Our first pup, Chloe who is now almost 7, had a hernia which caused her no problems until she was about 4 or 5months old when, during a bout of puppy-ish leaping about(!)she managed to tear it internally, therefore making the hole bigger, this allowed a larger piece of intestine to 'escape' and the whole hernia went purple. As well as looking bad it was also, said out vet, quite dangerous so it was operated on and now all she has left is a little scar and we've had no further problems.
We aren't sure what caused it in the first place but her dam also had a hernia, not sure if the two are connected and Chloe was the only one of the litter of 7 to have a hernia.
I have known quite a few dogs with hernias that have not caused a single problem, so I wouldn't worry to much about it at the moment.
Anyone an theories on hernias being hereditary or other reasons for them? It would be interesting to hear other peoples stories.
Emily :)