During appointments, your veterinarian will check to see if your puppy’s testicles have descended. This part of the puppy exam is extremely important because some male puppies fail to descend one or both testicles, which is called cryptorchidism.
When a male puppy is developing inside his mother’s uterus, his testicles will be inside his abdomen. The testicles will have to make the long journey from inside the puppy’s abdomen to the scrotum. Most male puppies have descended testicles by the time they’re 2 months old. Occasionally, puppies can be late bloomers and take up to 6 months, but a veterinarian will usually presume a puppy has cryptorchidism if both testicles haven’t descended to the scrotum by to 4 months of age.
It’s not always known why a puppy fails to drop his testicles into his scrotum. There is an inherited component for some dogs, with puppies related to cryptorchid dogs being more likely to have the condition. But we also see some dogs with cryptorchidism who have no known family history of the condition. Your puppy may fail to drop one testicle (unilateral) or both testicles (bilateral). Sometimes the testicle starts to descend but doesn’t quite make it all the way, potentially creating a visible lump under the skin.
Although this isn’t a painful condition, you don’t want your puppy’s testicles to remain in their abdomen. Testicles are meant to stay at a cooler temperature, which is why they move into the scrotum outside of the body. By keeping the testicles at a higher temperature inside the body, they become very prone to developing certain cancers. Additionally, testicles have a very long blood supply that is meant to reach all the way to the scrotum. When this blood supply is slack instead of taut, it can twist on itself and cause dangerous blood blockages.
Plus, if only one testicle is retained, a dog can still father puppies. Because cryptorchidism can be hereditary, those puppies are more likely to be cryptorchid as well. Although a testicle in the abdomen doesn’t create functional sperm, it will still make testosterone, so a cryptorchid dog will still develop undesirable male behaviors like urine-marking, mounting and escaping to look for mates.
That means that even though you can’t see their testicles, your cryptorchid puppy should still be neutered!
Cryptorchid neuter surgeries are more involved and time consuming than routine neuters. The retained testicle may have started migrating a bit before it stopped descending, which means it may be in many different places—anywhere from inside the abdomen to just under the skin in the groin. Before doing surgery, your veterinarian may recommend an ultrasound to help pinpoint the cryptorchid testicle’s location.
Learn more about cryptorchidism and treatment for your puppy.
