Umbilical Hernia

[hayleynatasha]

Hi everyone! I am new to pug (and dog) and am looking for some advice...

Basically I've had my pug puppy Hugo for 6 days now, he's 15 weeks old. I took him to the vet this morning to get him registered and microchipped (ow) and my vet told me he had an umbilical hernia.

This may sound silly but I thought this was his belly button as it was there when I went to see him and the breeder mentioned nothing. I was planning on breeding Hugo in the future but it's no big deal if not.

A few of my relatives however have told me i should call the breeder since she failed to tell me about the hernia. Has anyone else encountered this problem and what did you do? Also did your pug need an operation in the end and if so how much did it cost (£)?

Thank you in advance everyone!

[Tinker's mom]

Hello & to the village! I have no experience with this but I know several people on here do. I read on here that sometimes the puppy outgrows it. I'm sure others will chime in. Glad to have you aboard!

[Wonka & Nilla]

I have no advice on umbilical hernia's in pugs, but I do think you should tell the breeder about it. It's important for the breeder to know about any health related issues that the pup has.

Hopefully someone with experience will post and answer your questions. In the meantime, welcome to PugVillage and I hope we'll get to see pictures of little Hugo.

[Gina_78]

When looking for our pug, we spoke to a breeder who sent us pics and the pups were super cute, but we noticed a "bump" on 2 of the pups bellies and they were hernias that she didnt mention either.
When we brought it up in an e-mail, she acted like it was nothing and said "Oh, they´re just hernias, they´re nothing, but I´ll take a couple of hundred off of the price if you like".We phoned our regular vet and he said that although some never grow or bother the pup, that´s not the norm, and as a rule they need to be removed later on (which here costs about +400€ here).So we said no.
They arent serious if controlled by your vet and I was assured that removing them is straight forward, but the breeder should most deffinately have told you about it, especially since they usually need surgery to be removed.Go see your vet about it and ask him what he thinks (if he recomends you remove it or leave it etc).
If your pup needs surgery, then maybe you can claim the money from the breeder? I´m not sure how it works where you are.

[Jacqui]

Hello and welcome!

I don't know about dog hernias, but in humans, an umbilical hernia is usually a very easy fix. Basically there's a small defect in the abdominal wall and a bit of the bowel loop pops through - sometimes it can be reduced (pushed back) by itself and that's probably what the breeder was meaning with you, Gina. Occasionally a hernia can become incarcerated and this is potentially a serious issue: at best the bowel obstructs, at worse it can cause the portion of bowel to die, which can be lethal.

We have many (human) patients that live with hernias - they can become unsightly and uncomfortable but not life-threatening. They usually get them repaired to prevent further issues. The surgeon simply pops the bowel loop back in place and repairs the defect in the abdominal wall to stop it coming out again. They sometimes use a surgical mesh to cover the weakened area but not sure if they do that in dogs!

I'm sure it would be a fairly minor procedure in your puppy but does need a general anaesthetic so be guided by what your vet tells you.

Enjoy your new baby, I'm sure it will not be a big issue and may even settle on its own

[Gina_78]

I don't know about dog hernias, but in humans, an umbilical hernia is usually a very easy fix. Basically there's a small defect in the abdominal wall and a bit of the bowel loop pops through - sometimes it can be reduced (pushed back) by itself and that's probably what the breeder was meaning with you, Gina.

Oops, sorry, I just wanted to clarify that I did NOT reject the puppy because it was "damaged"..after being told it was a fixable problem, I was ok with that.I had a problem with the price of the surgery to have the hernia removed and the fact that because she had a hernia, they wouldent insure her until it was gone, so I would have had to pay for it out of pocket (and that´s ALOT of money to me).
I dont want you to think that I discriminated the pup because she wasnt perfect, I just didnt have the extra money for the surgery and any other complications that the hernia could have caused...not without insurance ;)

[Jacqui]

Oh Gina, I wasn't suggesting that and I think you were quite right to question the breeder, who should have raised the issue with you, not waited for you to notice! Money IS an issue and realistically, knocking a couple of hundred off the price of the pup is hardly the answer - I mean, you would have all the stress of putting your puppy through surgery as well. It's quite different to take the puppy without knowing there's a potential problem, where you don't now have an informed choice.

I was just trying to reassure HayleyNatasha that now she has her pup, if it needs to be fixed it shouldn't be a big issue. I also think she should let the breeder know - they may contribute to any costs if surgery is ultimately recommended.

[Gina_78]

I was just trying to reassure HayleyNatasha that now she has her pup, if it needs to be fixed it shouldn't be a big issue. I also think she should let the breeder know - they may contribute to any costs if surgery is ultimately recommended.

Agreed

[Oscar & Margo]

I know the vet said that Oscar seemed to have a small umbilical hernia when I took him in for his first check up. It did look just like a little belly button and I didn't notice it when I picked him up. They basically told me that when they neutered him if it appeared to be an issue they would correct it then, however it seemed to have corrected itself because I don't see it anymore.
I had a beagle when I was growing up that my Mom still has. She is 14 years old and what we thought was her "belly button" for most of her life was an umbilical hernia. She still has it and she is just as healthy as can be!

[hayleynatasha]

Thank you so much for your advice everyone! Will be calling the breeder in the morning and let her know! Ps. Very happy to be joining the pug owners world!