Warts

[AndyB]

Jazz will be nine in March and I have noticed recently that he now has several warts on his body, and one quite large one on the inside edge of his back leg, between his paw and his heel.  All my previous cockers have developed warts in later life and I wondered how common this is and what are your thoughts on having them removed.  At the moment they don't seem to be bothering him at all but I am concerned about catching one of the warts when grooming/clipping him.  Would be interested to hear your views.

[Poppsie]

My Poppy got quite a few of theses as she got older, some were removed others not  she once got one between her toes on her front paw and she kept nibbling at it  she made it quite sore and it bled a lot.
But because of were it was to have it removed meant having a toe removed as well  we had to have it done eventually as it did keep bleeding  I think this a cocker trait as they get older  x x x 

[JennyBee]

Brodie will be six in March and has two little warts: one on her side and one on her flank. When she was attacked last year it was this area that took the brunt of things, so I suspect they may be connected to that. The vet has advised keeping an eye on them, as he doesn't want to put her through any more procedures as she's been through quite a lot recently.

She also frightened the life out of me a couple of weeks ago when I found a massive lump on her chest... Turned out to be a fatty lump, and I've to keep an eye on that as well. Apparently they are quite common too and she may develop more.

My last two cockers both developed warts as they grew older, I think the first one, Benji, may have had to get one removed but it was so long ago I can't remember the reason.

[lescef]

Our first two cockers developed warts as they got older. I think unless they are bothering the vet said best left alone.

[linda c]

My vet said the same  If they aren't bothering the dogs leave alone unless there's any change.

[Helly D]

Same here. Both our cockers had loads of warts. Vet advice was to leave well alone.

[AndyB]

Thanks for all your replies.  That was the advice I was hoping for, you don't want to put them through unnecessary operations.  However, I will ask our vet to check them next time we visit.

[williamsmum]

Definitely best to leave well alone, unless they start changing and developing. My William is ten and he has got loads. Sometimes if they are in a place where he scratches, they will bleed, but seem to bother me more than him.

[ejp]

Bertie was a bit of a road map with warts!  We never had any of them removed, just kept a wee eye on them.  Our groomer was pretty good at remembering where they were, and we would just make sure we updated her with any news ones each visit.

[Rowan Liver Roan]

Rowan had one in summer (she was only 2), on the back of a front paw. We actually thought it was a tick - she's never had one of those before either and it was the vet who said it was a wart. She has cockers herself and says they can be fairly common in the breed. She advised leaving alone and it would fall off and thankfully it did (and quite quickly).

[carol pearson]

Leave well alone as long as you can. Max, who as been gone over 20 years now had a few has he got older. When he was 16 he had one on his ear that got really big and he used to scratch at it constantly, blood everywhere. Tried everything, even tired up in a sock. The vet even tried some sort of freezing it off (so long age I can't remember exactly).

In the end it was decided to operate. He came through the op ok but when I phoned to collect him the vet said  he was still sleepy and because of his age he thought it was advisable to leave him overnight to recover.

I went with the vets advice but this was the worst decision of my life. When I arrived next morning, didn't even phone, I was waiting for the doors to open. They told me he had died overnight. At the time I didn't think to check if they had staff on overnight.
I know he was old but he was healthy for his age, so the thought that he died on his own, did he wake up and think we had abandoned him, still haunts me today.

I am crying has I type this, sorry, sorry, but reading this thread has brought it all back.

My present dog has had about 4 GAs and he has been fine.

[williamsmum]

Oh Carol, just read this and so sorry for you. It must hurt so much, even now, to think about it. 

[honeysmun]

I have a little wart dog  Holly,
she has lots and I mean lots, she has had
to have some removed  several times, about 14 - 18 in all so far
but she has about that amount still in all stages of growth.
It takes quite a time to groom her now as the clippers
can't be used so much. But my vet said leave well
alone unless they cause a problem, again I really don't
want her to have any more GAs ops.

[Helly D]

So sorry Carol to hear of your loss. I can't think of anything worse than what you went through. It must have been a terrible shock.

[Countrygirl]

Oh Carol, that is so sad.  My heart goes out to you.

My last cocker, Sophie, had quite a few warts but only one bothered her and kept bleeding, so that is the only one we had removed.