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Similar to humans, dogs can become afflicted with unsightly skin tags. If your dog has been diagnosed with a skin tag, you may be wondering what causes them on dogs. You may be wondering if you should be concerned, if it could be cancerous, or if surgery might be needed. Fortunately, skin tags usually do not require any treatment, and in most cases, they do not pose any health risks to your dog. Lets take a look at what these skin tags are and what you should know about them.
Skin tags are benign growths that can appear anywhere on the skin of a dog. They are most frequently noticed on the trunk, the face, the sternum, front armpits and other bony pointy parts, such as the elbows, hips or ankles. They may also grow on eyelids and around the mouth.
Skin tags are also known as fibrovascular papillomas. They can appear as firm, flat skin growths, or they can grow a stalk and feel soft and squishy. These tags range in size from a few millimeters to two centimeters and larger. If a dog is bothering a skin tag or repeatedly lying on it, the surface of the skin tag can become damaged and infected. An infected skin tag can turn red, be painful, have an ulcerated appearance and ooze pus. As long as the skin tag isnt oozing pus or inflamed and painful, you are free to feel it with your fingers without hurting your dog.
What Causes Skin Tags on Dogs?
There are a couple of theories as to what causes skin tags on dogs. For starters, they are seen in every breed and age of dog; however, they are more common in middle-aged to older large and giant breed dogs. Genetics are considered an aspect of what causes skin tags on dogs in cocker spaniels, Poodles and Miniature Schnauzers.
Another cause of skin tags can be due to repetitive trauma to the skin, like when skin folds continually rub against each other or the dog is sleeping on a hard surface. Skin that is repeatedly exposed to crushing trauma, as in when medium to large breed dogs constantly sleep or rest on hard concrete, can become chronically inflamed and result in a skin tag.
Unless they are irritated, skin tags are usually not painful for dogs. Most of the time, theyre just a cosmetic issue. Skin tags are not warts, and they do not grow back after they have been surgically removed. Skin tags are also not considered to be contagious and will not spread to other dogs or people in the household.
If you noticed a skin growth that might be a skin tag, it is best to have the growth checked out by your local veterinarian. While skin tags themselves are not considered cancerous, there are other skin tumors that can mimic the appearance of a skin tag that may need to be removed.
Typically, the diagnosis of a skin tag on a dog is simple. Your vet will conduct a full physical exam and may be able to tell you what the growth is with one examination. If your vet is unsure, they may recommend testing the skin growth. This can involve inserting a small needle into the growth and then examining cells collected from the growth on a slide under a microscope.
If your dog has been diagnosed with a skin tag, keep calm. Most skin tags on dogs do not require any treatment at all because they are non-cancerous benign growths. If the skin tag is irritated, bleeding, infected, growing quickly or bothering your dog in any way, then your vet may recommend removal through surgery. Surgical removal of skin tags is considered to be curative: As long as the skin tag is completely removed, it should not reoccur in the same location.
Fatty Tumors
Fatty tumors, or lipomas, are another relatively common growth found on dogs. They appear as bumps that form underneath the skins surface, and they may stay the same size or grow over time. Fatty tumors are particularly common among dogs that are older or overweight.
Luckily, theyre harmless — lipomas are benign. However, lipomas can cause irritation depending on where they grow, just like skin tags, so removal might be required in some cases.
Skin Tags on Dogs How to Prevent and Remove Them
You’re probably familiar with them on people, but can dogs get skin tags? Yes, our canine companions do get skin tags — and just like with humans, it’s usually not a serious health concern. But it’s still important to know the difference between skin tags and other growths and what to do about them. In some cases, skin tags do require treatment. Table Of Contents
Skin tags are benign (non-cancerous) growths of fleshy tissue that appear as small lumps or bumps. They occur more often in middle-aged and senior dogs. And they seem to be more prevalent in larger breeds and certain breeds, like Cocker Spaniels and Boxers. Veterinarians use various medical terms to describe skin tags: acrochordon, fibrovascular papilloma, fibroepithelial polyp, or soft fibroma.