Any vets here? Question about hernia and neutering

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Hi, my parents have just got an 8 week old cocker spaniel puppy. He had his first vet check up today and they were told that he has a small hernia and suggested that it should be removed when he is neutered. My parents tell me that they were planning not to neuter (not sure why not as they won’t be using him to breed) but the vet told them if they didn’t repair it during neutering then it would be far more expensive to fix, around £600. Can anyone tell why this would be the case? I appreciate repairing it whilst neutering is cheaper as they will already be paying for general anaesthetic etc but why would it cost around three times more if doing the hernia alone?

Also does anyone have experience of a puppy with a hernia, it doesn’t seem to be bothering the dog but he is their first dog so they are naturally anxious.

Get him neutered, and get the hernia removed whilst he's being neutered. Everything your vet has said is correct. Getting your dog neutered is just being a responsible pet owner.

Thanks, I appreciate this is probably the correct advice but I’d like to understand the cost differential. As it happens my own vet recommended I didn’t castrate my own dog as he’s quite fearful so the advice can differ.

I'm a vet. I usually advise neutering males as they can be a pain with marking their territory (urinating on everything), and once this behaviour is learnt, it usually remains even after neutering. It can also be a hassle if they are after females on heat, and perhaps it is nicer not to have constant sexual urges you aren't allowed to fulfil?

But I respect an owner's decision not to neuter a male dog as the health benefits are less clear cut than with a female.

The costs quoted are a bit odd. Neutering does tend to be a loss leader to attract new clients, so this price may be lower than for other ops of a similar skill level. To me, £600 to repair a small hernia sounds a lot but it depends where you live. Some small hernias would be fine without repair. Perhaps seek a second opinion locally?

Thank you @LittleCabbage this is really helpful. I’ll suggest they get a second opinion, they are also contacting the breeder as he already had his first vaccination and this doesn’t appear to have been picked up by the previous vet.

We have a pup with a small umbilical hernia and it doesn't bother her at all. You can't really see it, it just tends to pop out now and then depending which way she lies. We rarely see it now and actually think it's getting smaller on its own which I believe can happen (or maybe it's just that pup is growing so much it appears to be smaller). We got two opinions and spoke to the breeder's vet. None were at all concerned and just suggested we get it fixed when pup is spayed so that's the plan. She's 4 months at the moment so still a while to go but thankfully not causing any issues for now. We didn't get a price for dealing with it separately so can't shed any light on the price you were given I'm afraid.

Thanks @Coffeeanscakee I’m glad to hear the hernia isn’t causing any problems for your puppy. It seems hernias are perhaps more common than I realised and maybe not such a cause for concern. I think my parents have decided on reflection that neutering is probably the best option now but we may check in with costs elsewhere to get a second opinion. Thanks for replying and all the best to you and pup.

Neutering is usually heavily subsidised by vets to encourage animal health & population control, the anaesthetic alone in our clinic is the same cost as a neuter without adding on surgical time & materials needed to close the hernia. Hence hernia fix alone would be far more expensive even though it might seem a small op. Hernias are largely thought to be hereditary so neutering at same time to save passing on is a good idea -his might be small but his progeny may not be so lucky.

And having said if it’s a tiny one with no risk of gut entrapment I would not worry about rushing to fix it, many dogs have small ones with no issues.