Warts in Dogs

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Warts in dogs are usually harmless and in some cases may disappear on there own over time. If they do not disappear, but remain the same size and color, they are also harmless in most cases.

However, if they start to grow and ulcerate, your dog may be developing a problem. If the wart is located on your dogs lip or their eyelid and it starts to turn black, there is no longer a maybe in the equation; they now have a real problem.

If the wart turns black, it could be a malignant form of melanoma, which is skin cancer, and if it is not immediately checked by your veterinarian and removed, it could become a fatal situation for your dog.

Types:

There are two basic types of warts in dogs; warts that affect older dogs, and than the type that affects younger dogs. In older dogs, a wart may occur anywhere on their body but most typically they will develop on their feet around the toes, or on their abdomen. They will start out small in shape and may stay that way, or they may start to grow over an extended period of time. In most all cases, these types of warts in dogs are harmless and are not contagious at all to other dogs. The only time they have to be treated or removed is if they start to cause your dog discomfort or grow.

However, there are always exceptions, as they can become infected. Once infected, they may become cancerous. If the wart starts to cause discomfort, it is usually growing and is starting to interfere with your dogs movements, especially on their feet. You should watch these warts very closely and if they are growing, change shape in any way, or become even slightly infected, it is time to have your veterinarian look at them and remove them.

The second form of a warts in dogs will appear in dogs two years or younger, and this type is contagious. They are spread between dogs by physical contact when they greet or lick each other. They are a form of virus that is referred to as pavavirus, but should not be confused with parvovirus, as it are no where near that severe.

Because of their young age, the immune system is not fully powered as of yet and their system responds to this virus rather weakly, and this can easily trigger a wart to start to grow.

This type of wart will be light colored and resemble a cauliflower in appearance, and generally affects your young dogs face, tongue, lips, or the inside of their mouth. They can, however, also affect the eyelids. These warts, because they are a reaction caused by the immune system, will almost always disappear on their own once the system firmly understands how to defeat this virus.

However, they may start to interfere with your dogs ability to properly eat or drink, and if they do, they run the risk of becoming infected. If this occurs, you will need to have them removed.

There are some other issues that will be very helpful in understanding warts is dogs. If they are small and the same color as their skin, they will almost always resemble a very tiny finger. These types of warts are in most every case benign and are nothing to worry about, but you still have them checked just to make sure.

If they start to grow, everything has changed. If they become darker than the skin and start to turn black, it has now become an extremely serious situation as it could be melanoma.

Symptoms:

Warts in dogs will show you a series of symptoms if you understand what to watch for. The first sign that you will see that your dog may be developing warts is your pet licking or biting them selves. They may also start to drool and develop excessive salivation simply because there is something foreign that they are not used to.

If it is an older dog and the warts are starting to grow, you may also see your dog begin to limp as the result of the interference. If they have become infected, you may also see bleeding around their feet. Oral bleeding may also occur in young dogs, but there is one very telling symptom that they have warts; halitosis. Halitosis, or bad breath, especially if your dog has not had bad breath in the past, signals this condition especially if infection is developing.

Treatments:

There are very successful treatments for warts in dogs, both conventional as well as natural forms.

With the viral form that affects young dogs, treatments are usually not needed unless they are starting to change shape and grow. In this case, surgery will be done to remove the wart completely as well as a process called cryosurgery. This is a surgery that is done by applying liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold and it totally destructs and eliminates warts immediately by killing the cells.

Another surgical treatment that sounds extremely painful but in reality is not is the physical crushing process of the wart. This has been done will a lot of success as it stimulates younger dogs immune system immediately to react. As a result, the wart will usually disappear within 48 hours.

There are also several natural treatments that you can do to help eliminate warts in dogs. Because most forms are harmless in the long run, many owners will choose natural treatments instead of surgery. The first method is to take a liquid form of Vitamin E and puncture the tablet, and than apply the liquid directly on your dogs wart. Do this a couple of times a day for about ten days, and the wart should start to gradually disappear.

Another option is to use Castor oil and apply it with a cotton swab on your dogs wart, usually when they are ready to go to sleep. This treatment has been used for hundreds of years worldwide. It takes longer than Vitamin E in most cases, but it is very successful.

Another natural treatment is to soak apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball on place it directly on the wart. If you can, place some surgical tape over it. Your dog may try to take it off, but surgical tape usually holds firmly, even on dogs.

Wellness kits for dogs

Summary:

Warts in dogs are generally not a real harm unless they start to grow and change shape. In most every case, they are the result of a weak immune system or a developing immune system.

Vitamins E, Castor oil, and apple cider vinegar are all natural treatment options, but the best overall form of treatment is building and than maintaining your pet immune system with the proper diet and supplements.