Is My Dog's Lump Just A Dog Skin Tag Or Something More Serious? (2024)

Here's what to know about skin tags on dogs.

If there’s a little bump on your dog’s skin, you might be worried it’s something serious.

But that’s not always the case — there’s such a thing as a dog skin tag that looks like a lump on your pup’s skip and is actually totally harmless.

We reached out to Dr. Fiona Lee, a veterinary dermatologist and medical director at Pet Dermatology Center, to find out everything to know about dog skin tags and how to tell them apart from other skin issues.

What causes skin tags on dogs?

Veterinarians don’t know exactly why dogs develop skin tags, but there are a few theories.

One possible cause is friction or skin irritation. “Some [tags] can develop with chronic friction, so they're sometimes noted on larger dogs on pressure areas ([e.g.,] sternum, elbows),” Dr. Lee told The Dodo. Pressure areas are places where your dog’s body touches the ground when he’s lying down.

Dogs often develop skin tags in areas that rub together, like the armpits, and from things rubbing against their skin, like a collar or harness.

Another potential cause is overactive fibroblasts. These are cells that create the fibers and collagen that make up connective tissue in the body, so when they’re overactive, they can cause abnormal growths on the skin.

Is it a skin tag or something else?

While skin tags are harmless, they can look like other things that are dangerous to your dog, like ticks or even cancer, so you should definitely take a close look at any growths.

According to Dr. Lee, “Skin tags are often hairless [and] flesh-colored with a thin, stalk-like attachment. Skin tags usually have a distinct appearance because of their stalk. The surface may have a wart-like (bumpy) appearance, but they are growing outward from the skin.”

There are a few kinds of dog skin tags:

There are some visible signs that can help you identify what kind of growth your pup’s dealing with.

Skin tag or tick

According to Dr. Lee, “A tick will have mouthparts and six to eight legs (depending on the stage).”

You’ll have to push your dog’s hair away from the area and look super closely, since ticks are tiny.

Here’s what a tick looks like on a dog.

If it turns out your dog has a tick, you’ll have to remove it carefully with point-tip tweezers or a tick removal tool. Pull straight up without twisting or crushing the tick. Once it’s removed, place it in a sealed container with isopropyl alcohol.

If your dog’s showing signs of being sick, like lethargy, fever, or joint swelling and pain, bring him and the tick to the vet. Your vet will need to check him for tick diseases, and having the tick with you will help them diagnose your dog.

Skin tag or wart

“True warts are actually due to papillomaviruses, which tend to be species-specific,” Dr. Lee said. Because of this, they’re contagious to other dogs but not to people or other animals.

There are at least seven strains of papillomaviruses in dogs, Dr. Lee added. Each type can cause different warts and can appear on different areas of your dog’s body. They most commonly look like cauliflower (a bumpy or rough appearance) and can be found on your dog’s face, mouth, feet or other parts of his body.

Warts are usually round and look like a lump against the skin, while dog skin tags tend to dangle and are shaped like a teardrop.

Here’s a picture of a wart on a dog.

Some papillomavirus growths can turn into cancer, so it’s important to keep an eye on any your dog has and let the vet know if you notice any changes to them.

Skin tag or cancer

If you see a skin growth on your dog, keep an eye on it to see if it changes in size, shape or color. Any changes could indicate that it’s a cancerous mass, and occasionally, skin tags can develop into cancer (though they’re almost always benign).

“For any skin mass, if it's growing quickly, changing, bleeding (eroded/ulcerated), becoming infected or bothering the patient, then it should ideally be biopsied and submitted for histopathology,” Dr. Lee said.

According to Dr. Lee, histopathology, or examining a biopsied piece of tissue, is the only definitive way to diagnose a skin growth and determine whether it’s cancerous or not.

This is what a cancerous tumor looks like on a dog.

How to remove a dog skin tag

Most dog skin tags don’t need to be removed, Dr. Lee said. But there are some cases when you might want to remove them, including the following:

Dog skin tags can be removed with surgery. “CO2 laser, cryosurgery [or] cold steel surgery (traditional scalpel or punch biopsy) [are options],” Dr. Lee said. This can be a separate procedure, or if your pup’s already having anesthesia for something else (like dental work), you can ask your vet to remove any skin tags then.

Don’t try to remove a skin tag yourself, since you can hurt your pup and cause an infection.

Can you prevent skin tags on dogs?

There’s no way to prevent your dog from developing skin tags, but since they’re benign (aka not cancerous), it’s usually not a problem if your pup gets one or two.

“However, if a large- or giant-breed dog is developing many skin tags on frictional areas, then provide plenty of well-padded areas for rest,” Dr. Lee said. This helps reduce the pressure and friction that can potentially lead to skin tags.

If your pup develops a skin tag, don’t freak out — it’s harmless. Just be sure to examine it to make sure it really is a skin tag and not something else that can be dangerous.