Cryptorchidism - good, bad or indifferent?

What is your take on cryptorchidism (undescended testicles?). I recently heard of a man selling a bilateral cryptorchid (neither testicle has dropped & the dog is sterile) for big money. I have also heard of dog men of old breeding unilateral cryptorchids (one testicle has dropped & the dog is virile) without hesitation.

Is this OK? Not OK? Your opinions & why.

 

It's a genetic trait that will be passed down to the offspring. So in my opinion it's a dog that has to go and I don't mean to a new owner, it's a genetic defect and should be culled out of a breeding program if it pops up. jmo......Now if you can have the dog fixed and sold or given to someone as a pet that would be ok I suppose but to knowling sell one and not tell the new owners is just bad ethics....

 

I've had 2 inbred sons from Jeep that had only one ball,i bred 1 and he did produce that as well.but they were all FIRST CLASS animals in all aspects.

 

Cryptorchidism is genetic. Statistics say that 80% of these animals that are not neuterd will develop cancer with the testical that becomes burried within the body if left intack. It's all with what one can live with...

 

I just had a conversation about this with Gary Hammonds. Human (or Bovine) chorionic gonadotropin HCG has been used to treat this problem with success and could save you some money and unnecessary surgery. 1 cc every two days and a daily massage has been known to get the testicle to decend. A Vet. will NEVER tell you this and will ALWAYS tell you to neuter.

 

so lemme get this str8, u gotta message his testicles? :eek: id rather shoot it lol!!!

 

You might be suprised at things you would do with these dogs when push come to shove. I know I've done some things that I swore I'd never do.

 

lol, tell me about it. Try doing an A.I. Once you do that you'll GLADLY massage a dog's sack & be thankful that's all you have to do!

But I have a question though - most vets are of the opinion that cryptorchidism is genetic. So even if a dog were successfully treated with HCG, even if his retained testicle(s) dropped, wouldn't he still pass on cryptorchidism defect to his male offspring?

 

This is a good point. At the very least this procedure will ensure you that your dog wont have to be neutered, or have cancer or prostate problems and the pain that may be assoicated with this problem. It is thought that it may be genetic by some but there are those who are humble enough to note that they are not sure why some dogs have this problem. It may or may not be passed. It is not something you should try to reproduce obviously but if you have a superb animal it may be something you would "risk" in breeding to try and hold onto the other traits in the line.

Ask your self this: What is your goal ? To produce perfect animals with no flaws that have a life expectancy of 35 years and are ideal house pets ? Or to produce performance animals that may or may not have a flaw or two and live 15 years ? Every line and breed for that matter has flaws it's just up to you to decided what you are willing to live with.

My personal opinion is if I had a "special" one that had this problem as a pup..... but was corrected by the above procedure....I'd give him a chance in maybe an outcross breeding but I'd watch his offspring. If it was passed I'd remove him and probably the offspring from the breeding program. I surely would not line breed on him. But then the question of where he got the "gene" (if it is genetic ) from his sire or dam ? I dont see how one could prove it either way.

Oh yeah, I've done and AI before :-) It was a very hands on experience ;-)

 

"Hands on." That's the right word for it alright! lol.

You bring up some good points. maybe that's why dog men of old didn't seem too concerned about it. If you have a really nice dog but he has one ball I don't think they'd care.

Plus, from what I have read it's considered genetic, but there is no hard basis for it & mode of inheritance cannot be agreed upon.

Oh well, either way, if I paid a G or more for a dog that was a bilateral cryptorchid, I'd be MAD!!! I just hope the guy who has the dog isn't "studding him out." :rolleyes:

The fellow who had him tried selling him to me before the guy who has him now bought him. I wanted the dog (didn't know he was a crypto) but didn't have the $$$. That turned out in my favor that time. lol.

 

Currently, there is no genetic diagnostic test to predict the risk of this disease in a dog’s progeny. And you only know when it comes up in your program.

If the pup inherits one gene for the trait from one parent and one normal allele from the other parent, he will not show the disorder but will be a carrier. If the normal gene is represented by the capital letter C, and the defective gene is identified by the lowercase c, his genetic constitution on that chromosome is Cc. On the other hand, if a dog is a cryptorchid, his genetic constitution at that locus on that chromosome is cc (two defective genes). If this dog is bred to a bitch that also inherited two such genes, (she is also a cc), all of their offspring will either be cryptorchids like the sire or homozygous carriers like their dam. It is possible that a testicle found in the scrotum of some very young pups from such a union may later retract and be trapped inside the peritoneum. In some breeds this happens fairly frequently, and some believe it is caused by the same set of genes that cause more typical cryptorchidism. The difference between unilateral and bilateral cryptorchids may also be due to the presence of certain modifier genes”.