Snakes Aren't Hibernating Yet

PSA...

With the cold temps we've had for the past week, I thought snakes were hibernating and weren't something to be concerned with. I was wrong. My dog got bit by a rattlesnake today while hiking up to North Table Mountain.

Something to watch for if you're taking your dog with you to an area known to have a lot of rattlesnakes.

That's brutal man, sorry to hear that. I've been up there with my dog a few times in the past couple weeks, thx for the heads up! Hope the pup is ok!!

And people wonder why I take a machete with me when I go climbing. Go ahead and hate all you want. I'm not above killing any animal that threatens my dog.

I was pleasantly surprised when the vet told me that rattlesnake bites are seldom fatal for dogs. So, the prognosis is pretty good. Unfortunately, they're extremely painful, full recovery takes days, and the vet care is very expensive (anti-venom is $900).

And, it wouldn't have helped if I'd been carrying a samurai sword. My dog was running ahead of me and had gone down a social trail. I didn't see it happen. It wasn't until my dog came back limping badly with two puncture wounds on her leg that I knew something was wrong.

A large rattlesnake was spotted recently on the Fowler Trail near the Bastille. It's best to keep the pooches on a short leash in rattler habitat.

koreo wrote:And people wonder why I take a machete with me when I go climbing. Go ahead and hate all you want. I'm not above killing any animal that threatens my dog.

You and your dog should stay in the city.

josh

Teaching your dogs to avoid snakes and cars might we worth looking into. They should offer that specific training at obedience schools.

Yep, you can teach your dog to ignore snakes and give them a wide birth when encountered. Classes are becoming more common.

Thanks for the PSA man.

Just another reason why dogs should be on a leash when on the public domain during outdoor experiences.

My dog got popped in the snout by a rattler this spring. His face and neck swelled up mightily for several days, but other than a bunch of Benadryl he got no treatment and recovered just fine.

I want to think her learned something from this encounter...we'll see. He was 8 years' old at the time, so maybe it all just caught up with him.

Random Sierra foothills, fire road, no one else around, so spare me the pontificating about dogs and crags.

koreo wrote:And people wonder why I take a machete with me when I go climbing. Go ahead and hate all you want. I'm not above killing any animal that threatens my dog.

Your better off with a 5foot
stick used like a blind man tapping bushes & rocks. A rattler can strike 1/2 its body length. At least thats how I was taught..

"Just another reason why dogs should be on a leash when on the public domain during outdoor experiences."

This is ridiculous. I was going to say it's the dumbest thing I've ever heard but I'm thinking Christine O'Donnell's inside info on the Chinese plot to take over America is dumber.

Mind you, it's only dumb if you believe it's okay to have dogs as pets. If you think this should be illegal it becomes a valid point of argument.

If, however, you believe that it should be legal for anyone to own a dog then it's such a misunderstanding of how the animal physiology works that it's highly offensive that you would state you case.

Most dogs, not all, are working animals. They must run in order to release hormones in order for their bodies to function properly. If you do not allow you dog to behave this way it is simply animal cruelty. They will, in time, "go crazy" to use the lay term that gets tossed around whenever someone can't understand why their "cattle dog" or "sled dog" is misbehaved when they are not allowed out of the yard.

Dogs are fast-twitch animals. No human can exercise them with a leash unless you consider dog sledding harnesses leashes. Even an ultra runner--as I am--cannot properly exericse a dog. You can get them tired but they need to sprint in order for proper hormonal release to occur. Usain Bolt cannot properly exercise a working dog. Therefore, there must be public open space for them to exercise or laws against keeping them. And in this I mean large areas of land, not a 1,000 sq/ft "dog park".

I would say that I don't understand how this subject doesn't come up but humans aren't so different. We are not necessarily fast-twitch animals--in fact we are built for endurance--but we need short intense anaerobic exercise in order to properly keep our hormones in balace and, as a society, we ain't doing a bang up job at teaching this, either. If we knew this type 2 diabetes wouldn't even be an illness.

If you want to own a working dog you should either live on a massive piece of open space or train your dog very well and then allow it to run. Otherwise consider a cat instead.

Sorry about pontificating but in this case I prefer the term educating.

Also, 90-some-odd percent of rattlesnake bites occur on the hand or ankle because either somebody didn't see a snake and stepped on it or tried to pick one up. It's not so different for dogs. Those who ignore snakes almost never get bit. A snake does not want to attack a dog or a person. It's their last line of defense and they are vulnerable when striking. Dogs that get bit are generally harassing a snake and this behavior can be trained out of them with a little work (or a lot of work depending on the dog).

Not sure is this has been scientifically proven but pit vipers need to line up their strike (so if you need to move a snake pick it up with a stick from behind and it will barely react), they do strike half of their body length, and they are the fastest striking snakes in the world, meaning playing the cobra dance game is generally a bad idea.

Steve

First, let me say this is not an attack against you. If I wanted to do that I would just point out the intelligence behind how you used the word pontificating right after Dillon, but I digress.

I'm a dog person, ask the neighbor's feline, she'll tell you. I love dogs. Thankfully, I had the experience of growing up with dogs as the family pet: retrievers, labs, a German Sheppard.. I was also up on Table Top about a week ago and climbed next to a group with a blue heeler which I believe is a working dog. This dog was legit: chilled at the feet of its handlers, accepted plenty of strokes from my hand along its fur, didn't expel its number 1 or 2 over anyone's gear, or even snoop into other climbers' packs. Too bad not all dog experiences turn out this way. Also Mr. Edwards, your reasoning that a human cannot properly exercise a dog is erroneous. Fetch, long distance runs, obedience training are some ways to exhaust a dog without leaving town, maybe even some two-a-days.

I am not advocating laws prohibiting dogs from going into nature. I would like laws for dogs that prevent things such as access to areas and avoidable safety hazards. Also, I want to eat my ham salad sandwich not have a strange dog eat or have a pack of hounds giving me puppy eyes and begging for a bite. Whenever I give them one they always take huge portions, drop pieces on the dirt, and then just ask for more.

If the dog was wearing pink underwear with a bowtie & top hat this whole incident

well, how can a snake possibly go for that??

Sorry to hear about the pup, hope he heals up.

Anyway, I don't even own a dog but my microbiology professor is always talking about the snake bite vaccination for dogs in class. Sounds like it's pretty good all around and a heck of a lot cheaper than the antivenin (and a bit less stress). This site seemed like it had decent info. rattlesnakevaccinefordogs.c…

Now they just need one for people...