# 9 week old pup with a lump on her belly



## kjshenk

We just bought our sweet puppy last week. We have noticed that there is a small soft lump on her belly. Is this from her belly button? We have a check up with the vet coming up soon. Just wondering if others have seen this before?


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## Fodder

my male is almost 3 and has one. its from an umbilical hernia that has since closed.

eta: http://www.midcapeanimalhospital.com/showpracfaq.cfm?FAQID=135&Private=0

eta2: from another site:

_Umbilical hernias, in canines, are usually congenital – secondary to flawed development. (This cause is said to be inherited.) Another cause is the mama dog biting off the umbilical cord too closely or roughly while whelping the puppy.

Veterinarians easily discover an umbilical hernia upon physical exam of the puppy. It is noted that an umbilical hernia may not be immediately noticeable. The abdominal contents may not protrude consistently – they may reduce spontaneously or when the area is pressed on. 

The symptom of an umbilical hernia is a soft swelling in the navel (umbilical) area. It is not considered critical unless the opening is large enough to allow organs or intestines to protrude. Most umbilical hernias are not serious. Small umbilical hernias have been noted to close spontaneously by the age of 6 months. For this reason, many vets will recommend waiting until the puppy is 6 months of age before repairing surgically.

Please take note:

Is the hernia larger than a dime? If so – there is a chance that part of the intestines may be trapped in the opening/hole. This could cause severe or even fatal complications, surgical repair is required.
_
ps. my male's (granted he's larger than your pup) hernia is larger than a dime and he's fine. at the time of his neuter (10 months) it was already closed and no further action was necessary.


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## Caledon

Could be an Umbilical cord hernia.

Dakota had one, but my breeder informed me before I purchased her. I had contacted the vet (before purchase) and was told that it would be taken care of when she was spayed, at no additional cost. It was not a big one, but we had to watch it. We had to pinch the area around "lump" to gently push it back in. Sometimes they heal on their own by this method.

Make sure you mention it to the vet.


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## MassiChewSits

I'm no vet, but this sounds like it could be an umbilical hernia. Not life-threatening if that is what it is, but must be dealt with eventually. My pup had one and my breeder took him to surgery(at 7 1/2 weeks of age)before she turned him over to us. Physically,he is fine now and at 6 months of age you'd have no idea he had a problem. 

I would think an ethical breeder or rescue should have at least told you about it. I've heard from my breeder that many breeders leave it up to the adopter to do the surgery, selling the pup at a discount. Better breeders(IMO) have the surgery done and supervise the pup's recovery before handing the puppy to you.

Take your pup to the vet and have it checked out.Also, from what I've read,giving anesthesia to a young puppy is not to be taken lightly -so find someone with experience. Best wishes to you and your little one.


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## Lucy Dog

Lucy had one too.. It's an umbilical hernia. Fairly common. Just have it removed when she's spayed.


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## GranvilleGSD

> Originally Posted By: MassiChewSitsI would think an ethical breeder or rescue should have at least told you about it. I've heard from my breeder that many breeders leave it up to the adopter to do the surgery, selling the pup at a discount. Better breeders(IMO) have the surgery done and supervise the pup's recovery before handing the puppy to you.


To a point I agree with you about the breeder handling the repair, however, if the dog is going to be spayed/neutered, it is pointless and risky to put them through anesthesia twice. I would think selling the pup at a discounted price and having the repair done with spay/neuter would be the better option for the pup.


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## rockhead

Chiming in to bolster what everyone here has already said about the umbilical hernia. 

I noticed it on Rookie the morning after bringing him home; a soft, oval-shaped bump that could be massaged away. The vet confirmed it a couple of days later and told me to just keep an eye on it until he got neutered. Well, he got neutered last week and has 4 sutures where the hernia used to be. It was no big deal, added $50 to the cost of the procedure.


