Undescended testicles in puppy

[Astradyne]

Hi everyone, we got our 8 week old puppy on Friday and took him for his first vaccination and health check at our vets today.  The vet said that he couldn't feel the puppy's testicles and he would check them again in 2 weeks when we go back for the 2nd vaccination, but if they haven't descended then our puppy would need to have them removed as they could turn cancerous.  He said the operation would be a major one and it would be best to have it done when the dog is young so he could recover better.

The breeder said she'd had the puppy checked by her vet the week before we collected him.  Would her vet have picked up on this problem and the breeder just didn't tell us about it? 

Does anyone have an idea how much the operation would cost?  I'm assuming insurance wouldn't cover it?  We were given 4 weeks free Kennel Club insurance from the breeder but once that has expired we'll need to get new insurance but would this be classed as an existing medical condition and therefore not be covered?

[lisalh]

My boys bits didnt drop (and stay down) til he was 6 months old, if you are not planning to breed from your pup I would get him 'done'. It is a serious operation but one that thousands of responsible owners have done ever year. I do think your vet may have worried you more than is necessary- yes there is a chance of the dog developing testicular cancer if you leave him with testicles but he is still a baby and they do not always descend this early.  I hope a more 'experienced' owner will be along to put your mind at rest soon and I dont believe this would be an existing medical condition when you get your own insurance. For what its worth my boy still answers to the nickname 'Yo-yo' as when his did decend one of them kept going back up, my vet told me not to worry until he had matures and if they both were not down by 1-1/2 years old I should then get him done as a precaution, if both did come down before then it was up to me what I decided to do.

[GeoW]

William who is now 12 months old still has one undescended testicle, but if it hasn't appeared by 18 months we will have it removed.

I believe there are developmental dangers in having them removed too soon, and I think you have a fair amount of time before it becomes imperative. I would suggest you let him grow a bit first..

[mlynnf50]

Selby had only one that came down, we waited until he was about  two and a half before we had it removed, it was a big operation and he was out of it for about five to six days, he kept tbe other one, only because he is quite a scary cat and I thought if i kept one at least he would have some hormones to he with his anxiety .
I would wait until he is alot more mature.

[Neon]

Don't rush into it.  We waited until one of our cockers was two before we had the one retained testicle removed (for health reasons).

Personally, I really wouldn't be reading too much into it if your puppy is only 8 weeks old.  There's still time for his testicles to appear.

If in the future he does need the op, then your insurance would not cover it, as it would be classed as preventative treatment - just the same as a female being spayed isn't covered.  Tough I know, but that's insurance companies for you.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[mlynnf50]

We must be lucky over here as the insurance paid for it.

[Neon]

We must be lucky over here as the insurance paid for it.

Yes you are lucky. All my insurance policies have stipulated they don't cover what they call preventative treatment so we've had to pay.  Oh well, nowt I can do about it. 

[elaine.e]

William had one descended testicle and one undescended at 9 weeks when he came home with me. The vet who gave him a check up and his first vaccination a few days later recommended having William castrated at 6 months even if the other testicle had descended by then. I wouldn't have had him castrated at all if the missing testicle had descended as my personal opinion is not to castrate unless there's a medical or other good reason to do so. But that's just my opinion and I appreciate that lots of people think otherwise.

I waited until William was 15 months old and made the decision to have him castrated then as the testicle still hadn't descended. But my main reason for waiting until 15 months was to give William's body time to mature. Some studies have shown that castration, especially when done early, increases the risk of cruciate ligament rupture, osteosarcoma, possibly hip dysplasia (thought to be due to lack of sex hormones at puberty affecting physical development in neutered dogs/bitches), prostatic cancer and other conditions, although it eliminates the risk of testicular cancer of course.

I think most vets still recommend neutering but an increasing number seem to prefer to give the dog/bitch time to physically mature to give bones, joints etc. time to fully develop instead of recommending neutering at 6 months old regardless of the size or breed of dog.

Don't worry too much about your puppy's lack of testicles at 8 weeks old. There's still plenty of time for them to descend, but I think you should contact the breeder and ask if she knew (her vet should have noticed even if she didn't) and also because there's evidence to suggest that the problem of undescended testicles can be hereditary.

Hope they appear

[SophieBlueRoanLover]

The trouble with a question like this is that everyone has their own ideas about castration generally, so any answer will be laden with personal opinion, one way or another. Same with vets' opinions. And there are so many studies that serve to back up people's views, in whichever direction they take them...

