I am heading to the lease this evening with my dog (australian shephard) and am concerned with this warm weather about rattlers.

Any of you with dogs worry about this or am i just over thinking it. I feel confident that if she walked up on one she would certaintly leave it alone but you never know.

Do any of you guys take your dogs with you during warmer months? She goes with me all deer season and loves it. She will retrieve quail, track wounded deer and hogs....basically do whatever you want.

get her snake avoidance trained. this will give you piece of mind in the field.

x2 on the snake avoidance training. your vet should also have a rattlesnake vaccine for the dog which from what i have heard works great unless the are bit in the jugular and also does not create much of a wound at the bite sight. after the first shot $20, they will need a booster during the peak seasons once or twice a year for a hunting dog. my vets lab was bit and she told she only treated the wound with a local antibiotic and he was fine. i have vaccined mine but they have not been bit to see if it works. something to check into

Great suggestion. do you know how long the vaccine last?

my vet told me it is good for a year and to get a booster shot around dove season for my lab. now would be agood time for your dog and repeat about the same time next year

Any vet in Texas that doesn't have CroFab on hand isn't worth taking your animals to. Dogs do have a naturally higher tolerance(Not the right word) towards snake bites and some animals even higher. Investing in the snake training sounds like a good idea, but I'm not a dog guy(knowledge), snakes are right up my alley though.


Chupa

Thanks for your input guys. does the shot have any side effects? in other words, is this something that i can get this afternoon before leaving and it be effective? or does it have to be in their system for a while?

not sure on how long it needs to be in there system prior but my dogs had no side effects at all

Had my lab bit by a rattlesnake several months after the vaccine. She did just fine. Took her to the vet after the bite and they gave her fluids and benadryl. By the next day you wouldn't have known she had been bit.

DeerKilla---one initial shot, and then one booster 30 days after to get it started. Then yearly before snakes come out to play get a booster. So to recap, 2 shots within a month to start, then annual shot. My lab doesnt get a negative reaction to the shot, had an american bulldog with a tennis ball sized lump after the shot that had to be drained a few months later. I have witnessed cattle dogs (border collies) bit my rattlesnakes with and without the vaccine. After our rancher started getting his dogs the vaccine, he hasnt lost a dog. Get the vaccine!

i am going to have to keep a close eye on her this weekend but will defenitely get the vaccine next week! it's just not worth the chance. Thanks for the info guys.

Next question,

When and where can i take her to a rattlesnake avoidance clinic?

x2 on the shot and training.

This is what happened to my dads lab outside of Synder. She had the rattlesnake vaccine before hand.






She is doing just fine now and fetching birds like it never happened.

I would imagine that some dogs "can" have an allergic reaction to it just like some humans can. I was bit on the face last year by a Black Widow and refused the anti-venon because of the high percentage of allergic reactions to it. The BW anti-venon kills more people than BW bites do, because of anaphylaxis. But they say within 15 minutes of the administering, you are either GTG or dead.


Chupa

Dang bro! Necrosis is a cruel cruel bitch! Damage that bad, generally means there was some Comaprtment Syndrome as well. When the blood flow stops, tissue dies quickly. When talking snake bites....."Time is Tissue".


Chupa

Regardless of getting the vaccine or not, the dog would still have to be taken to the bet if bitten. Its a good insurance measure but avoidance training will help also.

Back in '07 my dog was bit on the leg, no vaccine but due to it hitting a nerve there was still extensive damaged & he has a scar. $1500+ later & 5 months of healing time he COMPLETELY avoids them now & no professional training was needed.

i agree.
with or without the vaccine there is going to be tissue damage.
i had a blue healer years ago and he wanted to tangle with a rattlesnake one day. i got him stopeed before he got bit and made him understand he didn't mess with snakes.
after that he could smell them and i could tell we were close to snake because he would stop and move away.
even with training snake bites can't be avoided when working or hunting dogs run right over the top off them in a pasture.