I wonder if any-one can give me some advice.I have just sold a Border pup (dog) he is 8 weeks old and the buyer has only had him 1 day he has just rang me to say his vet said the pup has no testicles i think he meant undescended,anyway he says the vet said it will cost £150.00 to put this right or the pup will get cancer.I have rang my vet who by the way checked all my  pups over and said they were perfectly healthy and happy but cant speak to him till after 6.30 i have looked in all my BT books and on the forum and lots of people say give them till at least 6 months i am very concerned about this as i care for the pups and fel like saying whichever way i will give a full refund and bring the pup home.Anyone any advice please will be appreciated. 

Hi

I would ask if you could speak to the vet to check whether he considered they were undescended or absent and then decide what to do.  Many owners only take in the worst scenario when their vets tell them anything and just don't absorb anything else

I have another little boy pup here and i can see his but there not pertruding greatly but they are there could they be taking longer.I am going to get him to my vet a.s.a.p to be checked again.Thanks for your advice.

Yes another silly vet, there is time for them to come down, it is nice if they are there at 8 weeks but it sometimes does not happen. You sometimes have to pick the pup up and let it's back legs dangle to be able to feel them, standing on the vets table scared to death is not ideal for testicle hunting. Tell your puppy people not to worry until it's 12 months old and to change their vet.

Christine has replied whilst I was writing and I agree with her, see if your vet will see the pup. Don't think at this stage the vet needed to do more than check again when the second injection was given or ask to see the pup in 3 months.

Thanks Jackie i was shocked when he rang me this afternoon i think he wants me to give him the £150 for what his vet says it will cost but i would rather give him a full refund if that is the case and have the pup back.If his vet is willing to operate at this age for this symptom then i am worried about the little fella.Thanx for your advice.

"pick the pup up and let it's back legs dangle to be able to feel them"

Another way of checking for 'shy' testicles is to have the puppy relaxed on your lap lying on it's back with its hind feet facing away from you. If the testicle is through the inguinal ring you will then be able to reveal it by gentle downward pressure with a finger. But as the others say, its much to early to despair even if the testicle isn't through the ring yet and as Jackie says a scared pup on a vet's table is not a good way of finding testicles.

The new owner's vet sounds as if he is suggesting treatment is an emergency but even if the testicles really don't descend, the risk of cancer is minimal until the dog is ~ 4 years old.

Good god, some Vets talk a load of twaddle.

I breed Borders, and they vary considerably as to when testicles drop.  I have had them very obvious at 6 weeks and as in my boy who is now 7 months old, tiny weenie ones which are only now noticeable or feelable. lol

Your pup has all the time in the world to develop properly and I would wait until he is at least 10 months before saying categorically that there is a problem.

If this chap is so interested in the cost of things, tell him to bring the pup back and give him his money back. 

This is something that I have in my puppy contract, the new owners must see a vet within 48 hours of purchase and if a problem is found by their vet they get a full refund on return of the puppy.

Thanks for that i am going to ring him now and tell him what has been said by all on the forum and my vet has just said the same as you he recomends he changes his vet or seeks advice from a BT breeder.Thanx again to all of you i appreciate your help and will let you know the outcome.

Hi,
I find it hard to believe that any vet would say an 8 week old pup needs an op - maybe the owner of the puppy didn't listen properly, and the vet might have just said it's an option for the future should the testicles never descend.  Possibly the puppy owner has some misconceived idea that pups are born with testicles already descended.  I would want to speak to this vet myself if I were you.  Or maybe the puppy owner thought he could just get £150 from you!
  Hilda

I cannot believe this!  what a load of absolute rubbish, testicles often do not descend  until they are 1 yr old.  If the vet really did suggest this opertaion I am apalled.  This is the second time recently I ahve heard of vets wanting to castrate puppies due to lack of descending testicles.  the other case the puppy was 4 months - what is the hurry!  It all seems a way of getting money quickly, I would change the vet and any decent vet would not even suggest this operation until they were well over a year.

When I took my puppy to the vet at 8 weeks only 1 testicle was present, he kept groping him and going on and on about it, I knew there were 2 but they often play yo-yo at that age.  Anyway by 12 weeks they were both present and correct.  i know you have to keep an eye on these problems - but an 8 week puppy I ask you!!