There’s something growing on puppies in the neighborhood, and it’s not pretty. Sometimes it shows up as just a little bump, but other times it’s a mountain range.  What am I talking about? Canine Papillomavirus (CPV).

The human equivalent of CPV is HPV, commonly known as the virus that causes genital warts and in some cases, cervical cancer. Like HPV, CPV is often benign but can become malignant. Many holistic vets believe the warts are a symptom of vaccinosis[1]. Warts appear primarily in and around the mouth and can cause difficulty eating. CPV is also known as “puppy warts” and is highly contagious to dogs under the age of 2 and other dogs with weakened or compromised immune systems.

A common puppy wart

While the virus is not normally harmful and healthy pups can clear the warts in 6-8 weeks 75% of puppies under my care currently have the condition and they aren’t all doing well. Occasionally a dog’s immune system isn’t able to shed the infection.

Ulcerated Papillomas. Most cases are not this bad.

This dog has numerous open, bleeding sores as the papilloma’s have ulcerated. This could lead to other complications and infection, but there is little vets can do. Any warts that have been frozen off grew back immediately. The best treatment is prevention.

Prevention means not letting your infected pup have physical contact with any other pups under the age of two. Somehow many of the vets in my area are neglecting to inform owners not to socialize infected dogs. While CPV does have a long incubation period and can be spread before warts appear, it is irresponsible to socialize your dog if there are visible growths on the skin.

If your pup does come down with this common puppy virus, there are inexpensive homeopathic remedies that have proved helpful for my clients that I have listed below. Always have lumps and bumps diagnosed by a veterinarian.

•  A simple and easy remedy is Vitamin E oil, which you can rub onto the warts topically to reduce both the size of the wart and the discomfort it can cause.
• Only Natural Pet Immune Strengthener is a great product a colleague of mine used as soon as 2 warts popped up on her puppy. The warts cleared in 3 weeks. I started Grayson on this product as a preventative measure since so many of his puppy friends are currently battling CPV.
• Thuja has also been known to help the immune system battle warts that are one symptom of over-vaccination.