How My Hound Dog Survived A Rattlesnake Bite
72Rattlesnake Bite
I can recall the time I went to the county dump to get rid of my
rubbish,and out from behind the trash container rambles a starved Hound Dog.
I looked at the poor animal and decided I would take the sick dog home.
As the weeks came and went the Hound dog became stronger and started to
wonder around the ranch chasing off the bear and mountain lions.
I would hear him barking way up in the canyons at night,when he was on a hot track.
Then one day old Dan had a swollen skull behind the ear.
I took a look at the sore and noticed right away that he had been bitten by a
Rattlesnake.Well it was to late to take the dog to the Veterinarian,so I just kept
an eye on Dan's mishap.After a week the swollen area fell out of his head.
I knew then that Dan would recover from the bite,so I doctored the spot with
Blue Violet.A few days later Dan was back chasing the bear and lions off.
Most snake bites are from pit vipers, which are poisonous
snakes that are identified by their triangular heads,
retractable fangs, and a special heat-sensing pit between the
eye and nostril. North American pit vipers include five
subspecies of copperheads,
three subspecies of water moccasins,
three subspecies of pygmy rattlesnakes,
three subspecies of massauga, and at least 26 subspecies
of rattlesnakes. Water moccasins and copperheads are found
in the eastern United States and southward through Texas.
Rattlesnakes are found throughout the contiguous
United States, with the highest concentration in the south
and southwest.
Varies. Envenomation does not always occur. The severity
of envenomation is related to the time of the year, the volume
of venom present in the snake, the location of the bite, the
number of bites, and the amount of victim movement after
the bite (movement increases the spread of the venom).
The amount of venom is not related to the size of the snake.
Systemic signs such as kidney damage may take 24-72 hours
to develop in mild envenomations, so the animal should be
observed closely for several days.
Signs
May see one, two, or several small puncture wounds,
bleeding, bruising, immediate and extremely painful swelling
at the site of the bite, and tissue necrosis. The more severe
systemic signs may take up to several hours to appear and
include hypotension and shock, lethargy and weakness,
muscle tremors, nausea, vomiting, and neurological signs
including depressed respiration.
Immediate Action
Identify the snake if possible. Restrict movement of the pet.
Loosely immobilize the limb in a functional position if bitten
on an extremity. DO NOT incise the bite wound to aspirate
the venom and DO NOT apply a tourniquet without veterinary
assistance. DO NOT apply ice to the area. Seek veterinary attention.
Veterinary Care
General treatment: The animal will be kept quiet and the
bitten area immobilized if possible to decrease the spread of
the venom. The area around the wound will be clipped and
cleaned.
Supportive treatment: Antihistamines may be administered
and IV fluids given to help prevent low blood pressure.
Oxygen is given if needed. Antibiotics are used to prevent
secondary infections. Pain medication is provided as
necessary. Laboratory tests to check for bleeding problems
and organ damage will be performed repeatedly.
Blood transfusions may be necessary in cases of severe
coagulopathies. The area above and below the bite wounds
may be measured every 15 minutes to monitor the edema
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are
contraindicated in the early phase (first 24 hours) of
treatment because of the different types of venom and the
anticoagulant effects of NSAIDs. The use of corticosteroids
may be contraindicated also, as some research shows they
increase the severity of the bite.
Specific treatment: Antivenin* may be administered. The use
of antivenin is controversial and is used at the discretion of
the attending veterinarian. To be most effective, antivenin
should be given within 4 hours of the bite. It becomes less
effective as more time passes.
All snake bite victims should be observed for a minimum of
12 hours, even when there are no clinical signs. If clinical
signs are present, the length of observation is increased to
48-72 hours, as damage to organs may not appear
immediately.
Prognosis
A study of animals bitten by pit vipers showed that those
treated with antivenin, intrand antibiotics
had a mortality rate less than 1% and local tissue damage
was rare. The mortality rate in untreated patients depended
on the species of snake involved. For example, in patients
bitten by the Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes, the mortality
rate was about 10%. In the much more dangerous
Mojave rattlesnake, it could be as high as 35%.
