Umbilical Hernia - Page 1

I am from Michigan, and I need help on a Hernia controversey. I have a 13 week old male pup that is 100% DDR lines that has an umbilical hernia. With his blood lines he goes for $1,200, but my problem is my vet and other vets around here say it's genetic and I need to reduce the price and get him neutered. I asked them to show proof that it is genetic and they can't. The dam did have a rough labor, and had 10 pups, and my understanding is because of the hard labor, and her chewing the cord, that is why he ended up with the hernia. I need help on the decision to lower the price because of gentics or get the hernia fixed and up the price where it should be. Is it genetic or not?

Very small hernias are not expensive to fix, and many are never repaired and the dog does just fine. Most hernias do indeed result from the dam chewing to vigorously. If it becomes an issue with a potential buyer you really would like to sell the dog to, negotiate. At most, taking off $200 should easily repair it and it can be done at time of neutering if the dog is to be neutered. Some hernias undoubtedly also occur and are caused by some other stressor in utero. Genetics, as the bottom line, are always involved in most issues except accidents. Search the archives here as this was recently discussed.

Kelly, I paid $2500 (yes, I know I may have overpaid) for my puppy 3 months ago. He also had an umbilical hernia. He is now 12 weeks old and the hernia is gone. My vet said it is very common and it almost always goes away. *Unless* it's very large. My puppy's was small. Do research on the internet on this and get a second opinion. Good luck!

The topic been discussed here several times. Few dogs have a real hernia, more like a "delayed closure" which will go away as the pup matures. Go on top of this page, search the message list for the word hernia and it will show you some previous threads. Also check out this link. http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/umbilical.html US vets are so quick with the snippetysnip. No need to neuter if you do not have a real hernia.

I don't see a genetic pattern in puppies from mothers with the hernia. That's my expierience contrary to what others may say. I see no evidence of genetics tied to it. I know of VA dogs with this condition. Pups do not have an issue. I would fix it if it bothered me a few months from now or just leave it.

My pup also has this hernia and I have been told both that it is genetic and that is caused by the mother. I don't think anyone is 100% certain My vet also said that it could cause a problem if she was ever bred. This I could possibly believe. It is not considered a confirmation fault though and certainly has not slowed my girl down one bit so I am not going to worry about it.

I don't understand what the big deal is? As others have already mentioned if it is small enough, it will close up by itself. If not, a vet can easily fix it with a couple of stitches. I have not seen a pattern of hernias either. Every once in a while, breeders will have puppies with hernias. I can't imagine that a vet in Germany would ever give the advice to not use a dog with a hernia for breeding, since that "problem" could be genetic.And luckily, here in the U.S. I also have a vet (he is a breeder himself) who would laugh about the idea of neutering or spaying an otherwise promising dog because of a hernia. Kelly, I would just find a different vet if you absolutely need to have that hernia repaired. As Hodie already mentioned, put the possibility of a hernia repair into your sales contract and reduce the price by $ 200. Chris

Any time I have a pup with a delayed closure, I ask my vet to make a note on the health certificate that it wouldn't cause any problems later on and may completely heal, which they usually do.