Canine viral papillomatosis sounds like a very concerning illness; however, it is the technical description of warts.
What are warts?
Warts are a benign type of tumour of the skin. They can be singular or multiple and can occur anywhere on a dog’s body. Warts are generally caused by viruses. There are numerous types of virus which each cause a slightly different presentation of warts in different areas of the body. Warts are very common in dogs and for the most part are not serious or problematic.Â
How do dogs get warts?
Warts, or canine papillomas, are caused by certain types of virus. Dogs contract the virus when they come into contact with another infected dog. Canine papilloma viruses can survive for extended periods in the environment and can therefore be spread on objects such as bedding or toys.
Young dogs with immature immune systems or dogs with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to more significant infections where large numbers of warts develop. The virus usually gains entry to the dog’s skin through a wound or bite. After coming into contact with an infected dog it takes one to two months for a wart to develop. While dog to dog transmission of the virus occurs, fortunately it cannot spread to humans or other animals.
What do warts look like?
A typical canine wart looks like a small cauliflower head. It has a stalk leading to a rough textured growth. Sometimes the lesions are hard scaly plaques; others can be hard inward growing masses. They are commonly found on the dog’s face, but can be found on the neck, feet or anywhere else on the body.
Are viral papillomas dangerous?
No, generally canine warts regress and resolve without requiring treatment. This is because the dog’s immune system responds to the virus. Usually within three months the wart will be starting to regress and shrink.
What treatment is needed for my dog’s wart?
The first step if you find a new growth on your dog is to book an appointment with your vet. Your vet may suspect the growth is a wart based on its appearance; however, if it looks suspicious your vet might advise testing to check what type of growth it is. This could involve your vet taking a small sample using a needle and sending this off to the laboratory, or surgical removal and testing.
If the growth is a suspected wart then monitoring for a period of time to check it is regressing may be all that is needed. Keep an eye on the wart and monitor closely for any problems or changes. If the wart seems to grow or look significantly different it would be prudent to seek advice from your vet.
Are canine warts troublesome or painful?
On the whole warts do not cause problems for dogs. However, if they occur in large numbers, as sometimes happens in young dogs (for example in the mouth) they can be problematic. In the case of a dog with large numbers of warts in the mouth or other area of the body treatment may be required.
Treatment can include antiviral medications; however, medication is usually only used in severe cases of oral papillomas. The most typical scenario is a dog with a singular or very small number of warts. Occasionally warts may bleed or become infected, in which case treatment may be needed to resolve this.
If a wart persistently bleeds your vet may advise removal. On the whole a wart will not bother your dog or cause any pain. Rarely if it occurs in an easy to reach area such as a leg the dog may lick or bite at the area. It is important to discourage this to avoid problems such as irritation and infection.
Can I prevent my dog getting warts?
There is no reliable way of ensuring your dog won’t come into contact with a canine papilloma virus. As these viruses are very common and can survive outside the dog in the environment for extended periods it is virtually impossible to prevent infection. If a dog has a large number of warts (such as large numbers of oral papilloma) it would be sensible to limit its close contact with other dogs until the warts have regressed. However, in general given warts are not serious and in the majority of cases resolve without needing treatment no special care is needed.
Discussion
My puppy who hasn’t had all his shots yet has a wart on his chin, should I be worried?
Probably not, although I would advise getting the vet to check at his next vaccine appointment, just in case it’s not a wart but something else.
Advice has been to keep a dog with warts away from other dogs until the warts resolve so they don’t spread it to other dogs… Is that because the wart itself is how it spreads? Do other dogs have to come into contact with the wart itself, or is this a virus that spreads through the air or water droplets? I’m wondering if my dog has the wart removed, is she then immediately able to interact with other dogs again, or would she still need to wait because technically her immune system is still trying to clear the virus? Thanks!
The wart is a response to the viruses, and of course it does depend exactly which of the many different causative agents is involved. In general, though, because of the range of transmission routes from the infected dogs and survival in the environment, trying to stop other dogs catching it if they come into contact is almost impossible! However, in more specific answer to your question, the best odds to prevent spreading would be to wait for the 3 month regression period whether or not the wart is removed, as at this point, the viral load is likely to be as low as possible.
Our 15yr old black female Doxie has had warts for awhile which the vet called old lady warts but they are popping up every everywhere . She has kidney disease abd on antibiotics again for a UTI. We wash blankets abd bedding and our last 11 year old male Doxie died 6 months ago of cushings amd diabetes. I wish there was an antiviral for her.sge us starting to lick them.
Gayle our 15 year old doxie has warts all over and I am really concerned, my vet keeps pooh poohing them. Her sister passed from SARDS which id often mistaken for cushing disease. I am thinking of trying probiotics/allergy medicine for the warts- desperate at this point
Warts in dogs aren’t usually serious, and can be mistaken for other conditions – but not often! However, if you’re not happy with your vet’s approach, you could ask for a second opinion – or get a referral to a dermatology specialist for an expert opinion?
I’m not aware of any treatment with a very high success rate, but if you’re concerned about the risk of misdiagnosis, then you could also ask your vet to biopsy one of them to confirm that it is in fact a wart and not anything else.
Good luck!
My 9 year old jrt.cocker rat terrier mix has ever increasing dog warts..dhould i have them removed
I’ve never been a great fan of removing warts unless they’re causing a problem (like getting infected or rubbing), but it’s probably something that you need to talk to your own vet about, especially in terms of why they’re getting loads of them!
great info. my 9 whelk old mini poodle has been licking and biting his foot. today i noticed a little lump similar to a wart between his toes….should i be worried?
