Take the pooch dove hunting?

kiva

kiva

Active member
Over the past couple of years I have been running into quite a few prairie rattlesnakes around old farmsteads in eastern colorado and along the Arkansas river out east when dove hunting. My conclusion has been to leave the dog at home...risk not worth the reward. Thoughts?
Kiva
 
my thoughts as well. just not worth it, it is bad enough having to look out for myself not getting bit, I sure can high step it if I think there is one in the grass.
 
Yea down here in Arizona the buss worms are every where. They do make you High step LOL:)
 
I guess it depends on where you hunt and your dog....

I had my dogs snakeproofed and if I were hunting in a snake prone area I would also get the vaccine (slows down the venom and gives you time to get to a vet).

For me, I just find it difficult to do any kind of bird hunting without my four-legged hunting buddy.

However, to each his own and I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer.

Greg
 
When I hunted in Florida the natives claimed they only hunted $100.00 dogs, because the danger of pointing a big sized rattler in the palmento.I find that pretty heartless, but I think it was gallows humors and a little bit realism.. I have hunted a group of very level headed English setters across the west, Sage Grouse and sharptails in September, countless rattlesnake and porcupine encounters, times where the buzzing was everywhere because snakes are moving to den! Sometimes I seen the dog jump over and keep going on, small rattler in the trail. No incidences, I do not shoot, make a fuss, become un-duly excited, hunt them down, all which are designed to increase the possibility of a conflict. They have value, I don't shoot rabbits either, and neither of us have been gored by a killer rabbit. It's part of what makes the "wild", the "wild"! There are possibility that the next adventure might be the first where snake bite, a quilling event, or a killer rabbit attack, might be due. I used to carry Hydro-delta-cort. but I abandoned that many years ago. I would take a sensible dog and hunt anywhere, it's a slight risk, but hunting trips are to few, and I think that the dog deserves it, as do I. I will say in Jmac's defense, those $100 dog guys, they wore knee boots of 10 ounce bullhide, They don't walk in them, at least not far. Maybe they aren't as reliable as the dogs!
 
I use to take mine out dove hunting too but I ran into the same problem. I snake break my dogs and still don't take them out dove hunting because there are too many snakes out opening week.
 
snakes

I spend quite a bit of time on this subject but don't seem to come up with much. I dove hunt mostly n. w. Kansas and n. e. Colorado. my dove hunting is mostly around old farmsteads, wind breaks etc. they all seem to be great places for snakes. yet, in my about 40 plus years of being active in Colorado, I have seen a total of two snakes in the state, both in the road. I have yet to see one in the field. so, what are the odds. if your dog gets bit by a snake that injects its poison into the dog, the dog in all likely hood will die. if the dog is snake trained, the dog has to see the snake first, what are the odds of that, surely less than 50%. not all rattle snakes have venom in them or inject it into large beings, the small immature snakes are the most dangerous. there is of course a chance if the venom doesn't get the dog, infection might, that's easier to handle. lightning also strikes but ya can't just stay home. maybe sometime the odd will catch up with me. john the pastor is having his mutt snake trained on the 19th. I think, he ain't ever seen a snake either but he is also afraid of lightning. if I lived in truly snake country I would probably change my thinking but I don't and my dogs go hunting with me. one thing you can do this time of year is to make sure you don't hunt around prairie dogs or other major food sources for the snakes. I do carry some antibiotic and antihistamine. fishing with my vet on tue, will ask him about dexium sp and maybe the vaccine. after having many a drink with the guy, I know he will tell me the bill would be about $2000 and you will loose the dog anyway if in fact the dog was injected with venom.

cheers
 
I have seen 5 rattlesnakes in 2 years while out with the dogs ... I wouldn't chance it. They have all been to snake breaking, but my concern would be running over a snake on a retrieve.
 
Thanks for all of your expert insights on this subject. This UPN "rookie" really appreciates it.

I first started thinking about rattlesnakes while dove hunting with my dog on some walk-in around the Straton area a few years back. An old farmer called me over to his truck and showed me a cup of rattles he had just collected along the roads that day. He looked at me and said, " you look like a smart guy...I bet you will make the right choice for you and your dog." Ever since, I have left the dog at home during dove season. Breaks my heart because she is a great hunting partner.
kiva
 
snake problems

the problem with the snake problems are all the manyoblems. one of course they are not all over the place in pheasant country. there is very little data out there on bites, survival, and type of snakes and most of the info is just someone parroting somebody else to listen to themselves talk and or write. if the bite is from a copperhead which are not in my area, the survival chances of the dog are really quite good it seems, even without special treatment. rattle snakes are tougher as there are a bunch of their kinds and again the data seems to be missing. not all rattle snakes have venom at any given time, not all inject it, size of the snake matters little other than is seems small type are often more aggressive. data again is missing on the area of the bite, the time it takes to discover the bite and finding anti venom, usually has to be less than 4 hours, the dogs reaction to the serum if even available. restricting movement, bandage are other if and's or buts, whether the dog should be carried and or walked from the field are a few more. at least some sources say that a bitten dog by a rattle snake has about 80% of surviving with a do it yourself treatment, mostly water, antibiotic, antihistamine and maybe an pain pill or two. while some of this may be crude, being emotional won't get the job done any better and all vets know that their treatment of the dog while might be in the range of $2000 the odds are not much better for the dog unless, unless the dog is gotten in for treatment really quickly and the serum is available, if that all fall into place then the reported survival rates without severe tissue damage is extremely high but a lot of things have to fall in place. more on this later after my fishing trip with the vet. out of school he worked in a large vet office in texas and saw several cases per week, he didn't give much hope when the last time we discussed this issue over few drinks

cheers
 
I guess I should have also said I have seen bird dogs point a rattler! maybe we should reactivate the "Whoa" command blog again!
 
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