As occurs in males of most species, including humans, there is a stage in which the testicles must descend from the abdominal cavity into the scrotal sac.
Sometimes we have doubts about what the correct time is, if it varies between species, quality of life or diet. Surely these and other factors also affect, but how do I know if I should continue waiting or consult the vet?
In this article on our site we are going to try to answer several of your questions on this topic, to find out if my puppy doesn't drop his testicles, why? ?
What is cryptorchidism? Why happens?
cryptorchidism or retention of both testicles, as we said in the introduction, is a fairly common condition among puppies today. They normally descend into the scrotum when our puppy is very young, varying between breeds, but it is estimated that before 2 months of age they should already be there. In some breeds it may occur later, but never after 6 months of age
Cryptorchidism can be caused by incomplete descent, of only one testicle (monorchid) or the lack of both in the scrotal cavity. When we detect that our puppy at six months still does not have his testicles in place, we must go to the vetto see what is happening with our little one.
Symptoms that we can observe
When the descent of one or both testicles does not occur, it is understood that they were retained somewhere in the lower part of the body. Rarely can we associate it with pain or some other sign of illness.
For example, sometimes they are retained in the inguinal canal, it is like a bridge where they communicate in the spermatic cord with the testicles. If they are there, the specialist will be able to diagnose it through a physical exam. But in cases where they have not yet descended from the abdominal cavity, where they are found at birth, we must resort to ultrasound to see where they are located and their size. Many times they still didn't develop properly or are too large.
Miniature, shepherd and boxer breeds are the ones with the highest incidence of these pathologies. They are believed to be genetically transmitted as a sex-linked recessive chromosomal trait. Although it is not associated with any particular symptom, we must be attentive to some signs that may appear, among which we find:
- Acute abdominal pain: This may be because the spermatic cord has become entangled and is cutting off the blood supply to the area. We will see our puppy depressed, perhaps with a fever and pain when we touch his belly.
- Shrinking penis and growing breasts: may be due to a lack of development of one or both testicles due to abnormal segregation of female hormones.
All this can lead to a high risk of testicular cancer, so it is essential to go to the vet, especially when the symptoms appear. symptoms we have mentioned.
Diagnosis and treatments
As we mentioned before, the vet will be able to diagnose the dog through a physical examination by palpating the area. Many times this will suffice. But other times, when additional methods are needed, you'll turn to ultrasound or sonography.
Within the treatments that the veterinarian can recommend we will find a great variety since it will depend on the severity of the case with which it is found in the diagnosis. Very few cases respond to medication, but sometimes it is worth trying an injection of hormones if we see that everything is physiologically correct. castration is normally resorted to, for various reasons:
- May develop tumors in testicles that have not descended.
- Avoid genetic transmission to their descendants since it does not prevent reproduction.
- Decrease reactivity (very present in monorchid dogs).
