KismetKat Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 A friend of mine has a gorgeous newfie pup - he's currently 4 and a half months old. He's got 1 undescended testicle and the vet is pushing to operate pretty well straight-away saying it could turn cancerous. The vet has said that while the dog is under they would also take the opportunity to x-ray the dogs hips. However my friend is not happy with the idea of going under a GA so young. The owner has also spoken to the breeder and she would prefer to wait until the dog is 12 months old (as the idea was to desex him when he was 12 months old anyway). My friend's hubby is worried by what the vet has said and wants to go for the op. But my friend would rather follow the breeders advice and wait . What is the experience/advice of DOLers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Tell them to get a new vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Danni Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 What Gareth said And wait. Give him a good quality zinc additive such as Value Plus (the one with 33mg of zinc, cant think of the name sorry) and be patient until at least 9 months. And make sure he isn't overweight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witheverythingiam Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Sounds like the Vet wants to do the early age test for hip dysplaysia. Was the pups parents hip scored? Were their scores good? If the answer is yes, I would wait until a year to desex. If not, the reason they desex when under is if the pup is suspected of hip dysplasia, then they MUST be desexed whilst under. It's just an agreement they have if doing the test. The pups growth plates will be fused, and desexed at the same time. Having said that, most people who got the hips xrayed at 16 weeks, only 2 pups actually had visibly bad hips, and were done. That's a lot of pups which did not have bad hips. -WithEverythingIAm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Yep new vet :wink: Lots of boys have a testicle drop when they are a bit older and it is not going to become cancerous this soon. And why would they xray him at this age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cockerlover Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I think your vet is seeing $$$$$ signs if there is no evidence of hip probs then PLEASE wait to desex till older, the chances of the other testical desending are pretty good if given a chance ,dont panic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witheverythingiam Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 In case anyone's interested, the test the Vet referred to is the Ortolani test, as well as the x-ray's which will detect if any hip dysplasia or likelihood of hip dysplasia. Google is your friend. -WithEverythingIAm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Micha had an undescended testicle and our vet advised waiting until he was around 12 months to ensure it hadn't dropped - it didn't but we did want until he was 12 months to desex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KismetKat Posted November 17, 2008 Author Share Posted November 17, 2008 Thanks for all the replies. There's no concern at this stage about the dogs hips - both parents scored and the breeder is a very good and reputable one with great puppies. From what everyone has said it sounds like the vet wants to get $$$ for the dog's balls twice - once now for the undescended one, and later at 12 months for the other. It's just what the vet said gave my friends hubby's the willies. But armed with further advice from voices of experience will help. And yes, perhaps she should ask around for another vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First Time Puppy Owner Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 From what everyone has said it sounds like the vet wants to get $$$ for the dog's balls twice - once now for the undescended one, and later at 12 months for the other. It's just what the vet said gave my friends hubby's the willies. Oh that is dodgy! New vet for sure!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 As with the other's ...........NEW VET !! It really is better to wait until at least 12 months to desex in the giant breeds anyway, they really need time to develop. in many years of vet nursing, I have never seen a retained teste cause problems in a young dog. Can the other teste be felt ? if so then there is still a chance of it descending, and if not, then the dog can safely wait until 12 months anyway. The chance of a retained teste turning cancerous or causing issues between 4months & 12months, are sooooo minimal that the vet needs a reality check. fifi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 My vet thought that Zig had only one descended testicle - but I disagreed, having noticed that they went up and down like yo-yos so said 'we'll see'. I was right.....of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scales of Justice Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 (edited) 4 and a half months is far too young to x-ray for hips anyway. Would not contemplate getting hip x-rays at 4 and a half months old, so would wait till at least 8 months of age for hip x-rays unless you decide to wait as the breeder suggested till 12 months. Edited November 17, 2008 by Scales of Justice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Tell your friends NOT to walk away from that vet. Tell them to run like hell. Undescended testicles may become cancerous - later in life - and not having them removed till 12 months wont make a scrap of difference to the chance of cancer. And, I didn't think x rays for HD were all that realiable at that age? Dunno. Also, why spend the $$ on the x rays if the parents have good scores? It could be done later, surely. Have to wonder why the vet wants to remove one testicle now, and one later. Double dipping? the beemers with the leather seats cost a lot more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Just to give another view, my friend had this problem with her border terrier, he was desexed at 10 months old, the undescended testicle was showing signs of cancerous changes at that time and had shrivelled up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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