I have just noticed that a dog I know (NOT ANY OF MINE I HASTEN TO ADD) only has one testicle. I've just been reading up about it but not sure if he has one which is undescended or not. It's not something i've thought about until recently and then had a look at him today.
He is a JRT, who must be about 7yrs old. He has sired a number of litters - have no idea the reason behind the breeding as he doesn't 'work'.. Aside from me not agreeing with that i've also read that that its hereditary? Is this in all cases?

There is also a cancer risk if not neutered too. Is the risk very high if not neutered?
Are there any other risks?
Anyone got any personal experiences of this?

I'm trying to get as much unbiased information from other people so I can present it to the owner (HOPE SHE LISTENS)

Well your comments are correct bearing in mind the missing one may have been removed for some traumatic reason in which case the normal worries do not apply. It is always said the retained one will/can develop a tumour but as most are removed if retained I don't know how likely this may be, and yes, it is hereditary and he should not be used for breeding although even if normal I don't think he should be used as he is not a working terrier, unless you think the breeding of mongrels is the way to go.

As far as telling the owner I think I would keep my thoughts to myself as you are not likely to achieve anything other than a rude reply or a black eye.

> not likely to achieve anything other than a rude reply or a black eye

Lol, too true.. Its a family members dog and he has never had any operation for this. I have mentioned this to another family member already and their response was it works doesn't it(as in the one he does have).. Ummm, yes then mentioned cancer, but seeing as I didn't have a huge amount of information I was struggling to really back up what I thought..

The reason that dogs with one testicle should not be used for breding is that it is hereditary and of course the sisters can pass the trait onto some of their offspring.

These dogs are fertile, but there is a risk if this becomes a common trait that with the trait on both sides of the family you will get dogs with no testicles in the scrotum, so you will be producing infertile dogs.

Yes it does have a strong hereditary link and such dogs should not be used for breeding.  Female pups from the affected litter may carry the recessive gene and may later throw chryptorchid pups.

My pup was bilaterally chrytorchid - it corrected itself very late in the day.  I researched the subject and talked at length to our vet.   I was never planning to breed from him but the vet told me that even if the testicles did descend and to all intents and purposes he looked normal clearly there were some genetic issues and he should not be bred from.

The breeder has bred many dogs with testicle problems.  Unfortunately I had to pressure the breeder through Trading Standards due to misrepresentation re other health test and I mentioned the issue with the testicles.

The general view is that testicles do not generally affect the health or enjoyment of a pet dog.  The legal perspective is more difficult if potential purchasers bought the dogs to breed from and equally if there were secondary complications from the retained testicles (torsion etc).  If the breeder is using a monochrytorchid stud and it is throwing chrytorchid male pups (obviously the dam used could be at fault also) then a good argument could be made for prior knowledge of health problems.

Re increased risk of cancer - there was some reseach some years ago that indicated that the risk of sertoli tumours as a result of retained testicles was approx 12X higher than for uncastrated entire males.  I was told of a more recent study (but have never been able to reference this) that indicated the risk was not as high as previously suspected.  Certainly if the retained testicle(s) can be felt under the skin it is possible to monitor it. If the testicle is deeper e.g. in the abdomen it may be more problematic.

A long answer - personally I would tactfully query whether the breeding was producing further chrytorchid pups and go from there - it is a very difficult one and arguably some might tell you to mind your business but having been caught out by a highly irresponsible breeder I wish more people were proactive citizens like you!

> personally I would tactfully query whether the breeding was producing further chrytorchid pups and go from there

I know of only 1 person who has 2 puppies from 2 different litters this family member has bred. I'll try and ask them, as the family member doesn't keep in touch with puppy owners - when she had the litters they were left to me and others to look after and sell due to the fact that she up'd and left, but still took all the money - which is why I think she did it, never kept any puppies from the litters herself :-(

Hi, our youngest dog suffered from cryptorchidism, neither desended. Breeders response was it didn't matter as we were not going to use him for breeding, and that she had not come across it before with any of her others (didn't believe that either). Everyone one I asked said that they should be removed when he reached maturity, testicles are outside of the body so they are kept healthy at 'cooler' temperatures. I'm sure you know that, but retained warm within the body the chances of cancer increases. It was also suggested that he was checked by ultra sound first to see that he did have them, as it has been known for a dog to be opened up and none found! His were eventually found way up in his chest.

Well just had another discussion about what has been posted on here by you lovely people. The response was if it was a problem then the vet should of picked it up when he was a puppy or last week when he had his feet checked. Apparently if the vet thought it a problem they would of raised it...Sigh....This so called vet i'm not a fan of and left the practice due to him and feel that he never did enough for one of our dogs who died and then a friends dog too..

> Anyone got any personal experiences of this?
>

I had a large breed dog, and only one descended, so I waited until he had matured before making any decision.  Although I had already decided that he was not to be used for breeding (although the breeder continued to breed from his parents.)

My vet could feel it up in the inguinal canal, but it never moved down.  Lovely tidy job done, with a very small incision.  When it came out, I was told that it was much smaller than the normal testicle.

