Snake season

Quailnerd

Quailnerd

Well-known member
My friends 2 year old got smacked this weekend on the nose, one round of antibiotics with no anti venom and he’s chasing rabbits today. IMG_5254.jpeg
 
I read that the face was a lot less dangerous than the leg or chest. Maybe farther from the heart?
 
We lost several dogs on the ranch. It was 50 miles to the nearest vet. The dog would get hit on the face and the swelling would suffocate him/her.
 
I had a one year old lab pup that got smacked on the nose in the field behind our Denver house about 13 years ago. $2600 credit card later he was fine. We had him to the EM Vet in 30 minutes and by then he was already in shock. By the time we left the vet, we, not him, his nose was the same size as his head. That was before I knew about snake avoidance training. Since then, all my labs have gone through the course, multiple times through their lives. In the Denver area it's about $70-$100 per dog. Since then I have see my labs avoid rattlers multiple times, even in our backyard. Luckily, I have not seen one in our backyard for about 5 years.
 
The snake avoidance "trainer" we use allows "re-tests" if you put your dog through his program, at no cost. As long as the dog negatively avoids the snake no shock or stimulus. If anything it adds a little assurance that the original training worked and is still working. Both our labs smelled the snake first and did an immediate turn and beelined it out of range after their run last year. That doesn't mean a dog won't over-run a snake and get hit, but at least they will be avoiding a known snake. Mine even react to worms on concrete after a rain!
 
Sadly, I just had a nightmare come true on July 4th. Fred (2.5 y.o. vizsla) got popped right on the lip by what I suspect was a copperhead under some deck stairs. We were at Lake Norman (NC) and have killed copperheads at this house before. Of any of the pit vipers, the copperhead is the one you'd rather have a dog bit by, they say... not as deadly as a rattler or a moccasin. Its my observation that if you ask bird dog people about snake bites, you'll hear one half that take them in and fork over the $ for antivenin, and one half that swear by letting the dog ride it out. We weren't so hept up on doing the latter. Hope to God I never have to rely on the former, or ever go through this again for that matter.

Definitely want to take him to avoidance training to reinforce how unpleasant of an experience it was for all involved. Thankfully, $1625, a couple days time, and he is all better and back to normal.

P.S.: I quite literally had a dream the night before that Fred was running around in the front yard and got bitten. Guess I should have been more careful! In hindsight either a) the snake didn't deliver a huge payload of venom or b) the antivenin getting into his system within two hours of the strike kept the swelling to a minimum. Turned out a lot less severe than I thought it was going to be.
 

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ctfisher said:
Sadly, I just had a nightmare come true on July 4th. Fred (2.5 y.o. vizsla) got popped right on the lip by what I suspect was a copperhead under some deck stairs. We were at Lake Norman (NC) and have killed copperheads at this house before. Of any of the pit vipers, the copperhead is the one you'd rather have a dog bit by, they say... not as deadly as a rattler or a moccasin. Its my observation that if you ask bird dog people about snake bites, you'll hear one half that take them in and fork over the $ for antivenin, and one half that swear by letting the dog ride it out. We weren't so hept up on doing the latter. Hope to God I never have to rely on the former, or ever go through this again for that matter.

Definitely want to take him to avoidance training to reinforce how unpleasant of an experience it was for all involved. Thankfully, $1625, a couple days time, and he is all better and back to normal.

P.S.: I quite literally had a dream the night before that Fred was running around in the front yard and got bitten. Guess I should have been more careful! In hindsight either a) the snake didn't deliver a huge payload of venom or b) the antivenin getting into his system within two hours of the strike kept the swelling to a minimum. Turned out a lot less severe than I thought it was going to be.
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Looks like1625.00 well spent.
 
Snake avoidance training helps but it isn't a cure-all. There are situations where a dog "runs over" a snake before it can sense it. Our vet had that happen to one of his dogs last year. That said, the $75 or whatever the current rate is in your area is well worth the cost. At least your dog won't sniff or charge the snake. Mine literally recoil from an earthworm on pavement.
 
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