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My dog has bumps on her lips. Could they be warts or a virus?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Staffordshire Terrier | Female | spayed | 70 lbs

Hello, my dog has had bumps on her lips since Thursday. They look like warts or a virus. Do you know what this is? Thank you.

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on August 27th, 2019

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Jojo. These could be canine oral papillomas, which are small benign tumors of the mouth causing by the papilloma virus. Without seeing her in person, I can't say for certain, so I would have them checked out by a vet. If they are canine oral papillomas, treatment is usually not needed unless they become infected or she develops a lot of growths. I hope this helps!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on April 30th, 2021

    Given this lesion's location, appearance, and Hazel's young age, an oral papilloma is by far the most likely culprit. Unlike papillomas that occur on the skin, oral papillomas are spread in dogs as a virus. The good news is that oral papillomas usually go away on their own in several months without any treatment. However, it's best to keep Hazel away from other dogs at doggy daycare or dog parks until her lesions resolve. All of that said, it's absolutely reasonable to keep an eye on the lesion for a couple of months to see if it resolves. If the lesion grows or changes, if you notice more of them crop up, or if it doesn't go away in a couple of months, then I'd recommend taking Hazel to your vet for an exam to check things out. If you scroll down a bit, this article has some more information about papillomas: https://www.petcoach.co/article/benign-skin-tumors-in-dogs/ I hope that everything goes well for Hazel!

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    Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 24th, 2017

    Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. If what you are seeing on the lip is indeed a papilloma, these will typically resolve on their own. They are typically not very painful and do not bother the dog most of the time. There are medications to try and help speed up the resolution of the papilloma virus infection, but if these very in their effectiveness at treating the papilloma virus. Most of the time these do not require treatment. I would monitor the bump for now and if it begins to worsen or many more begin to show up then I would have them examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate treatment can be recommended. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

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