Published in VetSpeak Section, Shaggy Sentinel, July 1997. Minuteman Bearded Collie Club. At our last national specialty, the judge noted that small, flabby testicles were too much in evidence in our show dogs. In Britain only one is necessary, although unilaterally cryptorchid dogs are, I gather, rarely shown, and yet the problem is apparently increasingly common on both sides of the Atlantic.
Breeders often refer to dogs with only one scrotal testicle as being monorchid.
However, this term is reserved technically for a dog which only has one testicle which may or may not have descended. For pet owners the issue may not seem particularly important. All dogs with missing testicles should be castrated within the first year of life. Embryologically the testes start life near the developing kidney. As the embryo grows, the kidneys are held up near the spine, but the testes move towards the tail and belly passively until they reach the inguinal canal - the entrance to the scrotum.