The inquisitive nature of dogs can surely get dogs often in trouble. One of the biggest dangers to which dogs may be exposed, especially when walking on some off beat trails are reptiles. While in the wild generally most dogs had an instict to avoid snakes all together, nowadays our domesticated dogs seem to have lost some important savoire faire. The most likely scenario? A dog going to sniff near the brush and then a sudden yelp as a snake strikes the dog right on its nose.

According to Red Rocks Biologics quoted:''Approximately 300,000 dogs and cats are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the United States.'' That's quite a number!

In the Unites States, there are four snakes that should cause concern: rattlesnakes, copperheads, coral snakes and cotton mouths. Because these snakes are so fast to strike, owners may not be able to visibly see the type of snake and therefore will have to rely on the appearance of the bite. A poisonous pit viper bite will have two fangs. Such fangs leave typical fang marks which will appear as two bleeding puncture wounds.

In some cases, should you own a long haired dog the actual puncture area may not be clearly visible. However, your dog will appear visibly in pain and the tissue surrounding the bite area may appear swollen and discolored. In some cases, however, swelling may not be present nor will any local reaction be visible.

Should the bite appear to be from a non poisonous snake -(therefore with no fang marks)- simply clean the wound and monitor for signs of infection. If there are fang marks instead, your primary goal should be to take your dog at once to the closest veterinary emergency hospital (even if it is several miles away). Systemic symptoms may develop within a short time or after several hours.

The prognosis all depends on the dog's over all health status, the amount of venom injected, the species of the snake, the area bitten, and the size of the dog. Affected dogs will typically exhibit the following symptoms: Restlessness, Drooling, Panting, Uncoordination, Diarrhea, Dilated Pupils, Pale gums (not their normal bubble gum color), Shock and Eventually, death.

Of course, if you must teach your dog snake avoidance, you must understand that your dog must learn to be wary of any type of snake in order to be on the safer side. You cannot teach a dog to avoid a viper but then to befriend a garter. He or she will not know the difference! And of course you cannot teach a dog to avoid a fake rubber snake!

Because in order for a dog to learn to avoid dangerous snakes he must be exposed to them, it is highly recommended to allow him to attend some snake avoidance training sessions. These sessions feature live muzzled and/or defanged snakes ( with their fangs are clipped off) so to ensure the maximum safety while the dog is exposed to the real thing.

Most of these training methods generally use a remote electronic training collar which delivers a light shock to the dog accordingly adjusted to the dog's temperament and personality. Basically these collars work by giving a correction to a dog that gets too close to rattle snakes.

In order to be highly effective however, these classes need to be repeated once a year so the dog's training is refreshed.

While owners virtually can try to train their dog to avoid snakes on their own using an electronic collar, this is really highly not recommended. First because in order to learn your dog should be exposed only to ''real snakes'' which is very dangerous and potentially life threatening, and second because owners must know exactly when to deliver the correction and how intense it needs to be in order to grant success, therefore, snake avoidance training should be strictly left to the professionals.

Of course! They may sound pretty common sense but they can be life savers, here they are:

• Real elementary: walk your dog on leash
• Have your dog vaccinated against snake bites (yes these vaccines really exist, see references below!)
• Always stay on path
• Be wary of the snake's favorite habitats: piles of rocks, logs, creeks and streams
• Never Poke or provoke a snake, rather leave the scene slowly and with utmost caution

References:

Keep Your Dog safe from Rattle Snake Bites

For Further Reading:

Rattlesnake Vaccination for Dogs