Puppy Hernias... Common?

[JessieAndMe]

Our little boy has a hernia.
We bought him from what you probably call, a backyard breeder. Lovely couple.

When we first brought him home at just over 7 weeks old, we noticed he had a soft pink spot on his belly, barely raised. We weren't really concerned as it wasn't mentioned to us (I think they assumed that it wouldn't develop and simply go away). He's now 12 weeks and it has become noticeably bigger and when he is bloated it can pop out by half an inch, easily. He isn't in any pain, as that was our first concern.

The vet mentioned to us that it is hereditary, and one of his parents would have had the same condition and went on to discuss that
any puppy with that condition, should be desexed (not that we were considering breeding). She also added that this is one of the
many reasons why you should only purchase from a registered breeder, to stamp out these conditions.

If you've had a similar experience, would love to hear your thoughts.

[Nana26]

My Vet told me it's common in the breed. Can be hereditary or caused by mom being a little aggressive cleaning the umbilical cord

[Eleanor]

The vet mentioned to us that it is hereditary, and one of his parents would have had the same condition and went on to discuss that any puppy with that condition, should be desexed (not that we were considering breeding). She also added that this is one of the many reasons why you should only purchase from a registered breeder, to stamp out these conditions.

My female pup had one, too, when we got her at 8 weeks. I didn't know that it is considered hereditary, but our vet did say it is common in many breeds. Our breeder, a registered and very reputable breeder (she does all of the recommended health testing), did not mention it when we got her, but on our first visit to the vet, the doctor pointed it out. We were alarmed but the vet wasn't and said we should only worry if it started to bother her or if it stayed raised or hardened (rather than the light pink, easy push-in 'button') and that it would be removed when we spayed her (which we decided we'd do before getting her as we are definitely not in the position to become breeders!). It was a slightly more complex and expensive surgery when she was spayed, but they removed it no problem and she was fine after and there is no risk of it becoming a problem later (they explained some nasty sounding ailment whereby intestines can poke out).

Hope that helps a bit!

[JessieAndMe]

Thanks for your replies.

I did some research Nana26, before our first vet appointment and found the same thing, with his mum not being so gentle with the cord,
but the vet ruled that out and said his was hereditary from either parent, not sure how they can tell. Have any of your little ones needed to have one removed?

Eleanor, did your little girls hernia get bigger before it was removed? I'll be speaking to our vet about it later this afternoon, as Jessie
has a booster vaccination. She did suggest that some hernias, the intestine can rest behind it, but he isn't in any pain and is still eating like a little horse. We still have to wait for quite a few weeks before he can safely have both procedures.

It's probably just unnecessary worry on my part.

[Nana26]

Thanks for your replies.

I did some research Nana26, before our first vet appointment and found the same thing, with his mum not being so gentle with the cord,
but the vet ruled that out and said his was hereditary from either parent, not sure how they can tell. Have any of your little ones needed to have one removed?
part.

No none of ours have had a hernia but I've seen a couple of puppy's with them so I discussed it with our vet.

[Eleanor]

Eleanor, did your little girls hernia get bigger before it was removed? I'll be speaking to our vet about it later this afternoon, as Jessie
has a booster vaccination. She did suggest that some hernias, the intestine can rest behind it, but he isn't in any pain and is still eating like a little horse. We still have to wait for quite a few weeks before he can safely have both procedures.

It's probably just unnecessary worry on my part.

It stayed about the same diameter but it did seem to get a bit longer as she grew. She was spayed at 6 months so it may have just been growing with her. Some days it also seemed to stick out further than others depending on if her belly was rock hard with food or not. It's probably a great sign that his appetite is the same and he doesn't seem to be in pain. I definitely did some unnecessary worrying, too, but I don't think that can be helped!

[BrooklynMom]

Don't worry at all, this is totally normal. Brooklyn has one too, they just removed it when she was spayed and I don't think she even knew the difference. Best to just get it removed when spayed.

A lot of cavaliers have them. If you do a search on Cavalier Talk (in the upper right corner) for "umbilical hernia" you will find lots of stories but lots of us have been there so don't fret at all!

[ByFloSin]

When I bred Cavaliers most of the pups from my foundation pair had these umbilical hernias. None of the pups ever had a problem with them.

Winston Alexander, now 5 1.2 years old, has the most enormous U.H. I have ever seen. I have to be careful of it when I comb him, but it has never given him the slightest problem. I talked to the vet about it when he was a pup, because it was so large, but he said I would be wasting his time and my money if I insisted on removing it.

[Mindysmom]

Rylie had a hernia. His breeder did point it out to us. Our vet wasn't worried. It seemed to grow as he did which alarmed me a bit but the vet said it was small and nothing to worry about having fixed until I was ready to have him neutered (when he was a year old). He went on to describe a massive hernia on a tiny kitten that they weren't able to wait to fix. He may have been fine without having the repair but getting him neutered was never a question - it was just a matter of when.

[Brian M]

Hi

Both Rosie and Lily had hernias but when they were spayed the vet just made a slightly
longer incison and popped it back in ,no problem at all.