My 16 week old mini smooth dachshund's testicle still has not dropped.  When he had his first check up at 8 weeks, the vet said if it does not drop by four months he may have to be castrated.  I phoned the breeder, as it is genetic, and she assured me that it can drop anytime up to six months.  I have also read in various articles on line that you should wait up to 18 months before the procedure.  I wanted to show my puppy, and this condition and the surgery is very worrying.  I do not want to put him through any unnecessary medical procedures.

Does anyone have any advice???

many thanks

There is certainly no hurry to have him castrated.  A retained testicle isn't guaranteed to become cancerous, it is just at higher risk because it is at a higher temperature than it woudl be in the scrotum.

As the breeder has said it may yet make an appearance.  Just enjoy him for nnow and try not to poke him about.  It isn't unusual at this age for pups to draw them up if stressed.

Our Afghan 'Dillon' had a retained testicle as a pup and had it removed at the age of just over 2 years. The remaining testicle although now slightly grown in size has not caused any problems. We have shown him in the past. He is now 14 years!!

affie,

Most other breeders I have spoken with say that a cryptorchid cannot be shown.  He is of championship stock and has a lovely temperment and enjoys training.  I was going to start ringcraft classes, but I was not going to proceed as I thought he would not be able to be shown.  It is good to hear that you elected not to have the surgery for two years, so there is no rush.

thanks,

Jennifer

thank you for the reassurance that it does not have to be done right away, although my vet is very keen.  Have any of your dogs had this problem? 

As far as I am aware no male I have bred has had this problem, but I only keep bitches myself, certainly all the males who were castrated were done so for the owners preference and not because of a problem.

If you want to show then I would certainly wait.  I had a miniature poodle whose testicle didn't drop down until he was about 15 months old.

My Irish has a retained testicle, He is now 14 months old and it still hasnt come down, I will be waiting until he is at least two years old before I get the retained one removed, I wont get him castrated though.  There is nothing to say you cant show him but he would be at a disadvantage as having one testicle is a fault.  I show my boy at companion shows and he usually does quite well, im tempted to enter him into a couple of open shows when ive put some weight on him just to see if having one testicle matters (I dont think half the time judges have a proper feel when the dog is older, I think they just assume they are there ;)  )

One of my BSDs had this problem, and i was advised to wait a year to see if it dropped.

We waited and it didn't drop so decided to have him operated on to get it out, but it was so far up towards his stomach that the vet actually couldn't manage it and had to bring him round because he was having problems under the anaesthetic... :(  This was in 1986 when the anaesthetics were not so good.

I was just thankful to get him back from the op and we just carried on as normal.

Lindsay
x

many thanks for all your messages, my husband and I decided we are going to wait for at least 18 months and see what happens.  I feel very encouraged by all the stories,

thanks again