A Jupiter Sized Belly Button

By Kay Hisano | Dated March 10, 2025

Meet Jupiter, a bouncy 15 week old Finnish Laphund with an extra special belly button—or should we say, an ultimate outie! Jupiter came to visit us for a check-up, and his owners had noticed a rather large, squishy bump right where his belly button would be.

Turns out, Jupiter had an umbilical hernia—a condition where the tummy wall doesn’t fully close after birth, leaving a little (or in his case, big!) opening. This meant some soft tissue from his belly was poking through, making him look like he had a permanent big belly button outie.

Umbilical hernias are often detected when puppies come in for their puppy vaccinations. While some small hernias can be left until the time of desexing, Jupiter’s was a bit too large to leave unchecked. Left alone, it could have led to complications. We scheduled him for a quick hernia repair surgery to close up the gap for good. The procedure went smoothly, and Jupiter is on the road to recovery.

If your pup has a mystery bump on their belly button, don’t worry—umbilical hernias are common, just bring them in for a check-up.