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Yes but they only retract, they do not travel all the up to where they came from originally. In an adult they ought to be far too big for that
There are obviously a lot of handy excuses being circulated amongst breeders as to why a puppy may "seem" to have two normally descended testicles and then have one move up into the scrotum and disappear, but we frankly do not believe any of them. Little pups may yo-yo testicles around when groped by people trying to determine there are two of them, but while one may be slightly higher than the other both should be evident below the canal and in a fully descended position despite the groping. This notion that they are sucking them up from a fully descended position to way up in the abdomen and that they will, again descend, is, in my view, myth and wishes and hopes, not reality.
The simple solution for a puppy purchaser is this. If you are a breeder and the dog you may wish to purchase from a litter will be part of your breeding program, visit the litter and check it out from the time the pups are five or six weeks old. If you cannot find evidence of descended testicles in all the males at six weeks of age, small though they may be, don't make a commitment to any pup in the litter -- male or female -- and revisit the litter at 8 weeks. If you cannot visit the litter because of distance have the breeder provide proof from their vet that all dogs were considered entire by the vet at the time they were examined (usually at first shots at 8m weeks here for us). If all the males are not entire DO NOT BUY EITHER A MALE OR A BITCH FROM THE LITTER. Pass on the litter and go looking for a litter where you are satisfied all of the males in that litter are actually entire at the time of sale to new homes. This step alone would significantly reduce the number of surprises in subsequent litters.
On the other hand, if you have no plans to breed, ever, and I do mean ever, and your heart is simply in a housepet or a show dog that you will never breed yourself and you will never allow to be bred from, then you can safely buy from a litter with cryptorchids. But if the dog you buy is a big success in the show ring you have to stay steadfast to the knowledge that it came from a litter carrying testicle problems and not allow your friends, or someone who will pay you to let you breed to the dog (or take a litter from the bitch) and ensure the dog is never bred from.
We recently brought in a male from a litter in the US as our outcross line. Our partner in co-ownership of this dog personally collected the dog, examined all five of its littermates (ALL male) and confirmed they were entire with both testicles fully descended in the scrotum at 8 weeks of age, then visited the vet who had vaccinated all the pups in a previous litter of both the sire and dam, to seek confirmation that all males in both those litters from the sire and dam were entire, before we bought him. This is due dilligence. If enough people only purchase breeding quality whippets from litters where the males are all entire, much of the current problem could be solved.
It is heartbreaking to see lovely pups in a quality litter that carries problems and tell yourself that they should not, cannot be used in a breeding program, but if want to leave the breed at least as good as you found it when you got into it in the first place, you owe it to the breed to maintain standards that don't contribute to a further decline in the gene pool. One of the easiest ways of doing that is by never breeding to dogs or bitches who originate from litters where a dog was not entire.
Lanhy
Lanny
Lanny
There are obviously a lot of handy excuses being circulated amongst breeders as to why a puppy may "seem" to have two normally descended testicles and then have one move up into the scrotum and disappear, but we frankly do not believe any of them. Little pups may yo-yo testicles around when groped by people trying to determine there are two of them, but while one may be slightly higher than the other both should be evident below the canal and in a fully descended position despite the groping. This notion that they are sucking them up from a fully descended position to way up in the abdomen and that they will, again descend, is, in my view, myth and wishes and hopes, not reality.
The simple solution for a puppy purchaser is this. If you are a breeder and the dog you may wish to purchase from a litter will be part of your breeding program, visit the litter and check it out from the time the pups are five or six weeks old. If you cannot find evidence of descended testicles in all the males at six weeks of age, small though they may be, don't make a commitment to any pup in the litter -- male or female -- and revisit the litter at 8 weeks. If you cannot visit the litter because of distance have the breeder provide proof from their vet that all dogs were considered entire by the vet at the time they were examined (usually at first shots at 8m weeks here for us). If all the males are not entire DO NOT BUY EITHER A MALE OR A BITCH FROM THE LITTER. Pass on the litter and go looking for a litter where you are satisfied all of the males in that litter are actually entire at the time of sale to new homes. This step alone would significantly reduce the number of surprises in subsequent litters.
On the other hand, if you have no plans to breed, ever, and I do mean ever, and your heart is simply in a housepet or a show dog that you will never breed yourself and you will never allow to be bred from, then you can safely buy from a litter with cryptorchids. But if the dog you buy is a big success in the show ring you have to stay steadfast to the knowledge that it came from a litter carrying testicle problems and not allow your friends, or someone who will pay you to let you breed to the dog (or take a litter from the bitch) and ensure the dog is never bred from.
We recently brought in a male from a litter in the US as our outcross line. Our partner in co-ownership of this dog personally collected the dog, examined all five of its littermates (ALL male) and confirmed they were entire with both testicles fully descended in the scrotum at 8 weeks of age, then visited the vet who had vaccinated all the pups in a previous litter of both the sire and dam, to seek confirmation that all males in both those litters from the sire and dam were entire, before we bought him. This is due dilligence. If enough people only purchase breeding quality whippets from litters where the males are all entire, much of the current problem could be solved.
It is heartbreaking to see lovely pups in a quality litter that carries problems and tell yourself that they should not, cannot be used in a breeding program, but if want to leave the breed at least as good as you found it when you got into it in the first place, you owe it to the breed to maintain standards that don't contribute to a further decline in the gene pool. One of the easiest ways of doing that is by never breeding to dogs or bitches who originate from litters where a dog was not entire.
Lanhy
Lanny
Lanny
