I wrote a couple of weeks ago about visiting the vets to have a few muzzle/lip warts looked at. Kipper has one in particular that was growing fairly quickly. A bit of reading suggested it's canine papillomavirus, which the vet also thought and said just keep an eye, if it changes much or looks infected pop back. We waited a couple of weeks and it's grown by about a third, with another couple of outcrops elsewhere around the muzzle.
So on Friday I went back to see what they said - it was the quick growth that I found a bit curious - and saw a different vet who recommended removing it under general anaesthetic because it was too small and in a delicate place for a biopsy yet it was quick growing.
Having done a lot more reading, an operation seems quite extreme at this stage so we've cancelled that and we're just going to keep an eye on developments. It's not bothering Kipper, it's not bleeding or problematic for now, and all the advice out there seems to say it's really common at this age and will disappear over time as the immune system beefs up. It's been an interesting exercise in learning which vets we might listen to less, but in hindsight I'm quite suprised by the advice from the 2nd vet (who we're learning is quick to recommend interventions). Here's a photo of the beast:
![IMG_0444[2].JPG](https://attachments.mylabradorfriends.com/2018/08/1101_256bd9d44f44c205f0901546820f31d7_thumb.jpg "IMG_0444[2].JPG")
So on Friday I went back to see what they said - it was the quick growth that I found a bit curious - and saw a different vet who recommended removing it under general anaesthetic because it was too small and in a delicate place for a biopsy yet it was quick growing.
Having done a lot more reading, an operation seems quite extreme at this stage so we've cancelled that and we're just going to keep an eye on developments. It's not bothering Kipper, it's not bleeding or problematic for now, and all the advice out there seems to say it's really common at this age and will disappear over time as the immune system beefs up. It's been an interesting exercise in learning which vets we might listen to less, but in hindsight I'm quite suprised by the advice from the 2nd vet (who we're learning is quick to recommend interventions). Here's a photo of the beast:
![IMG_0444[2].JPG](https://attachments.mylabradorfriends.com/2018/08/1101_256bd9d44f44c205f0901546820f31d7.jpg "IMG_0444[2].JPG")
