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BobWanderer's avatar
BobWanderer
Explorer
Apr 23, 2012

Pet owners warning

Just thought I would "throw" this out there for you who would rather NOT read about "T****". :B

Saturday, while camping between Soggy dry lake and the "Rock Pile" I take one of our dogs for a walk, 6:30 PM, flat ground, no rocks, just your normal desert brush. Ryder sniffs each bush, lifts His leg, and heads to the next one. About 25 bushes later He litterly does a back flip and sits down next to me, out crawls a Mojave Green rattle snake !!!
Both our dogs have had the "snake Vaccine" and been to the rattlesnake avoidance class, He did what he was supposed to do.
D W ended up taking Him to the Vet to get checked out, We could not see any "fang marks" or blood, but his snout started to swell up about 30 minutes later. He is O K and was able to come back out to camp and spend the weekend with Us. HE IS ONE LUCKY DOG !!
For those who do not know, Mojave Greens are porobably the most potent of the "rattlers" and very aggressive. Dogs are "nosey" and will stroll right up to a snake and thats why they get bit.
The class teaches them the "sight,sound and smell" of a rattler and both Of Our dogs went to the class on Friday, 1 1/2 days later one gets put to the ultimate test. Of the 2 dogs, Ryder was the one I worried about, even with the class. Dez went way around all the snakes and it was very obvious She wanted nothing to do with them.
Ryder passed the class, but in my opinion got way too close to the snakes, but the trainers assured me he would be O K. They were right.
Please make sure you dogs get the shot and training if you live in snake territory or camp with them. I spent about 4 hours in suspense and worried sick until D W called back with the good news.
It possibly was a "dry bite" or "flesh wound" and did not inject any venom.

96 Replies

  • Y-Guy wrote:
    Thanks for sharing Bob, that type of class was something I've never heard of before. Glad Ryder is all good!


    Funny thing, the vet that examined him was from Seattle and has not dealt with snake bites. She did some checking just to verify He was
    O K.
    Search for info on the class, there is plenty. Maybe not as much up there since most of Kali in in snake territory.
  • fordsooperdooty wrote:
    Excellant! Don't forget the annual booster shot for maximum protection. Lucky dog and now oder and wiser...and best of all not dead! Whew..scary!


    Thanks,
    Our vet has us on a list to notify Us by e-mail when any updated shorts are needed. The Lady who organizes the class sends us a reminder as well.
    It was kind of funny (Now) that I just stood there looking down at the snake for what seems like way too long, before I moved away and looked the dog over.
  • All our Labs have been bit at least once- and they have all had the rattle snack avoidance classes... It's an expensive ordeal. I think the last one was 3 days at the vet and $1500.00 bucks.

    Glad your dogs is good!
  • Thanks for sharing Bob, that type of class was something I've never heard of before. Glad Ryder is all good!
  • Excellant! Don't forget the annual booster shot for maximum protection. Lucky dog and now oder and wiser...and best of all not dead! Whew..scary!

  • NOT an actual picture I took, but I found this at a web site, just for a reference to what the scene looked like.



    Ryder is the dog on the left, now a little more educated :S