The American Beagler Forum

Hello folks, I have four 1 month old pups out of my female and all of them have small umbillical hernias. They are about the size of the end of your pinky finger. It was the females first litter. Was this caused by her? What should I do? Can it be resolved, any long term effects? Thanks

Sounds like she had trouble cutting the cords - does she have overbite (or underbite)? I have never had a pup with an umbilical chord hernia. The small ones in the groin area normally go away and never seem to be a problem. Lots of folks say they never breed a female that had a hernia as a pup.

Give them some time. I have noticed that these things will take care of themselves naturally in a lot of cases. If they have grown larger or have not gotten smaller by the time they are weaning age you may want to ask your vet about them.

I agree with Chuck on the "why". Bad bite on the mama was my first thought, too.

Can it be resolved? Yes, the vet can go in there and put a few stitches in there and close them up if he feels that they are big enough to worry about.


Emery

my son has a female that is a year and a half old that has one about the size of a big marble.took it to the vets and they said it would cost 500 dollars two fix it.he is still thinking about it because he is giving her more ground time to see if she is worth putting that much money into her.if he doesnt fix it what is the bottom line of what could happen to the bitch.

That seems really STEEP for that kind of procedure. What does that vet charge for spaying a dog? Good grief! I would find a different vet. I had one in my first female that I owned I had spayed and the hernia fixed at the same time. That cost me $80 and that was only 6 years ago. I don't think that prices have jumped that much in that short time.

The reason you fix these things is that it is possible for the intestines to get into the opening that causes the bulge and get stuck in there. The you open up all kinds of possibilities of infections, staff, and becoming septic...

Emery

$500 sounds very steep, but maybe the vet didn't want to low-ball it because of all of the potential complications. It's tough to see how bad things are until the vet opens the dog up.

It can be hereditary, which is why people recommend against breeding a dog who has had the problem.

William, I bought a Chesapeake puppy with this type of hernia and this is what my Vet recommended to me. Gently push the bulge up into the dog's abdomen. You will need to do this four or five times per day. As the pup grows, the opening in the abdomen will get smaller and the bulge will stay up longer when you gently push it in. It didn't seem to cause her any pain or discomfort either. After three or four weeks of this, I pushed the bulge up and it stayed and has healed fine. I know this could be a hassle with a bunch of pups, but it worked for me and I avoided surgery for my pup. Good Luck, MIKE

I can tell you that didn't work for my dog and I had to have it repaired. If it does, more power to you...

Emery

I had one done on a pup last year. The spay and hernia repair cost me about $150. Sounds like that vet saw you coming. Best to go for a second opinion.

Dane

A bad bite on the bitch or some young bitches are nervous and over zealous in their welping and cleaning. Sometimes they tear a patch of the belly skin off with the cord. Nature has them programed, some are naturals, others must learn & mature and some never figure it out. It's always best to have the naturals...Patch

Patch, I think you hit the nail on the head about her being nervous and inexperienced. She has a perfect scissor bite. She did seem to have trouble whelping and had to have help. Three days after whelping she became very ill acting and had to be taken to the vet for antibiotics. After two days of medicine and nutri-cal she pulled through. I spoke to her breeder about previous generations as he bred the last three before her. He said there was no problems with hernias. Thank you folks for your input on this matter.

William Dean

Hey guys, I sold a six week old pup to a friend of mine a few weeks ago. She was perfect, belly button was fine. He called me up the last night, pup is 9 weeks old now. From what he described the pup definetly has an umbilical hernia, although I haven't had a chance to stop by and look at her yet. Have any of you heard of this showing up later on. I had a pup once before that had this and I noticed it right from the get go. From what I have read in veterinary books they claim you can usually tell by two weeks old and it will often heal itself by the time they are six months. Supposedly the surgery is realtively minor. Any comments would be appreciated, thanks.

William,
Did she cut the cord close or leave a 1"or better?
You mentioned she had to have help welping so I assume you were with her, was she rough with the pups when cutting the cords? I say this because I don't want to down play the worry of weakened muscle in the stomach area, espically for the bitch pups that may be bred in the future. Keep note of this and watch when these pups are bred. This is why I don't mind the bitch hounds being a little long on body, to have room for pups.

Slaux,
There seems to be no time frame that a hernia is limited to show itself. The weakness in the muscle fiber can open at anytime, when under stress that it cannot contain such as, a pup becoming bloated by over feeding or a bitch in welp. Now pups need not be fed till they bloat, to be full and healthy, so this can be prevented. But, the bitch in welp must be able to take the stretching necessary to give room for the pups. This is where we must guard against allowing this weakness too get into the breeding...Patch