I live in SW London, where the vets are very keen to get every animal castrated or spayed (and I happen to agree). They are also keen to get situations like this sorted out as early as possible. A friend of mine has a cocker puppy who will be almost 7 months next week and is about to have the operation to have his two undescended testicles removed - she has taken the vet's advice on the timing. I had my dog castrated at almost 7 months too, and he has shown no signs of either a change in personality or coat, 4 months on.

I really think this is something that you have to just go with your own gut feel about. Your vet will have directed you, and you will know whether you're happy with it.

With respect to the insurance, most policies don't cover castration, and some won't cover the undescended testicle thing unless you've had insurance with them since they were 8 weeks, or something ridiculous like that - my point is, check before you take out a new policy. It might be worth continuing the free KC one if they cover it - you could always change afterwards. I'm not sure if this would be covered anyway, but might be worth checking. Unfortunately when you apply for insurance quotes you have to give all your details, so it's difficult to ask a question like this without it going on your record! I guess you could call anonymously and ask the question!

BTW my pup arrived with one undescended testicle and I was a bit annoyed with my breeder for failing to mention it, but it came down at about 5 months anyway. It appears to be pretty common. You should probably tell the breeder as I believe it is hereditary and the sire's owner should be notified. My pup's castration (both descended) came to £260, but that's in London where fees are probably about double out of London. I would think this kind of operation would cost more, as it would probably take longer, especially if either testicle was difficult to find.

[Sharon]

We must be lucky over here as the insurance paid for it.

I'm surprised they paid for it, it's a problem they were born with so really shouldn't be covered.  You were very lucky.

[Jane S]

There's actually veterinary research that suggests that removal of an undescended testicle does not add to a dog's life expectancy and that it might be advisable to simply monitor cryptorchid dogs for signs of a tumour and only operate when actually necessary rather than routinely. Here's a summary of the actual research (not that easy to read but could not find a link to the actual research paper online):

http://www.ebvet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=217

Similar research has been mentioned in the dog press a while back by Professor Dean but it doesn't seem to be widely known by vets in general practice (or perhaps it doesn't sit well with most vets' pro neutering stance ).

Anyway just something to think about when making any decision re undescended testicles - the decision to operate or not isn't something that has to be rushed into & there is a definite tendency for vets to frighten owners with the word "cancer" as if a tumour will develop there and then or in the very near future when this is not what happens (the research shows this).

[debbiedaywalker]

My eldest Cocker has a retained testicle, he is nearly five now. I have decided to leave him intact. He was actually booked in to be castrated when he was two. Whilst I was discussing my reasons for having him done, which was the higher risks of the retained one becoming cancerous, with the Vet at the pre op, he told me that new research has discovered the risks of testicular cancer are no higher in cryptohid dogs, as Jane as posted.
It is early days for your pup but fingers crossed that they will drop eventually, will save you hours of reading and umming and ahhing  
Also, I didn't know if you knew or not, that you will need to renew your insurance, if you change from kennel club, before it runs out because there is a two week exclusion at the beginning with pet insurance.

[piph]

Ozzy is now almost 11 months old and neither of his testicles have made an appearance.  We were also told that he must have them removed as soon as possible, but have taken other advice to wait and let him mature properly.  I checked up with our insurance - Pet Plan, and as long as the pup is insured before twelve weeks of age then he will be covered for any treatment regarding undescended testicles - this is because until that age there is no way of knowing whether they will appear or not, and spaniels are notorious for lateness in this.  Removal of undescended testicles is not regarded as 'normal' castration (which isn't covered) as it is a health issue.  My advice would be to check out the policies of various insurance companies regarding the age at which they need to be insured by, and make sure you take out the insurance before then.  As I say, Pet Plan is 12 weeks - we missed it by a week, although they still said to claim anyway and get the vets to stress that cockers testicles quite often don't descend before this age.  By the way, we checked up on the price of the op - our vets said between £220 and about £280, depending on where the testicles actually were!  I was pleasantly surprised at that, I was expecting nearer the £500 mark!

[Astradyne]

Thank you so much for the helpful replies everyone, they were very interesting and useful  I thought our vet was being a bit keen talking about operating when he's only 8 weeks old.  We'll definitely wait then and see what happens.  Thanks for the tips about the insurance too.  I'm finding this forum really friendly and helpful and I'm sure I'll be asking lots more questions