Sexual disroders in dogs are due to error in genetic coding, involving chromosomes that are responsible for developing sex organs including male and female sex organs (gonads) – or when errors in gene development result in abnormal sexual differentiation, making it difficult to distinguish between male and female animals. Sexual disorders tend to be breed specific.. Boston terriers and miniature schnauzers are among those breeds.
Sexual disorder occurs when chromosomes that determine the traits of a dog's sexual functional are affected. Phenotype disorders affect physical and biochemical reproductive properties while gonadal disorders affect reproductive organs.
Signs of sexual disorder include abnormally large clitoris for female dogs and undescended testicles for male dogs.
Signs and symptoms of chromosomal sexual development disorders may include defects in the number of sex chromosomes.
In phenotic type sexual development disorders, the external reproductive organs do not match with internal chromosomes. A male dog may have feminine characteristics or abnormally small penis. Some dogs have normal sexual organs of one sex but also an additional, sometimes functional, very small set of sexual organs of the oppostie sex as well.
