# Puppy with one testicle that hasnt dropped?



## JoLo (Mar 16, 2010)

Ok so i finally registered to the forum, and i would like to introduce myself. My name is Joe. Ive been lurking around and taking in every bit of information on the German Shepherd dog breed over the past month. So i am not just jumping into this, and im almost positive this dog is for me. We contacted a breeder near us and asked when there next litter would be due. One of the breeders told us that she has one GSD that she had bought herself from another breeder because of how perfect he was. Champion parents, and perfect bloodlines and health. She says the dog is gorgeous and she bought it intending to use it as a show dog. The only problem is is the pup just turned 3 months and one of his testicles hasnt dropped. According to the nice woman we talked to you cant show a dog if a testicle hasnt dropped? I dont know much about show dogs and what not so i just listened to what she had to say about this dog. It sounds gorgeous and she says its perfect in every which way and we are going to go see it sometime this week. Now i have a question for you experience dog owners. Is there any drawbacks or will there be any issues with this going down the road. Like will the dog fill out right or have any problems with his testosterone levels. 
All your information is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys this forum is great!


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Did you see this thread?
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/131550-one-testicle.html

It is true that dogs cannot be shown without both their testicles, and they should also be neutered if the other one doesn't descend. They should not be bred as the condition is generally considered genetic. Left alone the testicle can turn malignant and cause problems because it's usually up by the kidneys or other places that it shouldn't be. The surgery for this kind of neuter is more expensive because they have to go digging around to find the other testicle. I think you can generally wait until the dog is more mature (2yrs) to neuter and then he will have gotten the majority of his testosterone for development. 

Having only testicle will not impact his ability to be a loving and devoted companion.


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

JoLo said:


> ...
> Now i have a question for you experience dog owners. Is there any drawbacks or will there be any issues with this going down the road. Like will the dog fill out right or have any problems with his testosterone levels.
> All your information is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys this forum is great!


Sounds like a nice pup. 

I wouldn't hesitate getting a pet dog whose testicle hasn't dropped, in fact I've had several. There's still a chance that it will drop though the chances are very slim. 

I've always believed that you shouldn't neuter a dog until he's between 18 to 24 months old, this allows him enough time to mature. I've never noticed that only one testicle has prohibited a pup from physically/mentally maturing but others may know more about this than I do. 

The only down side is that he'll have to have the retained testicle surgically removed (usually done if/when you have them neutered) and this normally costs a little more. I was told that a dog can have a retained testicle for up to two years without having to worry that it will become cancerous.

GOOD LUCK - if you get the pup please post pictures and tell us all about him!!!


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## JoLo (Mar 16, 2010)

Thanks for the detailed responses jklatsky and arycrest. They answered exactly what i was looking to hear. And of course it wont effect his ability to be a loving companion. Thats all in the heart lol. But thanks guys, and if i end up with this pup i will be sure to show him off to you guys


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## Sarah'sSita (Oct 27, 2001)

My pup is five months old and at 4 month vet check there was still just one testicle down. However the second one is easily felt near the scrotum. The vet said its good to know where it is - makes the surgery much easier when its location is known. I am waiting several years before I neuter. I do want to keep him intact as long as possible for proper development. My plan is to have the undescended testicle removed and a vasectomy done on the other one.


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## JoLo (Mar 16, 2010)

So im very upset, but we took the pup home and are little pom absolutely dispized the dog. He was the sweetest and most adorable GSD pup i have every seen. All he wanted to do was be nice to my pom, he even let my pom sniff his but and investigate him when we brought him home with no problem. But after that is was all down hill. My little pom kept snarling at him and barking which began to provoke him and cause him to feel the need to defend himself, so he attempted to attack my pom. Luckily i was right there and grabbed him before any damage was done, but boy did it scare my little dog. He was sitting there crying even though he didnt get touched. Since we did not want to see are pom get hurt We decided to bring the dog back to the breeder for now since were not shore how it would of worked out. My pom is not very used to other dogs since are second dog died a few years back and he hasnt trusted basically any dog he has seen. Do you think this behavior on my poms part would of went away as he got used to him? Or do you think it just wont work and we should wait to get another dog? Thanks


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

there are several threads in the behavior section on how to introduce dogs. generally, you have both dogs in a neutral location and let them meet there. Taking a walk together is also good. It gives the dogs a chance to get used to each other.

how long did you give them to get used to each other? I'm sure people with more experience can weigh in.


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## trish07 (Mar 5, 2010)

Phenix had this problem. The breeder told us she ckecked each dog to make sure everything was "in place", but obviously, she didn't check correctly or Phenix got very scared, because one of his testicule never joigned the other one.

We wait until he had 1 year old before he got castrated. The vet and other professionals told us he may developp cancer if we let the testicule in, plus he may have too much testosterone and be more "agressive".

To protect him from the cancer, we decided to castrate him. Unfortunately, we can't do shows (conformation) anymore...it sucks because I especially ask the breeder not to respect all terms of contract, which one stipulated that we HAD to castrate our dog so we will not use him as a reproductor without the consentment of breeder...but well, the most important thing is that he is a sweet companions, and this is priceless.


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## CarylBeethe (Dec 8, 2013)

Hi, I just joined this forum. My family has had GSD's since before I was born. I have a 10-year old female, Heidi, and recently purchased a male. "Henry" who will be 5 mos on Tuesday. He appears to only have one testicle, I will need to confirm this with the vet.. It is possible for pups to only have one and not have a second? Reading through the previous posts really bums us out, and we were planning on breeding him to a bitch and pick a female, as Heidi may be deceased by then ( extremely sad time when that day comes ).


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