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Puppy testicle inside body at 12 weeks - any experience?

22 replies

BurningBridges · 07/01/2017 18:34

If its not one thing, its another. Right, so my new puppy was examined by vet last week when having his final set of jabs and we were told there was a testicle "missing" -she thought it might be inside the body cavity somewhere. She said it wasn't a big deal, we wouldn't be able to breed from him (never our intention) but it would be a simple operation at the same time as castration.

I've since been doing some digging. A different vet has told me apparently this is not that simple, they have to find the testicle within the abdomen. Some of you on here will recall my last dog had to be put to sleep aged 5 after botched abdominal surgery so I am immediately worried. Its also going to cost at least twice as much - it will be done at same time as castration and as far as I can see its not covered at all on the insurance - we are about to change from the "free" insurance that comes from the breeder to my old insurers who covered my first dog and were very good. However, in effect, its a pre-existing condition (congenital?)

So if its not covered on the insurance, there's no reason at all surely for me not to take it up with the breeder now. I know they will deny all knowledge and all responsibility but he was an expensive dog and surely when their vet checked him at 8 weeks he should have noticed? From what I've googled if both aren't present at 8 weeks they are extremely unlikely to show up at any time after that.

It seems particularly hard that we are now facing extra bills and moreover the worry of the surgery after what happened to my last dog Sad - I chose a good breeder to try to avoid any problems although I understand that this condition can't be predicted.

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gutrotweins · 07/01/2017 19:48

Our puppy had two undescended testicles. The vet waited until he was about 12-15 months to operate and lopped both of them out. Because of the location of one testicle in a mass of muscle, it turned out to be quite a major op with an incision of about 20cm. Our dog stayed overnight at the vet's and come the morning, he was leaping around as normal. (The next 10 days of post op 'rest' was a complete nightmare he walks over 6 miles a day!)

Apparently it is very important to have the op done, as undescended testicles present a big tumour risk.

The total cost was about ÂŁ450 (including body suit which was a bit of a rip off at ÂŁ30 and didn't even have a wee hole!) and no, sadly, we couldn't claim on the insurance.

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gutrotweins · 07/01/2017 19:50

And yes, apparently it is congenital, and breeders should be aware of any defects if you're buying a pedigree.

Now we know why our dog was half price!

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tabulahrasa · 07/01/2017 20:37

It's not being born with it that makes it pre-existing btw, it's being diagnosed with it - so you should be able to claim for it on his current insurance if you renew that instead of changing insurance.

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BurningBridges · 07/01/2017 22:00

gutro I'm glad he recovered but that sounds worrying at the time. Thanks everyone so far - anyone else?

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Whitney168 · 08/01/2017 15:41

Congenital means present at birth - ALL male dogs have undescended testicles at birth, so no, it shouldn't matter for insurance in the slightest.

Many many male dogs will have one or both testicles undescended at this age. Some will come down, some will not. Leave it be, and it will do what it will do.

To be fair to the breeder, many puppies at sale age of 8 weeks will have two testicles 'feelable' but not necessarily fully descended - and for a good while yet they can go up and down. Although it may have been like this at 8 weeks, due to a shorter cord they can fail to descend properly as the dog grows.

If you have him neutered later, it is not necessarily a major issue. Some may take a bit more digging for the vet, but they should not be putting the fear of God into you about this. It is not a huge deal.

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Whitney168 · 08/01/2017 15:43

Sorry, should also have said - depending on breed/size of dog, I wouldn't assume it will never descend for many months yet, and you shouldn't be having him neutered until he is at least a year anyway.

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Billingsgatedoxy · 08/01/2017 15:47

My (very small) dog had an un descended testicle at his six month check but it was present when he was neutered at 15 months.

You have lots of time for it to descend yet, I wouldn't panic unnecessarily

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IlsaLund · 08/01/2017 16:04

My rescue boy had an undescended testicle - he was about 18 months. His neutering op was more complex and expensive but despite a larger incision he made a super fast recovery

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BurningBridges · 08/01/2017 17:16

I thought you had to have them neutered at 6 months, esp. if there was an undescended testicle as waiting meant it was more likely to turn into a tumour? But what some of you are saying now, like wait a year etc., is more like what the first vet told me - she was very nonchalant about it said there's no hurry.

