Snake Problems

[Unreal_tk]

I have a good coon habitat area I'd like to hunt this fall but I'm really concerned about the heavy rattlesnake population there. How bad is it to get bit on a dog is worth the chance?

[Gary Roberson]

If I did not hunt because I was afraid of having a dog bit by a rattler, I would never cut them loose. It is a risk that we must take everytime we hunt down here.
Adios,
Gary

[DC DOGGIN]

10-4 Gary, I had a dog out a couple weeks ago off in a canyon, I killed two rattlesnakes that day in the same area. Kinda makes you nervous at times but then again so does everything else we do. Later DC.

[YotaDawger]

There is a place where I hunt here in Oregon, there are ppl that go snake hunting out there but never seen any out there.

[Redneck]

I live here in that southern part of utah desert area , so rattle snakes are as common as jack rabbits. first time out dogs ran in too a Mohave rattle snake aka side winder . four dogs got lucky bluff struck at them too close for comfort . there is a place you can buy anti venom by the dose for like 25 bucks a dose if you want it by the bottle its almost 600 bucks well worth it if you play in a snake area ..

[cjohnson1178]

90% of rattlesnake bites are dry bites (no venom). I don't know if its true, but I heard there is a new rattle snake vaccine you can give your dog every year.

[skeets]

i had 2 dogs to get bit last night both of them on the left front foot, the ole dog kept on treeing. the vet said it was a copperhead and that they will be alright. them snakes are bout everywhere in them bluffs.

[JasonBB]

ya the river bottoms here in southern alberta are crawling with those damn rattlers i seen eight this week alone,i also read some where about that snake vaccine for the dogs anyone every use it ? would like to know also

[basko]

i know my vet insisted that i get the snake vaccine but i didnt. so im assuming there is such a thing. they said if your dog gets bit and they have the vaccine its alot cheaper to get your dog worked on than if they dont have it. if i remember right the percentage of them making it after they get bit is way way higher than if they dont have it. so i guess if you hunt around all those dam slithering snakes its worth it.

[skeets]

ive never had a dog to die from a snakebite, had one dog bit in the eye i just knew he would go blind but after a couple of days he was good as new, of course i dont beieve any of em got bit by a rattler. them things are bad news.

[tman308]

I use to live in AZ and boy did we have snakes. I started all my hounds on the vaccine several years ago. After the first round of shots its just an annual booster. Suppose to be like having 10 vials of anti-venom on board. None of mine have been bit yet so not sure what the effects are but a buddy of mine had his bit with no anti-venom and it cost him a small fortune. I figure $25 is pretty dang cheap for a little piece of mind. As far as I know you have to get the shots at the vet. That is the only bummer.

[South Texan]

About 5 years ago they came out with a snake vaccine. All the south Texas cat hunters thought it might be worth the money to vaccinate their dogs, so we all did. It was a 3 shot series. About 3 months after all my dogs had their 3 shot series I got my first dog bit. I knew it was a bad bite. The dogs had treed a cat, as I got to the tree I saw a young dog I was training standing with his head hanging down and a hump in his back. He was bitten inside of the hind leg up high. I pumped him up with medicine for rattle snake bits that I carry in the truck, probably within 30 minutes of the bite. That evening he was dead.

About 2 months later, I got my second dog bit. Here at the ranch one morning. Excellent little gyp (Jill) about 2 1/2 years old. She would start, cold trail and I mean cold trail, if she couldn't move the trail she would then go look deep. But anyway, again they treed a cat, I got to the tree and everything was fine. I jumped the cat out and he made about a 200 yard circle and come back to the creek and treed the second time. The second tree wasn't probably about 80 yards from the first tree. As I was walking up to the second tree
I saw Jill standing with her head hanging down and humped up. I knew what had happened. She had gotten bit square in the middle of the shoulder. I bet the fang marks were 1 1/4 inches apart. Again I gave her all the snake shot medicine I carry in the truck probably within 15 minutes of being bitten. About 3 hours latter she was dead.

