One or more cauliflower-shaped, white bumps have developed in your dog’s mouth, or perhaps on her eyelid or somewhere else on her body. Is it cancer? And even if it’s not cancer, will the bump(s) keep growing and cause your dog harm by limiting her movement or pushing against vital tissue?
Chances are, no. While lumps and bumps are often a cause for concern among pet parents, in this case it’s probably just a papilloma, which will not enlarge, or at least not enlarge by much, once you notice it. In most cases, a papilloma is simply a benign tumor caused by one of a number of viruses, called papilloma viruses. They are often referred to as warts. Different papilloma viruses can cause papillomas on different parts of the body, and the appearance of the papillomas is variable. In young dogs they tend to develop in the mouth, whereas in older dogs they often occur in the skin.
Dogs can catch these viruses from the dam at birth, from other dogs (many dogs have it even without symptoms), or from the environment, as they are ubiquitous. A canine papilloma virus can in fact survive for a long time outside a dog’s body.
Puppies and other young dogs tend to be at relatively high risk because their immune systems are not yet fully mature, but no dog is immune. If a dog has a lesion on her skin such as an abrasion, that could make her more prone to developing a papilloma because it’s easier for the virus’s genetic material to invade the skin. Dogs who are immunocompromised as the result of a disease that weakens the immune system or who are taking immunosuppressant drugs are also at increased risk of developing papillomas.
We should note that not all papillomas resemble cauliflower-like polyps that are raised up from normal skin. Some manifest themselves as flat, scaly plaques, while other might grow inward rather than outward and are thus hard masses under the skin. They can look black. No matter what the shape, a papilloma can appear anywhere on the body — the face, the neck, the feet, or the groin, for instance.
Diagnosis and treatment decisions
Veterinarians are frequently able to diagnose a papilloma just by looking at it, although sometimes a biopsy may be necessary. Once in a while papillomas resemble other types of tumors, and in rare cases they can be precursors to cancer (which is why you should always have a suspected papilloma examined by a doctor).
What to do about a papilloma depends on its location on the body and whether it is single or part of a cluster (more common in younger dogs). Most often, a papilloma will simply regress on its own within a couple of months; the dog develops immunity to it that allows the mass on the skin to shrink and ultimately disappear. But if there are multiple papillomas or a single big one in a particular location, such as the mouth, ears, or near an eye, they could cause pain upon eating or blinking. In those locations, they can also predispose your pet to infections, or bleeding. For those reasons, papillomas in those spots require medical intervention. A single papilloma between toes that makes a dog limp might also need to be treated.
Sometimes the veterinarian will prescribe an antiviral medication. Another option is a vaccine against the virus. These treatments tend to be the go-to’s in the case of numerous papillomas in a single location, such as the oral cavity. But if it’s a single papilloma or just a couple, the solution will more likely lie in surgical removal. The doctor performing the surgery may use a scalpel, a laser, or cryosurgery — essentially killing the papilloma by freezing it. It’s not a complicated operation, but the dog will have to be kept from licking, biting, or scratching at the spot in order for it to heal properly.
Sometimes a papilloma will reappear after surgery and need further treatment, but that’s unusual. The medical intervention usually does the trick.
My dog has very huge once, im not sure how that is effecting his daily feelings as he is more grumpy than ever. Will be sharing pics