[Baby_Reese]

Originally Posted by Woogie Man

If it's right at the 'belly button' point, it's an umbilical hernia. From the sounds of it, your dog's is what is called a reducible one. Some of these hernias go away on their own and some need to be repaired. The main danger is that if some of the intestine comes through and becomes stangulated. That is a very serious situation and you would need to get to the vet right away. Yours sounds like it's just some fatty tissue coming through and is not an immediate danger. Watch the area to make sure it doesn't get very red and inflamed looking. It is probably a pink color now. You can try encouraging the muscle tissue to grow over by pushing it in several times a day. If it doesn't go away and doesn't get stragulated in the meantime, you can have it repaired at the time of spay. Some babies get these hernias at birth, mainly by the mom pulling too hard when chewing the cord and some show up later as the pup puts weight on and the pressure causes it to be expressed. For now, just keep an eye on it, get familiar with it so you notice changes in it (watch out for strangulation), push it in and hold it a few times a day and don't let the pup put on too much extra weight. I'm not saying under-feed her but extra weight will put extra pressure on the area and make it harder for the hernia to close. When you take her to the vet, he'll be able to assess her condition and recommend the proper treatment.

I have done minor research on it and it says that if I push it in or touch it all then it would cause the hernia to get bigger. Is that true?