# Those of you who have a male Maltese



## katira (Apr 21, 2008)

On our last Vet visit, he mentioned that he could only feel one of Prince's testicles. But that since he is only 4 months, it might be there and maybe he just couldn't find/feel it. He will go back in three weeks for another visit and at this time we will determine if he needs to be neutered. I was hoping to mate him with my friend's Maltese.. we will see what happens.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

I don't think it's a good idea to mate a dog....just because you can. Did you get him from a reputable breeder who is mentoring you with this? If something might already be wrong with him - is another reason not to breed him. It would be wise for you to do some research before you jump into something as important as bringing new life into this world.


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## katira (Apr 21, 2008)

> I don't think it's a good idea to mate a dog....just because you can. Did you get him from a reputable breeder who is mentoring you with this? If something might already be wrong with him - is another reason not to breed him. It would be wise for you to do some research before you jump into something as important as bringing new life into this world.[/B]


Prince is only 4 months, so mating him is not in our immediate plans. My friend has been looking for a male Maltese to mate with, because where we live there aren't many. Might be that we don't ever mate him, just want to know what if any issues/problems we might have if he has only one testicle. The Vet wasn't very informative during our visit, I will be discussing it further with him on our next visit. But since the SM members are all very informative and have a lot more knowledge with this breed than I do, I thought others would give me their advice. We will love him just as no matter what the Vet says... he is such a beauiful little snow ball. :wub: 

"Have a nice weekend"


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

my massimo [first 3 pics in my siggy] is a beautiful little boy as well... and he was perfectly healthy up until just after his first birthday. he was around 1 when he had his first seizure.... then he had another when he was about a year and a half. after that they starting coming more frequently. every few months. we did extensive testing which cost me a lot of money through a method known as deductive testing. what we found was he is epileptic. a genetic disease. 
now i'm lucky if he doesn’t have a seizure every month. the vet bills are an inconvenience yes, but it's the heartache i go through that i wouldn't wish upon anyone. watching a dog seize isn't the most enjoyable experience in the world.

unless you know exactly where your dog came from and KNOW your dog is free of any genetic illnesses, you run a great risk of passing down all sorts of ailments. 

if i were you, i'd want to go the responsible rout and nip it in the bud [so to speak] and have him fixed.


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## Max & Rocky (May 20, 2004)

If you did a little research, you would find many health and behavioral reasons for getting your little boy neutered now.


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## MandyMc65 (Jun 14, 2007)

I have a male Maltese, and he is neutered before he was 6 months old. That would be my suggestion, whether his other testicle drops or not.
He came from fantastic lines (pretty much 3 generations back ALL champions), this does not mean I am going to breed him. I don't know what I'm doing and wouldn't want to cause anyone heartache.

I think you should do a lot more research in breeding Maltese before you even think about it. As for not many Maltese, I see you are in Texas, I believe there are several great reputable breeders there that you could speak with if you wanted to learn more about breeding.


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## katira (Apr 21, 2008)

> I have a male Maltese, and he is neutered before he was 6 months old. That would be my suggestion, whether his other testicle drops or not.
> He came from fantastic lines (pretty much 3 generations back ALL champions), this does not mean I am going to breed him. I don't know what I'm doing and wouldn't want to cause anyone heartache.
> 
> I think you should do a lot more research in breeding Maltese before you even think about it. As for not many Maltese, I see you are in Texas, I believe there are several great reputable breeders there that you could speak with if you wanted to learn more about breeding.[/B]


Thanks to all of you that have replied to my question. I just want to make sure that we take care of Prince's health as best as poosible. When we bought him, it wasn't for the purpose of breeding him. My daughter wanted a Yorkie or a Maltese. The only place to see them was at Petland, a local pet store. We fell in love with the Maltese. Needless to say we didn't buy him there, but drove 5 1/2 hours to meet our little baby boy. Please be assured that I am just concerned that we take care of him correctly. 

Again, thanks so much


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

If his testicle remains undescended, he should be neutered. He may still be fertile, however he may produce dogs with the same trait. In addition, that testicle inside his body increases his risk for testicular cancer. Neutering is advised for unilateral and bilateral cryptorchids. 

If you want to breed your dog, he needs to be 2 years of age before that happens. He needs to have a chem panel/bile acids done. As an adult he needs a thyroid panel to MSU done. He needs to be examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist to be cleared for genetic eye disorders. He should have his patella's registered with OFA (ie he should not have luxating patella). If you are not knowledgable about dog structure and genetics, I would contact a reputable, experience Maltese breeder or handler to evaluate him. You would not want to breed a dog of poor quality. I would recommend finishing your dog in conformation to help demonstrate his breed quality. 

