I took what I thought was my male puppy to the vet here in South Korea. Doctors and vets don't go to school here for very long and I'm very worried. I got him/her back and the vet claims my pup is a she and removed the ovaries. I know I saw what looked just like a penis and a pair of testicles. I tried lifting his/her leg to see what's left but she/ he yelped in pain. Hope I haven't caused any problems. My friend said that he thought that male dogs don't have as many nipples. Please help. I'm trying to figure this out.
sb

I can't find pictures on the net of the differences between dog and bitch puppies, so I'll try to describe them!

If you have a puppy on its back, a dog puppy has a penis on his belly, fairly close to his umbilicus (tummy button). A bitch has a vulva (which some people mistake for a penis) between her hind legs, in roughly the position that a dog puppy has testicles.

Just as human men have the same number of nipples as women, so male dogs have the same number as bitches.

Hope this helps.

Yes, this " penis" was between the hind legs, but what about the testicles, could it just have been a growth?
Thanks for your help.
sb

How old is the puppy? Whereabouts (in relation to the anus, say) was this swelling?

The "testicles" were directly in front of the anus and about the size of peas. Perfectly formed. In front of that was the pouch/ penis. He/she is now eight months old, maybe nine, not exactly sure ( long story, not much english spoken here).
sb

Sounds like a male to me, are you sure they ahve returned the right dog to you?

If you're looking directly at the anus, were the swellings at the '4 o'clock' and '8 o'clock' positions? (Sorry, hard to describe!) The testicles on an 8 or 9 month puppy would be very noticeable between the hind legs, and the penis on his belly. What size dog is it?

If you look at the picture for November 2003 here (you'll need to click on 'Caption Competition {the picture of the evil-looking chihuahua!} and scroll down) you'll see an adult dog with a bitch puppy (one runner-up in this competition also mistook the little dog for a boy!) - there's also an upside-down adult male dog (April 2004)  showing normal male genitalia.

I see what you mean by those pics. Well I feel a little easier I guess, but to answer your question, the "peas" were more 3 o'clock- nine o'clock opposite each other, close to the rectum and between the rectum and pouch.
ty, sb

I would think they were more likely to be full anal glands which have now emptied ...

There's a very clear (but strange anatomical!) drawing here showing the position of the anal sac and the normal position of testicles.

Thank you so much, could well have been !
sb

Happy to help! Are you going to have to change her name, or does she have a 'neutral' name?

I'm thinking of switch, cos he switched to a she...
:)

That's a good name! :)
What was 'he' called before? A similar-sounding name would be easier for you both!

He was called Kalbi, a Korean name. Actually was thinking of Corky instead, with both names ending in the ee sound.
Thanks again for your interest and help :)

Just out of interest, you can see the forward position of a male's penis on this picture of a Bracco Italiano. A bitch's belly is smooth (as shown by this Weimaraner.
:)

If it were between the hind legs, then it would have been a vulva.