An enlargement of the navel, often met with in puppies, and may be simply an expansion of the same, or cicatrice. Navel hernia is the protrusion of a portion of the intestine - the membraneous covering of the bowels. It may be caused by extra strain at birth on the umbilical cord, or the tongue of the mother may extend the wound. It is a soft, movable tumor over the navel, varying in size, and most prominent when the stomach and bowels are full. I have seen it occur in puppies, but so slight that I did not do anything for them, it doing no harm, and only leaving a small lump that was never noticed as they grew up, the hair on the belly hiding it. In treating puppies for it, wait till they are weaned and separated from their mother, or she will, with her tongue, remove or displace the application. Now take the puppy in the morning, before his breakfast, when bowels are empty, lay him on his back on your lap, and place over the enlargement a pad of vulcanized India rubber or cork, tapered, the smaller end being applied on the tumor after it has been pressed in, and the pad secured by strips of white leather smeared with warm pitch plaster, well stuck to the belly so pup can not scratch it off with its feet. A cure can be effected in a few weeks if the pad is kept in place.

Here is a case that was prescribed for by Dent:

"My pointer puppy, ten weeks old, strong and healthy, has a rupture right under its belly, near the ribs and about the size of a very large pea.

Will it have any bad effect on the dog after being cured? Please prescribe. Ans. - These navel ruptures frequently disappear with age and seldom cause any inconvenience. If you want to operate on the rupture, lay the dog on his back, pinch the skin up over the opening in the walls of the abdomen and pass two pins through at right angles to each other, being careful not to puncture the intestines; then tie a silk cord around the skin between the body and the pins and allow it to stay there until it sloughs off."