Canine Oral Papilloma Virus:
5 Facts About Oral Dog Warts

What a papilloma is

A papilloma is a fancy term (a medical term, really) for a benign wart. They're not pretty, and they grow in some very inconvenient places, but oral dog warts aren't always cause for alarm. Nearly every dog meets the canine papilloma virus at some point. Only some of them go on to grow these rough, cauliflower-like warts, sometimes round, more often lumpy and odd-shaped.

Papilloma growths usually stop growing and disappear on their own somewhere between one and five months. They tend to arrive in clusters, mostly in the mouth, sometimes around the nose or eyes, and once in a while elsewhere on the body. The one place to watch closely is the throat: growths collecting there can get dangerous.

What it isn't
(and when to call the vet)

If a growth just keeps growing, or if it turns into (or starts out as) an open sore, get a vet's eyes on it right away. Not every lump in a dog's mouth is a papilloma, and that's the one worth ruling out first.

Because they live around the mouth, papillomas also get chewed on, irritated, and sometimes infected, and then they can look like an open sore themselves. There are gentle topical options for an irritated wart. A quick call with us will help you tell which of the two you're looking at.

Who gets it

No breed or bloodline is more prone to the papilloma virus than another. This virus doesn't discriminate. But every dog who actually develops the growths has one thing in common: an immune system that isn't keeping up.

That mostly means three groups: puppies and young dogs, seniors, and dogs on immune-suppressing medication like steroids.

Young dogs, under two or so, are still building their immune systems. Age and its aches wear an older dog's down. And plenty of common medications knock the immune system back far enough that fending off an outbreak gets hard, sometimes impossible.

Are dog warts contagious?

The virus travels by direct contact, mostly saliva: other dogs, their toys, shared water bowls, and even your hands, if you've just been petting a dog who carries it. It goes (almost) without saying that if your dog has picked up this virus, it's best not to let him frolic with other dogs at the dog park for now.

And other dogs are the only ones you need to worry about. This virus is dog-specific. You can't catch it. Neither can your cat, or bird, or ferret, or anyone who isn't a dog. (The longer answer is its own guide: Can Dog Warts Spread? →)

What to do about it

The best way through is a strong, healthy immune system. Remember, papilloma is a virus, like a cold or the flu, and in time the body finds its own way past it. Left entirely to itself, that can take up to six months. The idea is to help it along.

If your mother ever made you chicken soup when you were sick, the same idea applies here. Give the body natural support for its own fight against the virus (that's exactly what the Wart Support Program is built to do), and then keep going afterward, so the immune system rebuilds and holds. What's in the bowl matters here too. A lot of popular dog foods carry very little real nutrition, so read the ingredients and find one that actually feeds your dog. Our recommended foods list is here.

Not sure what you're looking at? Tell us where the growths are and how fast they're moving. Book a free consultation →