Puppy Hernia

[Coponeinthenuts]

I have brought home my German Shepherd Dog puppy on Sunday (8 weeks old) and took her to the vet for a quick check and also to get her used to going there.

Anyway the vet told me about her Hernia and said we should get it removed asap.

I called the breeder (who has been a vet nurse for ~20 years now) and she said that all the puppys in the litter have them from where the mother at birth takes the placenta, she said that it should be ok to leave it until she is desexed at 18 months (because desexing a large breed dog before her bones have fully grown can cause a risk of the adult dog getting hip &/or elbow dysplasia).

She basically said as long as the Hernia is soft it is ok if it hardens then there is a problem, but if we want we can get the hernia removed early.

Anyway basically should we just keep an eye on it and wait for when she is desexed and do it all in one or do it now?

[fifi]

It depends on the size, location and type of hernia, and if tissue is coming through the ligament ie: Ingual or umbilical. as to how soon it needs doing.

fifi

[WreckitWhippet]

It's not true that all puppies have hernias, infact it should be a rarity in well bred dogs. not common place.

If your puppy has a true hernia, it should be fixed ASAP, if the puppy has a delayed closure, then probably go away in it's own time.

If your puppy has a true hernia, your breeder should be paying for any operation required to fix it. You should have been told about the issue prior to purchase.

ETA: some additional reading

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/b.../umbilical.html

Edited December 1, 2010 by ReadySetGo

[persephone]

It's not true that all puppies have hernias, infact it should be a rarity in well bred dogs. not common place.

If your puppy has a true hernia, it should be fixed ASAP, if the puppy has a delayed closure, then probably go away in it's own time.

If your puppy has a true hernia, your breeder should be paying for any operation required to fix it. You should have been told about the issue prior to purchase.

:D

[fifi]

Thanks for that RSG, I was trying to find that link, great post :-)

fifi

[Coponeinthenuts]

It's not true that all puppies have hernias, infact it should be a rarity in well bred dogs. not common place.

If your puppy has a true hernia, it should be fixed ASAP, if the puppy has a delayed closure, then probably go away in it's own time.

If your puppy has a true hernia, your breeder should be paying for any operation required to fix it. You should have been told about the issue prior to purchase.

ETA: some additional reading

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/b.../umbilical.html

Thanks for the link, the breeder explained it like was written where it says to turn the puppy over and massage the "hernia" to move any gut back into the stomach.

Either way she said if we are still worried we can get a second opinion at the vet she goes to (who specialises in German shepherd dogs)

[WreckitWhippet]

It's not true that all puppies have hernias, infact it should be a rarity in well bred dogs. not common place.

If your puppy has a true hernia, it should be fixed ASAP, if the puppy has a delayed closure, then probably go away in it's own time.

If your puppy has a true hernia, your breeder should be paying for any operation required to fix it. You should have been told about the issue prior to purchase.

ETA: some additional reading

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/b.../umbilical.html

Thanks for the link, the breeder explained it like was written where it says to turn the puppy over and massage the "hernia" to move any gut back into the stomach.

Either way she said if we are still worried we can get a second opinion at the vet she goes to (who specialises in German shepherd dogs)

I've had a couple of delayed closures over the years but certainly not an entire litter of them.

maybe the GSD folk on here can shed some light if it's entire litters being affected are common place and acceptable in the breed ?

[Coponeinthenuts]

The breeder said that they were from the mother, as she was there to help the mother during the procedure. She said one got a rather large one becasue she was abit rough with him and simply because of the size she took him to get it fixed this morning but the rest all have about the same size, but from the article I think it is a delayed closure.

[WreckitWhippet]

The breeder said that they were from the mother, as she was there to help the mother during the procedure. She said one got a rather large one becasue she was abit rough with him and simply because of the size she took him to get it fixed this morning but the rest all have about the same size, but from the article I think it is a delayed closure.

Some will tell you that and blame the bitch

I'm not sure how those that have them explain it when they've been the one's to cut to cord or the pups have been born via c-section.

[TeamSnag]

I heard if its a belly button one its nothing to worry about..

One of mine have a belly button one and its from my bitch chewing the cord back to far..

Where is the hernia on the dog?

Edited December 1, 2010 by TeamSnag

[Elsha_UK_AU]

Our younger Cav had one too. It would push back into the body cavity and seemed to contain fatty tissue only. If he had a rull belly, it would stick out. We had it fixed at 6 months when he was steralised. The vet recommended it be done then rather than go through 2 surgeries. You can see his "Belly Button" in this pic.

[Stitch]

I can't comment on the hernia itself but I am surprised that the breeder didn't mention it when you picked up your pup.

It is something that in my opinion is not 'normal'.

[poodlemum]

If it's an umbilical hernia & can be pushed back in easily I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've had puppies over the years born with umbilical hernias - my bitch was a bit rough with the cords. One dog I kept had quite a pronounced hernia but I massaged it back in regularly & it came right. Another bitch had a similar hernia - her owner didn't do the massage thing, but the hernia was repaired when she was spayed.

The breeder certainly should have advised you about the hernia and what to do about it!

[Coponeinthenuts]

Nah I think it was becasue we were one of the last couple of people to pick-up our puppy out of the litter that she may have forgotten to tell us, she was a nice person and we've been there multiple times over the last year while we waited for one of her bitches to have a litter.

After doing some more research it looks like an umbilical hernia, plus my missus was abit paranoid coz the puppy hadn't eaten at night and the next morning after her first puppy pre-school class and thought it was parvo (plus she was lethargic and not drinking) but when we took her to the vet this time there was someone else and this vet was fine with it, so I think the previous vet may have been a new/just graduated vet.

Yeah I've just been massaging it & I keep an eye on it, when she's lying down or rolling around.

[Fleuri]

My dog has an umbilical hernia it was very small. The breeder gave a $50 discount at the time I picked him up.

We waited until he was six months and had it fixed when he got desexed. The vet charged $50 extra on top of the desexing fee to fix the hernia. This was almost 9 years ago.

Good luck, if its a big one I would get it fixed as soon as possible. I have heard that sometimes there can be complications. I have seen one about the size of a walnut with shell.

[Fleuri]

The breeder said that they were from the mother, as she was there to help the mother during the procedure. She said one got a rather large one becasue she was abit rough with him and simply because of the size she took him to get it fixed this morning but the rest all have about the same size, but from the article I think it is a delayed closure.

Some will tell you that and blame the bitch

I'm not sure how those that have them explain it when they've been the one's to cut to cord or the pups have been born via c-section.

I knew one where the father had a huge one (i mentioned in my other post about the size of a walnut with shell) and all the pups that he sired had them too. one pup had a big one like the dad.

[charli73]

Our German Shepherd had a hernia about the size of a walnut.

Our breeder and my vet told us just to get it fixed when we had her de-sexed but some just fix themselves which Zoes did...

Have your vet check it out and make a decision....

[WreckitWhippet]

The breeder said that they were from the mother, as she was there to help the mother during the procedure. She said one got a rather large one becasue she was abit rough with him and simply because of the size she took him to get it fixed this morning but the rest all have about the same size, but from the article I think it is a delayed closure.

Some will tell you that and blame the bitch

I'm not sure how those that have them explain it when they've been the one's to cut to cord or the pups have been born via c-section.

I knew one where the father had a huge one (i mentioned in my other post about the size of a walnut with shell) and all the pups that he sired had them too. one pup had a big one like the dad.

yep but plenty will blame it on the bitch.