My dog has a hole in his stomach. Should I take him to the vet?

Yes you should be very concerned - she needs urgent veterinary assessment to investigate the depth of the wound and the extent of the injury. Surgical cleaning and repair of the wound may be required alongside antibiotics and pain medications. If the wound is deep this may be lifethreatening as her vital organs may become exposed

Oh that does look awful! Unfortunately to me, that looks like a growth, not a sore, and this is not something you can treat at home. Ace absolutely needs to see a vet. I would be concerned that this could be a malignant tumor, which is a possibility given that he is almost 10 years old. I would not delay in getting him into the vet since it keeps getting worse, call the vet today to make an appointment for the next day or two. Best of luck.

I am very sorry to hear about your labrador. It sounds like he needs to have diagnostic imaging (x-rays or preferably ultrasound) performed to examine the abdominal cavity, or if that is not an option, an exploratory surgery may be needed. I would be concerned about a large abscess or a tumor that had a cystic or abscessed area, but truly to determine the cause and whether or not treatment will be helpful further investigation is needed.

Hello, sorry to hear about Lucky. It’s very difficult to tell If she have a hole in her stomach. Options include doing an endoscopy or surgery. However, an abdominal X-ray could indicate if there is evidence of free gas in the abdominal cavity which would be most consistent with a perforarion. If lucky continues to do unwell, then she should be evaluated by her veterinarian again to make sure she does not have a perforartion. Hope this helps and best of luck

Unfortunately, Spot really should be seen by a veterinarian. If it is an abscess, that is one serious infection that needs to be addressed. It could also be a severe hernia. The swelling may be caused by loops of bowel that have slipped through a defect in the muscle wall. This will require surgery to repair. If left untreated, it is possible the bowel could become twisted or strangulated which would be an emergency and potentially life threatening.

Oh my. That is definitely something that should have been seen if she was monitored for a few hours. Poor girl. I am so sorry, but I would highly recommend taking Holly in to an ER vet to have them look at this gaping hole closer to determine if this is going all the way through to the abdomen or has the potential to in the near future Also they need to start antibiotics right away and potentially close this area surgically with a drain in place, so it doesn't abscess. I am so sorry you are in this situation, but the best course of action here is to get Holly seen by a vet right away for proper wound management, before this turns into something more serious. Flushing this with betadine diluted 50;50 with warm water is ok to do tonight, if you can't get her in until the morning. Here is a website link that can provide you with ER vets in your area. http://www.vetlocator.com/hotline.php I hope that your fur baby Holly heals up soon! Best of luck and take care.

What you describe that your vet said is an abdominal hernia. It is a small hole in the muscles that hole the guts inside the body and allows loops of small intestine or other organs to fall through. That is quite possible. Another possibility would be a large, fatty tumor (lipoma) or other tumor. The only way to know for sure is to do diagnostics and an exam with a vet. In any case, I would recommend getting it fixed. If there are intestines in there, they are at risk of reduced blood supply, which would require emergency surgery. If it is a tumor, even a benign one, it can continue to get larger and outgrow its blood supply, again requiring extensive surgery. The wounds on the mass right now are likely caused from normal movement and Karat simply laying down on it. It is a reason I recommend having it dealt with now before things get worse.