skulker

has anybody got any experience with dogs getting bit by snakes, mostly water moccisons. I'm going to start taking my dog hunting in the hardwood bottoms on my deer lease and was womdering if any one had any suggestions

ELKINMTCWB

Here is some of what happens. If they get a bite on the head they die pritty fast. there nose swells closed.

Long hearded dogs are way safer than short.

If you kill every snake you see with your dog there they will learn to kill them allso.I ahve had many dogs that would kill every snake they saw.

Not a big enough deal to not take him :}

Rebel Hog

Skuler, there are good snake bite kits you can use to try and save it.
Depends where it gets fanged! If it is face or neck, little chance.
Is it a very expensive dog? Vet bills is going to be around #300-$350.

skulker

rebal hog its a beagle i used for deer but since i moved to texas its not legal was go to take it squirle hunting and use it to trial pigs maybe not to catch or bay them just use his nose for fresh trails, hes a good deer dog but he gets upset not going hunting when I get back from the woods he won't come around me for a day or so, so I was thinking of taking him with me

El Jeffe

If your hunting east texas becareful taking a beagel the hogs down there can kill an average size dog in blink much less a smaller one. Especially around the orange area meaner than normal very aggressive. Not saying your beagle's not a good dog had one myself best blood dog ever but they do tend to have little mans syndrome.

North Texan

I have had several dogs and cats get bitten by snakes. I figure most of the bites were western diamondbacks, since they are the most common venomous snake in my parts. Most pets I have ever had or seen get bitten on the body or head has survived. They swell like crazy and get sick, but they've all lived through it. The few that have been bitten on a foot didn't last long. My guess is that snake size has a lot to do with it. Most of the bites to the head had large bite marks, indicating they came from a large snake. Large snakes will hiss and rattle, trying to intimidate the dog with their size. It usually works and the dog leaves. The dogs that get bit don't just won't leave well enough alone, and try to bark and bite at the snake. Finally, when the snake's had enough, they bite.

Smaller snakes feel much more threatened when they encounter other animals. Large snakes have few natural predators, but small snakes are on about everything's menu. So when somthing comes up on them, they are quicker to bite. It also seems like they tend to hang on and keep trying to do as much damage to the would-be predator as possible.

A lot of how your dog acts when he sees a snake will be what he learns from you. If you feel threatened by the snake and try to kill it with a stick or shovel, your dog will think he needs to kill it, too. Then if your ever a little slow with the shovel, your dog will get bit. But if you leave the snake alone, and just give the snake his room, your dog will probably do the same thing.

hungryhuntergirl

It is always a good idea to cary benadryl too, it will help fight some of the swelling till ya can get your dog to the vet!!

wvvet

Skulker,

Amazingly snakebites are rarely fatal in dogs. In 10 years of veterinary medicine, I have seen only 1 (yes 1) fatality in dogs and it was a pretty small dog at that (less than 10#). I'm not really sure of the reason for this. I have heard that snakes can dose the amount of venom delivered to their prey based on size. So I guess one can assume that a snake biting out of fear or protection and not biting out for food, may only deliver small amounts of venom. I do know that snakebite venom is definitely strong enough to kill a dog. The potential of death is certainly there, but in my experience, rarely seen.

Most of what I see is bites from Copperheads and Rattlesnakes (Eastern Diamondback). I have never had a coral snakebite and only a couple of cottonmouth (water moccasin) bites.

The snakebite usually causes severe swelling in the area of the bite. Other problems that may arise from the bite wound include infection and sloughing of the skin. These tend to be rare and usually occur 2-5 days after the bite.

Treatment involves cleaning the wound and giving an antiinflammatory injection (steroid) if the swelling is severe. Antibiotics are dispensed if it gets infected. Someone meantioned $300-$350 treatment expense. I must be cheap since the treatment I listed above will cost you about $30-$40 in my office. Now it can be expensive if antivenom is used, although personally I have had no experience with it. Like I said previously, the threat of death is usually pretty low, therefore I have never had reason to use it.

Hope this answered your question.

Grouse Gitter

Good info! I live in the desert of SE WA and there are rattlesnakes in this area. I plan to spend a lot of time in the field with my new pup this spring and summer training and in the fall going after chukar, quail and pheasant and plan to carry a snakebite kit with me. Hopefully, I'll never have to use it but I'd rather be prepared than not.

Bzoneboy

There is a service here in California that does dog snake training, mostly for people who live in areas where there are a lot of rattlers (south mostly) but also for quail hunters, etc. What they do is put a shock collar on the dog and toss a rattler on the ground. When the dog gets near it, ZAP! Then, they come in from downwind, and shock the dog after it winds the snake. I think they only do it for rattlers though. I'm sure the technique would work on moccasins as well though. From what i understand though, moccs aren't as ddangerous as most rattlers, and copperheads even less so. Get bitten by a mojave green here or in AZ and it's lights out (for you OR your dog).

Anyway, they claim their "aversion" training to be highly effective, and after seeing how well shock collars work I believe them!