We recently purchased an 8 month old german shepherd. We took him to the vets for a health check and it was found he had a retained testicle. The vet explained the dangers of leaving the testicle where it was(cancer) so advised us to have him castrated. Well hes at the vets now, had the op, but the vets couldn't find the retained testicle. I know nothing about this procedure as its the first time weve had a problem like this. The vet said everything was where it should be tube wise() but the missing testicle couldn't be found.
Is it possible for a dog to be born with only one testicle?? I feel so bad for putting pup through this.I just dont know what to do.
also, you may have read my last post, he has a umbilical hernia which they were going to stitch whilst he was sedated, we have been told that he had to be stapled instead of stitched as he doesn't have any muscle behind his hernia.
Poor thing i feel so guilty
Can anyone give me any advice I just dont know what to do

Sorry no experience of this but wish him a very speedy recovery x

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What health checks did he have?

It is possible for one testicle to be missing, as a genetic mutation, but its very rare! It's also possible that it is in his lineage - do you know if any of his littermates have anything similar?

If the vet is happy that it isn't there, it's probably not going to cause any issues, as you aren't breeding him anyway, but if it is the result of a genetic mutation he may be more susceptible to other illnesses. That's it, really, as far as I know, nothing too bad.

All the best to him, I hope he recovers from his op soon.

(Please note that I am still training, so this is just as I understand it! I haven't experienced it myself...I'm happy to search through my vet/med books if you like)

I'm sorry, I have no experience with this but wishing your boy all the best!

Did you buy him from a breeder? Do they know? Just, the problems you mentioned could be genetic, and the breeder should not continue to breed the parents if it is...

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Thank you for your replies, he is (or was?) lof pedigree, we didn't get him direct from the breeder but we were passed on a vet check from his previous owners after we purchased him (this check was done when he was 8 wks, so he was still with breeder, so I suppose they know)There were some comments on there but because of the language we handed it straight to our vet who said the previous owners were bad and that they would have known what would need to be done. We think the previous owners knew what it would cost to rectify so decided to re home before he cost them money.. I may be wrong..who knows...anyway...he's with us for keeps. Yeah its cost us a small fortune but he feels part of the family already....even being a good boy with the cats...so far

Cryptorchidism as it is known is im pretty certain congenital and thought to be hereditary, and I pretty certain I read somewhere that in certain breeds including the GSD that it is known to be a problem. Sometimes only one doesnt descend, other times they both dont. Ive also heard that they can be difficult to find too and can sometimes be located in the adominal cavity, Im assuming your vet knows his stuff and would have done a thorough search, it can be quite complex an operation depending where the missing one is, and much more complicated then a normal castration.

The undescended testicle is usually under developed and doesnt work so again I suppose but dont know for sure, that it may be posible where they dont develope at all. There can be alsorts of anomalies like dogs being born with both female and male organs for example and internal organs on the outside, so in theory anything is possible I suppose. Cryprotchidism is the correct name for it, you maybe able to find out more if you use that to search and stick to the more verterinary scientific based sites to find out more information.

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I hope your boy recovers quickly

I have no experience of this although on an episode of Bizarre Animal ER there was a Leopard (a rare breed/type of) and he had only dropped on testicle so they operated to locate, but vet declared it not there He said its definately not there so castrated him and said he will recover and live a happy life Just not good for leopards in low numbers although vet also mentioned it can be hereditary which is why the castrated him as they wouldn't want the condition passed on.

If you have the breeders details on the paperwork it would be polite to notify them to ensure they are aware as it would have been unlikely a pup at 8weeks old they would have known

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I don't know of the situation but my Westie went for his health check in December and they found that one testicle was larger than the other. The area got quickly inflamed and infection set in. He's now fully recovered from the infection and is booked in for the 1st Feb for his castration. Again, we were advised that it needed to be done due to possible cancer tumors down the line. Poor dog is 6yrs old so I don't think he'll recover as quickly as a pup would.

Just wanted to say I hope your pup makes a speedy recovery and know how horrible it is when being told something like this.

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Mummy of 4 furbabies and 1 baby on the way

Jack - Westie
Charlie - Cavalier Kings Charles
Domino - DSH cat (rescued)
Pebbles - DSH cat (rescued)
5ft Marine Fish Tank
2ft tropical Fish Tank

Thanks for all replies, he came home last night with a huge bandage wrapped around his belly and still very drowsy.He wasn't allowed food til this morning but hasn't touched it as yet.He's not allowed to do anything for 10 days until the staples are out, the vet has warned he may need to be sedated again when the staples are removed as hes big and very strong.

Thanks for your support and advice xx

Sometimes they dont feel like it like people some people respond to it better then others. Usually a light diet like chicken and rice, or fish and rice or even some scrambled egg is good, its light and resting and easily digestible so he may be better on that for today or so.

Hope he makes a speedy recovery.

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