My new puppy is a monorchid

[Blessedbee]

I just took my new puppy, Kipper, a 12 1/2 week old yorkie for his shots today and the vet says he has one testicle that has not descended and cannot even be felt in the channel at all. He mentioned that there has been occasions where they can even be found to be twisted around the intestines or may cause cancer because the testicle is not intended to be real warm inside the body. I wonder if anyone has had their puppy go through the surgery for this--it supposedly involves abdominal surgery to try to locate the other testicle and therefore requires more anesthesia than a simple neuter surgery. I would love some advice ahead of scheduling this surgery, if necessary, in the next two to three months. I am praying it will just appear before that time, but the vet is very doubtful.

[kjc]

Hi and Welcome to YT!

Yes, the surgery to neuter him would be more like a spay on a female dog, considering the amount of time involved to find the other testicle.

[Blessedbee]

Originally Posted by kjc

Hi and Welcome to YT!

Yes, the surgery to neuter him would be more like a spay on a female dog, considering the amount of time involved to find the other testicle.

Do you know if this is common in Yorkie males? I guess I should have checked his little boy parts before I bought him, although his personality is so incredible, I probably would have taken him home with me anyway. I certainly wouldn't register him with this defect, as it might be hereditary? I am going to notify the breeder, too. Thank you for responding.

[Trishe]

When I took Bailey to the vet 3 weeks ago, he only had one too. She couldn't feel the other one at all. The other day I came home from work and he got so excited he started rolling around and was laying on his back and there they were...2 cute little testicles the size of BB's..lol. So just give it time. The other one might show up!

[Blessedbee]

Originally Posted by Trishe

When I took Bailey to the vet 3 weeks ago, he only had one too. She couldn't feel the other one at all. The other day I came home from work and he got so excited he started rolling around and was laying on his back and there they were...2 cute little testicles the size of BB's..lol. So just give it time. The other one might show up!

Thank you! I also spoke to the breeder and she reassured me that in Yorkies, it sometimes takes the little guys awhile to "show their stuff!" I can't believe I would have a conversation like this and feel so silly about it, but it just goes to show how much I am attached to my little Kipper. We have a good 3 more months until we would consider having him neutered, so I will try to be patient and wait for the other BB to appear! By the way, how old was Bailey when you finally saw the other one?

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by Blessedbee

Thank you! I also spoke to the breeder and she reassured me that in Yorkies, it sometimes takes the little guys awhile to "show their stuff!" I can't believe I would have a conversation like this and feel so silly about it, but it just goes to show how much I am attached to my little Kipper. We have a good 3 more months until we would consider having him neutered, so I will try to be patient and wait for the other BB to appear! By the way, how old was Bailey when you finally saw the other one?

Breeder is correct! It can even be a year before you see the other testicle! I almost had a super little male that I wanted to use for breeding, neutered because I could not palpate the other testicle and it was going on a year....I guess he heard me telling my mentor about it and low and behold! the other testicle dropped! My mentor had told me this could happen and I was just certain THIS time she was wrong.....should have known better!

[bamawife]

I have been through this with another male dog...he wasn't a yorkie, though. At the age of 2 he still only had one testicle that descended. We had him neutered but his incision was very much like a spay incision.

[Ringo1]

I went through this with my maltese, Casper; though the vet made it sound like no big deal.

This was years ago; he really didn't give a lot of details about the neuter surgery - just that it would be slightly more expensive. Anyway, he went in and got the other testicle when he neutered him and Casper was fine.

Hopefully since your pup is so young; the testicle will descend. If not - they will want to go in and get it for the reasons you were given.

[bijoux1]

I had thixs cryptorchidism issue with my little boy, Bentley. However, he isn't a yorkie..he is a poodle. I got him last year when he was already one, and his testicle had never descended, and upon exam, the vet couldn't feel it at all.

