Testicles.....

[claire1]

I wonder if anyone can help me.
My Fergal is a 9 month old blue roan and I noticed that only one of his testicles has dropped. I can feel the other one, but it's only half dropped down. (I know this has a proper medical term but I can't remember it)
We didn't really want to have him castrated and hoped one day to use him as a stud. I took him to the vet the other day and I felt that they gave no other option but to have him castrated. They even wanted to book the appointment there and then, but I held off as it was something we have never even considered.
We're now left with loads of questions. Would any breeder want to use him? Is an operation the only solution?
My main concern is that he'll be ok and if having the op is the best thing for him then I'll do it tomorrow. Does anyone have any experience with this. Please share your expertise.

Thanks

Claire and Fergal (oblivious to embarassing discussion)

[Pammy]

Claire - if you can feel his other testicle then it may still drop. Have a word with Fergal's breeder to see what her opinion(or his) is. She may have experienced this in his lines before and have an idea if it will self correct.

The norm for treatment is to neuter but I believe some have gone to just have the retained testicle removed rather than a full castration.

The term is Monorchid when they only have one and cryptorchid if none - ie one or both remain inside the main body.

It's unlikely though that he would be in demand at stud though and you should question whether he should be used at all.

[Shirley]

The BVA do not recommend breeding from a dog with a retained testicle, this is the reason why so many vets are keen to remove both testes rather than just one.  I'm no expert but I don't think any reputable breeder would use a dog with this condition on their bitch.

[Gilly]

I agree totally Shirley  

Do you show Fergal? most stud dogs would at least have to be seen to have some show winning success behind them, or why would the bitch owner use them? eye testing etc? but as Shirley said, if he only has one testicle it is highly recommended NOT to breed from a dog with this. In fact I have just answered by own question    you can't be showing him as show dogs are required to have 2 testicles. Can I ask why you think he is good enough to be a stud dog? or why you want him to be a stud dog?

EDITED TO ADD: you may find this FAQ on the subject useful click here

[Becky]

Danny had a retained testicle, though the one was fine.  We had him neutered because I'd heard that the retained one can cause problems later in life, though I don't know how true this is.  We were never going to breed from him anyway, and I would have hated to pass the condition on.  Our vet did say though that at nine months the testice could still drop, so if you can feel it perhaps it will (Dan's was right up inside his tum and couldn't be felt, it took the vet a while to find it when they opened him up).

[claire1]

Thanks for all your advice. I have taken it on board and am going to wait a little while longer and if it doesn't drop then then Fergal will have the operation.

Claire
 

[Pammy]

I think that's very wise Claire