Bichon Frise Balls to Drop What Time Frame?
Bichon Frise Balls to Drop / Undescended in Bichon. Usually 35 to 40 days after birth. If one or both balls have not descended by the age of 4 months, the Vet will need to be checked for cryptorchidism. If This is the case, Then the Male Puppy will need to have them surgically removed. Unfortunately will leave the pup Neutered – below we have shown Examples of the two treatments / Hormone and Surgery
We have had two little male puppies over the last 30 years, which they had one (Ball) not drop. In both cases we had the young pups neutered so that there would be no chance that it remaining up in the dog would later cause it problems.
From the research we had done, it is felt that this can be genetic. So even though a puppy might be able to father more pups with one ball, we choose to have them completely neutered so that that undesirable trait might not be passed on.
We currently have a Puppy, now his name is “tiny“. He had one Ball that did not drop. nHe is about 12 months old now. A very fine Young male
We had his Neutered last year, and we have a very good country vet – His Surgery Bill was $ 285.00, and he had to stay over one night.
Balls Not Dropping in Bichon Frise
The Dropping of the male gonads from their intra-abdominal site of development to an extra-abdominal subcutaneous location, usually in the inguinal region, is referred to as descent of the balls. We in layman terms describe it as when the Balls drop in a male puppy. This also happens in people. A good friend of ours young son needed surgery for this difficulty.
Ball descent is subject to species variation. In different animals, it is interesting to know that in
*Duck-billed platypus, Spiny anteater, Elephants, Aquatic mammals – Ball descent does not occur and the balls remain within the abdominal cavity.
*Bats, Moles, Hedgehogs, Red deer – The testes, which are retained within the abdominal cavity during the greater part of the year, descend to an extra-abdominal location only during the breeding season.
*Majority of mammals, the balls migrate to an extra-abdominal location. Which is what most of us are familiar with.
Now it is time to getting into our topic.
Balls Descending in Normal, Healthy Bichon Frise. (Anatomy)
First I will explain balls descending in healthy Bichon Frise male puppy, in brief. I think it may help you to understand the process more simple.
From a Research and Scientific Description, it is as Follows:
Gubernaculum is a mesenchymal column (Jelly like tissue), extends from caudal pole of balls to the inguinal region. Gubernaculum is present in both males and females. A portion of the gubernaculum present in the abdominal cavity is covered by peritoneal fold.
Extra abdominal part of the gubernaculum exits prior to the formation of the abdominal musculature. Extension of the extra-abdominal part of the gubernaculum to the genital swellings and expansion of caudal end of the gubernaculum occur. Muscles of the abdominal wall leave a passage around the gubernaculum and form an inguinal canal. A peritoneal fold invaginates and surrounds the extra-abdominal part of the gubernaculum.
Descent of balls occurs in two stages.
*Intra-abdominal descent.
*Inguino-scrotal descent. (Extra abdominal descent)
Intra-abdominal descent
Migration of balls from the lumbar region to the internal inguinal ring. The rapid growth of the vertebral column and associated structures. Gubernaculum keeps gonads in a fixed position. As gonads fixed, they appeared to migrate caudally, relative to other structures in lumbar.
Or
Migration of balls due to contraction of the gubernaculum.
Extra-abdominal descent
The entry of the tail of the epididymis to the internal inguinal ring. Enlargement of the gubernaculum occurs and it causes dilate the inguinal canal and facilitates the entry of balls into the inguinal canal.
Abdominal pressure causes tension on gubernaculum, through the process and forces balls through the internal inguinal ring. Once balls enters the inguinal canal, contraction of the internal inguinal ring and abdominal oblique muscles force the balls through the canal.
Once Balls leaves the inguinal canal, gubernaculum regresses, facilitating descent of the balls.
Undescended , Balls are common to all Dogs But seem more problems in the smaller Breeds. About 75% of the time it is one ball that does not drop, usually, it is the right one. In 25% of the cases, both ball do not descend.
It in General numbers for all dogs Breeds is less than 5% of all the Breeds.
What Time Frame Does it Take for Bichon Frise to Descend their Balls?
Usually 35 to 40 days after birth. If one or both Balls have not descended by the age of 4 months, We gave our dogs a little longer, we gave them 6 months, then we contacted our Vet
Bichon Frise Balls to Drop / Cryptorchidism in Bichon Frises.
