I am going to allow myself, without being a veterinarian or consulting the internet, as everyone does nowadays; but based on my nearly 60 years of experience in breeding, to define an umbilical hernia as a protrusion, a prominent lump, more or less large, or an anomaly that can be observed in the navel of a dog, horse, human, etc…

Why? For a long time, I thought they were caused by mothers cutting the umbilical cord of the puppies as they are born… perhaps because they pulled too hard…? I have seen bitches that, from licking their puppies’ navels too much, have caused severe wounds that left clearly visible holes that would not heal due to the moisture produced by constant licking. It’s necessary to prevent the mother from licking them by paying attention while they suckle and by separating the puppies from her until these unpleasant wounds heal. The excessive maternal zeal for possession and care of the puppies has led mothers, not of our breed (as far as I know), to even eat one.

Continuing with the answer to the question… I have tried collecting the puppies as they were born directly from the mother, before she proceeds to cut the cord, cutting them myself with clean scissors three centimeters from the navel and tying a double knot at the end of the cord with regular sewing thread to prevent possible blood loss (because sometimes they bleed a lot). Needless to say, always with utmost care not to pull on the umbilicus; I have also cut them with my thumbnails pressing on the floor of the whelping box when I didn’t have scissors, a knife, or another tool available during an emergency with a newborn still inside the sac that the inexperienced or excessively nervous and overwhelmed mother has just given birth to without taking care of it. I quickly break the sac so it can breathe, cut the cord, remove the sac, place the puppy face down to release any fluid it may have swallowed, give the mother the placenta and everything that came with the puppy for her to eat and stimulate colostrum production (the first milk produced by all mammalian mothers)… the result of puppies with hernias was more or less the same as in the previous litter.

After much thought, I have come to the conclusion that umbilical hernias are another genetic characteristic of dogs of any breed. They follow Mendelian laws just like any other: Free, carrier, and affected. By this I mean that it is an inheritable trait from parents to offspring, from grandparents to grandchildren, etc.

Is it serious if a dog has an umbilical hernia? It depends on the size of the hernia and the size of the open hole it has, because if we gently press with a finger, we will see that most hernias can be pushed back into the dog’s belly through that opening, which can be quite wide and easily allow the hernia to protrude outward. In the past, we used to fix them with a coin wrapped in gauze securely placed over the hole to prevent it from popping back out once it was pushed back in, and we would put a belly band on the puppy (I have often used trimmed socks) tightly fitted. After about 20 days, if the hole was not too large, it could close up and the problem would be resolved. Today, I recommend going to a good veterinarian and having the hole sewn up well after the hernia has been pushed back into the belly.

A large hernia is uncomfortable and runs the risk of being injured, bleeding, or even bursting with any rubbing. They need to be surgically repaired. A small hernia may not be bothersome, but I would also operate on it or fix it in the old-fashioned way…

I recommend, to try to eradicate them, not to use affected dogs in breeding and to use carriers (who do not have them but transmit them) as little as possible…