Hello,
I was wondering if you would happen to know, if a male dog has an undescended testicle, would that affect his fertility or his sperm count? Would the chances be greater that if he were to be used as a stud, the litter could be smaller than what would be normal?
I would appreciate any help you could give me, and if you don't know the answer, could you possibly tell me who you think I should contact?
Thanks so much! - Leslie
Hello Leslie,
The following information is from one of the veterinary sites - I checked quite a few and all the information was always along the same lines:
"If a male dog has none or only one testicle he should be neutered (altered) immediately, as soon as he is old enough to handle the surgery.
Retained testicles are not normal, they are caused by a genetic defect and can cause many problems inside the body. A dog with a single visible testicle can manufacture sperm, breed and reproduce but the genetic defect will be passed on to his puppies which is highly undesireable. The undescended testicle cannot store live sperm. The normal body temperature kills the sperm, and also the undescended testicle is usually very small and under-developed."
As you see, using this dog as a stud dog would not be a possibility - he could never be a show dog himself and neither could his offspring, as his defect would pass on to his puppies genetically. I would recommend that he is neutered as soon as possible, as in some cases the retained testicle may cause health problems for the dog or complications may arise such as infection.
Probably this is not what you were wanting to hear, but the health and wellbeing of your pet, along with ensuring the genetic health of your breed, is always more important than anything else. If this is a young dog that you have bought from a breeder for show and breeding purposes (at great cost), I would contact the breeder as the fault is likely to be from her stud stock. You should get at least a good proportion of your money back or a replacement pup (from fault-clear stock).
However, you will probably not want to part with the dog you have grown to love, so if you have the room for only one dog in the household you can only try to get a refund. You can still enjoy a huge number of options with your pet, depending on his breed - search and rescue training, agility, orienteering, tracking (dogs love tracking and it is suitable for all dogs) and other fun nose work, obedience work (make sure the club is up with modern, gentle methods of training), attending training days such as 'social walking' with dog groups, retriever training and competitions, trial work (farm utility dog training), etc. All of these options will keep both you and your dog fit, and taking part is enjoyable for both.
I hope all this helps - good luck with your pup. - Ed