*Two companies, Fort Dodge and Wyeth Ayerst Laboratories
produce antivenin. Veterinary clinics and human hospitals in
areas that have a high population of pit vipers have this
product on hand. Many owners want to carry this product
with them, but because of the intravenous administration
and instability of the product, it is recommended that a
veterinarian give it
General Information
Snake bites tend to occur on the pet's head or neck. Bites
involving the trunk of the body have a poorer prognosis.
Snake bites may affect one or more body systems including
the cardiopulmonary system, the nervous system, or the
coagulation system. Usually, if the snake is not poisonous
or the venom was not injected, the pain, swelling, and
bruising at the bite site will be minimal.
Toxic Dose
Hound dog food
|
Dogswell Vitality Duck Breast, 5-Ounce Orange Pouch (Pack of 6)
Price: $25.11
List Price: $32.64 |
Porcupine quills
Rattlers at large
Warning!!!!
If you shoot or smash a Rattlesnakes head to destroy it,DO NOT PICK IT up with your bare hands ,BECAUSE THE VENOM COULD HAVE SPLASHED ONTO IT'S BODY,which means the venom is on your hands and if you rub an eye,it can partially blind you for a week or two..
Deadly Snake Bite
Rattler Bite
Dogs verse Snake
Rattlesnake
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Comments
wow thats so nice of you to take the dog home nice hub .
Here in Texas we have to be on guard always. I cringe when I see city slickers in running shoes wandering through tall saltgrass etc. There is a reason why I wear kicker cowboy boots when I'm out in the boonies. It'snot just for show.
Good hub
wondering, did your dog have a hole where he was bitten, my dodg leroy was bitten on the lower jaw. when i look at it after all the swelling went down, i gave him penicillin and benedryl, there is one fang hole and the other fang hole has bled ut and is about 3 inches long and i would say 2 inches deep.will he lose part of his face from this bite? we live in northwest florida and there are lots of snakes here, so much i don't want to go out and play with my son, one crawled right across my front porch! i keep putting meds in the deep hole,at forst it was just swollen and i lifted his head up and a peice of skin came off now its huge. what do i do? please email me with any suggestions,sethsmom2004@embarqmail.com. thanks.
seems like the wouund is opened and is bleeding out. i have kept giving him the benedryl and penicillin. i finally got him to eat,he was hungry today! thank goodness. i am hoping he will pull thru it but i hope it doesn't disfigure him.
I live in Southern California and my dog was bitten last night. He is a 17 year old American Eskimo in very good health for his age. The vet recommended he not receive anitvenin. He has received IV and antihestimines. He'll be in the hospital for a couple of days.
Any more suggestions out there?
Well Jewel it looks like your dog may have been bitten on the stomach,but if it was bitten on the head area it will survive most likely.
If the snake was a mojave green,we shall pray for the dog as it is a different venom than other rattlers don't have.
I applied Blue Velvet spray to the wound on my dog,as it is a very good healing spray medicine for wounds.
just an update, leroy was seen by a vet and given a dose of some type of antibiotic. the huge hole is now closed up and healing and leroy i eating and getting around like normal. vet says he will be just fine.
just an update, leroy was seen by a vet and given a dose of some type of antibiotic. the huge hole is now closed up and healing and leroy i eating and getting around like normal. vet says he will be just fine.
Wow, I can't believe he made it without going to the vet! When our dog got a rattlesnake bite, we raced to the emergency vet and he got antivenin. Well, I guess there are always different ways to do things.
Ouch. that had to have been scary as hell. Great hub!
Okay, it is now Saturday night and our dog was bitten Friday night by a rattle snake. We were not home but my brother was when it happened. He brought her in and let her drink water, and has been taking good care of her. We just got home from vacation Saturday night (today) and gave her some benadryl. Her face is swolen and her neck. She was bit on the nose by one fang. We have no access to the vet here. The closest one is 50 miles away but it's the weekend and they're all closed. Do you suggest we take her to the vet on monday anyone or will that do her any good? We will continue to give her benadryl to reduce swelling.
