Herniated umbilicus?

[K Autorino]

One of my Brittany pups has a herniated umbilicus. Has anyone had experience with this? I've read that it can be taken care of when you have the dog fixed. Is it an involved procedure? Also does it cause pain to the pup?

Thanks in advance for any info you can share.

[Southern]

The problem can be an over zealous mother cleaning a pup, especially if it was the first one, or two at birth. Down side- The bowel can get caught in this, and may close up, causing all kinds of problems, including death. You did not say the age of the pup. In delivery, I am always there, cutting the imbilical cord. Check with the vet, yes it can be taken care of ( usually when the dog is neutered or spayed), no there is no pain unless the bowel closes into it. It can also be repaired at age 6 wks, after that it becomes expensive

[K Autorino]

Thanks for your relpy. My pups were 6 weeks on Sunday. This seemed to develop after week two. I was there for the delivery and took care of the pups after the mom chewed back the sack. I am taking to pups to the vet tomorrow for their shots and worming so I will ask then. I just wanted to go in with a little fore-knowledge. One other question-- when the vet was here to dock the tails on day 2 he took a stool sample of the mom to check for worms. It came back negative. The vet said that doesn't necessarily mean that the pups don't have worms. How could they get them otherwise?

Thanks for your patience and helpfulness. I am not a professional breeder--this is my one and only litter. I am learning as I go. Thanks goodness my gal has been such a good mother, she has made this pretty easy.

[kninebirddog]

Actually what happens id the small area fails to heal..As much as we would like to blame an over zealous mother ..I know of pups that have this small hernia that momma had no chance to clean as they were C sectioned and momma wasn't around to clean them once done.

Is it genetic or just a small failure of the umbilical area to seal and heal remains truly unknown..there does seem to be some lines of dogs that have a higher incidence and in another line that one odd pup that shows up with one. If it is just one pup out of the litter it is more then likely just a failure to seal and heal

Best thing on females refrain from breeding them that tiny hernia will need to be fixed before even considering breeding and there are plenty of dogs being bred out there why take a chance on that female

as for worms..Dogs get worms people get all freaked out over a simple thing ..just worm them no big deal ..It is a big deal if you don't and let worms get out of control
...I worm my dogs every month with ivermectin at a higher dose then heart guard...
I worm my pups at 2 4 with safeguard or Nemex II and then ivermectin at 6 weeks of age.

[K Autorino]

Hi Folks, I took my pup to the vet today and she had a little lasar surgery to fix her herniation. The vet said the size of the interior opening determines if the hernia is dangerous or not. The hernia was the size of a marble but the hole on the inside was very small, making the chance that the bowel could get strangualted. He said if the interior hold was the same size in circumference as the hernia it could wait until the dog is spayed.

Thanks for your help.