Though unsightly, canine oral papilloma usually isn't considered painful or uncomfortable.
That is, not unless they interfere with chewing or swallowing or should they become infected.
Diagnosis is most often achieved through simple visual identification of wart-like masses in the mouth of a young dog..
These growths tend to have a distinctive, cauliflower-like appearance, with a rough, pebbly surface texture.
They're typically pink or gray in color and are usually longer — or more protrusive — than they are wide.
Dog warts caused by CPV-1 typically occur in clusters..
Symptoms of Dog Warts
Warts on dogs often look like a small head of cauliflower, but other, rarer types do exist, including an inverted papilloma (usually a firm lump with a dot in the middle) and dark, scaly plaques of skin that have an irregular surface..
Cytology is often used to diagnose growths or masses (tumors) found on the surface of the body, but can also be used to assess bodily fluids, internal organs (e.g., liver, lung, lymph nodes, kidney), and abnormal fluids that may accumulate, especially in the chest and abdomen..
Dog warts are called "canine papillomavirus." These bumps seem to crop up practically overnight and can spread quickly.
They're usually found on the lips and in the mouth, but can also appear on the eyelids, throat, or paws—especially between the toes..
a) Papillomas appear cytologically as normal squamous epithelium with variable amounts of stromal elements.
In the dog, oral papillomas are usually seen in young animals (\x26lt;1 year).
They are usually multiple, and may spontaneously regress..
In dogs, there are 3 kinds of warts.
The first is canine mucous membrane papillomatosis, which primarily affects young dogs.
Multiple warts appear on mucous membranes in the mouth from the lips to (occasionally) the esophagus and on the eyelid and adjacent haired skin.
When the mouth is severely affected, chewing and swallowing is difficult.
In humans, anti-viral doses of interferon have been used to treat severe cases of warts, and this treatment is also available for severely infected dogs though it is costly and yields inconsistent results.
Basal cells lie at the base of the top layer of the skin (the epidermis).
A benign growth of these cells is a basal cell tumor.
A malignant growth is a basal cell carcinoma.
Basal cell tumors are common in dogs and most are benign.
Canine basal cell tumors most commonly develop in middle-aged to older dogs.
