As I mentioned before, I am still pretty new at the whole companion-breeder lifestyle. I have more then once naively assumed something to still be true today about dogs that I had learned decades ago only to find out, unfortunately, that standards of a healthy pet have changed and not for the better. One example is the topic about what age the testicles of male puppies should descend. 

What is Normal
If a male dog isn’t neutered, he should naturally have descended testicles by 6 weeks of age, right? Not necessarily… and not these days. To me, that would mean something is wrong with the puppy’s reproductive system. If you are like me, and you buy a puppy for several hundred dollars extra for “breeding rights”, this is a big surprise. We may not be getting what we paid for. Why? These dogs may already be sterile unbeknownst to the breeder.

I’m not suggesting that the breeder does this on purpose, or that the breeder would even have noticed. I think they are generally like me and naïve to what is going on with their pets. We assume that they are being appropriately cared for, well-fed, and protected from dangerous chemicals and vaccines.

Unfortunately, this isn’t true anymore. There is little commonsense in animal husbandry, and while I think I am being careful to avoid these things, and work diligently to feed my animals a well-balanced diet, I am wrong on the assumption that other people/breeders do the same for their animals.

Breeder Input

Out of curiosity, I called and asked another long-time breeder about this problem, to learn what her professional experience has been.

She seemed to think retained testicles was a common occurrence. So common, in fact,  that she had always assumed it was normal. A lot of male dogs don’t have their testicles drop until well over a year, even up to two years, she said. This is a good example of how abnormalities in animals are becoming the new norm solely because abnormalities are so common. We do need to remember that “common” is not a marker for healthy.
I decided to search through one of my homeopathic books on dogs, written by a well-known, well-respected veterinarian. I wanted to learn about his perspective on the topic because he is an expert in understanding how the bodily systems work and what should be considered normal and has more experience then your average veterinarian.

The experienced veterinarian stated that if the testicles have not descended by 4-5 weeks of age, there is a good chance they won’t, even with the typical homeopathic remedies used for this purpose. “Many people elect to have them surgically brought down,” he said,  “or just have the dog neutered.” Nothing is mentioned about addressing the cause of the abnormality. Although disappointed, I wasn’t surprised their results weren’t very positive.

Potential Causes 
I recently learned that someone I know who has acquired two male dogs (from two different breeders) as studs for breeding her females found out that neither of them have descended testicles. Testicles that have not descended is also referred to as retained testicles.  One male puppy is a 1 year old and the other is half that age and well beyond the age that this should be an issue.

Since learning about this issue, she had them both tested to find out what the problem is. It was discovered that the younger male had eight parasites and pathogens affecting his reproductive system, stomach and colon. The older male had three of the same parasites, also in his reproductive system. It was concluded that the male puppies were experiencing a block to having a healthy reproductive system.

She has been working to correct this imbalance with a homeopathic combination remedy and a nutrient dense diet (one that will starve out the parasites). After just 4 weeks, the older male’s testicles have descended. The younger male had more parasites to address, but already has one testicle that can be felt, so she is hopeful the other will be down soon.