> the vet should of picked it up when he was a puppy

I know by admitting this I will be labelled as naive but so be it, some of us learn the hard way. Our dog has/did have many other problems that kept us occupied during his first year or so, many many visits to vets, too many to remember. It wasn't until we got the phone call from the orthopaedic surgeon about how an operation had gone that she mentioned ' you do realise that he had no testicles?'. In all those visits (20+) not one vet picked up on this!

> I'm sure you know that, but retained warm within the body the chances of cancer increases. It was also suggested that he was checked by ultra sound first to see that he did have them, as it has been known for a dog to be opened up and none found! His were eventually found way up in his chest.

Out walking when my lad was a pup, I met someone with a dog the same breed as mine - not a breed you run across every day - so inevitably we got talking. His gorgeous boy was castrated, as one testicle still hadn't dropped by a year old. The other, when the dog was operated on, was found somewhere in his chest ......  That's a scary enough reason NOT to breed from any dogs with testicle issues, in addition to all the other valid arguments.

It's precisely why the KC standards all insist on two normal descended nuts all present and correct!
and is just as much an issue in other species, e.g. cats, and small animals.

It's precisely why the KC standards all insist on two normal descended nuts all present and correct!



Slightly off subject but as you say all standards state that the male should have two normal testis descended into the scrotum but they also say that judges should not penalize dogs who have been castrated. Makes life a bit confusing for a judge and I have often wondered how one tells if even one of the testis is "normal" never mind two, perhaps a scalpel should be part of the judging equipment. Not a joke really but it is something of a contradiction.

> Slightly off subject but as you say all standards state that the male should have two normal testis descended into the scrotum but they also say that judges should not penalize dogs who have been castrated.

I don't think the KC is properly geared up to this yet, as - say - the cat fancy is.

Neuter classes in the cat world is as big if not bigger than the Entire (Opens) and has been that way for many years... simply as cats being cats, not everyone can keep entire cats. (The girls call incessantly and would have litter after litter if permitted; the boys spray and are impossible to live with). It's in the nature of the species.

However if the KC properly allowed sterilised dogs to compete then it would be easy as a certificate (same as a cert given to legally docked dogs).

Or, in the future, a Neuter section of classes at shows, as is done in the cat world. Still very highly competitive - even more so, as in cats, many of the best cannot be kept entire for practical reasons. So very often you get neutered male cats of a much higher quality than those that have been kept entire, competing for top honours, as a stud life for a cat does not always allow them to be shown and vice versa. The breeder's name is always there of course, in the affix. And unlike in dogs, GCCF reg cats can't have the owner's [cattery] name added.

The KC does issue a letter giving permission to show for neutered exhibits you have to request such permission stating that it is to avoid procreation or because of health or accident as permission will not be given for Cryptorchidism - this side does not seem to be well monitored as it would seem that a letter from the vet is not required to say that the dog was in a "normal" state. Truth is, very few are shown except in Veteran and because it does change the conformation of dogs and in a lot of cases coats it is unlikely that in most breeds they will ever be able to compete on a level.

Also it does fly in the face of the whole reason for showing in the first place, it used to be that neutered animals would be marked in the catalogue but that is no longer done.

Although it may be possible to compare the showing of dogs and cats it is not the same when it comes to procreation the queen being available for mating almost permanently so I can see that keeping both sexes would cause many problems but continuing your line much easier as a missed mating would not be much of a problem providing the queen was not unwell. On the other hand choosing a mate for your bitch is far more problematic make a mistake in the stud you choose and you can set your breeding programme back for years. So if it became the norm to neuter, particularly males the choosing of studs would be even more of a problem particularly in the breeds with a small population.

Jake had only 1 and we were advised to have him castrated (which we did). I was advised most strongly that he would be likely to develop cancer so Colin (OH) took the decision to have him done (as Jake is his dog).

The other writers are correct , let sleeping dogs lie! as they say.

>if there were secondary complications from the retained testicles (torsion etc)

do you mean torsion as in the retained testical wrapping around something or gastric torsion ? (sorry it may seem a stupid question!)

I'm not sure about the torsion either, suppose the tubing could become involved with other tissue but would have thought it unlikely and have never heard of such a thing happening, mind you as I said it is not easy to check as most are removed.

Testicular tortion

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/testicular-torsion/
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~rfoster/repropath/surgicalpath/male/dog/maledog_testis.htm

Section: Overview

Testicular torsion is a condition in which the spermatic cord undergoes rotation, leading to infarction or death of the tissue caused by a lack of blood supply to the testicle. It is most commonly associated with an enlarged, cancerous abdominal or undescended testicle.

Testicular torsion can also occur following rupture of the scrotal ligament, usually associated with trauma. It is uncommon and most often occurs in individuals who are cryptorchid, which means they have undescended testicles.

Thank you.  I was just concerned as one of my boys had a retained testicle which the vet couldnt find.  Last year he suffered gastric torsion .... I did ask the vet if she spotted a stray testicle whilst she was in there but she didnt ...... most probably not connected !!