Hernia – rather widespread disease at dogs which is found at any age. Umbilical hernia most often occurs in puppies owing to backwardness of muscles of an abdominal press, is more rare – inguinal. This pathology can be congenital, and can be acquired at the birth or during the first days of life.
How to define hernia?
Umbilical hernia is a protrusion of internals (most often intestines or the sealing gland) through the increased umbilical ring. The wrong delivery care becomes frequent the reason of its emergence if the person accepting puppies too strongly pulled for an umbilical cord or too shortly cut off it, or careless actions of mother pulling an umbilical cord when licking or dragging a cub. Hernia can be noticeable already at newborn puppies, and can develop several days later after the birth.
Appearance of hernia can be also caused by hereditary weakness of fabrics in the field of an umbilical ring.
Attentively examine a tummy of a puppy. If on the place of a navel the kid has a swelling from several millimeters to three-four centimeters in size, most likely, it is hernia. It is possible to distinguish it from a tumor in the following way: put a puppy on a back and run over a paunch a hand. The tumor at the same time will remain on the place, and hernia will not be probed.
At suspicion of hernia of a puppy it is necessary to show to the veterinarian – the doctor will define whether there is a need for expeditious treatment.
If around swelling on a paunch are noticeable hypostasis, inflammation, skin reddened, touches to it obviously cause to a puppy discomfort, it can demonstrate or that infringement of hernia develops, or that swelling is symptom of other disease. Usually hernia does not cause painful feelings and does not stir normal activity of an animal.
How to treat hernia at puppies?
Small hernias most often do not demand treatment and are closed when the age of a puppy reaches about half a year. Sometimes owners try to cure hernia at the little pets by means of the coin attached to a hernial ring by a plaster. Such manipulations have to be carried out only with the permission of the veterinarian – the efficiency of folk remedies is often exaggerated, they are not capable to replace surgical treatment. More modern methods allowing to accelerate closing of an umbilical ring is the various bandages and the pressing bandages which are specially intended for the puppies having hernia, massage of a paunch. Control of the doctor is obligatory - if hernia is not closed itself or will begin to increase, conservative treatment it will be impossible to manage.
The veterinarian can apply to treatment of hernia spirit injections also. At the same time the ethyl alcohol causing inflammation and overgrowing of a ring is entered into certain sites of a hernial ring.
Big hernias need to be taken in to avoid their infringement. Usually operate six-month-old puppies, however recently hernias quite often take in also at 9-10 weeks kids. For prevention of developing of hernia, especially if puppies have a risk of hereditary weakness of an umbilical ring and muscles of an abdominal press, it is necessary to treat kids accurately. It is impossible to lift them for front or back pads, it is not necessary to allow puppies to get up early too on paws, to be tightened, leaning front pads on a side of a box or a box in which they are.