Canine Warts
Currently in the Pittsburgh area there is a canine virus being spread – and most dog businesses are not taking it seriously. Canine warts are highly contaigious, but many daycare and boarding facilities are not requesting or requireing affected dogs to stay quarrantined, which is the vet-recommended practice.
Who is at risk? Any dog, any age, any breed and sex can get them. Any dog that has warts can share them with any other dog. According to Healthypets.com, the 3 high risk groups are: young dogs, older dogs, and immunosuppressed dogs.
How do they spread? Most of the time, contact with another dog is the largest means of transfer. However, they can also be passed by insect bite, cuts, scrapes, or at any point of inflammation. Because the wart is caused by a virus, what starts out as one wart can often turn into many.
What do they look like? There are several looks for warts: small, flesh colored bumps and cauliflower-shaped nodules are most common.
Where do warts normally appear? They usually show up around a dog’s mouth, lips, tongue, near eyes, feet, and genital areas.
Are they contagious to humans? No, Petwave.com says “they aren’t contagious between dogs and people.”
Do they hurt my dog? Most dog’s seem to show little discomfort, but they can be irritating around the eyes, mouth and feet. If your dog is scratching, licking or biting at an area, check it out and see what is causing him to do so – it may be a wart. If a wart becomes infected because of scratching, licking or biting, other serious medical conditions can result and the wart may need to be surgically removed.
Treatment: If you find any suspicious spots, bumps, rashes etc on your dog, you should get them checked out by your veteranarian. Treatment may include freezing the wart, removing it surgically, or letting it go away with time. This can vary depending on the size and location of the wart, as well as if it seems to be irritating your dog.
Prevention of spreading: There is no way to prevent dogs from developing warts. But pet owners should be diligent once they find one on their pet. Do not to take animals with warts to doggy daycare, dog parks, or groomers because the viruses that cause warts are very contagious. Instead, be sure to still provide ample exercise with your dog at home, but limit interactions with otherdogs until your pet has no signs of the virus.
If you take your dog to daycare or boarding facilities ask them what their policies are if they notice a dog with a wart.
RESOURCES:
– PetMD.com
– Healthy Pets.com
– Dog Health Guide
– Organic-pet-digest.com
– Petwave.com