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Whitney168 · 08/01/2017 17:29

There is no hurry. A retained testicle - if that is how it remains - MAY (by no means will) cause issues latter in the dog's life, but there is no need to get a dog neutered early on the basis of it. Six months is a puppy, and no puppy should be neutered.

Am not trying to be controversial here, but I get the impression your pup has been bought from a commercial breeder. What contract did they give you when you bought him?

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japanesegarden · 08/01/2017 17:49

Vet here. The older the puppy the less the chance it will come down, but as pp said it is not yet impossible that it may appear, especially if under the skin near the scrotum rather than right inside the abdomen. It should be removed at some stage if it doesn't descend, but there is absolutely no hurry as it wouldn't become cancer till much later in life. I'd suggest getting it done at some stage over a year old, plus or minus the other one as desired.

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Veterinari · 08/01/2017 18:02

Agree with above - it may well descend - I'd wait til he's at least a year old

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OfflineFor40Years · 08/01/2017 18:40

Our puppy had one undescended testicle at the first check up and the vet couldn't feel it anywhere so suggested it may stay in the abdomen and need to be removed to prevent cancer later on. However, the breeder had warned me about this when we picked him up and said that dogs from previous litters tended to have late descending testicles. He's now 17 weeks and sure enough they are both down. Have you spoken to your breeder to see if there's a similar history?

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BurningBridges · 09/01/2017 22:51

Offline debating whether to speak to breeder.

Whitney what do you mean by commercial breeder? I got my previous dog from a supposed "hobby breeder" and I wasn't happy with them so this time we chose a larger breeder. Its is their business yes but we were happy with everything there. Why would it be controversial?

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TrionicLettuce · 10/01/2017 00:31

Breeding ethically and responsibly is pretty much incompatible with making a living from it. To make breeding profitable it has to be done either at high volume (which is detriments both to the dogs being bred from and, in the case of pedigrees, the gene pool of the breed as a whole) or corners are being cut somewhere to keep costs down as much as possible.

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TrionicLettuce · 10/01/2017 00:35

*detrimental

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Whitney168 · 10/01/2017 09:14

BurningBridges - non-controversial answer - because if they are a licensed kennel who does this as a business, they are likely to be subject to different legal requirements.

(Controversial answer - yes, what Trionic says, as usual!)

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BurningBridges · 10/01/2017 09:30

Sorry you two have lost me. Are you saying this is my fault because I got my dog from a breeder?

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Whitney168 · 10/01/2017 09:56

No, not at all, BB - this is a very common thing, wherever dogs are bought from.

Am just saying that as a licensed breeder, there may be different requirements on this breeder as a business to provide goods that are 'fit for purpose' (although in honesty, there is nothing about this issue that would make the dog unfit to be a pet).

It could be worth looking at whatever paperwork you were provided to see if there is any form of redress - although many commercial breeders would (and would be within their rights to) ask for return of the 'goods' - i.e. puppy - for any refund, so that probably wouldn't go anywhere.

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6demandingchildren · 15/01/2017 11:23

My had only had one testicle, had a 4 hour op and very could not find it. Had x-rays and still not seen on those.

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NoBetterName · 15/01/2017 18:39

Our foster dog had an undescended testicle, which was found to be in his abdomen. He had key-hole surgery to have it removed and was out of the vet the same day. The op should have cost ÂŁ550, but the vet offered a charity discount and did it for ÂŁ400 instead. I'm assuming the cost and recovery time though is dependent on the type of surgery (our foster could have had traditional surgery instead of key-hole surgery, but that would have meant a longer recovery time) and the complexity of the location of the missing testicle.

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BurningBridges · 16/01/2017 10:20

Thank you 6 and No - this is what's worrying me, how complicated will the operation be.

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