Rattlesnake vaccination...

[Liz ODell]

...anyone have any experience? I'm thinking about getting it done to some of my dogs.

[DerekE]

I know of two dogs that had it and got bit. One died and one lived.

[houndnem]

I've had dogs get bit and live without it.

[papa]

Had a b&t get bit right in the face one night coon hunting in Arizona...head swelled up like a basketball, would'nt eat for a few days, kept drinking water steady...he lived without vet care. I suppose it varies from dog to dog.

[Gary Roberson]

I have had two dogs bitten after receiving the shots and both could have been hunted the next day. I feel a lot depends on where the dog is bitten and how "hot" the snake was.
My vet was a little skeptical about the vaccine but felt like it may have saved one of the dogs. For $25 I feel that it is cheap insurance though may not work every time.
Adios,
Gary

[Rigdogs]

I have been using them for about four years and haven't had a dog bit since then.
My vet says that the real benefit will be from a snake that injects alot of venom.
we have had dogs bit before that lived with little problem, but his take on that was the snake probably didn't inject much into them because they are not viewed as a food source. One thing I will say is watch you dogs close after giving the shots. I have one dog that has bad reactions to them and gets big pockets of fluid under her skin.

[houndnhorse]

Havn't used it, but did have a dog bit a couple weeks ago. The vet said it does reduce the severity some, but if they get bit in the wrong place it is little help. The dog is doing fine without even any antivenom, so I don't know. I am going to get them all vaccinated just to be safe. The vet here only had 1 bite all last year, and has had 9 already this year. Lot's of snakes around for some reason.

[Liz ODell]

Same thing to the west of you here, our local vet has already had more snakebit dogs so far this summer than he usually has all summer. Ours is doing alright so far BUT if we hadn't been here to get her collar off there might have been problems.

[RandTMcKnight]

I had a bird dog years back that got bit and the Vet said that they are really no big deal, as long as the dog stays hydrated, not sure how much I trust him, brought a Rot in to him once that had been ran over and broke his front left leg and his rear right leg and he told me that the dog would never walk again, He died of old age! So I guess what I'm saying is I've never really worried about it to much.

[hntr4life]

I have had more than a few snake bit dogs and they've always swelled up and laid in a cool spot in the shade and been ok. They almost always get bit in the face or neck. I have Great Pyranees and anything that comes across my fence(dogs,cats,coyotes,deer,and Rattlesnakes) is a potential threat to my goats in their eyes. If they can catch it...it's dead...period! On Saturday, Father's Day Weekend, one of my female Great Pyranees was bit in the face. She swelled up and laid under the porch like usual. Sunday morning the swelling was worse. We took the trash to the dump and said when we got back we would take her to the Vet. When we got home she was in the garage dead. This was a 100lb dog that had been bit before, so the only thing I can figure is that it was a young snake. I've heard that a young rattlesnake can't control their venom and injects it all at once, where as an adult snake may not inject any at all depending on how threatened it feels. All I really know is, we lost a good dog and now I'm afraid to take out my young hounds on the property.

[nmplott]

venom is metabolically expensive to make for a snake. So some snakes may not even inject venom in a bite. Younger snakes are still learning to control venom and often do inject more than is needed.
I use dexamethasone when the dogs get bit and have seen varied results, for a few dogs I have seen respond just as well with benadryl. And give the aquarium grade antibiotics to reduce the infection from the bite.

[tman308]

I second "Gary Roberson" $25 a dog per year is a cheap insurance. Get all mine done in the early spring.