Dogs bitten by snakes

[tucker0104]

Has anyones dog out there been bitten by a snake? I've heard copperheads are not that bad but it is rattlesnakes you have to worry about. Just wondering what to do if it ever did happen? Thanks for the advice in advance.

[jj2044]

your vet has a dog rattlesnake vaccine, here in texas it cost 25 bucks, you have to go back and get it a couple times, but it suppost really help if they are bite

[tucker0104]

I asked my vet about it and he just said if your dog is bit then good luck. Never recommended it or anything.

[jj2044]

well, i dont know what to tell you... mine said i should get it.....i mean its 'dog rattlesnake vaccine' it cant hurt.

[wythekari]

Our vizsla/doberman mix was bitten on the snout several years back when we lived in San Diego. Took him to the emergency vet and the initial estimate for overnight stay, antivenin, etc... was around $2K; we asked for something a little less costly - ended up paying around $300 for antibiotics, some pain meds, and saline solution - abt 2L - under skin in abdomen, and took him home. He lost about 12 lbs down to 63 lbs and it took him some time to gain it back but he has been healthy since. Know one guy who has had several dogs bitten and his way is to let the dog sleep it off.

[wythekari]

Oh, forgot to say the dog was bitten by rattlesnake.

[stonedflea]

the day i came over lehigh gap in pa, it was raining, lightning, and thundering and the wind was blowing, making the 70 degrees feel colder than it really was. it wasn't cold enough for rattlers, though, as that was the day i saw my first one on the AT.

since it felt so cold to me, i let my dog walk ahead of me on the trail because there's a really pretty, grassy section of trail that's pretty much just a straight path for a few miles after the gap and i could see her alright. she was getting a little far ahead, so i called her name and she stopped, turned, and acted like she was going to head back in my direction. that's when i saw the rattler off the trail to the right, coiled but motionless. he never even rattled. there was probably 4' between myself and the snake, and i stood still for a second to make sure i wasn't pissing him off... i put my poles between us, and passed as quickly as i could. he never moved the entire time. perhaps his reflexes were slowed because of the 70* rainy weather. i'm not sure.

in any case, swayze was fine and i learned my lesson not to let her ahead of me, even on the days when i don't suspect we'll run into anything. two days later, i was the one who ran up on a rattler in the bushes. he scared the crap out of me, i scared the crap out of him, and swayze was confused as hell when i ran backwards into her, haha.

i've never heard of a rattlesnake vaccine, but perhaps it's something to look into. i used to work at an emergency vet clinic in SC, and we had countless cases of snakebites come in. most were harmless, but if the snake envenomates the dog, the vet bill will be extremely expensive (the antivenin alone is roughly $1200, and that doesn't count the fluids, antibiotics, hospitalization, etc. costs).

the best thing is to be prepared... check your guide and know if there are any vet clinics in the area that you're hiking. if your dog gets bitten, you'll have to bail off, and you may have to carry them the entire way.

that's what i loved about maine... there were no poisonous snakes.

[Spokes]

Funny, there's a website for that:

http://rattlesnakevaccinefordogs.com/index.html

Here's another:

http://www.arkanimals.com/ark/pets_r..._training.html

Google's an amazing tool....

[scudder]

My dog was bitten in the face by a copperhead as we sat around a fire in the yard one night. After we killed the snake with a shovel, we called the 911 center which referred us to the 24 hr vet service in the area- 45 mins away. Loaded up the dog and got to the vet. They said there's 2 kinds of venom one attacks the nervous system, and the other is like meat tenderizer and helps the snake digest the kill. Vet opined that my large dog- 90 lbs- would require 2 units of antivenom for the nervous system type and that if he wasn't showing major signs of problems after time elapsed, had probably only rec'd a negligible amt. We opted to forgo the expensive treatment for venom type #1 . Antibiotics were administered for venom #2 , and prescribed for several days. we were advised that if a big hunk of his face fell off there was a risk of infection. Fortunately, that did not happen, he was very sick for a few days and his face swelled up and he looked kind of like a dinosaur for awhile. we removed his collar so the swelling wouldn't choke him.If your dog is bitten on the trail get to a vet and plan on a several zeros .

[Spokes]

Antivenin not antivenom. Damn Snakes on a Plane!

[kanga]

benadryl and carry him/her out. right then. keep them calm as you can. find a vet immediately. depending on the severity of the bite, they might receive a blood transfusion before antivenin.
i had a dog get bit on the head by a rattler and his head swole up like a watermelon. he wasn't even recognizable as a dog. took almost a month before he looked normal and he felt poorly for quite some time. a rattlesnake bite will put your dog off the trail.

[Papa D]

My dog was bit in the lip by a copperhead - did the benadryl thing and got to the vet in a few hours - she was swollen up a bit for a few days but recovered fine - it was a little scary though

[tucker0104]

I have heard of google and amazingly enough I did search for it. I did find a lot of conflicting information. So, I wanted to hear from people who had dogs bit by snakes. So, thanks for the sarcasim and humor.

[Wise Old Owl]

in any case, swayze was fine and i learned my lesson not to let her ahead of me, even on the days when i don't suspect we'll run into anything. two days later, i was the one who ran up on a rattler in the bushes. he scared the crap out of me, i scared the crap out of him, and swayze was confused as hell when i ran backwards into her, haha. <br>
<br>

I think you have it confused - that is exactly why the dog should be in front of you! - just a fact of life.

BEFORE you quote me

Please read this......FEILD&STREAM

[stonedflea]

I think you have it confused - that is exactly why the dog should be in front of you! - just a fact of life.

that's true, and i get what you're saying, but it sucks, which is why she was behind me, i suppose. although, if i'm bitten by a snake, rescuers will come get me if i can't go any further. if she gets bitten and i've carried her as far as i can, no one's gonna come rescue her.

[Wise Old Owl]

Just want you to think it thru - once bitten - you have six hours to get to a hospital -- after that - its over - they will not administer the antidote and then the cure is worse than the poison.

[BoiledPeanut]

I think one of the problems is the short shelf life, so some vets do not stock it

[hikerboy57]

apparently rattlesnakes smell different than other snakes, and dogs can be trained to their scent:
http://agourahills.patch.com/article...linic-for-dogs

[woodstramp]

I don't, but a large portion of my family have always coon hunted. In my experience and from what I've heard from the coon hunting community is that canines will almost always survive a poisonous snake bite. Even in the limited coon hunt experiences I've had I did see two hounds that were hit. One Walker was hit by a copperhead in the face and on another outing a Blue Tick was hit in the (yes....ouch!) scrotum by a rattler. (Ouch, again)

Both hounds experienced pain, swelling and all, but both survived after some recoop time. All that was given was antibiotics and rest. I will also admit that all these dogs used in coon hunting are robust hounds. Can't say what effect large rattler bite might have on a little pooch. A vet was never used in these two cases or the others that I heard of.

Most of these guys won't hesitate to take an expensive dog like those to a vet either. The attitude was "He's snakebit...he'll get over it in a while."

[birdygal]

We have had several dogs get bit by rattlers and survive though they usually get bit under the jaw which will swell up like a basketball. We have only lost 1 to a rattler but we also don't know how many times the dog was bit as it was already dead when we found it We only know it was bitten on the leg. Our cats though have never survived a rattler bite.