Monorchid Or Cryptorchid

[tina & trevor]

Hello Folks

Our poor Bracken has recently been diagnosed as having only one testicle.
We are so disappointed because we were hoping to breed from him but have been advised by our vet that it is out of the question and for his own health we should have him castrated. We have been trying to find out more about this condition as since we have been given this news we have chatted with people and there are so many conflicting stories flying around.

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a Monorchid dog and a Cryptorchid dog. Can you breed, can't you breed. Is it hereditary or not. If so who carries the gene. Some say it's the dog, others say it's the bitch and we have also heard it's both.

If it is hereditary and you cannot breed then if this is diagnosed in a puppy should either parent be able to breed again.

One person said to me that some people return their puppies to their breeder as this is a major defect. Well we were horrified at that response. We wouldn't dream of letting Bracken go. He is still our baby bless him. If anything we love him even more. I just want to keep cuddling and kissing him  It is not the end of the world. We were just curious to learn more as his health is all that is important to us. So any advice greatly appreciated thanks.

Tina & Trevor

[*Jay*]

A monorchid dog is one which has one descended testicle. A cryptorchid has both testicles retained.

These dogs shouldn't be bred from but i'm not sure on the exact mode of inheritance. Most breeders would like to be informed if one of their pups has this condition, so if you haven't already notified them you should do so.

If you do a google search, I am sure you will find lots of interesting articles on this subject to help you gain a better understanding

[Pammy]

How old is Bracken? It's no unknown for them to hang on to their precious bits for some time  

Have a word with his breeder as they'll be able to tell you if his lines are known "late droppers".  

If they don't drop naturally then he shouldn't be bred from and they will want to look at surgery to remove the retained one/s. ::

[Gilly]

I agree with what the othes have said and also please read the FAQ on useing a pet at stud. Not many people would want to use a stud unless they had been shown successfully  

[waisis]

Bailey also had an undescended testicle (we were told about this by the breeder before we got him) and the vet said that if it hadn't descended by about 16 weeks, it probably wouldn't do so naturally.  He's a pet so we didn't mind having him castrated as an undescended testicle could become cancerous. The only thing was that his surgery was more invasive and cost much more money than a regular neutering b/c of the time and effort of "digging around in there" for the little tiny thing.  He's a WONDERFUL dog...wouldn't have mattered to us if he had 1 or 2 or 10 testicles!  

[Joelf]

Domino also has an undecended testicle so I expect I shall probably have to have him castrated.It does seem to be quite a common problem but in any case  I would never consider breeding from him.

[Jane S]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a Monorchid dog and a Cryptorchid dog. Can you breed, can't you breed. Is it hereditary or not. If so who carries the gene. Some say it's the dog, others say it's the bitch and we have also heard it's both.

If it is hereditary and you cannot breed then if this is diagnosed in a puppy should either parent be able to breed again.

[snapback]148337[/snapback]

A monorchid has only one testicle present in the body (whether descended or undescended) whereas a unilateral cryptorchid has one testicle descended & the other present in the body but not descended. A bilateral cryptorchid has both testicles present in the body but neither are descended. A unilateral cryptorchid is fertile (bilateral cryptorchids are not) & in the past, such dogs were bred from - I can think of several well-known Cockers of yesteryear who were known to only have "one" but were quite widely bred from which explains why the condition is relatively common generations later (not just in Cockers but in pedigree dogs generally as well as other mammals) The condition is undeniably genetic but the exact mode of inheritance is unknown though it's generally thought to be recessive (ie needing to be carried by both parents to produce an affected puppy). It's no longer considered acceptable to breed from unilateral cryptorchids but whether you should continue to breed from parents who have produced the problem is nowhere near so clear cut. When you consider that all dogs will carry some "faulty" genes (as do all humans), it perhaps makes more sense to prioritise ie concentrate on reducing/eradicating the incidence of the serious conditions which cause early death/long term pain or disability/blindness etc. Removing dogs from the gene pool because they have produced cryptorchids could be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water if such dogs are genetically clear for other far more serious problems which exist in the breed. Just my opinion

Jane

[mark smith]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between a Monorchid dog and a Cryptorchid dog. Can you breed, can't you breed. Is it hereditary or not. If so who carries the gene. Some say it's the dog, others say it's the bitch and we have also heard it's both.

If it is hereditary and you cannot breed then if this is diagnosed in a puppy should either parent be able to breed again.

[snapback]148337[/snapback]

A monorchid has only one testicle present in the body (whether descended or undescended) whereas a unilateral cryptorchid has one testicle descended & the other present in the body but not descended. A bilateral cryptorchid has both testicles present in the body but neither are descended. A unilateral cryptorchid is fertile (bilateral cryptorchids are not) & in the past, such dogs were bred from - I can think of several well-known Cockers of yesteryear who were known to only have "one" but were quite widely bred from which explains why the condition is relatively common generations later (not just in Cockers but in pedigree dogs generally as well as other mammals) The condition is undeniably genetic but the exact mode of inheritance is unknown though it's generally thought to be recessive (ie needing to be carried by both parents to produce an affected puppy). It's no longer considered acceptable to breed from unilateral cryptorchids but whether you should continue to breed from parents who have produced the problem is nowhere near so clear cut. When you consider that all dogs will carry some "faulty" genes (as do all humans), it perhaps makes more sense to prioritise ie concentrate on reducing/eradicating the incidence of the serious conditions which cause early death/long term pain or disability/blindness etc. Removing dogs from the gene pool because they have produced cryptorchids could be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water if such dogs are genetically clear for other far more serious problems which exist in the breed. Just my opinion

Jane

[snapback]148736[/snapback]

i totally agree Jane
ive been breeding cockers for 12 years now and have had the problem twice with only one testicle dropping however it is not uncommon in cocker for the 2nd to drop at 11 months you should however wait 18 months before concidering castration for that reason  it is a fault carried in both parents so i would not breed the same parents again and i have bred a monorhid b4 but look at the bitches history that i have bred him too and you must remember this when breeding the off spring and also inform the new owners of these puippies

[tracee]

hi how common is it that a two yrs old dog that had both testicals decended.
      for 1 then to go back up a few weeks ago.
   is this the same thing?
                           tracee xx

[Jane S]

I think it's quite unusual Tracee for one to pop back up at 2 years old - not come across this before but anything is possible  Can you feel the one that's gone missing a little higher up perhaps?

Jane

[tracee]

hi jane  

 our vet checked and said it had gone back up and that harvey needed an op.
       
         which he had last week.

i saw this thread and thought i would ask if this was a common thing to happen.
                                  tracee xxxxxxx

[Jane S]

Hope Harvey's back to normal after his op Definitely not a common thing for this to happen so late - they can go up & down quite a lot during the puppy stage but not generally once a dog is a mature adult.

Jane