Undescended Testicles.

[Krysty]

We have a deposit on a puppy who is ready to come home this week. I just received word from his breeder that he has undescended testicles.

 

We're paying $600.00 for him, unless we decide not to go through with the purchase.

 

It was our future plans to possibly breed him, after all of the nesessary health tests, etc. but this has put a damper on that. We could still go through with it, neuter him at 5 months, and have a wonderful pet, or we could pass and wait for the next litter (or find another breeder).

 

I don't know what to do, and in all honesty, I don't think my husband is going to be too thrilled about spending that much money on him now.

 

He is only 8 weeks old. Is there still a possibility his testicles will descend?

[Debbie Meier]

Undescended testicles is just one of many conditions that should exclude a pup from being used as a future stud dog.

 

But since you brought up breeding on a working based discussion board I will go into a few things that come before I worry about testicles. There are many other things that have to be looked at, first way before I even look at the pups individually. Are the parents proven working dogs and are they exceptional based on my personal vision of how I want the dogs I produce to work? Has the breeder produced dogs that have gone on to be exceptional workers? If they have did this particular mating produce exceptional workers that were worthy of being bred, if not and this is a test breeding or a repeat of a failed breeding have either parent produced stellar workers. Are the parents out of exceptional or respectable useful working dogs? If not there is a chance that their offspring will not amount to much or you have to be really lucky to find the perfect mate.

 

Personally, if those questions can all be answered to my satisfaction then we move on to health. Has either parent produced health issues or are there known health issues in the lines, deafness, blindness, HD, epilepsy. If so which dogs exhibited the defect and to what degree? Can testing be done to exclude the pup you are looking at from suffering from or passing on the defect? Or is it a issue that has to be approached with more caution then normal when making breeding decisions and also when placing the pups since no tests are exclusionary tests are available.

 

If I'm looking at pups out of parents that are in my mind exceptional then we move on to taking a pup and let the chips land where they land, the odds of that pups being exceptional enough to be classified as a valued stud dog are pretty low and then you have the next step of proving that the dog is capable of producing himself or better and which bitch would be the best one to breed him to too improve his chances of doing it.

 

Many people breeding border collies really do not have the background to properly evaluate parents and lines of working dogs as working dogs, which is not a problem unless they also have no interest in learning and just want to assume that the breed designation automatically gives the pups they produce the birth right to be great useful working dogs. That is a huge mistake and actually is a bad deal for the gene pool and the future of the breed as a useful working dog.

 

Anyway, the biggest question you have has to do with you and your desire to breed, how badly do you want to and do you want to do right by the breed as a working dog? The answer of that question will lead you to the right decision about if you should wait for a different pup, take a chance on this one or just plan on neutering and enjoy your pet.

[Liz P]

At 8 weeks if it's not down he is an affected, even if they drop later. I wouldn't buy him as a potential stud dog, but there is nothing wrong with him as a pet.

[terrecar]

I think Debbie has given you sound advice. It is non-preachy, not condescending, comprehensive and coming from someone experienced and knowledgeable. I wish I had been so lucky to be similarly advised when I purchased my first purebred puppy many years ago.

 

I agree with Liz, as well. My first Dachshund (not my first purebred puppy) was cryptorchid, and since I believed it was heritable and associated with increased risk of testicular cancer, I had him neutered. It was a little more expensive to have it done than it would have been otherwise, but not too terribly much more. I had that dog for 15 years, and he was worth every bit of his cost, and more.

[gcv-border]

If you definitely want to breed him, in my book, I would pass on a pup with one or both undescended testicles. If they are both undescended and never come down, well then, he will be a non-breeder since the sperm will be 'cooked' at body temp. If one is descended, he could certainly impregnate a female.

 

The male dog not only passes down the potential for undescended testicles to his male offspring, but there is also a higher probability of female problems (teats, uterus, etc.). Since you plan to produce offspring, and maybe some of those offspring will be bred, you have to consider if you want to deal with offspring or grandkids that have potentially have problems.

 

If he was in the top 1-2% of working dogs (but you don't know how he is going to work) or if he was the last of a special line, I might consider giving him a chance to see how he developed. Sorry to be harsh, but there are too many other very nice dogs out there that have all their 'parts'.

 

Now if you just want a pet, who cares. My dog had one undescended testicle. As you say, the neutering was a bit more pricey, but since I was never going to breed him, the testicle problem didn't bother me.

 

Jovi

 

Jovi