Symptoms of Testicular Swelling in Dogs
The primary sign of testicular swelling is the swelling itself. However, your dog may exhibit more of the following:
How Do You Treat Testicular Torsion in Dogs?
As we mentioned earlier, testicular torsion is more severe than testicular infections and will require surgical correction. After performing a detailed diagnosis, vets will evaluate whether the dog can anesthetize. If the dog is weak, vets can advise resting your dog before the procedure.
The treatment begins with vets anesthetizing the dog and performing the surgery to correct the twist. Since the spermatic cord is a delicate area, vets must ensure that they get everything right.
However, if the vet finds significant tissue damage, he may remove one or both the testicles to stop the infection from spreading to other sensitive organs. Once the procedure is over, you can give pain killers and antibiotics to your cuddly fur to fight the pain.
Is surgery the only option? Although surgery remains the top option for veterinarians to treat testicular torsion, manual repositioning may be possible in some cases. However, you will have to detect this medical condition early to perform a manual reposition.
In short, keeping a close eye on testicular torsion symptoms can help your dog to stay out of the surgical procedure.
Does cancer cause black balls in dogs?
When they see their dog’s balls turning black, many pet owners wonder if this might be a sign of testicular cancer. However, hyperpigmentation is only one of the possible signs. Other early symptoms of testicular cancer include: asymmetric testicles, penile atrophy, swelling of the prepuce, hair loss or brittle hair, or changes in the dog urinates, squatting instead of raising a leg.
If your dog is intact, you should perform regular check ups on his testicles. It’s not only swelling you should be looking for, but a change in the way they feel to the touch. Sorry, you need to take care of this as the dog cannot tell you if something feels odd.
Normally, the dog’s ball should be soft, just like a firm grape. If you notice one or both feel harder, that might be a sign of cancer and you should go to the vet for an expert opinion. Also, the affected testicle might be a bit swollen, while the non-cancerous one starts shrinking.
Following a cancer diagnosis, the doctor will recommend immediate castration of the dog, which solves the problem in 80-90% of the cases. Only if the cancer has metastasized the dog will have to have chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Testicular Tumors in Dogs
As a responsible dog owner it’s your job to keep an eye on your pet’s health, even if this includes keeping an eye on his balls.
The moment you discover any change down there you need to make sure there’s nothing to worry about.
One of the most common questions pet parents have is why are my dog’s balls black?
There are many reasons why your dog’s scrotum gets darker, and we’ll look into them, but the short answer is that it’s most probably nothing serious.