Dog Community

Has he been neutered?

Posted : 4/8/2006 10:49:10 PM

Hi. I'm newly registered, but, I've been enjoying this site for a couple of months as a guest.

Is there a way to visually tell if my rescued male mutt has been neutered? The shelter said they assume he has not because they have no proof otherwise. But, he has no visible evidence of testicles and as best I can tell by palpating, they aren't undescended.
I know a vet could tell me. But, if it's possible to tell on my own, I'd rather save the money. Furthermore, I'm in a foreign country and don't feel 100% confident in the credibility of the vets I've used so far. By that, I mean, I feel I've paid for excessive, and unnecessary services from them in the past. It would not be impossible for them to "perform a proceedure" even if it's already been done, and I'd be none the wiser.
Is there a way for me to know for sure myself?

glenmar

Posted : 4/9/2006 7:08:43 AM

See if you can find a suture or incision line. Yeah, the dog might be nuetered OR he might have undescended testicles. One of my failed fosters is going to have to go in for nuetering...sometimes his testees are felt on the base of the shaft, sometimes not...but, he doesn't have a scrotum. Normally a dog who has been nuetered WILL have an empty sack....you should be able to feel the sack and feel that it is empty. Retained testicles can turn cancerous so don't let this go. Welcome to idog!

dvet

Posted : 4/11/2006 5:54:58 PM

it would be very unusual to have a pet that was not neutered to have either one or both testicles in the scrotum or the canal...it may be fairly common to have one retained in the abdomin or the canal but very rarely to have both so far retained that neither coudl be palpated or seen...

grab01

Posted : 4/11/2006 10:49:24 PM

rare, but it is possible. We had a 10 month old German Shepherd come in to work for neutering with both testicles in the abdomen. It would have been assumed that he was already neutered if the owners hadn't owned him since puppyhood.

mrv

Posted : 4/12/2006 6:15:27 AM

Sue Sternburg (spelling approximated) has a checklist for visual characteristics of a spayed or neutered animal. I can not find a copy of it. Maybe some one here has information on that checklist. It is usually presented as part of her workshops