# umbilical hernia



## miti999 (Mar 19, 2009)

Hi everyone

One of my gorgeous pups has an umbilical hernia. I rightly informed the pup's owner and they pulled out of wanting to have him this morning.

What's everyone's experience of umbilical hernia in puppies? And just how common is it? 

And, is it a reason to reject a puppy?


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## k4r4 (Sep 20, 2009)

i found out a pup i was looking at had one and looked at how much it would cost to have the thing fixed on its own (can have it fixed during neutering) and its not cheap to fix on its own and you are advised not to breed from if thats what you are wanting the dog for.... thats the only reasons i new of (we didnt want to breed)


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## haeveymolly (Mar 7, 2009)

Our first puppy had one the vet said there was no need to do anything as there was no harm to be done by it, we were just advised not to breed with him, which we had no intentions of anyway.


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## alaun (Jul 21, 2009)

They are hereditary so should not be bred from. I have been told, don't know how accurate this is,but if it can be gently pressed back in then it won't require surgery - however if it is too big to be gently pushed back in then it will need repair. Its not a big deal - and I wouldn't reject one. Did they want to breed?


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## miti999 (Mar 19, 2009)

Thanks for your replies.

No, they wouldn't have wanted to breed. They are crossbreeds. 

I suppose I could understand it if they were pedigrees and she was a girl they may have wanted a litter from.

Obviously it just worries some people. 

Poor thing! Will be difficult to rehome it now as I assume every potential owner will feel the same way. Such a shame as he is wonderful.


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## babycham2002 (Oct 18, 2009)

I dont think it will be difficult to find a new home for him.
I for one would not be worried about an umbilical hernia.

I must say if my breeder rung me now and said Willow had a 2nd head I'd still have her because I am so attached to her already (mad?).


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## haeveymolly (Mar 7, 2009)

miti999 said:


> Thanks for your replies.
> 
> No, they wouldn't have wanted to breed. They are crossbreeds.
> 
> ...


I dont think you will have much trouble, maybe you could get something from the vet to reassue anyone that its not such a big deal.


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## Tanya1989 (Dec 4, 2009)

if the pup is young enough sometimes you can correct it yourself, have to start young tho, before the muscle wall closes. for hairy breeds shave around the hernia and push a 2p on to the hernia until it lies flat against the normal outline of the body. this pushes the fat into the abdomen again, tape with surgical tape to hold 2p in place and then lightly wrap a vet wrap around the abdomen, this doesnt actually do anything, but prevents the pup from pulling the 2p off and eating it, or at leasts gives you a warning if the pup is trying to eat it!

pushing the fat into the abdomen encourages the muscle wall to close the "right side" of the fat. the vet told me about the 2p trick! i think its probably old fashioned, but in my experience it works!:001_huh:


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## rocco33 (Dec 27, 2009)

I think it's entirely understandable that someoone would pull out of the sale, however, I'm sure you will find a home for him. In these cases, the breeder would offer to pay for any corrective surgery (if it doesn't close on it's own) and depending on the severity, this can often be put off until the dog is neutered, so the surgery isn't as expensive.


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

alaun said:


> They are hereditary so should not be bred from. I have been told, don't know how accurate this is,but if it can be gently pressed back in then it won't require surgery - however if it is too big to be gently pushed back in then it will need repair. Its not a big deal - and I wouldn't reject one. Did they want to breed?


See I dont think they are herediatory, I have spoke to several vets about it and breeders who have told me that its caused by a new mum being to rough or a mum chewing the cord to close, therefore causing a hernia. I have had 1 puppy from my bitch who had a umbilical hurnia, it was easy fixed and ive never seen them since, which tells me my bitch is not passing this on in the genes. :huh:


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## rocco33 (Dec 27, 2009)

> See I dont think they are herediatory, I have spoke to several vets about it and breeders who have told me that its caused by a new mum being to rough or a mum chewing the cord to close, therefore causing a hernia. I have had 1 puppy from my bitch who had a umbilical hurnia, it was easy fixed and ive never seen them since, which tells me my bitch is not passing this on in the genes.


They can be caused by a clumsy mum, but they can also be inherited, it depends largely on the type of hernia. I would, however, seriously question a vet who claims they are not hereditary as there is plenty of evidence to the contrary and they should know that. Having said that, general GP vets tend to know little about breeding particularly hereditary conditions. Do you mean you bred from your bitch with a hernia?


