Yet another question for Scott!
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Hey Scott, I actually have two questions for you about our dog, Izzy. She is a one year old Papillon & Pekingese/Poodle mix, was altered last month, and is generally good health. Since birth, she has had a small umbilical hernia, which is now about the size of a dime, and sticks out about | | <--- that far. It's not painful, and all information I found about them when she was a puppy said they generally will go away on their own, or not be serious enough to worry about having surgery. When she was fixed last month, I had my grandmom ask the new vet (she took Iz in for me, and we just moved here from KS so it was the first time she had been there) about it, and he didn't seem concerned. I think it's a bit bigger after the surgery, and I'm kinda curious why they didn't just fix it while they were already in there, since it's close to the incision. (She was fixed at the local humane society clinic, not a private vet, that might have something to do with it) Should I be concerned about it if it doesn't bother Izzy?
Second question is about the way she sits. She has always sat with her hips kinda rolled, hard to explain, but I just took a couple pics with my cell...
And as a brand new pup, which shows she has always sat like that...
So, I never thought much of it until my grandmom mentioned she thought it was odd, and that it could be because the kids somehow accidentally hurt her back legs. I can't be positive, but I *think* that last picture was before the kids even saw Izzy, because they were away when we got her, she was a Christmas surprise last year. I know you can't DX her without a full work-up, but would you be concerned, or do you know if that's common with dogs of any of her breeds? (Her momma was the full bred Pap, daddy was the Pekingese/Poodle mix, and I know the lady who owns the Pap has had a bunch of Pap litters without problems) Do any of those breeds have a tendency to have hip problems? She runs fine, and can jump SO high, like 3 feet off the ground while standing in one spot. It just looks like she's comfortable sitting like this, even though it's an awkward position.
Any info or advice you can give would be great!! And BTW, I knwo we only post to you about animal stuff, since you are now our resident animal expert, but feel free to jump into other conversations from time to time if you want!  Thanks again, Scott!
Oh, and to add to the "cute-but-weird" factor, she also tends to sleep in odd positions, which is why I never thought much of her sitting like that...
See? Odd puppy... I couldn't resist posting another pic, though!
I'm not sure about the incision but my Pap sits the same way. He'll also lay on his tummy with his legs straight out.
[and then she said, "...I know you can't DX her without a full work-up..."]
You know where I'm going with this, right? ;)
If the dog is perfectly mobile, not favoring a leg and jumping up on the furniture, I'd say Don't Worry About It. Mention it to your vet the next time you're in. I'll bet it's nothing, but I haven't worked up your dog.
I've seen a wide range of "normal" dog postures, and that posture fits well within range. Paps, Pekes and Poodles aren't breed-prone to hip issues (and mixed breeds tend to shake off breed-specific issues anyway, hooray for genetic vigor), but that doesn't mean that certain lines and individuals can't have issues.
About the umbilical hernia: as long as her intestines stay on the inside of the abdomen and don't get choked up in the hernia itself, it's not an issue. Why it wasn't fixed during the spay, I don't know. If it was my surgery, I would've fixed it since I'd be in there already and it isn't that much trouble to fix a simple umbilical hernia.
Why that particular vet didn't fix it, I can only guess. I've got nothing bad to say about pound clinic vets; they're the salt of the earth. Each surgeon has their own opinions, their own modi operandi, their own way of doing things. If that surgeon didn't see it as being something that needed to be fixed (and s/he had to see it, of course), then I respect the opinion of that surgeon.
LOL, Annie, Izzy does that too! She always has the oddest positions to lay in, it makes me laugh. Her Pap features are prominent, which I'm glad, because they are beautiful, but I don't know many Paps, so I don't know what their typical behavior is.
Scott, thanks for the quick reply, I figured it would be good to catch you when there was another post for you as well. I'll take my silly postured doggy over Melissa's "windy" one anytime. (J/K Melissa!!!) You definitely answered my question, I knew you couldn't say for sure, I just wanted to make sure I shouldn't be more concerned. As for the surgeon not doing anything about the hernia, I'm certainly not knocking the shelter clinic, because having the surgery there was MUCH cheaper than a private vet, and in this economy, that helps a ton! I just figured they are super busy, and focus on the task at hand unless it's an emergency situation.
So, are there any signs I should watch for, as far as the hernia causing real problems with her intestines? I assume that would cause some kind of noticeable distress, right?
Oh, and Annie, or any other Pap owners... does your dog jump like that?! We never really noticed until we moved here, because she will stand at the sliding glass door, and JUMP way up in the air to let me know she wants in. It's really funny, this tiny little dog bouncing like she's wearing moon shoes!! She's such a cool dog, and I'm totally not a dog person most of the time, but she has certainly grown on me in the past year.
Next on Fox News, HERNIAS GONE BAD!!! * cue dramatic music *
Things to look out for:
- abdominal pain (usually LOTS of it)
- change in defecation patterns: usually along the lines of "dog stops pooping entirely"
- vomiting and all the things that go along with vomiting
- change in appearance of hernia site: larger, red, lumpy
This might not ever happen, but at least you have an idea of what to look out for.
LOL Crystal. I keep coming back to look at the pictures and just saw what you wrote. I will take your dog over this "windy" one lately, too! ;) I have to keep my sliding glass door open to air it out in here. I'm off to the pet store pretty soon!
Cute little pup! Sometimes Jsamine sits like that, too, not quite square on her hips. She also lays like a frog, with her legs straight out in back of her. Neither position seems to hurt and she's quite agile. Of course, she's a bit bigger, too.
Jasmine was fixed by a shelter vet. Her incision had internal stitches, so we never had to go take them out. She healed up beautifully and never ended up with spay incontinence. The shelter spay was included in her adoption fee and I think they did a great job.
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