Cryptorchidism is the migration of balls to a position, other than, after passing the inguinal canal. Cryptorchidism commonly seen in toy breeds, as Bichon Frise is a toy breed, this may occur in Bichons in high frequency.
It may be bilateral or unilateral and with the Balls positioned anywhere between the abdomen and the inguinal canal. Bilateral cryptorchids are usually completely sterile either because the balls are abnormal or because spermatogenesis cannot proceed at the high abdominal temperature. The androgen secretions of cryptorchid balls seem to be normal.
Why Have My Bichon Frise Balls Not Dropped
The condition is currently not fully identified. But there are a few suggestions.
*Abnormalities of the gubernaculum, by the genetic abnormality of the balls itself.
Most Vets feel that this abnormality is genetic. That is why they recommend not to breed the pups even if you can get it rectified but avoiding the Dog becoming infertile.
We never noticed any discomfort in our dogs. We have all our pups evaluated by our vet when they get both sets of their puppy shots. It is during physicals with our vets that we have discovered the problem.
As Breeders, we never wanted to keep any weaknesses in our line so we would not breed them. One of the pups we had sold, the new owner got with us one year later and explained his problem.
We offered another pup, but they had become so attached to the young dog, they wanted to keep him. So we refunded their Purchase price. I remember it was around $450 at the time. But it is easy to miss and, the majority of the time the young male pup shows no sign of distress.
They make wonderful pets and the remedy is simple and quick. Dogs are sedated during surgery. So like us, they don’t remember a lot.
When we got our Pups home from Surgery from the Vet, we usually kept up an antibiotic per the Vet’s recommendations, but we also kept them in an Elizabethian collar – which prevented them from licking their stitches. The incision tends to itch as it heals. The Collar prevents them from licking themselves raw as they heal until the stitches are removed.
Diagnosis.
Non-descent of one or both balls is normally easily detected by the careful examination and feeling of the contents. (If an undescended ball is retained in the inguinal canal). If it is elsewhere in the abdomen, the vet may need an ultrasound to determine its location.
If The Undescended Ball is Not Removed
Cancer can develop if it is not addressed
Generally is simple and painless / Pup is sedated
Common Treatments and Future
Undescended Balls can be fertile but they should not be bred from, because the defect is probably of genetic origin. Breeding an affected male puppy would spread the bad genes further.
Surely any pet owner does not really want to take risk of cancer to their pet. Treatment with gonadotropins ( Treating them with Hormones That encourage Gonad Development) is questionable on How often it is successful.
Castration is indicated in Bichon Frises to prevent the risk of cancer of the non-descended . We choose this for our pups that had this problem.
I wanted to include this link it is from Mayo Clinic and references Undescended Balls in Boys, But the Symptoms and conclusions are the same, people or dogs.
Hormone Treatments / Massage
The treatment of cryptorchidism is only worthwhile contemplating if the balls are retained in the inguinal region and can be felt alongside the male reproductive organ. The Balls are not up in the Abdominal Cavity. In such cases, the Bichon Frise is given 6-12mg of testosterone intramuscularly once a week, and the owner is instructed to massage the Ball down towards the sack once a day.
If you choose to give this a try please check with your local Vet for procedure and training. for this. To give it as much a chance for success as possible.
If the ball is within the abdomen, hormone injections and massage are useless. In the young dog, the hormone injections may produce over sexuality, which can be unpleasant and embarrassing to the owner.
Surgery
Retained Balls in the older dog do have a tendency to become neoplastic ( abnormal Growth of Cells). Treatment, in this case, is to remove the affected gland via a laparotomy (an incision is made in the abdominal cavity so that examination can be made), care being taken to ensure double ligation of all blood vessels. So that it might not develop into cancer in the future.
Affected animals often suffer from dermatoses or external otitis, which are resistant to treatment until the hormone imbalance is corrected.
We have had Maybe 6 dogs Neutered over the last 30 years. Two because of Undescended Balls and other males, we wanted to keep for pets and not Studs.
One the Males are neutered it tends to calm down some and after a while, they will not be so vigilant in chasing females that are in heat. we think sometimes they are remembering from the past but it generally produces a calmer less aggressive male.
Farmers have been doing this for generations with, horses, cattle, and pigs.
References.
*Diseases of Dogs (Horst Joachim Christoph)
*Fertility and infertility in domestic animals (JA Laing)
