Boys Bits

Blanik Jackson - Kyle 

I was reading this morning on a GSD advice page about people who have young males with one descended testicle. So much conflicting advice from "people in the know" and their own vets. One told to neuter now whilst her pup is 7 months, another thankfully jumped in and said she had done her research and going against the vets advice leaving it till her pup is 18 months. I really feel for them, I've been there so I understand. Kyle was due to go to a show home but with only one descended testicle it fell through for him, of course he now has the perfect life, but I'd have loved him to have had a show home. Whilst looking to buy my own sable pup I had set my heart on "Sable2" in a friends litter - sadly neither of his testicles descended by 8 weeks and I had to pull out. (and they never did come down) Of course had there not been an issue with Sable2 then there would not have been a Ross at Blanik, I can't imagine life without a Ross to keep me on my toes! 

Sometimes in a young pup you can feel the testicle is on its way down but not yet in the scrotum, that of course is less concerning and the testicle should drop. As a breeder it is your responsibility to inform the puppy buyer of the situation and should they continue with the sale to give them advice on the way forward. I hope none of our puppy buyer will ask similar questions on advice groups, I hope they come to me first and if I can't help them then I'll find someone who can.

The way I understand it is, if these males are not neutered it can become dangerous for them in middle age. The temperature in the body is too hot for the testicle which is obviously designed to be outside the body, and it is likely to become cancerous. But there are other aspects to consider - as the body needs the sex hormones to mature and close the growth plates early neutering increases the risk of bone/joint abnormalities like H.D, and can cause a higher risk of some cancers and cruciate tears. Therefore, to me the obvious solution is to neuter at around 2 years old. 

One lady talks on there about it being hereditary .. well yeah it is, but that is where it is quite complicated. We had one male with a retained testicle in the "E" litter of 2003, all others have been entire from the "A" litter of 96 until we get to the "J" litter of 2016. Both males there had a retained testicle and needed surgery as both were retained near the kidneys, which is where they start their journey from shortly after birth. As my bitch line did not seem to have carried the defect I couldn't really blame Sammi who was the dam of the litter. Also her sire is Nico, and to my knowledge he has not produced any retained testicles in 8 litters. Therefore, I looked at the sire of the litter, a well-used and popular dog, there seemed to be very few issues with him in that department. Confusing me further, Sammi then had 4 males to Fransisco, all were entire. Kaiah, who is the female from the "J" litter also had 3 males from Fransisco, 2 were entire at 8 weeks, one had a retained testicle which has since made it's way down. Therefore, the combination of Merlot and Sammi produced retained testicles, but the combination of Fransisco and Sammi did not! Why? 

The J Litter

Katrina explained it to me, and I will try and explain it in the same way. (If I can and it makes sense) If you use as an example, a puppy with retained testicles must have had 10 defective genes from his parents to be affected, but some must come from both sides. To try and make it easy if you consider the genes as buttons in your hands. For example in the left hand you have the bitch who may carry 4 buttons, in the right you have the dog buttons, therefore to produce the defect the dog must carry 6 buttons, if he only carried 5 or less the litter would all be entire. So between Merlot and Sammi they carried more than 10 buttons .. but between Fransisco and Sammi ... they did not. So even if the female only carried 2, the male could carry 8 ... etc. So it really isn't as easy as I use to think. I use to say, well it's not a problem in my bitch line ... but really I guess I had always just been lucky with my combinations. Though I must admit having had a litter of entire males from Fransisco to Sammi I was hopeful that things would work out the same with him and Kaiah, thankfully they seem to have done. (though of course being a combination of Merlot and Sammi, Kaiah may carry more buttons than Sammi!) 

It will be a coupe of years at least before there is another Blanik litter. Whether I get Kaiah to Zalu or whether it'll be Siska I really can't tell at the moment. Fransisco is getting on, or I'd probably have taken Kaiah back to him. I've never used a male twice before, so the fact I'm even thinking of a third time means this boy is special!