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## Caledon

> Originally Posted By: shepherdmom12
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted By: MassiChewSitsI would think an ethical breeder or rescue should have at least told you about it. I've heard from my breeder that many breeders leave it up to the adopter to do the surgery, selling the pup at a discount. Better breeders(IMO) have the surgery done and supervise the pup's recovery before handing the puppy to you.
> 
> 
> 
> To a point I agree with you about the breeder handling the repair, however, if the dog is going to be spayed/neutered, it is pointless and risky to put them through anesthesia twice. I would think selling the pup at a discounted price and having the repair done with spay/neuter would be the better option for the pup.
Click to expand...

This is the same conclusion that my vet, breeder and I came too. Why risk additional surgery.


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## Chris Wild

It is probably an umbilical hernia, which while not common isn't rare either.

As far as surgery to fix it, in most cases this is not required. It may be required if the hernia doesn't heal on it's own. However in most cases they do. A small lump does not mean the hernia still exists. Quite often a small globule of fat will fall out through the hole in the abdominal wall and then when the hernia heals and the hole seals up, that fat glob is trapped outside the abdominal wall, just under the skin, creating an "outie" belly button. This is absolutely no concern whatsoever. It is not the same as a hernia still being present, and one can't assume based on the presence of the lump that the dog still has a hernia, only that he did at one time. Though it may take someone experienced in feeling them to determine if the lump is still a hernia or if it's just an "outie".

As far as the breeder doing surgery on a young pup before sending it home, I would completely disagree with that. First, there is no good reason to risk surgery on such a young pup for anything short of a life threatening emergency, which an unbilical hernia hardly qualifies as. Second, in most cases it will heal on it's own just fine and no surgery will be needed. In the rare instance when the hernia doesn't heal on it's own it isn't a major health risk and it is safer for the dog to surgically repair the hernia during a spay or other scheduled proceedure.


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## MassiChewSits

I should have edited myself in my first post in this thread. The points made in later posts, by more experienced GSD folks, are better informed than my own opinion. I should make it plain to the OP that I'm a novice GSD owner. I admittedly felt a bit of outrage that someone sold the OP a pup without pointing out the lump on her belly, assuming a savy breeder could see this before handing over the pup.

I should not have suggested that better breeders should have the surgery done on a young puppy before selling the pup. This is what my breeder did for my puppy, but seeing the reasoning of others here, this may not be this best course of action. I actually read about the riskiness of using anesthesia on young pups after my pup was subjected to surgery. I recall my own breeder had a reason, but at this time I can't remember her exact reasoning for proceding with the the surgery.

I did suggest the puppy should have been sold to the original poster at a discount, and it is the only thing I now stand by.


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## Chris Wild

I absolutely agree the breeder should have noted the the lump, pointed it out to the buyer and discussed what it was, what it meant, possible outcome in terms of needing surgery or not, ahead of time. A new puppy owner shouldn't be finding out about umbilical hernias on a message board. The breeder should have been upfront about it beforehand.


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## JKlatsky

> Originally Posted By: Chris WildQuite often a small globule of fat will fall out through the hole in the abdominal wall and then when the hernia heals and the hole seals up, that fat glob is trapped outside the abdominal wall, just under the skin, creating an "outie" belly button. This is absolutely no concern whatsoever. It is not the same as a hernia still being present, and one can't assume based on the presence of the lump that the dog still has a hernia, only that he did at one time. Though it may take someone experienced in feeling them to determine if the lump is still a hernia or if it's just an "outie".


This is what happened to us with a puppy we had. The really bizarre thing about it was that it was not present when we picked up the pup at 8 weeks. 

We had known the breeder for a long time and she is very thorough and it was not noted on the health cert either. But the puppy had a case of KC after the vaccine was administered and he was hacking so hard that we think he pushed some fat through. Because one day he had nothing there and the next he had an outie. It was no big deal and was only about the size of a pea. 

Not saying that this is what happened to you, but it was very weird. The vet had never seen it happen before, but said it was possible.


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## shugarhey

kjshenk said:


> We just bought our sweet puppy last week. We have noticed that there is a small soft lump on her belly. Is this from her belly button? We have a check up with the vet coming up soon. Just wondering if others have seen this before?


My smaller dog, not a GSD, has one that the vet found on his first visit. He is now 4 years old and has had no complications with it at all. It is about the size of a pea and I can't feel it every time. Doesn't seem to bother him so we leave it alone.


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