Stay Alert: Keep Your Dog Safe From Snakebites

Jennifer Pinkerton July 23, 2008

Last week I went to visit my mother at a ranch in the Sierras. She spends her summers there, and is happy to be mostly alone for two months, with nothing but sagebrush and her dogs for company. But I decided to intrude upon her solitude and went to see her for a few days.

One day we were walking down the dirt road, chatting, swatting at mosquitoes and watching the dogs jump in and out of the river. Her young golden retriever is goofy and bouncy (as is their wont), and at one point he bounded up to a bush, very excited about something. A chipmunk? A rock? Then he suddenly reared back, turned tail and ran to us. As we approached the bush, we realized there was a rattlesnake coiled there. It turned out to be a dead snake, but even dead, the snake looked menacing (evidently little Patrick felt the same way).

If you live in an area where there are dangerous snakes, stay alert when you’re out and about, and you should be prepared to care for your dog in the event he has a run-in with something poisonous. If your dog is bitten by a snake, apply a tourniquet above the bite, if possible, to help prevent the flow of blood from his infected extremity to his heart, and seek veterinary assistance immediately.

Snake bite kits are widely available, and might come in handy, but frankly, applying a suction device or administering another procedure to your dog might be easier said than done, especially if he is agitated by the painful bite. Keeping him calm and getting him to the vet as soon as possible is crucial.

Better yet, if a snake bite is a real likelihood in your region, plan ahead and protect your dog with an inoculation. Antivenins are available at your vet. There are also rattlesnake avoidance training classes for dogs. Using mild shock collars and de-fanged rattlesnakes as teaching aids, avoidance training teaches dogs to stay away from the scent and sight of rattlesnakes.

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