# Advice needed on my 8 week old pups bump/hernia



## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

Hey guys,

I am nearly a week away from picking up my pup from the breeders, and I decided that I would go and give her a visit today 

When I arrived, I had a big play with my pup and noticed on her tummy that she has developed a hernia/cist/bump the size of your thumbnail. I last visited her about 2 weeks ago and she definitely didn't have it then.

My breeder is a top bloke and I trust him 100%. He told me that it had kind of just come up, but her dad has a similar bump on his tummy. He said that he thought about getting it cut out, but spoke to some people who suggested that if you just give it a massage with your fingers every day then there is no need to get it cut out.

I do plan on asking the vet when I take her for her checkup, but I was wondering if anyone on here had experienced any similar issues?


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

No it will probably need surgery if it keeps growing. 
Since we operate a dog rescue we do it while they are spayed. 
If its very large a piece of intestine can get trapped and cause problems.


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## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

Oh no, that's not great news. And if it doesn't grow any more do you think it will still have to be removed?


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I'd leave that up to your vet to decide. Is there a guarantee on the puppies at all?


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

My dog had small one. The vet showed me how to push it back in. I had to do this daily. He said sometimes they heal on their own but most times surgery is required. We waited till she was spayed and the vet did it at no additional cost. 

You need to keep a constant watch as it could become a serious issue.


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## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

Nah there wasn't hey. Even if there was I'm not sure if I'd even use it to be honest... Even though it wouldn't be the best decision financially, I would feel a bit funny claiming it, kind of makes my pup sound more like a product than a member of my family.


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## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

Caledon said:


> My dog had small one. The vet showed me how to push it back in. I had to do this daily. He said sometimes they heal on their own but most times surgery is required. We waited till she was spayed and the vet did it at no additional cost.
> 
> You need to keep a constant watch as it could become a serious issue.


Oh wow, what you've described with the pushing sounds like what my breeder was explaining to me today. When did you first notice the lump? And when you got it surgically removed, what was the procedure and recovery like?


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

OMG.....NOT ALL *HERNIAS*/bumps.... NEED TO BE REPAIRED!
MANY...MANY are simply delayed closures....and all it is....is a piece of fat tissue that gets trapped between the abdominal wall and the skin....AFTER the abdomen closes.
The problem is.....many vets IMMEDIATELY recommend a "fix".....it is not always necessary.....many dogs never have a repair, and have no problems.

Advice......WAIT.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

My breeder told me she had it close to birth. 

They fixed it when she was spayed so there was no additional care. My vet said it was common and since it was considered small there as no additional charge. 

Now If your ar not having her spayed your vet may suggested having it repaired. That will cost you, so you should talk to the breeder and possibly get a discount on the pup to cover the cost. 

My pup was six months when she was spayed and even though hers was small there we no signs that it was healing on its own.

I don't know how long it would have taken to heal on its own, but we were spaying her so it was done then. Talk to your vet. Mine was not concerned.


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## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

Thanks for the advice guys, you've been really helpful. If anyone else has experienced an issue similar to this I would definitely be interested in hearing about it


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

Our girl had a very small bump on her. We didn't think much of it but asked the vet anyways. The told us it was a hernia and the vet just pushed it back in. Abby was 12 weeks at the time and it just went away.


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## juliejujubean (May 4, 2011)

My dad's dog Blitz has one and the vet sees no issue with it at all... we call it his outie belly button


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Since we have a rescue, we see this quite frequently, and the vet usually does fix it while they are under for their s/n surgeries.

If it's a very small one you could wait but the best source of info would be your vet who is looking at it (not us on the 'net who can't see how big it is).

Are the puppies going to get vet checks before the breeder sends them to new homes? If so, ask to see the vet record on that puppy.


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## jetbootz (Apr 7, 2012)

I agree, I think I might just leave it until she goes for her next checkup. I believe she was just at the vet recently for her shots so I'll have to wait until I take her myself. I really hope that this is just a once of thing and not a bad sign of health to come *fingers crossed*


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

robinhuerta said:


> Advice......WAIT.


