A males 'boys' not dropping?

Caleb will be 8 months on the 23rd and his testes still haven't dropped. I'm planning on having him neutered so no worries about it from a genetic standpoint but if my experience with horses is anything to go by the surgery will be $$$$ as it's more invasive.
So, my main question is, is it incredibly likely he's a cryptorchid or is he just really unbelievably slow? There are no relatives of his that are either monos or cryptos so it's unlikely that it's a genetic fault.

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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on March 15, 2010 at 4:41pm

Yes, by eight months he's definitely not going to get them. The "ring" has closed and matured at this point. If you're sure they're not down (they can be very small at this age) you will have to have the abdominal surgery to get them.

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Permalink Reply by RILEY, MAGGIE and Christine Kemp on March 15, 2010 at 4:49pm

Riley, at 7 1/2 months, still had no descended testicles. The vet recommended waiting until he was 7-8 months old to have him neutered, sometimes they do come down. Riley's were hiding behind his penis. Surgery a little more involved, didn't seem to bother him. Two weeks with the stitches and wearing an e-collar...tomorrow the stitches will be removed and we'll be rid of the e-collar. The total cost for the surgery and a micro-chip, $430. We didn't think that was too bad. It was hard to keep Riley from zooming around, he was on a lease when outside. I have read that cryptorchidism can be genetic, from Mom or Dad. It's a good thing to have the surgery as the little rascals can become cancerous. It is probably the same for horses. If you have horses you have more than likely read all about this condition.

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Permalink Reply by CorGeek on March 16, 2010 at 9:38am

Yup. Oliver's in the same boat, so to speak, at 9 1/2 months. As he was a rescue, we're doing a hormone check to verify that his boys are really there (99% positive they are, but hiding). I found out that once upon a time, a single undescended testicle would be allowed to show in conformation...oops, it's genetic! :D Live and learn.

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Permalink Reply by Mel K on March 16, 2010 at 9:50am

Thanks guys. I've had a few other males that I waited to get neutered before but I could always feel them, no matter how small. On Caleb it's like an empty space. Then again I can't say that I've had experience with hundreds of dogs so maybe I'll take him in and my vet will tell me I'm a loon and point them out to me. A girl can hope. :)

Corgeek...if that's the case maybe he did get it from a great great grandsire. Makes me glad I don't have plans on ever breeding at this point. It's a crazy world out there.

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Permalink Reply by Alice on March 16, 2010 at 1:00pm

Finnigan only had one descended testicle. We waited until he was 8 months old to be sure the other one was not coming down and then went ahead with the cryptorchid neuter. The surgery is more invasive but Finn did fine with it. The cost depends on where they end up finding the testicle. Many times they can feel it in the inguinal canal which makes things easier. Finn's they could not feel and it ended up being in his abdomen in clear view so they didn't have to do much digging around. I've heard of vets having to look all around and sometimes finding it in weird places like by the knee.

Your vet should be able to give you an estimate over the phone so you can plan on how much you'll need to spend. It may not be exact since, as with our vet, the location of the testicles effects the cost, but they should be able to give you a price range. I don't remember exactly what we spent but I want to say that for the surgery, the pre op blood work (optional), post op pain meds and hip x-rays (which had nothing to do with the neutering) our bill was $447. That also included a discount which I think saved us around $150.