Suka had his veterinary appointment this afternoon. A fecal exam was done and it came back negative for whipworms. I’m very relieved about that. Also, the FortiFlora seems to have done its job in getting Suka’s stools back on track. They’re no longer runny. The veterinarian recommended I continue giving that to him for a week, and if they become runny again after that to let her know. As a precaution, I got a Sentinel tablet from her that will take care of any whipworms they may have overlooked.

The only part of his examination today that bothered me is the veterinarian was only able to find one testicle. She said there’s about a fifty/fifty chance the other one will descend. Suka’s breeder had a problem with an older sibling’s testicle not descending, but it came down at 12 weeks (whereas Suka is now 14 weeks). When I told her today that Suka still only had one, she said it meant it wouldn’t descend at all. I’m disappointed to hear that. My research has turned up that it’s possible for a testicle to stay hidden until a puppy is 8 months of age. After that, it’s unlikely to show up. Also, I’ve felt that second testicle on two occasions, so I know it’s there.

I had high hopes of participating in dog shows with Suka, but he won’t be eligible if that testicle doesn’t show up. I’ve never had to worry about this with any other males I’ve had, so I never really paid attention to when they got their testicles. They just showed up one day.

So my question is this: Has anyone had a male whose testicle took awhile to show up? At what age did it finally drop? Is there any hope left, or should I resign myself to neutering Suka at some point?

Cryptorchidism is pretty common, especially unilateral cryptorchidism. Interestingly, the males with bilateral cryptorchidism tend to be infertile, but the males with the unilateral form are typically fertile in the normal testicle.

I've checked a couple sources (merck vet manual and VCA animal hospitals) and it seems like based on what we know, by 2-4 months cryptorchidism can be assumed, but some dogs can take up to six months for their testicles to descend.

When you say you feel it, where is it? Is it down in the scrotum (partially descended) or in the abdomen/inguinal area?

It was down in the scrotum, partially descended. But as soon as I found it, it would disappear again. So I'm not sure what to make of it. This is the first dog I've had where I was keeping an eye on it. I checked his inguinal canal this morning, and it does not appear to be there at all.

Hmm... so I would keep an eye on it for a bit longer. If it's already down into the scrotum, it's possible that it might go the rest of the way. Unusual, but possible? I would be slightly concerned with fertility issues in that testicle, but if the other one is normal, it's probably fertile.

Whether or not he should be bred is another question. Genetics do seem to be a component of cryptorchidism, but based on my research, nobody really knows the exact reasons.

My research has turned up that a dog with cryptorchidism shouldn't be bred at all because of the increased likelihood of passing on the disorder. He'd have to be neutered anyway because there is a 50/50 chance the retained testicle could become cancerous in his middle age. He wouldn't be eligible to be shown with one testicle anyway, and if I can't show him, I wouldn't feel comfortable breeding him.

I'm going to keep an eye on it for a little longer. I'm not going to give up until he hits eight months of age. If it hasn't come down by then, I'll make plans to have him neutered at the age of two. I'll still use him for bikejoring. I'll just have to get into dog shows with another dog at a later date, and if that happens, I'll get a female instead. Then I won't have to worry about retained testicles.

It's not like I bought Suka just for dog sports. I bought him because I wanted another Husky in my life. It wasn't until I started talking with the breeder more that she invited me to attend dog shows with her and I saw how much fun they are. I wanted to get involved with it too, so that's why I wanted to do it with Suka. But he's first and foremost a beloved family member.

Based on what his breeder said, it sounds like his line is known for one of the testicles not dropping until later. So hopefully that's all this is. It would be a real shame to lose his coloring because I've learned red agouti is very rare in modern dogs. My information could be wrong though. It came from the Husky Colors website (screenshot below).

Awww Suka :/
My boy also had Cryptorchidsm. When we found out it was a "ohh what now...sighh"
Mylo is a parvo survivor so after he healed up we thought everything was gonna be good again but then we learned about what you are experiencing...a 50/50 chance, the middle age problems..
So at 7 months old he had the surgery/neuter. I wanted to wait until he was 1yr old but when he was 7 months it was just the right timing for us..since at the time college summer break had just begun for both me and my gf.
I asked the vet if I could know where the other testicle was and she said it was deep in there by his shoulder blade...hard to believe but there's that.

If you can wait it out a little then do it.
Suka is a pretty boy indeed

You are right about that. Reputable breeders will not breed a dog with cryptorchidism. It is believed to be linked genetically and any sort of defect like that should not be chanced by breeding.

Jenny, wpskier222, who is not very active anymore also went through this with her boy. He was a potential show dog for her and ended up having to neuter him.

Her thread on it here:
https://www.itsahuskything.com/t10533-cryptorchidism-waiting-for-the-ball-to-drop

He is a beautiful doggie, with or without his testicles

Thanks for the link to that thread! I haven't read through all of it, but from what I have read, it is very informative. I'm going to work my way through all of it in a moment.

Suka's breeder was able to feel the testicle in the inguinal canal just before I took him home with me on February 1st. There were two occasions in February that I'm certain I felt it, but then it immediately disappeared again. I haven't been able to feel it for more than a week now. I'm hoping it's still there and didn't tuck itself back up into his abdomen. He's not even four months old yet, so I have some time to wait and see if it's going to come down or not. I wish I wasn't so worried about it.

His breeder tried to find it again when we were visiting yesterday, and she couldn't find it in the canal. So it's either closer to the scrotal sac or it tucked itself back into his abdomen. I think it's a lot more likely it's in his scrotal sac given that I've felt it before. The breeder thought she felt it too, but she wasn't sure if it was the testis or fat.

She told me if I get a female and decide to breed, I can use Suka's older brother. So it's not like I'm losing those lines. I did plan to get a female within the next year or two for showing (and so my husband has a dog for bikejoring with me), so it's nice to know I have a health-tested Champion stud lined up for her if I ever decide to breed (and I don't know at this point if I'm going to do that, I just wanted to participate in dog shows for the time being).

Anyway, Suka is doing well. He's going through another growth spurt, which is kind of scary because he weighed 31 pounds at his vet appointment Tuesday (and he's not even four months old!). He's been feeling a little under the weather since getting his booster shot, so he hasn't been eating as much as usual. I'm a little worried about him, but I've been told it's normal and he'll snap out of it in a few days. Today was the first day I put him in my old Husky's kennel. He found out how to get out of the wired crate, so I had to use something more heavy duty, and the airline-approved kennel seemed like something he'd have a much harder time getting out of. The door on it was out of alignment, so I had to take it off and do some bending on it, and that probably means it'll need to be replaced soon, but for the time being, it'll work well to keep him out of trouble while I'm at work. He also had to go outside multiple times last night, so I didn't get a good night's sleep, but it beats stepping in puddles in the morning.