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I've just been told by my vet that my 3-month old puppy has a small umbilical hernia. She told me not to be concerned about it and it can be corrected when he is neutered at six months of age (they will apparently sew it closed during that time). Should I wait until February/March? It just seems so far away !!! Should I get a second opinion? Is this problem pretty common among puppies? Paula

• Umbilical hernias are extremely common. If your vet said it was a small one than chances are it is not painful for the pup or dangerous. If it doesn;t correct itself by six months than just get it corrected with the neuter. Putting a pup through the trauma of anesthetic twice is unwise.

• My Westie Puppy was born with an umbilical hernia and at six months we had him neutered and the hernia repaired. He was running around a few hours after coming home from the surgery. We had all we could do to try and keep him still.

• Your puppy is quite fine with the umbilical hernia. They are so common in many toy breeds and seen many in the Spaniels.I know it can look frightening to you, but just think of it as an "outie" type of belly button on a person. When you get your little fellow neutered they will just stitch it shut --- not a very big deal. You should be a great pet owner because you are so concerned about your new dog...way to go! -Angie

• I have a pair of purebred RARE dogs that have had two or three previous litters together. Now, our female had 4 puppies, three of them with various degrees of umbilical hernias. Since the mother hid from us while she had birth, I have no idea if the hernias were due to bad genes or the mother improperly severing the umbilical cord. I've read a bulletin about another dog that caused the umbilical hernias and was wondering if that might be the case for my dog. I don't want to sterilize the puppies as per the vet's suggestion since they are RARE and actually quite beautiful in coloration. They will be the last litter since we neutered the father recently.

  The adults are in no way related and are perfectly healthy- no hernias themselves. Coincidentally, all of the hernia puppies in this litter are female. It may be a case of recessive genes but I want to know more information about umbilical hernias in general.
  -Sammy

• From what I can find the answer to your question is yes. Some of them are genetic some are caused by trauma, such as excessive traction (pulling), and cutting the umbilical too close. I saw a friend of mines gordon setter practically swing her puppies over her head by the umbilical cord trying to take care of them, several of these puppies developed umbilical hernias later. Would they have had them anyway, who knows? If both parents have had previous litters either with other partners or bred to each other I think it might reduce the risk that they are genetic but it definately doesn't eliminate the risk. -Marge

• My darling little almost three month old Maltese was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia on her first visit to the vet's. She said to wait and have it taken care when she is spayed at six months, unless it enlarges. Then the vet will have to operate sooner. I want to know is this a common occurance with Malteses and is the double surgery a risk on such a young puppy. Is the hernia usually taken care of by surgery? I have only had her for three weeks and I couldn't bear it if anything happened to her.
  Susan McGannon

• I have a 11 year old maltese. She also has an umbilical hernia. The vet told me it should have been taken care of when I had her fixed, but the vet didn't catch it I guess. Anyway, she is 11 years old, like I said and she has a lump on her tummy about the size of a golf ball. It has never bothered her, just looks a little funny. I would suggest that you have your puppys fixed when she is fixed, no problem.
  Julie

• Umbilicial hernias can be either genetic or from birth. There is veterinary medical research literature that has documented that hernias in several breeds can be genetically traced to ancestors that also had a problem with this. I do know some lines of Maltese that hernias have been seen more frequently than others. Fortunately this has not been an issue with my breeding. The other source recognized by veterinary medicine is from the birth process. Sometimes the dam or whomever is removing the umbilica Small hernia's are generally not a problem. They can be a problem if they are large enough for a portion of the intestine to get caught in it.
  Bobbie Linden - Bhe-Jei Maltese

• UB's can cause problems. Dogs are no different than humans. What you need to know is, is the hernia a "sliding hernia". That means does it go in and out easily, that it is reducable. They can get caught and stuck. That can be very bad for the dog. That means something within the abdominal contents is stuck in the opening. Ask your vet, and yes get it fixed electively, not as an emergency. Good luck.
  Debbie & Shi

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