> as she completely ripped the cord off and it took a while to stop the bleeding.
Been there! One of my girls was over enthusiastic, and it took ages to stop the bleeding. In all my years with dogs, I had never had a pup with a hernia. Nothing really showed until the pup had grown (it was a small terrier breed), but by 8 weeks it was a definite hernia, where mum had made a bit of a hole.
I know many people would say just leave it, as they sometimes right themselves. But I wasn't prepared to let a puppy go, and the new owners not notice if it needed attention. The pup had alreday been chosen, so I did give the people chance to change their minds. They still wanted him, so I said that I would pay for the operation, and get my own vet to operate. I kept him until his post op check, which was fine. And I am not worrying about any "what ifs".