Poor Toby - only one descended testicle

[Sandy]

The vet says that at four months Toby still only has one descended testicle. He said the other may still come down by six months in time for his "fixing", but if it doesn't he'll have to "find it" and remove it, to remove the risk of it becoming cancerous in the future. So.....I know it can be done, but I'd sure like for poor Toby to have normal boy surgery. Also, I can only assume my costs would be significantly more if we have to do a search and rescue. Ah - two months. Come on down!

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

Hopefully it will!! Good luck!!

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Oh Poor Toby! Lets hope it falls.
My Mom has an Akita mix his name was Blackie....but it became Useless. He also had an undescended testicle. Needless to say my Mom has an odd since of humor. My Step Dad finally caved and now calls him Useless. After about 6 years.

[Sandy]

Did your Mom have him fixed? And was it more expensive than the traditional straight forward operation?

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

It was more, Useless is now 6ish,so I do remember how much more. I just remember her saying it was. I do not think I was outrageous though.

[Adina P]

I'm surprised that it matters as far as the surgery goes. The only reason I say that is because many breeders actually spay and neuter their puppies before they send them to their new homes. So I'm curious what is different in the procedure for a four month old or five months old.

[Sandy]

Well, I guess, from what I understand, it's simpler if they are both right there, because, as the vet says, he can just "pop them out". But if one is undescended, he has to find and remove it, so it becomes more of an abdominal surgery than a simple one.

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Kirby had this same issue. We got him when he was 13 mos old and that is when he was neutered. It was a slightly more invasive procedure, but still not a big deal. He had to have 2 real stitches instead of the dissolving ones. The cost was a little bit higher, but nothing outrageous. Don't worry too much it really wasn't a big issue.

[Sandy]

Thanks. I just want the best for Toby, and of course, I was hoping it wouldn't smack me too hard in the wallet! I don't know how on earth I will keep him from running for a couple of days, but I guess we'll have to try. I also don't know how we will fit that collar (cone) into his crate......time will tell. :)

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

We didn't use a cone for either doodle post neuter. We had them both done on a Thurs, took Fri off and watched them over the weekend. By that Monday, they were healed enough where we didn't have to worry. The vet said to keep them "quiet" for 5-6 days...we lasted 3 with Kirby and he was fine :) It's extra tough to keep 2 doodles calm.

If your doodle tries to lick, you can try putting a tee shirt on them - it seems to be much more comfortable for them than a cone.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

My doodle, Roo, was neutered at six months with an undescended testicle. His surgery turned out to be quite a bit more expensive because the testicle was way up in his abdomen. He had many many stitches. But after a one night stay in the vet's he came home bouncy and you would never know that he had had any surgery except for the line of staples up his tummy. No cone was necessary as he never bothered them at all. I talked to the breeder that I got him from and they split the cost with me because it was known when I bought him that one testicle was undescended and I bought him anyway with the agreement to neuter him no later than six months. If the vet had been able to just wiggle the testicle out the whole procedure would have been less costly. I believe my bill was about $600 (southern CA). When dogs with normally descended testicles are neutered it is not major surgery. Much much less anaesthetic or only a calming drug is used because it literally takes just minutes - the younger the less time -generally although even full grown 1 and up dogs take very little time and there is no invasion of the abdominal cavity. With an undescended testicle it means that the testicle is in the abdominal cavity and at least a small incision must be made and general anaesthetic used. Good luck to you and Toby but don't worry too much. Roo came through just fine and did not seem to be in any pain at all when he came home.

[Sandy]

Thanks Maryann. I'm wondering whether my breeder might not share in the cost. I will see about that if/when it becomes an issue. With a normal neutering, it would be just under $300 Canadian, so I'm hoping we wouldn't have to go too much above that. Best case scenario it will come down in time. If not, maybe it will be close by.....