Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

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FetchLifeUp
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Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by FetchLifeUp » Sun Aug 16, 2015 8:10 am

I have a 6 month old pup who so far has both an umbilicord hernia and a retained testicle.

My vet is concerned about leaving the hernia be, scaring me with stories of dogs getting guts twisted and dying. He wants to go in and fix it whenever possible. Well low and behold pup still has that retained testicle, so now my vet is pushing me to do both surgeries as soon as possible.

This pup is a real nice well bred Lab. The field trial community, along with most performance dog communities, really push waiting until 24 months (18 months min) to alter dogs.

I did not plan to keep him with the sole purpose of breeding in mind but I was hoping to run him in Hunt Tests and maybe attempt QAA. He wasn't a cheap byb dog and I've invested a lot of money into him so far... now it's likely he will just get trained and hunted. I'd still be happier leaving him intact, even though I do realize he cannot/should not be bred. I'm a bit bummed about the whole senerio and this pup sure is a nice one.

Did anyone have a pup drop after 6 months?
Is the hernia surgery really that pressing?
Anyone else have a dog that ended up having both?

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dog dr
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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by dog dr » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:25 am

Hernia - it depends on how big the hole is. Many just have a very small opening and the only thing coming thru is a small amount of abdominal fat. Can you feel the hole, and how big is it? The only hernias i have ever seen strangulate are inguinal hernias, never an umbilical one.

Retained testicle - most likely not a big deal to wait, but there have been cases of retained testicles turning cancerous, or causing intestinal strangulations. Not sure what the incidence of either of these is (personally i have never seen either one in 13 yrs of practice), but there is always a chance. If you could talk your vet into it, you could remove the retained testicle and leave the normal one, that way the dog still gets the benefit of the testosterone. I agree, better to leave them intact until they are physiologically mature, especially in a large breed working dog.

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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by shags » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:05 am

We had a dog with a retained testicle and asked our vet to remove it, leaving the descended one. He was fine with doing that.

It sounds to me like you need to have a frank discussion with your vet in order to be clear whether he is actually pushing the ASAP stuff, or whether you're maybe interpreting his suggestions that way. I would want to be confident that when my vet says "Now!" it is something that needs immediate attention, as opposed to something that can wait a bit. If everything is an emergency with him, that would worry me.

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deseeker
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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by deseeker » Fri Aug 21, 2015 10:20 am

"I did not plan to keep him with the sole purpose of breeding in mind but I was hoping to run him in Hunt Tests and maybe attempt QAA. He wasn't a cheap byb dog and I've invested a lot of money into him so far... now it's likely he will just get trained and hunted. I'd still be happier leaving him intact, even though I do realize he cannot/should not be bred. I'm a bit bummed about the whole senerio and this pup sure is a nice one."

You can still run your dogs in AKC hunt tests & field trials even if he is neutered --- you just can't show your dog in AKC if he is neutered. So if you decide to have him fixed, you can still play the all the AKC games except for conformation.

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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by Sharon » Fri Aug 21, 2015 1:46 pm

Welcome to the forum.
If you don't trust your vet's opinion it is time to find a new vet.
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mm
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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by mm » Sat Aug 22, 2015 3:54 am

I have a male that had the hernia and it closed up by itself. I breed the dog and from the beginning the vet was talking operation. About 3 months old she said the testicals were not dropping and if I did not neuter he would get cancer and maybe die. Both operations needed to be done as soon as possible. At four months I took a trip out west, I live in the NYC area. I went to a rural area vet to get the dog a rabies shot because he was four months old. This vet said nothing wrong with testicals and wait and see on the hernia. Dog is now 2 years old and hernia closed up by itself and testies drop and are in place dog is fully broke and runs nice.

I don't know about your dog, I am not a vet but I would find a vet for a second opinion. I have been to several vets in my area and they always recommend spay or neuter and if I don't cancer is coming. It seems to be the company line.

FetchLifeUp
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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by FetchLifeUp » Sun Aug 23, 2015 6:03 pm

Thanks everyone. I didn't know if I was being overly sensitive about neutering my young dog or if my vet was over exaggerating and being cut happy. I guess I got my answer!

Might eventually look at finding a vet who would remove only the undesended testicle if it doesn't drop.

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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by Montana » Fri Dec 11, 2015 3:59 pm

I suspect what your pup has is a delayed closure of the umbilical ring and not a true hernia....there's a big difference. Delayed closures are common in most all breeds and if left alone they will close on their own. Many vets do not differentiate between a delayed closure and a true hernia...they tend to be quick to recommend surgery, neutering, etc. and neither are necessary... Here's more information on it...

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclu ... lical.html

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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by kninebirddog » Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:05 am

How big is the hernia?

And as for the retained testicle I would wait till the dog is fully mature before having him altered.
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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by Bacon1676 » Sat Dec 12, 2015 8:27 pm

Can only speak from my horse experience, so I don't know if it translates, but krypt orchids tend not to think very well. Not bad or mean or anything like that, but their cylinders don't always fire when they should. Had horses with one testicle taken out so it should be no problem to do that. (Unprofessional opinion, just from experience) Not a big issue but horses perform better when the one testicle is removed, would imagine it being similar with dogs. But not sure how much it is similar.

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Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by Gooseman07 » Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:53 pm

I had a vet that told me HAD to be neutered and soon at less than 6 months old. Needless to say, I went and found a different vet that was concerned about it but told me if I only wanted the undescended one removed, that's what he would do.

Bacon, unsure what exactly you're talking about "cylinders don't always fire when they should" but my pup is about a year and a half old and a easier dog than older dog.

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Re: Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by Bacon1676 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 5:52 am

Gooseman I understand. I'm not sure if dogs follow the same rules as horse, which is where I have the experience with crypt orchids. I have dealt with 5 or so and all of them have issues outside the norm. Dealt with one who was kinda bipolar, great and happy one day, next day he would try to eat you when you tried to enter the stall. You never knew what mood he was in till you saw him. The other ones followed a similar path of mood swings to some degree, he was by far the worse though. I have talked with several horse trainers and they all said similar things, but once again that is with horses. Doesn't mean that there will be something wrong with them, but the likelihood is more than not.

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Questions; cryptorchidism and umbilicord hernia

Post by Gooseman07 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:27 am

That might just be the horse part in them too! My wife trains horses so I have had my fair share of horse dealings!

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