What Are the Causes of Skin Tumors on Dogs?
According to Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook, there are 10 major types of canine skin tumors. Not all of these types are cancerous, but all skin tumors on a dog need to be carefully watched in order to avoid complications. Contact a veterinarian immediately if a tumor is more than 1 inch in length, if it bursts open or grows rapidly. • Breed-Specific Skin Cancer • It’s not clear why, but some dog breeds are more prone to getting skin tumors than others. Poodles are susceptible to wartlike papillomas, which are usually benign. Cocker spaniels are prone to melanomas (potentially deadly tumors of pigment cells on dark areas of the skin), basal cell tumors (firm, round and mostly benign tumors on the head and neck) and sebaceous adenomas (harmless tumors of the oil glands found on the skin). Scottish and Boston terriers are prone to melanomas. The rare, and often fatal, cancerous histiocytosis is seen most in flat-coated retrievers and Bernese mountain dogs. Histiocytic sarcoma can ap
