He is 100% sweet and adorable but we are worried about his heath.
When we got him from his breeder at 3.5 months he was thin and seemed
immature. His vet thought he might be the "runt" of the litter.
After we had him for a month or so he developed a case of loose stools
and the vet tested him for Giaridia (sp?) which was positive. We had
him on antibiotics for 10 days and a second test indicated he was ok.

He doesn't have a strong appetite as we have to, often, encourage him
to eat but he does love to play and to run with us when we go to the
park -he can go for up to 4 miles at a crack!

We are worried about his "one" testicle - how long should we wait as I
have read the retained one can become cancerous and it is recommended
we have it removed ASAP.

Thanks for any advice!!!

Rory

Zazenzky said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

We are worried about his "one" testicle - how long should
we wait as I have read the retained one can become
cancerous and it is recommended we have it removed ASAP.

What your vet said is true. While removal of an undescended
testicle is more invasive than a regular neutering, I've known a
few dogs who've gone through it with no problem, including a dog
whose "missing" testicle was very difficult to locate. Since
your dog is very small, you may want to express this concern to
your vet. Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but the
surgery is probably no more complicated than spay surgery on a
similarly sized female.

What does your dog's breeder say about this? There's usually a
gentetic factor in cryptorchidism. And, FWIW, this is a known
genetic issue in both Maltese and Papillons.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

He also said that vets
make a lot of money carrying out operations which aren't strictly
necessary!) So, we waited. No problem ever arose, and our wee
lad lived to be older than any of our previous Borders. He also
never actually looked his age...

That's called malpractice and I don't know any veterinarian willing to put
his or her license on the line to earn that extra buck. Frankly, in our
practice, we have enough to do without booking our staff with needless
surgeries.

Anne Jackson said in
rec.pets.dogs.health:

When our youngest Border Terrier's testicles didn't
descend, I discussed the problem with a couple we were
friendly with - the husband was a surgeon and the wife a
vet. She insisted that we should have the dog operated on,
he suggested that we wait until we knew whether there was a
problem. (He also said that vets make a lot of money
carrying out operations which aren't strictly necessary!)
So, we waited. No problem ever arose, and our wee lad
lived to be older than any of our previous Borders. He
also never actually looked his age...

What's your point as far as the OP is concerned? From your post
it seems to be: Discuss the issue with a friendly couple and
then pick the advice you'd prefer to follow - though certainly
not the friendly vet's advice.

I'm pleased that it worked out for you and your dog, but I hope
that the original poster doesn't follow your example.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Anne Jackson" wrote in message
...
I
discussed the problem with a couple we were friendly with - the
husband was a surgeon and the wife a vet. She insisted that we
should have the dog operated on, he suggested that we wait until
we knew whether there was a problem. (He also said that vets
make a lot of money carrying out operations which aren't strictly
necessary!)

So HE's a surgeon and SHE'S a vet. IOW, you were asking a question within
HER area of expertise. And yet you took HIS advice.

And THEN, the husband went on and made disparaging comments about his wife's
profession and insinuated that she only held her opinion because it made her
money. So he's not only rude and controlling, he's completely
unprofessional.

If that couple were my husband and I, first he would keep his mouth shut
when you asked. Second, he would not make comments to undermine my answer.
And third, if he acted like that husband did, we would not be spending much
time in the same household.

I would not be offended if you did not take my advice about surgery. And I
would be happy that you did not have any of the possible problems in spite
of that. But I probably wouldn't waste my time discussiing dog medical
issues with you in the future. Obviously you were looking for someome to
tell you what you wanted to hear - that is, that it was unnecessary and only
done to make the vet a lot of money. Surgeon or not, the vet is the
informed professional here, not her husband.

Judy

elegy wrote:

On Fri, 20 Jul 2007 02:04:27 +0100, Anne Jackson
wrote:


When our youngest Border Terrier's testicles didn't descend, I
discussed the problem with a couple we were friendly with - the
husband was a surgeon and the wife a vet. She insisted that we
should have the dog operated on, he suggested that we wait until
we knew whether there was a problem. (He also said that vets
make a lot of money carrying out operations which aren't strictly
necessary!) So, we waited. No problem ever arose, and our wee
lad lived to be older than any of our previous Borders. He also
never actually looked his age...


that's very interesting. i wonder what you'd be writing now if that
undescended testicle had become cancerous as so many do. the problem
with waiting until you know if there's a problem is that a) how do you
know there's a problem until the dog is visibly sick and b) can you
fix the problem once your dog is full of cancer.

it's a scenario i wouldn't want any part of. i see enough cancer on a
day to day basis to want to increase the odds of seeing it in my own
dogs.

My male BC's breeder, the vet and I felt that allowing him to remain
intact until he developed a full-sized set of plumbing (at around 18
months) might reduce urinary tract issues in his senior years. We also
wanted to wait and see how he turned out - if he were something truly
extraordinary he might be worthy of breeding.

However, one testicle failed to descend. We waited, hoping it would
turn up eventually. No joy. Finally at about 11 months, the vet and I
were both felt that the risk of cancer outweighed any marginal benefit
to delaying the procedure any longer. His breeder concurred; obviously
breeding a monorchid would be out of the question, no matter how
wonderful he might be in other areas.

The procedure was of course more complicated than a normal neutering.
He had the incision in his scrotum and another on his belly next to his
sheath. And it was a long procedure; the vet finally found the missing
gonad up near his kidney. It would have never come down on its own.
And if it had turned cancerous most likely we wouldn't have known until
his abdomen was riddled with it.

I have no regrets about my decision and I think Anne took a huge risk
following the advice of a surgeon (a human surgeon!) over the
considerably more educated opinion of his wife, the vet. I'm glad that
things turned out well for her dog but I consider it to be irresponsible
for her to recommend her course of action (or rather, inaction) to
anybody else.

"Kathleen" wrote in message:

However, one testicle failed to descend. We waited, hoping it would
turn up eventually. No joy. Finally at about 11 months, the vet and I
were both felt that the risk of cancer outweighed any marginal benefit
to delaying the procedure any longer.

This is the general advice I've seen given to people with dogs that have a
retained testicle. In some cases, I've read that it is possible to guide
the gonad into place, but that assumes that it is in the right position for
that (I'm assuming, right under the skin, near the testicles) in the first
place.

As for the surgeon-vet couple, I don't know what he's doing giving opinions
about a subject he knows nothing about, and I don't know what the poster is
doing, taking the advice of the guy who's unqualified to give it. I sure as
hell hope that the surgeon doesn't take the 'let's wait till it's really
broken, and then see if it can even be fixed at that point' approach with
his human patients.

Suja

As for the surgeon-vet couple, I don't know what he's doing giving
opinions
about a subject he knows nothing about, and I don't know what the poster
is
doing, taking the advice of the guy who's unqualified to give it. I sure
as
hell hope that the surgeon doesn't take the 'let's wait till it's really
broken, and then see if it can even be fixed at that point' approach with
his human patients.

I have doubts as to the validity of the story. Or perhaps it was something
the husband said with sarcasm - perhaps an inside joke with his wife.