Its 4am and you just made the 0.5 mile walk to your blind site at wister. Your dog gets bit by a rattlesnake. What do you do?
Where is the closest 24 hr vet hospital?
Where is the closest 24 hr vet hospital?
Dog bit by a rattlesnake
- Thread starter Designed2Hunt
- Start date
I know it's no guarantee but snake avoidance class is a great start. So lets assume, regardless of class or no.. your dog gets bit, get him in the truck and settled ASAP, then give him some Benadryle from first aid kit and transport to vet. Gundogs Outdoors has first kits for around $65, which has most everything you will need for most field emergency. I have no Association with Gundogs Outdoors. Just my choice.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Aversion train the dog and get the pre bite vaccine carry benadryl and administer 1mg per pound of weight of the dog if they are bitten. Use the gel caps and crack them open and shove them down their throat . None of this is a cure but it will slow things down and buy you time. The thing about a snake bite is you don't know how badly they have been invenomated so you should get them to a vet as quick as possible so that they can stabilize and evaluate the dog. Know where that vet is before you go afield so that you are not trying to figure things out when you are in crisis.
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It is tricky. Wister may have Mohavies which are more potent then our other snakes. There is a Vet down there whose number was listed at the Wister Station at one time. Snake avoidance training and the vaccine can buy you time. Getting your dog treated asap will be critical. For those of you who see a rattler and shot it. Make sure your dog is secured because they will want to go where you are shooting. Dead snake are still dangerous.
John
John
All great advice. Thanks guys. A quick Google search didn't turn up any 24 vets in the imperial Valley. Can anyone provide contact info for the closest 24 hr vet? I haven't seen it listed at the check station.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
N
No Mohaves in the IV unless someone brought them, they are found in the high desert and eastern Sierra's. If your dog gets bit by a Mohave it has avery good chance of dying as the venom is primarily a nuero toxin and shuts down the nervous system very quickly.
Not confirmed sightings. If I see one, rest assured I will be taking pics. Spooky snake.
John
I personally don't know anyone who's dog has been hit at Wister, but I do know of 2 friends that thought their dogs were hit...A scratched or cut foot will blow up like no other (we call it Wister foot)...In the case of Wister Foot...Benadryl, wash with hydrogen peroxide, and get antibiotics...They both took their dogs to a Brawley vet that charged snake bite prices for a cut pad
ps...Most snake bites are in the face or middle to upper legs.
ps...Most snake bites are in the face or middle to upper legs.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
N
Noel something, the old hunter training certification guy in SD way back when was on a warden tv program where his lab got hit at the sea and got an escort to a vet by the warden in the IV during normal hours and the vet got his dog good to go. In general face hits are when the dog is curious and not trained and leg/calf hits are when the dog did not know it was there. Rattlers do not always warn you especially when they live in high traffic areas where they get used to people and dogs passing by and stop rattling. Not trying to blow my horn here but I have done this training for a long time, get your dog trained otherwise they just don't know and will stick their nose on one when they find it because they do not know.
Fred,
How about you give us some dates some time after turkey season that SCH'ers could meet at your place for the snake avoidance class...Coley has done well this year and I think it's time for him to be trained to avoid rattlers.
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Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
You bet Steve, it's not all about the money ( although it does help me to stay alive) for me its just what needs to be done to keep dogs safe when they are hunters. I will be posting my calendar in the next couple weeks on my website, Folks can check back then and register for training with my host organization's. I also have some dates not filled just yet in May so we could also talk about that as well for scheduling a NWTF event. P.M. me with dates that work and we can proceed further if you like. Always willing to help the community as best as I can....
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Fred,
If you (High-On Kennels) would want a booth at the NWTF Spring Turkey Tune-Up your more than welcome to participate...........
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Thanks for that Steve but because of my workload I would not be able to do the tune up at this point with all the dogs I am training at the moment, Maybe in the future with planning... As I said maybe we can do something in May when I have free weekend at the ranch. We could take care of all the back country hunters and their dogs for sure if we get on this soon. let me know what works for you...Fred,
If you (High-On Kennels) would want a booth at the NWTF Spring Turkey Tune-Up your more than welcome to participate...........
Yep John, he's thin built (72 lbs)...Pretty different than most the labs I've had...Getting way better his 2nd season (18 months old)...The e-collar has done wonders for his discipline too.......
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I know a guy that does a snake kit, cortisone, antibacterial all kinds of stuff.
I've been around a couple snake bites not good.
I had one that got bit on the foot no biggie. I've seen ones that got bit in the the lap of their fur no biggie. I've seen ones that get a direct bite in the face dead no matter what you did. I've seen ones get bit in the leg $1,000-5,000 later they're fine.
You never know you hope for a non-vascular area at best.
And definitely snake avoidance anytime you run into them in the field is a great time to train. That's what I've done on my own encounters thru the years. But I was a kid that had several poisonous snakes in my backyard terrarium until my neighbors ratted me out. I had to donate them to the local wildlife zoo thing.
You know when you see a Mojave they don't look or act like normal rattlers they coil differently and can strike sideways.
Fred are they more aggressive than others?
I've been around a couple snake bites not good.
I had one that got bit on the foot no biggie. I've seen ones that got bit in the the lap of their fur no biggie. I've seen ones that get a direct bite in the face dead no matter what you did. I've seen ones get bit in the leg $1,000-5,000 later they're fine.
You never know you hope for a non-vascular area at best.
And definitely snake avoidance anytime you run into them in the field is a great time to train. That's what I've done on my own encounters thru the years. But I was a kid that had several poisonous snakes in my backyard terrarium until my neighbors ratted me out. I had to donate them to the local wildlife zoo thing.
You know when you see a Mojave they don't look or act like normal rattlers they coil differently and can strike sideways.
Fred are they more aggressive than others?
Nikita is just over a year and an easy 70 pounds. Yes on the E Collar. You picked a good one.Yep John, he's thin built (72 lbs)...Pretty different than most the labs I've had...Getting way better his 2nd season (18 months old)...The e-collar has done wonders for his discipline too.......
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John
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
They can all strike from any position so don't let that dictate if you are in danger. From my experience the southern pacific rattlers are the worst. I have had them come after and chase me to the point I had to run when I tried to capture them and repositioned my tongs to grab them. They are also the most common on the coastal plain. If you are in the desert it is the western diamondback or sidewinder you will encounter and they tend to be somewaht more docile and the sidewinder is less toxic then the western. I prefer to use the western to train because they are just easier to handle. From my experience the green mojaves that live in the high desert are pretty nasty and stand their ground like the southern, I supect they just don't have much contact with humans or dogs because of where they live and let us know more vividly that they are there because they are not used to our intrusions. I train dogs for snake aversion using live muzzled rattlers and shock collars and have had good success over the past twenty five years shared between my wife and I. I cannot over empahasize how important it is to snake train your dog if you hunt them.
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