How long would you leave an undescended testicle for before you have it whipped out? I probably wouldn't of had my boy neutered at all if it weren't for this, he is a lovely boy and really saw no need...I know it needs to come out because of the cancer risk (the vet seemed to be pushing me to have him done at 6 months) We agreed when he turns a year we would talk again as I still thought it had a chance of coming down...He has just turned one so I am about to ring to get him booked it but just thought I would see what others thought that may have some experience with these things.

Thanks

You do not need to be concerned until he fully mature(ie has stopped growing as the testosterone  is involved with the growth plates in the long bones & he doesn't "have"to be castrated. he only needs the retained testicle removed. Removing a retained testicle can be a tricky operation depending on where it is

Depending on your Vet surgery Ultrasound/X-ray could be options, most however, opt for exploratory surgery..as to be honest Monorchidism is extremely rare!! It is much more likely to be bilateral cryptorchidism.

Mono= one ... As in there is only one(anywhere in the dog).
Crypt= hidden.. (which is more common.)

Mon/orchid/ism= one/testicle/condition of
Crypt/orchid/ism = hidden/testicle/condition of

If that makes more sense!! :D

In my breed descent can be very late and the added problem Sibes are well versed in using their cremaster muscle!.. the cold weather heritage makes them pull the testes right up into their body cavity and has fooled many a vet trying to palpate.. and very late (comparitavely) descent can still occur.
what breed is it you have?

>Monorchidism is extremely rare!!

Thats what makes Fagan so special - maybe I could sell him for 3 times the price of a normal setter !!

Thanks for the info! He is a collie x something...he seems to keep changing as he grows so it isnt all that clear what is in him!

Hi Shannon - My RR boy had an undescended testicle.  We left it until he was 14 months old before getting him castrated.  He was checked a couple of times between the ages of 12 weeks and 14 months to see if the testicle was anywhere to be found - but it never was.  Then, amazingly, on the morning of the op it was found having dropped into his inner thigh!

My vets recommended 12 months to get him castrated, my dog trainer was more worried about it and thought it should be removed earlier, but after asking on here I decided to wait a while.  I just felt that the time was right for him at 14 months.

You never know, the testicle in your pup may drop so it's worth waiting.  I've been told that the cancer risk with a retained testicle doesn't really kick in until later in life, so there really isn't any hurry.  Particularly if you didn't want to get your pup castrated in the first place - it might be worth the wait.

Helen

Leave him until he's 12 months and do go looking for them.  I'm a firm believer that some dogs don't come down because their owners mess about with them too much!

lol, well, Ive absolutely never tried to prod and poke for them...infact, as he is the first ever male dog in my family I wasn't entirely sure where abouts they were meant to drop from! It took me a while before I realised that those weird glads at the base of his penis werent actually his testicles (as neither of his balls had dropped at first, so there was just nothing there!)

I think I will leave him a bit longer then...