True, but the entire thread is not about the psychological damage of neutering.

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LOL...seriously I had to laugh at this thread. Dogs do NOT know when they are spayed/neutered. If he was recently neutered his scrotum will shrink. Have you ever owned an intact dog before? Chihuahua specifically? They are NOT all that enjoyable to have around (there are exceptions but that doesn't happen all that often). I'm glad your boy is neutered & for his sake I hope you decide against the implants. I mean...whatever floats your boat but you certainly won't be helping him out in the least bit.

When I was young we kept a whole golden and I am around an intact pug all the time. I also work in grooming. Unaltered dogs are in and out every day. It is not about the testicles, it is about training and the way a dog is handled.

I also own and ride a cryptorchid horse, who is sterile but acts and thinks like a stallion none the less (the external testicle was removed the internal one was left behind). I have a lot of experience with unaltered creatures and I bet you any amount of money a chihuahua would never have the potential for the trouble my horse can cause when he gets mad or is around a mare he likes. God forbid she is in heat, he's even worse. I can handle him and compete around mares with lots and lots of training and work and I am sure a 5 pound dog could not be harder to handle or train than a testosterone driven hunk of muscle 10 times my size.

I think there is a huge difference in deciding not to have a dog neutered (whether it be for medical or personal reasons) and taking an already neutered dog and inserting implants.

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On any level I just don't get what the benefit to the dog is - and if you perceive there are any benefits they are far outweighed by the risk of putting the dog under anaesthetic for what could be considered "cosmetic surgery"

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The vet clinic I used to work at as a vet tech did insert a couple of sets of neuticles while I was there. I seem to remember them saying that it must be done at the time of neutering while the scrotum is still flexible and open. After neutering the scrotum begins to shrink and the open area inside closes up almost immediately, that's why it becomes harder and harder to see over time.

If your dog has already been neutered and healed I don't think it would be feasable to have neuticles done and even if your vet was willing to try it I don't think it would be fair or kind to your dog. Why would you want to try to stretch out and force prosthetics into an area that isn't prepared for them? It would be like the women who get breast reconstruction surgery after having mastectomies. They have to have skin stretching procedures done first that are very painful and a lot say that they would not have done it if they had known how painful it would be.

If you want to show in conformation then purchase a registered, show bred, conformation dog and show. Let this boy be what he is and enjoy him. Register him on ILP and show him in obedience, rally or agility and have a blast. It doesn't matter one bit to him that he is neutered. If he is licking himself obsessively then give him something else to do, teach him things and redirect his attentions. Don't just sit and watch him obsess.

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The great 'balls' debate continues on, unabated. As a 74 year old guy, I do not wish to be drawn too deeply into discussions of faded sexuality, but then I do have the capacity for abstract thinking, something which dogs do not. I remember an acquaintance of many years ago; she and her husband had an intact male basset hound. When walking up a flight of stairs, his testicles would hit every step. It was quite amusing. There's an argument for neutering, at least for low-slung canines.

I have a beautiful dog, but if his appearance ever took a hit I would never do a surgery just for the sake of making him cuter.

For future reference, not getting a male dog fixed can result in "marking" indoors, humping and 2 different types of cancer! Getting him fixed isn't just for the overpopulation crisis, it's for his health and your sanity.