Puppy training with a umbilical hernia

by Morris
(Canada)

I have a puppy with a umbilical hernia, he is not training at all.

He is three months old, when I put him outside to go he does but with in 5 minutes of being in he goes again, its not always a lot but he does. Could this be because of the hernia and should I just wait until its fixed to try training?

It is getting frustrating trying different things and nothing is working.



Hi Morris
Umbilical hernias in puppies can take more than one form, but the most common is a small opening in the muscle wall where the umbilical cord was attached to the abdomen.

In most puppies, this simple 'hernia' is just a delay in the closing of the muscle walls, and eventually disappears. Your veterinarian should be able to tell you if it requires surgery, many do not, and most vets will wait until the puppy is being neutered/spayed to do the procedure if it's not causing any problems.

As for the potty training issue, it's very unlikely the hernia has anything to do with your difficulties. I've never heard of that being the case, and have seen puppies with hernias, none of which have ever had that sort of problem.

In fact, what you're describing sounds absolutely normal for a puppy in the beginning of the potty training phase. Puppies pee and poop A LOT. An 8 week old pup will need to go outside every 45 mins to an hour during the day, and after every nap, playtime, meal, drink and so on. At night they can generally go longer when crated, but usually need at least one potty break.

Also, each time he goes outside to do his business, stay with him and give him plenty of time, puppies often pee/poop several times in one trip, especially in the morning. If you let him outside by himself, he'll get distracted by everything else and most likely 'forget' why he's out there. He may pee a little if he's absolutely desperate, but won't remember to finish until he's back inside and is no longer entranced by the sights, sounds and smells of the great outdoors.

I'd recommend that you read my page on Potty Training A Puppy it's has tips and advice to make the whole housebreaking task that much easier.

If you're not crate-training, I'd strongly suggest you buy a crate and start right away. It makes house breaking much simpler and quicker, and mostly eliminates the opportunity for your pup to make 'mistakes' indoors.

It takes longer than most people realize to house train a puppy. If you work consistently with your pup from about 8 weeks onward, you can reasonably expect him to be fairly reliably housebroken by around 6 months of age. However, all puppies are different, some take less time, some more, and small breed puppies are challenging because they have such tiny bladders.

It's very important to be patient and consistent. Your puppy wants to please you, he just has no idea what it is you want from him. They learn through repetition and association, so it takes time for him to learn to associate outdoors with his elimination habits. For the same reason, you don't want to delay training, or allow him to make 'mistakes' as that then becomes the 'habit' and he associates indoors with elimination instead. He's just a pup and doesn't know that we humans take exception to pee and poop on the carpet!

Hopefully the above will help you get on the right track, best of luck with your puppy.