Beau (black) and Baxter (brown) are brothers. They are 8 months old and their parents wanted to neuter them to try to help the urine marking, aggression which can sometimes occur with brothers, and surgically correct their umbilical hernias.
The hernias were found on physical exam with the veterinarian who gave them all of their puppy vaccines. hernias can be small and benign to large, severe and in need of immediate (or as soon as possible) surgical intervention. The severe hernias allow abdominal contents (usually intestines) to “slip” out of the abdomen. If this happens, and, if the intestines stop working, strangulate, dilate, or twist (torse) it can be life-threatening. For Baxter and Beau the hernia was small, (about 1/2 inch) but a pinkie finger could go into it, and the fat coming out of it could be pushed back into the abdomen. It is best to fix these and always spay/neuter as this is a congenital issue that can be passed on to the offspring.

Diagnose by a veterinarian on palpation, or by observation.
Hernias can occur in other places (like inguinal), but the umbilical (belly button) is the most common.

Treatment if the veterinarian deems severe enough is by surgical closure, often concurrent to the time of spay or neuter.

Want more information on hernias? See my blog here;
https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/2019/05/cryptorchid-neuter-canine-what-happens.html

Both boys had neuters and umbilical hernia repairs by me, at my clinic, Jarrettsville Veterinary Center. They did very well with surgery and recovery.
The cost of their care was;
anesthesia $125
neuter $100
hernia repair $75
medical pet shirt to protect umbilical incision $25
e-collar $16
NSAID post op and pre surgical $13

total for each dog was $357

This story and photos are posted with the parents permission