Buying a Puppy with Herniated Umbilical cord ? - Page 2

just my opinion, but a good breeder would have that taken care of before any exchange of money takes place.  a hernia repair can be done at 8-9 weeks.  as everyone has stated, a very common problem and can easily be fixed.  more often than not comes from  the cord being chewed too close - as molly said.  usually there are no health issues after the repair is done, but if it were me, i would definately want it done. 

pjp

I was told this is hereditary, passed on to pup's, as well as sometime's a condition brought on by the mother's treatment of the pup at birth (chewing, tugging at the umbilical).

Am I wrong?

many vets will say that all umbilical hernias are genetic/herdeditary.  They learn this from books :) - how many vets are breeders?  Ask the breeders - I am a breeder who will tell you in my experience most umbilical hernias are caused by the mother pulling too hard on the  umbilical cord, chewing the cord too close to the belly, and/or infected umbilicus not healing properly due to mother's continued licking.

molly

So,

I am wrong?

I'd like to know for sure.

Can an entire litter have hernia's just because of the mother's action's ?

Someone convince me.

Yes.  I had a female who was "extreme" in every way.  I was told before I bred her that she would probably kill all of her puppies and eat them - I was horrified, but didn't think so (thought I knew her better than that) - turns out she was an excellent mother, but extremely "driven" in the whelping/cleaning process - never hurt a pup but she would pick them up by the sac/umbilical cord and they would drop once it was severed - every single puppy in the first litter had small umbilical hernias.  After that litter I was right there and immediately held the umbilicus tightly between my fingers as she cleaned the pup off and bit through the cord - and lo and behold - no pups had hernias.   So, as I said in my experience, no the hernias are not genetic.

molly

Not all hernias are genetic, and, if the truth were actually known, probably most were, as Molly said above, caused accidentally by the mothers' vigor. I know this and have seen this also. I have never seen a "genetic" hernia.

Having the pup checked by the vet is a great idea... and hopefully planning on spaying it as well, as many are genetic in origin.  When you see a whole litter, or repeated puppies from the same breeding with hernias you have to suspect that there's a genetic link.   Personally I don't believe that ALL hernias are genetic... but that many are.perhaps a partial refund to help pay for the cost of the hernia surgery added to the spay would be reasonable?

An umbilical hernia can also be closed up but leave behind a lump of fat--so there is a bump there, but absolutely no harm to the dog.

If you're buying a pet that you plan to spay, as long as the hernia is not huge, I wouldn't think twice about it. By huge, I mean an inch or more in diameter. If it is closed up, even if there is a fatty bump there, it is merely cosmetic--and will not cause a problem in a breeding or competition dog.