male with one testicle, is this hereditary?

Winston01 · #1 2nd September 2002, 08:20 PM

I have a 14 week male who was purchased for breeding. Come to find out he only has one testicle. Is this something the breeders we purchased him from would have know. He was 11 weeks when we received him. Unfortunatly we are new to this. Main concern is were we misled? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

FlashyTitus · #2 2nd September 2002, 08:27 PM

I dont think its hereditary. Most good breeders will take the puppy back if both testicles do not fall. I'm not sure if its health related or not though. Call your vet tomorrow and ask him. He might want to do a check up on him. He might even suggest neutering. If he only has one testicle I would go ahead if thats what the vet suggests.

Winston01 · #3 2nd September 2002, 08:48 PM

Thanks for your info. Our vet did suggest getting Max fixed. He said the other testicle could turn cancerous when he is older. Our vet was the one that told us some people consider it hereditary. That is why I decided to get the opinions from others. The only bad part is I can't give him up now, too attached. I would like to breed them, but I'm very happy to have just a loving friend. Only bad part is the $ we paid for his champion bloodlines that now do us no good.

Matt S · #4 2nd September 2002, 08:51 PM

Generally a male puppy's testicles drop around 6 or 7 weeks, however it can take up to 3 months or longer in some instances.
When you say he was purchased for breeding do you have some kind of contract from the breeder & does this mean he was purchased as a show prospect?
Also at 14 weeks old there is no real way of telling whether or not he will be up to breeding standard. At any rate he shouldn't be bred from until he is sufficiently mature enough to have the recommended health testing performed.
When a dog only has one decended, or in fact if neither have dropped for that matter he is suffering from what is called Cryptorchidism, or retained testicles which is considered a genetic trait & dogs who have a retained testicle(s) should not be bred from.
Another point to consider is that a dog with retained testicle(s) has a higher chance of testicular cancer & therefore should be neutered.
Here's a link on Cryptorchidism FYI

http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=897

Winston01 · #5 2nd September 2002, 09:25 PM

Matt,
Thank you for the web page. I know he needed more testing before he could be a good stud. It just really bothers me that being new at this and loving the breed as we do I feel somwhat mislead by the breeders. I did sign a contract and we had many conversations about our future pup and our plans. Guess we all learn from our mistakes.

JulieM · #6 3rd September 2002, 08:16 AM

What does your contract say? Assuming you bought him from a responsible breeder, there should be some guarantee about genetic 'defects,' and if he was sold as a show/breeding prospect there should be something about what will happen if he is unable (due to genetic issues) to be shown/bred.

(Even if you can't breed him, the money you paid for "champion" bloodlines also paid for health testing on his parents, so will be well worth it in the long run.)

Winston01 · #7 4th September 2002, 11:42 AM

The contract said nothing about being a show prospect. It mainly was just for welfare of the dog. Not to go to a pound, they would take him back at no cost to them. His puppies would not be sold to a puppy mill or pet shop. And that males 12 weeks or younger the testicles were not gauranteed. We got him when he was 11 weeks. I know right there that I can do nothing. But like I said we had numerous conversation about our hopeful plans for him. We even spent three hours at their house looking around. We are VERY new to this and I had never heard of only one testicle before. We just love the breed and wanted to share them. This was not a major money making plan. Just wanted to be with these wonderful dogs. I trusted the breeders and they knew we didn't know very much about breeding yet. She even made the comment his testicles were dropping when we were there. Given that they made that statement in the contract I have a feeling they were aware of the problem or have had this happen before. We have a wonderful loving male boxer I would not trade for the world!! And we have learned from our mistake. Just wanted to get the opinion of others. I appreciate everyones response.

#8 7th September 2002, 07:45 PM

In horse breeding, it's pretty well accepted that undescended testicles are hereditary and can be inherited from male *or* female side. All my boys have had testicles by 8 weeks. If your breeder does not warrenty testicles before 12 weeks, they *might* have a problem with the boys they are producing.

Winston01 · #9 7th September 2002, 09:02 PM

I have spoken with the breeder and they did offer to take him back and replace him with a new puppy or a refund. However I declined on this offer. I can not return my baby boy!! He is now apart of our family. I have no children, other than Max my fawn (our one nutter is what we call him)and my female brindle that is 5 months old. If this was a major $$ matter i suppose it would be best to return him. But these guys are my children and well I guess I will just have to adopt another. Definatly going into it with more knowledge!!

dbjr77 · #10 11th September 2002, 08:50 AM

My boy Tiberious gave us some worries but we have a different vet. I have noticed a great amount of pro nueter/spay sentiment on this board and I say that being a responsible owner is the answer to the entire issue. My boys testicles dropped seperately 1 at about 2.5 months and the other closer to 4 and he is fine. My vet is a holistic vet and does her best to follow natural remedies. I consider myself to be a responsible owner and do not let my boy have the opportunity to cause unwanted puppies. He is only off the leash in my home or at the off the leash park. There are no in-heat females at my home, and if you are a responsible owner you would not bring a in-heat female to an off the leash park with intact males. A radio personality said it best in response to a caller whose child wanted to to do something that the parent didn't agree with. He said: "My 3 year old wants to smoke crack, but I am a parent"

I guess the point to my whole message is get more than one opinion such as you did here, and do personal research so you have the ability to make an informed decision. Also I have found that as a concerned owner I have a tendency to overreact to issues and have found that if I step back and follow my own advise things work out much better.

kassa · #11 11th September 2002, 02:18 PM

One caveat about intact dogs is that they are prone to being attacked by other dogs (especially in the adolescent months).

And, sadly, intact dogs are more valuable to thieves who want breedable dogs.