My puppy brutus has a swollen belly button, please help....

by honey cinderella t. ortiz
(laguna, philippines)

my shitzu puppy brutus almost 2 months old, eats a lot and is very playful. my concern is his belly button is swollen, it's really bumpy and his urine is yellowish i'm really concerned.

cant' really sleep well because of this, please tell me if i should be really worry and what is the problem.

thank you. God bless.....




Hi Honey
It's difficult for me to say if there's anything that you need to be seriously concerned about with Brutus because obviously I can't see the problem!

Your best course of action would be to get Brutus to your own veterinarian for a thorough check up and that way you'll be able to put your mind at rest. I'd strongly recommend that you do this asap.

However, from what you say your puppy is eating well and happy and active, which are all good signs. You don't mention any diarrhea or vomiting etc. so I'm also assuming that his bowel movements are normal, another good sign.

The swelling on his belly button could well be a hernia, which is fairly common in puppies. It's a weakness or hole in the wall of abdominal muscle, and the lump you notice is usually a little fat that has slipped through that hole. In most cases it's not serious, but occasionally some bowel can slip through and if it gets caught between the muscles that can lead to serious trouble, so it's best to have this checked out and discuss with your vet the danger signs to look for.

Simple hernias like this are easy for your vet to fix and can be done at the same time as your pup is neutered, that way you only need one dose of anesthetic.

Of course there are other possible causes of a swollen belly button, including an infection, so it's important to have your vet take a look and make a diagnosis.

If Brutus's urine is very dark yellow then it could be that he's not getting enough water and is a bit dehydrated. If you think this could be the case do encourage him to drink more and make sure fresh water is always freely available to him. This is extra important in a hot climate.

Other causes for dark yellow urine can include something as simple as food coloring in his puppy food, or as serious as a problem with his kidneys. As he seems healthy otherwise chances are it's nothing to worry about, but you still need to have this checked out by your veterinarian as well, to be on the safe side.

Hope this helps. Best of luck with your pup.