My dogs vs Rattlesnakes...

[dropdeded 0]

Rattlesnake avoidance class for dogs, signed up. Pretty common in the area and lots of snake friendly places on the property recently moved too. I believe its a 15 minute snake in a cage, shock collar deal.

Neighbor highly recommends it, just wondering if any dog folks here have done it?

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The Dude Abides.
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[skydiver30960 0]

Haven't put a pet through it but it's a really common course around here too (southern Arizona).

A coworker's dog tangled with a rattlesnake recently. She's a farm girl and says that dogs actually fare better against the venom than humans (?) so the fatality rate is lower (also, ?) but that dog was still a very sick pup for a few days.

Elvisio "good idea" Rodriguez

[oldwomanc6 60]

I had a cat (3 lbs. fully grown) tangle with a rattlesnake in NM. She didn't die, but cost a boatload of money. Teeny tiny ball of determination.

If a class would teach a dog to avoid them, Go For It!

lisa
WSCR 594
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CBDB 9

[Shell666 0]

Quote

Rattlesnake avoidance class for dogs, signed up. Pretty common in the area and lots of snake friendly places on the property recently moved too. I believe its a 15 minute snake in a cage, shock collar deal.

Neighbor highly recommends it, just wondering if any dog folks here have done it?

Training your dogs to keep them away from anything that can cause them harm is a good thing.

15 mins seems short to me though. Even with a shock collar. I believe (and I haven't used them so I'm not sure) but that training is repetitive.

Is there additional training that you have do at home to enforce it?

Just curious. The only thing I need to keep my dogs away from are snowmen.

'Shell

[dropdeded 0]

Yeah the extremely short actual class time is my main concern also. This specific class does come highly recomended by some local folks here. So theres got to be more to it. Roy, my German Shepard is a smart one but Annie, my Bernese Mountain Dog, eh', more of a giant hurricane of love than anything else. We'll see how it goes.

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The Dude Abides.
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[virgin-burner 1]

[reply..giant hurricane of love..

sounds just like me!

“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

[Usetawuz 1]

For what it's worth, you can have your pet vaccinated against rattlesnake venom. There is actually a vaccine available. Its effectiveness is questionable and it is expensive. Most vets in my area just recommend 'avoidance training'.

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The older I get, the better I was!

[VideoFly 0]

I would have thought my Doberman would have learned to stay away from snakes after he was bitten by a Copperhead. He was swollen in the face and neck and very sick for weeks. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to put his illness together with the snake. Two years later, he was bitten by a Copperhead again. He swelled and threw up for over a week. He still messed with snakes, but those were the only times he was bitten by a poisonous one. I would have loved it if he knew to leave snakes alone.

[flyangel2 2]

Quote

For what it's worth, you can have your pet vaccinated against rattlesnake venom. There is actually a vaccine available. Its effectiveness is questionable and it is expensive. Most vets in my area just recommend 'avoidance training'.

Actually the vaccination isn't that expensive, unless your vet is ripping you off. Cost about $26 per vaccination. If your dog has never been vaccinated with it before, you'll have to do a booster in three to four weeks. After that it's once a year.

Keep in mind, the vaccine has been reported to both delay the effects and reduce the severity of rattlesnake bites and help dogs survive and recover more quickly with less pain and swelling.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey