the testicle does descend naturally or with a bit of massage, then I would allow the dog to keep them until he is physically mature. An undescended testicle can become cancerous, and it will produce a bit more testosterone due to its elevated temperature.

Regards,

Bob-O

Generally if the testicle hasn't decended by 12 weeks, it won't come down.

I've only seen a case like Bob-O mentioned occure twice: once with a GSD male of mine, and once with a friend's Labrador Retriever. In both cases the dog was thought to be cryptorchid, but the second "boy" appeared on it's own several months later.

More often it goes like it did with a dog I purchased to be the foundation stud for a working JRT (Jack Russell Terrier) program -- I kept holding out hope that his second "boy" would arrive on it's own, but finally it never did so I eventually had to get him neutered  

There are surgical techniques to lower undescended testicles, but I don't go with it for a breeding dog because the genetic condition for retention still remains, and can be passed on to future offspring. Which goes against my views on responsible breeding. However, if the pup's new owners intend to neuter anyways, it won't be much of a problem in that regard. It will just be a more invasive surgery for the pup than a simple snipping.

Thanks, all. I haven't heard yet from the new owner what their desicion will be, as I offered them an opportunity to back out of the purchase, no hard feelings. I did not accept a deposit on the puppy. I'm hopeful that the other boy will drop, I think I feel it up there, but I'm sure the vet knows better than I, so....I guess I'll just have to wait & see what happens. Thanks again, jackie harris

Jackie, sit the puppy on your lap, raise him up into a sitting positioning by placing either hand under  his body on on his chest.  Let his rear end rest on you lap.  Make sure his tail is between his legs. Now take your free hand and very gently press your fingers as farback  behind the scrotum as you can rolling it between your fingers in an outward motion. If the second testicle is there, you should be able to feel it. 

Now here's the caveat, if this puppy is one of those dogs that has a slow closing inguinal ring, it may be there one day and gone the next. It can yoyo back and forth until that ring  closes. It should be closed by the time the pup is a few weeks old at the latest, but some dogs are a lot slower. IMO those will be the males who seem to produce a high percentage of cryptorchids in their progeny even if both testicles just happen to be down when the ring finally closes. I also think dogs like that end up to be the ones that suddenly have both testicle at 6 months. I would not consider a dog with late descending testicles to be a good breed risk.

At any rate, he's a pet and if the buyer don't want him because he doesn't have both testicles in the scrotum, then you may be dodging a bigger bullet in the future. It's such a minor issue for a pet puppy that I can't imagine a buyer refsuing a puppy for that reason.

Did you offer the pup to the puppy buyer at a discount?  I know some breeders do this with pups such as this one since even though he is a "pet" pup, the neutering surgery will be more expensive with a cryptorchid than it is for a pup with both testicles descended.

Yes, I did offer a discount.

Blitzen- what bigger bullet? jh

I'm just thinking if they don't want the pup becasue he might not have both testicles in the scrotum, then they may also be the sort of people who complain about anything and everything. So, in that sense, it may be for the best.