When to neuter our dog with a retained testicle?
We have a 6 month old male OES who has a retained testicle. He is currently 56 lbs. Is this considered to be average at his age? About how much will he weigh when he matures? The main concern is that we know he needs to be neutered and the Vet must remove his retained testicle as well. We realize that we want to wait as long as we can so that he can grow normally. Our Vet already sent out a neuter reminder. He is also receiving one on one training in obedience and is doing well. He is our fourth male OES, and we can tell that he is already more laid back than our previous ones and is eager to please. He really is a great pup. No complaints thus far. However the topic came up today in his training class, and our obedience trainer really pushed for him to be neutered asap...stating the testosterone COULD cause issues etc and breeders tell you that you should wait to get them neutered for appearance reasons only. We want to wait until he is at least one year old. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your help! |
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Welcome  We waited until 15 months for both dogs, no personality issues for either dog leaving it until later. Don't know if there is a health issue waiting longer if the dog has a retained testicle. I think it is better to wait with neutering so their legs grow strong. I have seen some gangly legged Newfys and OES that were neutered young, they seem to grow taller but not so sturdy legs. A lot of vets push early for neutering probably for money and for preventing unwanted dog pregnancies. |
| Here we tend to urge waiting. The testosterone issue is overblown by trainers. Look at Dawn with two intact males living together and with other dogs and animals, no issues at all. Dawn is the leader of that pack and Chewie and Bond know it! By delaying neutering you allow the dog to grow naturally. Every once in awhile I'll read something from the vets hinting it might be better if dog neutering was delayed due to growth issues but they have been brainwashed by the "reduce unintentional breeding folks" to say every dog must be neutered early, that they cave in the article. The retained testicle is a concern and might lead me to neuter earlier than a year, but exactly when I'm not sure. Going after that missing guy will be a challenge. It won't be as simple surgery as normal neutering. Make sure you vet is well qualified. |
| Discuss this with your vet. An undescended testicle has significant health implications for your dog. Your vet will be able to advise you as to how long to wait in order to maximise closure of growth plates and other benefits of testosterone versus negative repercussions of waiting to neuter. |
| Thank you all for the prompt replies. They have been helpful. I will discuss this further with my vet. |
| The undecended testicle is a separate issue from having an intact male and the training. Your vet relying on previous research and doing some research on your part should give you the medical info you need to choose the time best to do a neuter in regard to the retained testicle. I know around me, there have been several dogs with this issue and the one year mark seems to be a common time to do surgery. Seems a decent compromise for health and maturity issues. Now for training - that is not really true. My OES are both intact. It in no way has been a hindrance. Chewie is 7 yrs old, and probably one of the most titled OES in this country, and possibly much further. He is AKC CH, UKC-CH, UWPCH Masquerade Alice Acres CD RAE2 AXP AJP OFP CA JHD . That includes show CH, weight pull Ch, obedience, rally, agility with Eukanuba Nationals invite, sheep herding, lure coursing, is also a therapy dog and disaster team therapy dog, his CGC, has packing titles from the Malamute Club of America and also runs lead with sled dog teams. He has also met all the criteria for WSMX (Working Samoyed Masters Excellent)...if he was a Samoyed!  Bond is a 2 year old, and he is not doing too badly either. He is Ch Masquerade Madness Moonraker PT CGC CA URO1. For his titles - show champion and almost has his Grand Ch, sheep herding, lure coursing, Canine Good Citizen and rally. He also has legs toward obedience and weight pull. He also is a therapy dog. My boys are expected to behave and be examples of what an OES should be. They work in busy and crowded situations, around female dogs in heat, and it does not matter. Training....that's what it's all about. |
| Canine Cryptorchidism (undescended testicle) has 2 chief dangers: 1) abdominal testicular torsion - rare, but a painful, life-threatening emergency (analogous to human female ovarian torsion, if you know anyone who's had that). Larger breeds have slighty increased incidence. 2) increased risk of testicular cancer (increase by 13 times, per UCDavis studies). Studies suggest that after 4 months of age, the retained testicle is unlikely to descend. We prefer to remove the retained testicle as soon after 6mos as possible. (We'd actually make more $ waiting till the dog is larger, so the decision to remove early is rooted in the pup's individual health, risk factors & recovery time, not lining our vets pockets). As removing the descended testicle is a far less invasive procedure, your vet may be willing to remove that at a later date as long as you are not breeding your boy. |
| Thanks for the information. GotSheep, thanks for the reply about training. Your dogs sound really impressive. A little off topic, in regards to his weight at 56 lbs; 6 months. Is this considered normal? What could be his matured weight? |
| Sounds like he's on track. You don't want a big heavy boy, trust me. If I remember, Chews is pretty light. Less strain on the joints, etc. He still has yet to reach the bulking up stage, that may not come until after a year old. Concentrate on keeping him strong, but more towards the lean. He will be healthier and hopefully longer lived. |
| I have a boy with retained testicles that will need to be neutered. Not in my plans when I decided to keep him but then life is not always fair. I spoke to not only my vet (who is a breeder vet) but to 2 other vets (one of whom is a breeder vet & another who is a show vet). They all said the same thing....let the growth plates settle in. The time frame they gave me was anytime after 15 months with 18 months being the magic number for growth plates to be settled. Since I have kept him I want to do something with him in performance & was concerned about joint issues in the future if neutered too early. One thing for sure, they do need to come out. As for temperament................this really has nothing to do with retained testicles or testicles at all for that matter. That is in the breeding itself. And how they act around other dogs....that has to do with socialization & training. Right now I have 2 intact males, a father & son, & both are acting perfectly fine around each other & that is with a girl in season to boot! Size can vary at different ages. The best way to figure the final size is to look at not only the sizes of the parent but also the grandparents on each side. |
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