Remember, you are responsible for any problems he produces. Your responsibility does not end with the breeding itself. You would not want a new pet owner to have a sick dog if you could have prevented it by testing and not breeding your male.


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## carolicious (Feb 25, 2008)

please don't breed your dog. Neutering him will help him live a longer, healthier life and reduce aggressive behavior, chances of getting testicular cancer, marking behavior, etc etc. There are just so many ups to having your dog neutered. That is the best thing an owner can do for their pet. If you are not showing your dog in the ring and you are not someone who has done this before and do not have intentions of becoming a reputable breeder, but instead just a backyard breeder you are perpetuating the suffering that goes on with the existence of puppy mills and large and small scale back yard breeders. There are already so many dogs that need homes and just to add to that amount of number is an irresponsible thing to do just because you want puppies. But like JMM mentioned if you want to put in the thousands and thousands of dollars necessary to complete all those tests and run the risk of having to rush the female dog into c-section at the vet along with the possibility of losing those puppies at birth and having to live with the heart ache - then you can try your luck. But that still does not change the fact that you are perpetuating the problem that already exists with puppy mills and backyard breeders. 

I really hope you take the time to think about this issue and reconsider.


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## charmypoo (Sep 11, 2004)

I have been told that if a male dog has retained testicles .. there could be a higher chance of health issues such as cancer if he was not neteured. I know that reputable breeders check for retained testicles and would not breed males with this condition.


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## lilguyparker (Aug 16, 2007)

> He needs to have a chem panel/bile acids done. As an adult he needs a thyroid panel to MSU done. He needs to be examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist to be cleared for genetic eye disorders. He should have his patella's registered with OFA (ie he should not have luxating patella).[/B]


Do most of the top show breeders do this? Are they supposed to do this? Also, I did not know you can register a dog's patella. This is good information for any potential buyers to ask.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

> He needs to have a chem panel/bile acids done. As an adult he needs a thyroid panel to MSU done. He needs to be examined by a veterinary ophthalmologist to be cleared for genetic eye disorders. He should have his patella's registered with OFA (ie he should not have luxating patella).
> 
> Do most of the top show breeders do this? Are they supposed to do this? Also, I did not know you can register a dog's patella. This is good information for any potential buyers to ask.[/B]


No, they don't. They should. You should ask. The more people who ask, the more it will be expected. I've heard the AMA health committee will soon be recommending some testing. 

If nothing else, your puppy should have bile acids done before it comes home. Ask the breeder to do this before you pick up your puppy.


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## lovemytobi (Apr 21, 2005)

I just had Riley neutered last week, he was ten months old. He had only one testicle that descended. My vet advised that if I am not breeding him, the best thing would be to neuter him, cancer, etc. I was a little nervous because he was so young at the time (6 months and he's a very small baby, 3 lbs.), I wanted to wait to neuter him when he was a little older, around a year (I've heard it's better to wait until their a year?) Anyway in the meantime, two weeks ago, he developed a lump in his belly and, of course, I brought him to the vet. It was his other testicle (crytorchid). He was scheduled for surgery last week and has done exceptionally well. He goes for suture removal Friday.


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## Moxie'smom (Dec 16, 2007)

> I don't think it's a good idea to mate a dog....just because you can. Did you get him from a reputable breeder who is mentoring you with this? If something might already be wrong with him - is another reason not to breed him. It would be wise for you to do some research before you jump into something as important as bringing new life into this world.[/B]


Ditto...and if you abd your friend still plan on breeding him I also agree with JMM. 
If there are people who want maltese in your area and can't find reputable or responsible Maltese breeders there are so many rescue maltese dogs available. I'm sure there are rescue organizations either in or around the state of Texas.
By the way Your pup is beautiful.


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## lulumylovely (Mar 3, 2008)

My puppy also has undescended testicles, we were told to wait up until he was 8 months old for them to descend and then proceed with having him fixed whether they do or not at that point


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

Both Harley's nutsicles were undescended also. He had surgery for their removal when he was around 14 months (he was this old due to my ignorance at the time). They were removed from his abdomen, and I'm thankful we wont have to worry about the increased risk of testicular cancer as they are now gone!


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

It is much easier (and a less invasive) surgery if the testicle decends. Many toys have this problem but the testicle will eventually fall into the sack. If it is not decended by 8 months, I would go ahead and neuter him then.

I would not encourage you to breed this puppy at all. I'm simply encouraging you to wait a little for the testicle to decend prior to having him neutered. The surgery is easier if the testicle has decended.


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