All About Warts on Dogs

by AmazonCARES

All About Warts on Dogs

Warts on dogs are contagious, if your dog has warts or if you see your dog interact with a dog that has warts, you should take action.  Warts are caused by a viral infection, the medical term for a wart is epidermis tumor.  There are two types of warts that dogs are prone to:  The more common type is what old dogs typically suffer from.  Such warts are not often a cause for consternation, unless they suddenly get much bigger, if they don’t which is usually the case, they are benign.  However, a young dog with warts can be alarming; warts in a young dog can escalate into a serious health concern.

The medical term for the condition that causes wart infections in young dogs is Canine viral papilloma.  These warts can be passed to other dogs through physical contact.  This infection produces cauliflower shaped warts that are quite small.  Typically, they are found on the dog’s tongue, muzzle, lips and eyelids.  They can occasionally be found near the vulva or the rectum.  Warts tend to appear two months after the dog contracts the infection.

In most cases Canine viral papilloma warts are not too serious, when infected, older dogs tend to have them longer; young dogs with stronger immune systems usually beat the infection sooner.  Some cases do get worse though, to the point where a dog’s eating or breathing can actually be impaired.  Here are other symptoms of Canine viral papilloma:

1. Bad breath (Halitosis).

2. Too much salivating or drooling

3. Bleeding orally.

Diagnosis

Papillomas warts are pathognomonic and distinct which essentially means that the warts confirm the disease, and no further tests are needed. However, they do need to know the severity of the infection, which is why two tests are still administered, these are:

Complete Blood Count (CBC) – Usually done when a dog’s appetite has been affected or there is a perceptible deterioration in the dog’s health in general.
 Surgical Biopsy- Usually done only in extreme cases

Treatment

Typically no treatment is required for this condition, and the warts will disappear without intervention.  Treatment is required though when the warts make the dog excessively uncomfortable, in some cases, the owners ask that the warts be removed.

Wart Removal

There are 3 ways to remove the warts:

Surgical- Either electrocautery and cryosurgery can be used to remove warts.  Electrocautery uses lasers, cryosurgery uses liquid nitrogen.
Crushing the Warts- Simple and crude, this usually triggers and immune response from the dog’s body, often enough to beat the disease.
Systemic Chemotherapy- When all treatments fail, this is a last resort, it is an effective one though.

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Tagged with: about • Dogs' • Warts.

Filed under: Canine Cancer

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