Hello all. Hope you're all looking forward to the run up to Christmas.

Tonight I was handling the pups and noticed that Timmy, one of the boys, had a little lump where his umbilical was where none of the other pups had it. Even when he's just standing up I can feel it quite obviously. I haven't felt it before, though.

They're going to the vet for a check up on Monday anyway so will be able to check then, but where do I stand as a breeder on this? Legally am I obligated to pay for his surgery to correct this? Will he still be able to be shown if he's had surgery? Has anyone had this happen to them before? I've been doing everything so diligently and carefully, I'm completely gutted by this to be honest with you. I let Maisy cut his cord and he did hang from her for a few moments as she still had the placenta in her.

Any help would be so much appreciated. xxx

I know it must be a worry but I would wait and see what the vet says, if its small it is not likely to cause him any problems and so the vet is likely to say just leave it.

If the vet does say the above, then I would explain the situation to the buyers, and that if it does worsen then perhaps you would cover the cost of having it repaired?

Is it a show home he is going to? I may be wrong but I think any surgical (cosmetic?) procedure has to be reported to them before being able to show? I may be wrong though..

Thanks Drover; lots of people have gotten back to me to say how harmless theirs were and that they'd closed up or been repaired when neutered, but because he'll be shown if it is repaired then you're right, we could well not show if it's considered cosmetic. Will ring the KC tomorrow to check.

His mum is so keen on him and I know this won't make a difference to her, but somehow I just feel like a bad breeder now.

My 2 year old has a small umbilical hernia and it has never caused him any problems, and it has become hardly noticable (even to the touch) as he has got bigger and his coat has lengthened.  As I show him I've never persued the surgery route etc as have had problems in the past with getting permission to show. 

My girl has a pretty big hernia, fairly common in my breed, and it's never caused any trouble. I wouldn't do surgery on your little boy unless there was a risk of strangulation, it shouldn't make a major difference to his chances in the ring.

Thanks everyone. I'm glad that this isn't as unnatural as I thought it was! Thankfully my breed is shown with coat on the belly so no problems there, just wondered if it would be dangerous otherwise.

Thanks again! Will check back about the vet tomorrow. xx

I've always been told to lie pup on their back and gently stroke it back in.  If you do this the hernia has more of a chance to close itself naturally by 6months.  If surgery would be needed it wouldn't be classed as cosmetic as complications can arise and it wouldn't be cosmetic.  it was caused not born with.  altering the eyes eyes ect is cosmetic.  You can leave it or get it done now.  its a 10 minute job and a tiny nick.  You can always check with the KC if you did operate to be on the safe side. x

Thanks Reiki, thankfully we've just got back from the vet who said it's benign, not large enough for organs to come out and it does feel like just a fatty tissue. She said she couldn't push it back in and he should live a happy life with it if it doesn't go by itself. Phew!

If surgery would be needed it wouldn't be classed as cosmetic as complications can arise and it wouldn't be cosmetic.  it was caused not born with.  altering the eyes eyes ect is cosmetic.

It is cosmetic as it is changing the natural conformation of the dog. If your dog had entropian and you had it corrected as it was causing the dog problems this would be classed as cosmetic as well.. The word cosmetic is not of importance to the KC it is " changing the natural conformation" that they look for. You would get a permission to show after perhaps having a brocken tooth extracted but not after having a hernia or eyes done. No one can say for certain if it was born with or caused by the bitch but most hernias are there at birth. Very few if any are caused by the bitch tugging on the cord it's a bit of an old wives tail.
Aileen

Merlot is right. You can show a dog with a hernia (how serious the judge would consider it to be I'd guess would depend on how rare it is in the breed, and whether it is noticed or not), but NOT one which has had one repaired. You won't get permission to show after a hernia repair.

If its not born with it as a defect and is 'made' the KC accept a repair.  If its closed up and no issues then yes its cosmetic.  My breed can get them and some line have a weakness for them.  Those lines  avoid like the plague.  The only other time is when They tug on the cord (in ours)

Thought of late the KC has been giving permission to show following a umbilical hernia repair - will have to grab a handful of Gazettes now.

EDIT: Well had a look and most the work given permission to show is tails, teeth and testicles but I did find one or two Umbilical hernia repairs and at least one slipping patella due to trauma, that surprised me a bit.

>Thanks Reiki, thankfully we've just got back from the vet who said it's benign, not large enough for organs to come out and it does feel like just a fatty tissue. She said she couldn't push it back in and he should live a happy life with it if it doesn't go by itself. Phew!

Just watch it closely, we had a pup with a small hernia, both our own vet and the new owners vet told us all exactly the same,  that it wouldn't cause any problems nor would any intestines come through as it had closed and was basically a fatty lump.

When the pup got to 6 months it suddenly popped through, luckily her owners saw it immediately and rushed to the vet, thankfully because they caught it early she just had bruising to her bowel, had they not been home it could have been a lot worse.

As she was opened up to fix it they also had her spayed at the same time, a little earlier than planned, but all ended well.

> but NOT one which has had one repaired.

I think you will find the KC did a U turn and allow dogs with repaired hernias to be shown, but with the proviso that further research is ongoing and the policy may yet change again.

I think it depends on the reason for the repair, if its strangulating ect and not a closed one.