Just like other pretty days, you wake up to your little furry friend cuddled around you but with a tiny cauliflower-like structure adding weight to their body parts. The obvious concern might cloud you and you might run straight to Google typing in “How to get rid of warts on dogs?”.
So here we are sharing our bit to help you snuff out the worries.
Now before you read any further, knowing that this doesn’t pain your dog will definitely give you a sigh of relief. These cauliflower-like soft growths on your furry pets can rarely be serious but still are worth your attention.
These odd skin growths are medically termed Papillomas and caused by a virus called Papillomavirus. This virus can be transmitted through any type of direct contact but you shall be all relaxed as this virus is zoonotic, which means it cannot jump from your pet to you.
Now that we’ve perceived a basic knowledge of Papillomas, let’s read further to know how to get rid of warts on dogs.
What are Warts?
Dog warts are fleshy rough-textured odd growths that are caused due to a virus called Papillomavirus. This is a type of virus that surfaces overnight and can spread swiftly. The fact that may amaze you is that these warts prefer cropping up on certain body parts and soft tissues such as lips, tongues, gums, and between the toes varying in shape, size, and numbers.
Though the virus is zoonotic and cannot affect humans, it can spread swiftly from one dog to another who shares any kind of direct contact like drinking/eating in the same bowl, greeting, or playing with each other’s toys. The virus travel occurs through an opening, break, or thin skin.
Is my Dog Prone to Warts?
A wart on your dog may look different because of the type of canine papillomavirus your furry friend has been exposed to, where the most common type of dog warts will affect its mouth.
The fact that warts are common and in the major cases are not serious or taxing will have sought solace for you. Before you look for the solutions to your brain reiterating “how to get rid of warts on dogs”, learn about why is your dog getting unwanted flesh pieces on their bodies.
Broadly, three groups of dogs are prone to the risk of Papillomas:
- Dogs with the suppressed immune system: If your dog has been on immunosuppressive drugs (such as glucocorticoids) for some reason, there’s a high possibility that it may fall at the risk line of experiencing a flare-up of the virus.
- Older Dogs: Warts can be an official sign that your little furry boo is now getting old.Old dogs can get warts as an effect of aging. Though, when biopsied, they may turn out to be the most common benign growths called sebaceous adenomas. And experts suggest you not get these removed unless they are routinely bleeding or bothering your pet. Old dog warts can be a gauge on how ably their immune system is working.
- Younger Dogs: It is natural you consuming a lot of stuff on “How to get rid of warts on dogs” to help your little fluffy munchkin unload the extra flesh off their bodies.
Younger dogs under the age of two are more prone to warts because of their underdeveloped immune system. To dump warts on the younger ones, you just need to sit back, relax and let your dog grow old as with the maturing immune system, it produces antibodies against Papillomas and warts disappear eventually.
How to get rid of Warts on Dogs?
For the most, warts need no treatment. Generally, the cases of canine Papillomas go away on their own as your young puppy develops its immune system. Dogs can fight off the virus within 2-4 months. However, you’ll have to look for the dog warts treatment if the wart becomes infected and painful for the dog.
Here, we have listed the best natural and vet regulated dog warts treatment for you:
Natural Remedies to get rid of Dog Warts
- Vitamin E: Regular application of Vitamin E for 2-3 weeks can significantly reduce the size of warts. The process is as simple as puncturing a gel capsule and dropping the gel directly on the warts to see effective results soon.
- Castor Oil: Castor oil can magically treat your dog’s warts by softening them. Apply the oil with sterilized fingers or a cotton wipe one time each day, until the wart begins to disappear. This helps your dog get relief from irritation and itching eventually preventing it from scratching the wart and breaking it open which slows down the healing process.
- Thuja: Thuja Occidentalis is a homeopathic treatment that is proven to be safe in most cases. Consider giving it orally to your dog once each day for one week only. You are then required to wait for the next 2 weeks to find out if the remedy works well for your little fluff.
NOTE: Refrain giving this remedy for the dogs who are or could be pregnant as this may cause loss of the pregnancy.
Vet Administered Dog Wart Treatments
Antibiotics: A scientific research has shown that an antibiotic called azithromycin is effective for dog warts treatment when given once a day, for up to 10-15 days straight.
Electrocautery: A licensed veterinarian carries out this surgery using a tool that produces a small and centered amount of electricity that burns off the affected tissue when applied to the wart. This is commonly known as electrosurgery which is used to remove warts from your dog’s skin.
Cryosurgery: This surgery is carried out keeping your dog under local anesthesia, using a specialized tool to produce extreme cold to freeze warts off. The liquid nitrogen in the tool destroys the affected tissue, causing it to shrink drastically, eventually making the wart disappear.
Excision: This process is the traditional and longest-used form of treatment where the vet cuts off the entire infected tissue of all warts using a medical scalpel. During the excision of warts, your dog is put under general anesthesia resulting in exposure to risk and more cost.
We have penned down all the solutions to heed down all your concerns relevant to “How to get rid of warts on Dogs”. As mentioned, generally warts disappear, though there may be cases where dogs may get affected by multiple papillomas, and this is where it is required to get them surgically removed or frozen off. We have listed a few natural remedies too but it is always recommended to have warts evaluated by the vet just to be on the safer grounds.