Hi there can anyone help me out with some advice my sheltie is now 9months old and still only has one b*ll desended my vet said i should have him castrated but i would like to keep him entire if i could because of his lines is there anyway of getting the other desended or have i no option but to get the dreaded deed done also i have heard this can stop there coat from coming in as well as it would normally what age do they have there full coat please help i dont want him going through unnessesary pain if it can be avoided

If it hasn't descended by about a year I'd certainly have the retained testicle removed. There's no need to remove the one that's correctly in situ - keeping that will prevent the coat changes that full castration would most likely cause. However that doesn't mean he should ever be used for breeding.

THANKS FOR THAT BUT I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU COULD NOT BREED FROM A DOG IF HE WAS NOT ENTIRE AND THAT NO OTHER BREEDER WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HIM WHICH WOULD BE A REAL SHAME BECAUSE HE IS STUNNING (IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF :rolleyes:)  SO I GUESS I SHOULD WAIT ANOTHER COUPLE OF MONTHS TO SEE IF IT COMES DOWN THEN. AGAIN THANKYOU FOR YOUR ADVICE IN THIS IT IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED

I think that is what JG meant - you should not use him for breeding!

I too have a very stunning boy but he too has a retained testicle - I will be having the retained (if it exists) removed soon! But will be keeping the descended testicle there!  He is 19m now.

Hi thanks for the info it is really appreciated i'd never use him for breeding if he wasnt entire i just misread JG really sorryxxx
i think i will wait till he is over the 12 months then if it is still not down i will have it removed does getting them both removed harm there coats or is that a myth

>I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU COULD NOT BREED FROM A DOG IF HE WAS NOT ENTIRE

Yes, that's what I said! ;) You might decide to leave him with just the one testicle rather than castrate him entirely, but you still mustn't breed from him because the tendency towards retaining testicles is believed to be genetic, and no reputable breeder wil be interested in getting such a bad fault into their line.

AGAIN IM REALLY SORRY I MISREAD WHAT YOU WROTE AND I WOULD NEVER USE HIM FOR BREEDING

No problem! :) Yes, castration can indeed cause the coat to become thick and woolly and difficult to manage. I'm sure a groomer will be along shortly to advise you. :)

By the way, could you turn off your Caps? It makes for difficult reading and in 'netiquette' is considered to be shouting. Thanks! :)

gosh all i seem to be doing on here is offending people again im sorry i didnt mean it as shouting im definatly going to look into getting it removed so thanks again maybe i should look into the art of netiquette as well to stop offending people hahaha thankyou very much for being so understanding

NO OTHER BREEDER WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HIM

No reputable breeder would be interested in using a monorchid, especially if he wasn't very successful in the show ring.  But Shelties can be slow descenders. :)

HOW LONG WOULD YOU SUGGEST I WAIT IF THE SHELTIE IS SLOW DESCENDERS IM SCARED I MIGHT BE CAUSING HIM MORE HARM THAN GOOD

Personally, I would wait until he was 18 months old before I made a decision.  If one was still retained, then I would think about having the retained one removed and leaving the normal one intact.

The theory is that testicles are designed to be held outside the body.  If they are inside they are held at a higher temperature and therefore there is a possibility of a slightly higher chance of testicular cancer.  I have know many monorchids and cryptorchids and have only known one to have a problem, so there is a personal decision to be made. :)

I would definately recommend that you only have the retained testicle removed if any, my Bro in law's sheltie was castrated at 6 months and by 12 months his coat was unmanageable :( :(  he now looks like a heap of hair despite regular grooming and coat thinning :( :(   such a shame, he doesn't look anything like the lovely sheltie his owner imagined when he bought him :( :( and they have dreadful trouble keeping his weight down too :(

I had a sheltie who was castrated at 4 because he had one retained testicle. My vet said the chances of cancer developing in the retained testicle was minimal before that age, so going by that you have plently of time. This was a long time ago and I didn't think of having only the retained testicle removed, but I wish I had. His coat became a nightmare after castration and it more like grooming a Shetland Sheep than a Shetland Sheepdog. He lived to be a very old dog and in last years we had to clip him to prevent the pain of grooming an old, very arthritic dog.

So I'd strongly advise you to do as the others have said. Give the testicle much more time to come down and if it does not appear, have only the retained testicle removed, leaving the normal one intact.

thanks for that i will definatly be keeping the one that has descended but im still not sure wether i should wait a while longer or have it removed just now my head is bursting at the thought lol anyway thanks everyone for your advice it is very much appreciated debs xxxxxxxxxxx

Debs - for what its worth my own vet said he wouldn't even consider touching the retained testicle until my boy was at least 18months old!  In my opinion I would wait - I'm not in any hurry with my boy - will discuss with the vet when he is 2 - and we WILL be keeping the descended testicle! :)  I too only found out that was a possibility 6 months ago - not from my vet either.

> too only found out that was a possibility 6 months ago - not from my vet either.

was that from me Rachel

Fagan had his undescended one removed when he was 22 months, I insisted he kept his descended one due to his temperment, coat etc.  The vet wasnt too keen at first incase he got to a bitch but I assured him that wasnt likely to happen and he went ahead.  Even put a massive note in red pen on Fagans paperwork that the undescended one was to stay ;)

Indeed it was! :)

Vets can't MAKE you do anything - surgical or otherwise - to your dog, they can only advise (unless it's a welfare issue, where they can obviously report you). I'd give your boy 18-24 mths, but if it's not dropped by then get it removed and don't breed. ;)

Thanks all i will be waitting till he is about 18mths and he WILL be keeping his descended b*ll regardless of what the vet says lol i cant thank you all enough and i can assure you he will not be bred he is strictly a pet only now thanks again   debs xxxxxxxx:rolleyes:

My youngster (he's 4 months now) has only one although the other can be felt and isn't that far away. My vet told me that if it hasn't descended by the time he hits puberty then it should be removed. They suggested 6 months!! Yeah right. I'm going to wait until he is at least 18 months old before I make that decision. You cannot be made to do anythinhg and some vets seem to be knife happy and can't wait to get dogs in for surgery.
Becky