• A perineal hernia may appear as swelling on either or both sides of your dog’s anus. Depending on how much tissue is herniated, it may even push the rectum to one side. The swelling is usually soft and can be reduced with pressure.

• Dogs with perineal hernias often repeatedly strain as if to defecate, they may have difficulty passing stools and may become constipated.

• If the bladder has become herniated, they may also strain to pass urine, have urinary incontinence, or be unable to urinate. In severe cases, such as when the intestine has herniated or if bladder herniation has caused inability to pass urine, dogs will become lethargic and stop eating. Any compromise to the blood supply of the bladder or intestine could be life-threatening.

When your dog has any of the above symptoms.

A rectal examination will confirm the defect in the muscular wall and allow examination of the prostate gland. Abdominal radiographs and ultrasound are required to evaluate the contents of the abdominal cavity and hernia. Ultrasonography will further assess the health of the prostate gland. Blood and urine tests are usually required to evaluate the general health status of the patient. Cases with hernia of the bladder can present as emergencies and require urgent treatment.

• If the clinical signs associated with a perineal hernia are minimal, medical treatment is an option but is rarely successful in controlling the clinical signs long term. Non-surgical management would include a high fiber/moist diet, stool softeners, and manual removal of impacted feces.

• Perineal hernia surgery for dogs is the treatment of choice. As hormonal changes in the older intact dog have been shown to be associated with development of perineal hernia, castration is necessary for all intact males because of the testosterone influence on the prostate and muscles around the anus - without castration, perineal hernia will recur.

• During dog perineal hernia repair, specific muscles of the pelvic floor are sutured together to repair the defect. Frequently, the repair is re-enforced with a local muscle flap.

With effective surgical intervention, the prognosis is very good. Although there is a risk of recurrence, controlling the straining and neutering of affected dogs significantly reduces this risk. Uncommon complications of surgery include infection and incision breakdown, fecal incontinence and nerve damage.

Over 90% of cases receiving surgical repair using a combined technique and castration, resolve following the surgery. Complications are numerous but only occur in a minority of cases. Most of these complications are treatable and often resolve in 4-6 weeks. Recurrence of perineal hernia can occur in a number of cases, and it is usually due to surgical technique or failure to identify and treat any underlying disease process that contributed to the perineal hernia.