In his case, thankfully, they were able to locate it without complication during his procedure. Naturally his abdomen was a little more tender than I noticed it being with my dogs in the past that had a simple neuter. But, he did great, and there were no problems whatsoever. Good luck with your little guy, and I agree that there is still time for his to possibly drop.

[Lorraine]

Originally Posted by Blessedbee

Do you know if this is common in Yorkie males? I guess I should have checked his little boy parts before I bought him, although his personality is so incredible, I probably would have taken him home with me anyway. I certainly wouldn't register him with this defect, as it might be hereditary? I am going to notify the breeder, too. Thank you for responding.

You can wait and have him neutered at the regular 7 months of age unless you see something going wrong but i have never heard of it causing a problem as long as neutering is done preferrably before a year old. It will be a bit more cost to neuter as the surgery is a little more complicated. From what I understand, it is hereditary I think. He will still be a lovely pet but when I sold one (pet only) the one testicle still hadn't come down by the time neutering was scheduled and I paid the Vet the extra portion of the cost for that neutering, owner paid just the regular neutering fee portion.
Sometimes they do come down later but should be before 7 or 8 months that is not unusual. If both aren't descended by then, they likely won't.

[Lorraine]

I should also mention it is not unusual for one or both testicles to descend then go back up again, then come down again.

[Trishe]

Originally Posted by Lorraine

I should also mention it is not unusual for one or both testicles to descend then go back up again, then come down again.

This is so true..I just took Bailey to the vet yesterday and guess what?..it crept back up in there... I know I saw two of them before!! He still has a few months before his surgery so I'm not too worried..I think if it made an appearance once..it's just hiding..lol

[Blessedbee]

Originally Posted by Lorraine

You can wait and have him neutered at the regular 7 months of age unless you see something going wrong but i have never heard of it causing a problem as long as neutering is done preferrably before a year old. It will be a bit more cost to neuter as the surgery is a little more complicated. From what I understand, it is hereditary I think. He will still be a lovely pet but when I sold one (pet only) the one testicle still hadn't come down by the time neutering was scheduled and I paid the Vet the extra portion of the cost for that neutering, owner paid just the regular neutering fee portion.
Sometimes they do come down later but should be before 7 or 8 months that is not unusual. If both aren't descended by then, they likely won't.

So it seems that you consider 7 months an appropriate time to neuter? I thought it was supposed to be between 5 and 6 months so the dog didn't start marking his territory. Kipper already scratches his little hind legs after he is done going potty (which I think is hilarious!), so I would rather not have him start to do other mature male things. What is the expert opinion regarding this and Yorkies? Thank you for your kind response, by the way! I have been greatly encouraged by the responses I have received. Thank you to all of you!

[IsabelleOllie]

Originally Posted by Blessedbee

So it seems that you consider 7 months an appropriate time to neuter? I thought it was supposed to be between 5 and 6 months so the dog didn't start marking his territory. Kipper already scratches his little hind legs after he is done going potty (which I think is hilarious!), so I would rather not have him start to do other mature male things. What is the expert opinion regarding this and Yorkies? Thank you for your kind response, by the way! I have been greatly encouraged by the responses I have received. Thank you to all of you!

Early neutering doesn't guarantee that a dog won't start marking. I had my shih tzu neutered when he was a little over 5 months old, before he started hiking his leg to urinate, so I thought that we'd be safe as he hadn't yet learned the behavior. When he was just about a year old, he started lifting his leg on walks to mark bushes and phone poles. He marks area along the fence in our back yard and the corner of our deck. He is also housebroken, but will occasionally mark my dining room table legs... I've yet to catch him in the act to correct him, but find the puddle afterward.

[gemy]

I won't neuter any dog, until the growth plates close. A lateralXray view of the tibia can confirm if this last growth plate to close, has closed.

A testicle can descend up to one year old, and as puppies young dogs, they can go up and down.

Research has indicated for males that it is best to neuter a male who has only one dropped testicle. Having said that, generally speaking there are not a lot of persuasive health benefits to early neutering or indeed even neutering a male