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## Tanya1989 (Dec 4, 2009)

rocco33 said:


> They can be caused by a clumsy mum, but they can also be inherited, it depends largely on the type of hernia. I would, however, seriously question a vet who claims they are not hereditary as there is plenty of evidence to the contrary and they should know that. Having said that, general GP vets tend to know little about breeding particularly hereditary conditions. Do you mean you bred from your bitch with a hernia?


there is a lot of conflicting ideas about whether they are hereditary or not. i know they are common in some breeds and not in others, although a small number may have them. also however, the idea that it is caused by over zealous mum, is being rejected too. it seems as though there isnt really a particular reason, which is why a lot of vets, geneticists etc are beginning to call them idiopathic (meaning cause unknown).


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

rocco33 said:


> They can be caused by a clumsy mum, but they can also be inherited, it depends largely on the type of hernia. I would, however, seriously question a vet who claims they are not hereditary as there is plenty of evidence to the contrary and they should know that. Having said that, general GP vets tend to know little about breeding particularly hereditary conditions. Do you mean you bred from your bitch with a hernia?


No my bitch did not have a hernia.. she had a puppy from her 1st litter which had a hernia! We have never seen one since :huh: she was however quite rough with them from being born so we new she may cause a hernia, she chewed to close on that particular pup so we know why it happened.


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## alaun (Jul 21, 2009)

RachyBobs said:


> See I dont think they are herediatory, I have spoke to several vets about it and breeders who have told me that its caused by a new mum being to rough or a mum chewing the cord to close, therefore causing a hernia. I have had 1 puppy from my bitch who had a umbilical hurnia, it was easy fixed and ive never seen them since, which tells me my bitch is not passing this on in the genes. :huh:


People used to think it was the mum being rough, but most breeding manuals and vets would now agree with modern science that it is in fact hereditary. Pups born by caesarian or having had the cord cut would not suffer if it was the mum being rough.Advice not to breed from pups with hernias also suggests that it is hereditary.


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## alaun (Jul 21, 2009)

RachyBobs said:


> No my bitch did not have a hernia.. she had a puppy from her 1st litter which had a hernia! We have never seen one since


If Blush is from your first litter, you may not see another hernia until your second litter - then it may be more apparent if it is hereditary or not. It's not very common in wolfhounds so hopefully you won't have any more.

Unfortunately in our red and white setters it is all too common.


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## Guinevere13 (Mar 31, 2008)

My Millie was rejected by several people before we got her because she had an umbillical hernia. When we saw her the breeder told us about it but because I knew they weren't really a problem and I wasn't going to breed from her we got her anyway. It cost an extra £10 on top of the spaying fee to have it corrected. 
So no, I don't think there is any reason to be worried about it, I just think people don't realise what it is and get scared off.


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

alaun said:


> If Blush is from your first litter, you may not see another hernia until your second litter - then it may be more apparent if it is hereditary or not. It's not very common in wolfhounds so hopefully you won't have any more.
> 
> Unfortunately in our red and white setters it is all too common.


I may well but it hasnt proved an issue so far so I am not worried. Also hernias could be way back in the genetics of the father too which I wouldnt know about  How common is it in setters, have you had them?


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

My oldest Bichon had an umbilical hernia when we got him although I didn't notice until we had him a couple of days. I rang the kennels where we got him from and they arranged for us to see their vet. The vet said that he thought it should be operated on so we had to take him to his surgery in Manchester and he did it when he was around 5 months old. We didn't have to pay anything towards the operation as there was a guarantee (yes he came from that awful place before I knew anything about puppy farms. )

We had him neutered by our own vet when he was 7 months old.
I think maybe people wouldn't take on a puppy with an hernia because of the expense of the operation if they had to have one.


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## alaun (Jul 21, 2009)

RachyBobs said:


> I may well but it hasnt proved an issue so far so I am not worried. Also hernias could be way back in the genetics of the father too which I wouldnt know about  How common is it in setters, have you had them?


Its very common in red and whites but I suspect that is because they were almost extinct and so its a very small gene pool. I have had a couple of pups with them... they sold fine, but only to pet homes - no breeding.


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## RachyBobs (Oct 18, 2009)

alaun said:


> Its very common in red and whites but I suspect that is because they were almost extinct and so its a very small gene pool. I have had a couple of pups with them... they sold fine, but only to pet homes - no breeding.


Same here, the pup that we had she went to have it sorted at the vets, it was surgical and it didnt need stiches - they simply pushed it back in but needed to sedate her first. They did say when they need properly operated on, thats when they believe its genetic? It was a tiny thing only visable when she laid out and streched. Yes I was going to say about the gene pool being small.. I dont think mine is quite as small but not large either :blush:


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