Itchy toes can be a sign of allergies, but in conjunction with a lump in a pup of that age, I’d be a bit worried he’s got something stuck into his food, like a grass seed or other foreign body. I’d strongly advise a vet check to make sure it isn’t anything serious, and to see if there’s something that needs removing before it can fester.
My year old hound-lab mix recently got a lump on his leg that looks kind of like a work but I’m not sure and it doesn’t seem to bother him until recently he just started licking it and stuff where can I find pictures of different kind of lumps on dogs so I can try to figure out what it is?
Don’t rely on Dr Google to diagnose lumps!
A wide range of different clinical conditions can result in very very similar looking masses: this is why you need a vet to diagnose, who has been formally trained in not just what they look like, but in all the other factors and considerations involved. And even then, for a formal diagnosis, you may need a quick needle biopsy.
A good example are the two conditions histiocytoma and cutaneous mast cell tumour. These usually look identical and are common in dogs of this age. However, one is benign and will usually go away on its own in 3-4 months; the other is a highly malignant cancer and in that time will have spread to other organs and potentially become untreatable and terminal.
So if your dog has a lump – see your vet!
We adopted 2 newborn puppies that were found by the side of the road, as they matured both started getting warts on their bodies. We squeezed one and puss came out and quickly refilled. Our other dogs don’t have anything.
my corgi had little cysts over his body i would squeeze and what looked like cream cheese came out, sebaceous cysts, per my vet.
Yes, they can be quite nasty to look at can’t they! The advice now would be to avoid squeezing them (however satisfying…) as it can cause inflammation and even scarring.
That’s very odd… true warts wouldn’t contain pus, making me wonder if there’s something else going on. Definitely time for the vet, although unless that’s something that’s common in your local area that I’ve never come across or heard of over here, you might need a referral to a veterinary dermatologist to get to the bottom of it!
My 12 yr old Shih Tzu has them and seems to deal with them better than us, primarily because they are either bothering him or in a place he’s unaware of. He does have one on his left leg and he’s licking it. Is there something I can use, that won’t harm him if he licks it?
I’d suggest getting it checked over to make sure that there isn’t anything else triggering this attention – because if he has underlying arthritis (for example), that could be attracting his attention to that spot, where he then finds the wart.
However, I’m no a great fan of putting repellent creams etc on warts and lumps – in many cases, they seem to just encourage licking or bothering. It might be worth having a chat with your vet about cryosurgery to “freeze off” the wart, and resolve the underlying issue.
My multi-Pooh is nine years old four years ago he started to get warts all over his body we had it surgically removed by my vet they told me that once they’re gone they will never come back again. It started to come back A year and a half ago he has 12 already The two main ones is on his side of his face and the other one is on his tail that he keeps scratching so now I have to keep a cone on his head I spent $1200 to have it remove but all of them came back I can’t afford doing it again any advice that I can do now please help???
It might be worth having a chat with your vet about getting one of them tested to make sure they actually are warts, as normally those DON’T come back once removed. You could also discuss cryosurgery, as that’s a less invasive (and usually cheaper) procedure.
My 12 yr old chocolate lab has quite a few warts. My vet told me they change shape or size, or if it is affecting his ability to eat or drink. Then bring him in so they can remove the ones that are giving him trouble. Are they correct.
That would certainly be reasonable and common veterinary advice, yes – true warts aren’t generally a health issue. However, if you’re concerned, it would be best to talk to your vet, or arrange a second opinion from someone who can examine your dog!
My Coton, going on 13, and being treated for heart failure with Vet Med, is getting an increasing number of watts. My vet advised against removal. The problem is that he licks one on the front foot, and one on the back foot. You can see blood. Previously, I was rubbing one on his tail, and he enjoyed the rubbing. Later that day, we noticed a fair amount of blood on our carpets and bedding. It came from the spot I was rubbing. We got painter’s tarps, to cover our new furniture and new carpeting. Problems to watch for.
I’d definitely have another chat with the vet, as if he’s licking them enough to make them bleed, that does suggest they are bothering him. It might be that a simple “debulking” could be done under local anaesthetic, which is much safer, or there may be a medical option the vet could explore.
Can I tie a string around it?
It’s not generally a good idea – warts aren’t usually a problem and ligations increase the risk of infection and other complications.
My dog has numerous warts coming up all over her. What can be done about them? They are not going away!
If lots are coming up all of a sudden I’d check with your vet as to whether they are just warts, or something more sinister. If they are warts, though, there’s not a lot – they can be frozen or surgically removed, but as they rarely cause a problem we don’t tend to worry about them too much.
My York is has a wart on side of mouth vet said she can remove very expensive anything else I can do to remove w
I wouldn’t advise any home remedies or treatment – they can easily make the problem much worse. If it’s bothering your dog, have a chat with the vet about other options such as ligation, which may debulk the lesion and stop it causing a problem.
My dog has many warts they itch What can I do to help her. She is eleven years old
It might be worth talking to your vet about cryosurgery, and also double checking that they are actually warts and not something more serious – warts don’t usually itch that much (although they do occasionally) so I’d suggest that as your next step – good luck!
Our 10 year old yolkie has warts all over his body Our Vet.said there nothing we can do for him.They just keep coming.
It’s not uncommon in a dog of that age!
Question: could I use wart removal freezing on my dogs wart?
I’d advise against it for three reasons. Firstly, human wart remover products aren’t licensed for use in dogs, and their use is strictly illegal. Secondly, no testing for safety has been done, and there’s a much higher risk of toxicity or side effects in dogs than humans. but most importantly, is it really just a benign wart (which is fairly uncommon in dogs) or is it something else such as a tumour that needs different treatment?
My advice is – don’t and always talk to your vet before attempting home surgery.
Thank you