Absolutely. I've had two females with an umbilical hernia, and my vet recommended that they be corrected during their spay surgery, which is what we did. There is no hurry to do anything right now, and as Robin said, not all of them need to be surgically corrected. 

Wait and see, and then if it does look like something needs to be done, have your vet take care of it when she's already under for her spay.


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

robinhuerta said:


> OMG.....NOT ALL *HERNIAS*/bumps.... NEED TO BE REPAIRED!
> MANY...MANY are simply delayed closures....and all it is....is a piece of fat tissue that gets trapped between the abdominal wall and the skin....AFTER the abdomen closes.
> The problem is.....many vets IMMEDIATELY recommend a "fix".....it is not always necessary.....many dogs never have a repair, and have no problems.
> 
> Advice......WAIT.


This EXACTLY! We are breeders and have researched hernias/delayed closures. Laying the puppy on her back a couple times a day and pushing/rubbing it back in is fine and recommended for delayed closures. Dogs have gone all their lives with no problems from these. 

IF it does get worse (larger). Then there could be a problem. Most likely just fatty tissue pushing through the hole that is starting to close. If you can push the tissue back in as the hole is continuing to close, it should stay in and there will be nothing there. 

Does your breeder want you to take the puppy in for an exam within a certain time frame of bringing her home? most do. Just for the protection of the breeder and buyer. I wouldnt wait until she need her next set of vaccines.


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## GSD Fan (Sep 20, 2010)

My last dog, a siberian, had such a hernia. I guess I was lucky, it went away shortly after the vet pointed it out to me. 

Oh yeah, make sure the hernia doesn't swell and change to a blue color. My vet told me that means you need to rush your pup to the e-vet immediately. Your vet might say different, so you should ask about it.


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## wyominggrandma (Jan 2, 2011)

Hernias are caused by the abdominal wall not closing off. It can be genetic or can even be caused by the mom pulling the umbilical cord when she is chewing it off and doing slight damage. 
After a certain age, the wall usually does not close on its own, however if the opening is small, it won't usually cause a problem. If you can push the tip of your finger into the hole, then it will need to be repaired at a future date, during a spay is perfect time if you are having them spayed.
It is not an emergency and dogs have hernias that are not repaired lots of time and do fine. However, as the dog grows, the opening can get bigger and then there is a chance that instead of just fat coming through the hole, intestines can come through the hole and get pinched off, then yes, you have an emergency. The intestine can then die and possible cause the dog to die from infection.
We don't recommend pushing the fat back into the hole, just checking to feel if it is getting bigger or not. Pushing the fat back into the hole is not the issue, but if you do it too much, there is a possibility that although the intestine has not come out the hole, with continued pushing and probing, it can.
Personally, I feel getting a hernia fixed is important. If my dog is going to be running around, doing performance, schutzund, or just going full blast like a crazy dog can, I want to know that the weakness in the stomach wall will not weaken anymore and cause issues down the road. After all, a hernia is a weakness/opening in the wall that holds the dogs intestines, etc in its proper place, getting it fixed insures it won't cause problems.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My Mini Doxie has a small hernia. She was a rescue so I'm not sure of her real age, she's said to be 4-6. She was spayed and the hernia was not fixed at that time. She has no issues with it. But I'm sure it isn't big enough to push my finger into...ewww.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

Kiya had an umbilical hernia, it didn't "go back in" with massaging. It was taken care of when she was spayed. It never caused an issue.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Many of these " hernias" are in-fact, actually already closed...it is simply the fat tissue that is stuck between the skin and the abdominal wall.
When they repair some of these...they simply open the skin layers...remove the protruding fat tissue, and suture close.


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## Smithie86 (Jan 9, 2001)

Part of the issue is that how people are picking up the puppies. They do not 100% support the rear and pick up under the forelegs. How many times do you see fotos of people doing that in the puppy pictures?


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

Sue...never even crossed my mind about the possibility......I too am guilty as charged. My grandson picks puppies up that way sometimes too.......hmmm.???
I will make a mental note of that...and be more cautious about it.


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