A good friend of mine that hunts had given all his dogs the 3 series of shots. Not long after I lost Jill, he got one of his dogs bitten and he died also.

I kinda lost faith in this snake vaccine and never vacinated my dogs again. I have heard other people swear by it. Say their dogs got bit and didn't even get sick. But I have come to the conclusion that every snake bite is different. Some snakes just don't get much venom in a dog, due to having bit something else previously and hasn't built up his supply. When snakes first come out of their den in the spring is a bad time. They seem to really be in a bad disposition and they have been denned up all winter and full of venom. Your odds go down to saving a dog if he is bitten at this time. Both of the dogs I mentioned above were both bitten at this time. If I had to make a guess I would say I probably lose about 10 per cent of my dogs that are bitten by a rattle snake.

Now like I said, this was about 5 years ago when I first vaccinated my dogs for rattle snake bites. This is when it first come out. Maybe since then they have improved on it, or might have a different vaccine all together now, I don't know. Good luck and I hope you never get a dog bitten. Robbie

[papa]

I lived in Tucson for several years when i was coon hunting. I can't count the number of rattlers i encountered over the years. Only had 1 dog get bitten...his head swelled up about the size of a basketball before I got home. Called the vet the next morning and he said keep him plenty of fresh water and he'll probably be ok. Sure nuff he pulled thru it. He was a good size hound: 60-70 pounds. Wonder if the size of the dog has any effect on the seriousness of the reaction?

[South Texan]

Papa,
I think size would make a difference. The bigger and stronger a dog, the better his chances would be. I would sure think a 60 to 75 pound dog vs a terrier getting bit in the same place with the same amount of venom would have a lot better chance of making it.

One thing I didn't mention in the above post is, where your dog gets bit on the body. Makes a lot of difference. The head is one of the best places a dog can get bit. I don't like for a dog to get bit in the muscle with deep penetration. The bigger the snake, the longer the fangs, thus deeper penetration of the venom.

In 1993 my 2 year old daughter got bit from a 13 inch long rattler here in the yard. She was standing within 3 feet of me when this happened. Later on at the hospital the doctor told me the leg had swelled so big, they would have to do surgery to relieve some pressure, also he said that venom kills muscle tissue and while he was doing surgery he was going to trim out all the dead muscle tissue. About 20 minutes later the doctor come out of the surgery room saying how lucky we were because she was bitten by a small rattler. Thus having little fangs with very little penetration. Doc said all the venom was just under her skin, in the fatty tissue of her leg. He didn't have to trim any dead muscle tissue out. She never even had to have plastic surgery. We were blessed. Before this, nearly all my life, I had heard a small snake bite is just as bad as a big snake bite. I can't believe this because the big snake is always going to get deeper penetration and I also believe he can pump more venom into a bit.

These are all variables, that come into play, with snake bites: Size of dog, dog's health condition, snake bite placement on dog, how much penetration of the bite, how much venom gets pumped into bite area, how hot the dog is when he gets bit. I'm sure there is more but that's all I can think of now. Anyway, I hope ya never have to deal with it. Good luck and happy hunting. Robbie

[Gary Roberson]

Well said, Robbie. I have not vaccinated my dogs this year as it is so dang hot that I am not seeing many snakes. I have killed only 3 or 4 all spring and summer while hunting my dogs. I do think that the vaccine helps reduce the effects of a bite in some situations but like Rob said when they get hit in the body, it is generally not a good thing.
Rob, that 13 inch snake that got your daughter must have been only a couple of hours old as most to the snake I find down there can swallow the terrier you were talking about.
Tell the family "Hey".
By the way, I want to shoot a show with you and J. Martin on a ranch down at Hebbronville that is loaded with cats. Heck, we might even let Shorty tag along. It seems that we are about to make a "Media Slut" out of J. Martin, everybody loves him on the show. I told him that he was a cross between John Wayne and Rex Allen.
Adios,
Gary