If your dog's swelling of the neck area doesn't go down,I would advise you to take the dog to the vet,as it will restrict the breathing and your dog will choke to death.Good luck and send me an e-mail as to the outcome of this.
Oh dear, I could not watch all these, will have to come back when I get brave again. I did have a dog got bitten by a water moccasion and live - was bitten on the lower lip and the fangs went through his lip. If you want to read a different approach possibility to bite treatment, check my hub on electrical treatment of bites, stings. See you again, and thanks for all the info.
I will read your hub on electrical treatments..
Our 15 pound boston terrier was bitten by either a Western Diamondback or Mojave (hard to tell the difference, I didn't see it very long) about 50 hours ago in the face, above her eye. I rushed her to the Vet and she's been under observation ever since.
At first she showed symptoms only local to the bite: extreme swelling and pain. She has been given IV fluids, antihistamines, pain meds, antibiotics, and steroids. Antivenin wasn't given because all her bloodwork came back within normal to low-normal ranges initially.
It wasn't until about 24 hours after the bite that her protein (albumen) levels started to drop too low. We were told this was due to her body devoting so much to the facial swelling. All the rest of her bloodwork looked fine so she was given a plasma transfusion to assist with proteins. That helped.
At about 36 hours post-bite her bloodtest came back with a coagulation time that had raised significantly. This, we were told, could be an early indication of internal bleeding risk. If she had had this symptom when she was first admitted to the Vet, they would have given her AntiVenin. But this was the first time she had developed it. So she was given another plasma transfusion which brought her coagulation time back to normal and upped her protein levels again.
I would recommend that anyone with a small dog get to a Vet immediately after a snake bite. We will also be getting both dogs the Rattlesnake Vaccine after our girl (hopefully) pulls through recovery.
Our Roxy is a big dog in a little body and is fearless without being confrontational or obnoxious. She thinks she can do anything, and frequently shocks us with how much she can do. She loves to show our pit bull how to climb large boulders while hiking or scale rock faces. You can't keep her down.
If she hadn't encountered the snake first, I wouldn't have even seen it and walked right into it's path. I'm currently 6 months pregnant and shutter at the thought of what effects rattlesnake bite treatment could have had on pregnancy.
We're holding out for the 72 hour mark and visiting the emergency vet clinic frequently.
Thank you for the information here! Good luck to everyone who goes through this.
I hope your dog makes it through this ordeal,and thank god you were not bitten,especially if it is a mojave green..
My dog wa sbitten by a copperhead a week ago and we rushed her to the Animal ER and they took car of her but it also cost us $780 dollars, but who's in the position to say no to your sick dog?? Today I was put in that situation my other dog scout was bitten by another copperhead, but there is NO way we can swing another $780 dollar vet bill... her leg is swollen and oozing and I gave her benadryl and baby asprin.. I'm trying to get her to drink but she just won't..Plz suggest anything that will help my baby girl!!!!
I am sure if you explain to the vet that you can only make payments,they will help your dog.By all means get the dog to the vet before it's too late.
It is our responsibility to take care of animals,no matter what the cost,if we choose to have pets.
Copperhead snake bites can cause swelling, local tissue injury, abnormally low blood pressure, lack of blood clotting and general pain in all limbs. It is however very rare that bites from copperhead snakes leads to death. In recent year there haven’t been many reports about fatal bites from copperheads. However, a former police officer from Madison County, Texas is believed to have died from the poison of a copperhead snake in 2006. The chance of a fatal bite and envenomation by a copperhead is probably less than 1:5000. Bites can however have serious medical consequences and require immediate medical attention.
my dog has been bitten or something on his head. It's very swollen and his eyes have swollen too because of the big lump on his head. We have no money to take him to the vet and he is very lathergic and I am so worried about him. What should I do?
You can still take the dog to the vet and they will take the necessary steps to cure the problem.
You tell them you have no money to pay and you will pay a little each month.
The vet isn't going to turn your dog away. missbarbra6
moonlake says:
18 months ago
My Dad's dog was also bitten by a rattle snake and survived. He was bitten in the head. So glad your dog was ok. Nice of you to take in the poor dog and give him a home.