08/07/2022
A fascinating discussion by some top English Setter breeders in England.
English Setters UK
Sheree Parrish ·
I know a few owners on here have been affected by dogs with retained testicles, certainly as a breeder, it is one of those things we can't do anything about but it does worry us when it happens.
I wanted to share a story about one of my youngsters, he was sold as an 8 week old pup, together with his litter brother, both pups had been vet checked and both had two testicles. The smaller one had two that were easy enough to feel, the other was a bit hit and miss if they were both there at the same time lol.
Sadly, their owners circumstances changed and the boys were returned to me at nearly 6 months old. At this point, one of them still had both and the other only had one! I rehomed the boys and the one with the retained testicle went to a very experienced owner, obviously I had made her aware of the fact that he had a retained testicle but she wasn't in any rush to get him neutered and was happy to let nature take its course.
At 12 months the retained testicle appeared, both testicles were quite small, but they were both down and there was no need for any veterinary intervention. At 20 months now he is apparently very well endowed lol, so just goes to show how some dogs just need time.
So many owners feel compelled to have a young dog neutered if there is a retained testicle as they worry about it causing cancer etc. Of course, these owners love their dogs deeply and want to do the best by them. Sometimes though, particularly if the breeder is experienced, it is best to run things by them before being coerced into irreversible surgery for the sake of a year or two.
We aren't equipped with a crystal ball and yes, a lot of the time they don't appear, but if one of my puppy owners came to me to say they were having pup neutered because of a retained testicle, or no testicles at all, I can tell you that I will always ask them to wait until they are over 2 years old, so that they have had the chance to grow fully and, well, you just never know if they might just appear. Some people will say that the gap the testicle needs to drop through is too small by the time they reach a certain age, and I agree to a degree, but certainly not whilst pup is still growing.
If you have a youngster with a retained testicle, hopefully this post will give you some hope. I'm not trying to cause an argument between those that are pro neutering and those that aren't, just wanted to share this experience so that, if you are in that position, you can maybe have a rethink before committing too soon.
19 comments
Patricia Smith
I had one lad who was unilateral cryptorchid still at 12 months. The vet undertook the same operation as in children for undescended testicles and it was successful including full and equal growth to its neighbour.
Reply14 h
Sheree Parrish
Patricia, that's really good that the vet was happy to undertake that procedure. That's certainly something I would look in to if I were in that position and it was a possibility. Sometimes the retained one is so close to coming down that a little snip can make the difference.
Reply14 h
Patricia Smith
Sheree Parrish Fantastic vet. He has now set up with equally minded vets in independent service. Does hips etc. Eden vets Shavington, Crewe
Reply14 h
Jane Mugford
Thanks for sharing that with us Sheree, i seem to be hearing so many reports of this happening in different breeds. One a Cocker was sold by his very experienced breeder at 8 months & then got both descended & the new owner has now decided they don't want an entire dog & are getting him castrated!!
Reply14 h
Sheree Parrish
Jane, oh no, what a predicament for the breeder and such a shame for the dog.
Reply14 h
Ellen Diane Loynd
Jane Mugford I will never forget June Coates running a Irish on until he was 9mths old as he only had 1 testicle and qhen a great home came let him go and with in 2 weeks in his new home the 2nd dropped .
Out cavalier was also 9mths before his 2nd dropped.
Reply7 h
Fiona Foster
This happened with my George that we have recently lost, he had only one descended when we got him as an 8 week old pup, vet advised castration as soon as possible. We didn't do that and the other testicle appeared aged also about a year. He had a rather large set in the end! We left him entire until he got some sort of abscess in one testicle that burst, causing the testicle to bleed, what a fright we got! So George was castrated aged about 7 and the tissue tested which came back as not malignant. His health never seemed the same after the castration, his coat was awful, he was diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur, and we recently lost him with a large intestinal tumour and infected lymph node aged 9. It broke our hearts. I so wish we hadn't had to have him castrated. It might not have had anything to do with his health problems, but I'll always wonder!
Reply14 h
Sheree Parrish
Fiona, it's a shame they didn't just remove the affected testicle, it might have been a different story with regards to his coat at least. Really sorry that you lost him x
Reply14 h
Fiona Foster
Sheree Parrish I know, if we were ever in a similar situation, which heaven forbid we won't be, I'd do more research and question the vets recommendation. xx
Reply14 h
Ellie Nias
That would have been a less straightforward op though Sheree, I'd imagine with higher chance of recurrence and infection. I'm shocked though that any vet would be concerned by them not being down at 8 weeks! At that age at best they are still yo yoing up and down - and quite often the moment the vet starts poking, they get a bit worried and whip them back up! It just shows where the gaps in vets experience and knowledge are, doesn't it 😏
Reply13 h
Gill Paterson
Yes the same with one of my boy puppy
Reply14 h
Lottie Dridge
Gill Paterson Ralph has two now!
Reply9 h
Gill Paterson
Lottie Dridge lucky boy 😂
Reply9 h
Kirsty Dudman
Our Setter's second tezzie appeared when he was about 12 to 13 months. We kept a look out for it, ready to do what was needed if it stayed up there. They ended up MASSIVE! 😂 And shiny! They've been lopped off now and he has a little leathery change purse with him everywhere he goes 😁
Reply13 h
Valerie Joe Watkin
We sold a pup at 12 weeks both testicles - owner rang 6 months vet said only one and castrated - vets need more training on this issue. Valerie
Reply12 hEdited
Karen Day
Thanks for this Sheree Parrish. As you know my pup Jimbo had this and I got him in March 2021 not from you and was advised by the vet to have him castrated because of the usual cancer scare and they couldn't feel it in his sc***um or abdomen. He has now been castrated and all is fine and he was always going to be a pet and not for breeding or a show dog. Coincidentally the place i take him for play runs have posted this today. I wish I had been advised about it as it seems like a good option. Have you come across it before?
I'm still shocked at how many people don't know about chemical castration for dog's and vets don't seem to be talking about it, so I'll give you the low down ...
It's called suprelorin and it tricks the brain into not producing testosterone.
Only available for dogs not bi***es.
It is the size of a grain of rice and it is injected under the skin without anesthetic.
It dissolves under the skin so no need for removal.
It last 6 months and takes 3-4 weeks to start to see effects (dogs can still impregnate during the early weeks).
Cost is approx £80-£120 per implant
It was designed for breeders of show or pedigree dogs, who wanted to ensure their dogs were not used for stud whilst boarding in kennels.
It gives you a very good idea of how your dogs temperament may change if you were to neuter.
If temperament changes for the worst (increased fear or aggression) then you only have to manage that behaviour for 6 months.
Neutering is final...YOU CANT PUT THEM BACK ON 🙈😬
Side effects: the implant can have a long term effect on fertility in some dogs.
I'm guessing most of you just want an easy-going, family pet and you don't have aspirations to be the next cruff's winner or breed thousands of pups.... if you're worried if neutering will "change" your dog... Please consider trying the implant first.
Reply11 h
Sheree Parrish
Karen Day yes, I know of the implant x
Reply11 h
Jane Dennis
I don’t understand why it is necessary to neuter a dog with one retained testicle. Leave dog to mature and then just remove the one. It is invariably the left which fails to descend or is slow. Not always of course, but usually
