Is it a mouth wart?

I noticed yesterday that my dog has a growth on the inside of her mouth. It's a bit bigger than the top of a pencil. She's a year and a half, is up to date on all her shots, and is behaving and eating normally. I did a search on mouth warts/canine papilloma virus and the general advice seems to be that it will go away in time.

Is this what it is? Do you think I should have the vet check it out? She's not acting any differently so I don't see a cause for alarm, but wanted to make sure. Thank you all for your advice!

Here's a photo:

Charlie had one of those. Vet said to keep track of how long he had it and if it was not gone in about 10 weeks to bring him in. It went away after about 8 weeks. I wouldn't worry about it unless it does not go away in a couple months.

Thank you, charliesmommy. I had never seen one of these warts before and wanted to make sure it's not something else.

L Lysine is a mineral you can find in most GNC's...500mg per day should clear it up inside 2 weeks or so. And prevent more from popping up...they can get bad enough to inhibit eating esp inside the mouth.

Also...they are contagious so minimizing contact esp with young pups and older infirm dogs would be a courtesy.

Once they've had them once they tend to not get them again.

Other methods that can work to speed up their going away are crushing the warts with a hemostat but that obviously is intended for those outside the body

They usually start out as just a small pink bump and later turn into what your pic looks like. I'd guess she's already had that for 4-6 weeks, so I'd give it another 2-4 weeks before a vet visit might be in order if it isn't going down.

Definately keep an eye on it..

Otherwise - it wouldn't hurt taking your pup into the vets to make sure it isn't something more serious

Personally I'd have it checked .....especially if you use any chemicals . My Golden ( years ago when we sprayed ) had something similar ( spotted ) and malignant . Was removed and he never had a problem .

Just thought I'd post an update to say that out of my husband's paranoia, I went and had the vet check it out. She confirmed that it was a wart caused by canine papilloma virus and that it should fall off in a few a weeks.

I wouldnt be so sure. I have been dealing with canine papilloma virus since I got Samantha in July. She didnt have any warts when we got her and it started with a teeny little bump right below her nose. Then a few weeks later I saw a small cluster of 3 warts in her mouth. Just like the ones in your pic. Went to the vet and they diagnosed her w/ CPV and said a few more may pop up but would go away in about 12 weeks. Well she ended up w/ a huge clster of five in her mouth that kind of hung out, an enormous one in the corner of her eye, another big one on the corner of her nose, the one below her nose got really big, one on her gums above her teeth, and another one on the other side of her mouth. They all got about the size of a sweet pea maybe a little bigger. The vet saw them regularly when she went for her vaccs and they said it was normal. The warts never caused her any discomfort and the vet said, and I agreed, no need to go though the pain of removing them unless they are bothering her. Anyway they just started falling off 2 weeks ago and are almost all gone. The only one left is the one in the corner of her nose and its teeny now. So hers lasted about 16 weeks. If that is the first one you saw I'll bet there's more to come. Good luck. It isnt really harmful it's just not too physically appealing and people kept acting like she had the plegue. It isnt highly contageous to healthy dogs but I avoided places w/ a lot of other dogs. Mainly b/c everyone asked what was wrong and was disgusted. I dont have any pics b/c I wanted it to be over and forget it ev er happened. Hopefully your baby wont get that bad. Where did you get your dog by the way?

Oh yikes, I hope she won't be growing any more of them or passing them onto her sister. We got our pooches from a breeder who bred his dog with my mother-in-law's brittany.

And I'm glad to hear your dog's warts are finally falling off! You must feel so relieved.

How old is your pupper?

If he/she is under 12-16 months it is most likely canine papiloma virus. Xerxes had them all over his cheeks and a few external ones. They didn't seem to bother him, but they did bother me.

Do not let him share water bowls, toys or other chewies with other dogs. The papillae are contagious, but usually with young or very old dogs.

They should go away in about 12-16 weeks. If they don't, or if they get worse, consult with your vet, or a veterinary dermatologist.

Hopefully you will get luckier than I did. The most important thing is that it wasnt really hurting or bothering her. Yes, I am very relieved. Thank you.