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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:13 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2124
Location: Hudson,Wy

Four years ago yesterday, my dog Katie died. That's always a tough day to think about. Today Rusty was bitten by a rattlesnake. Talk about setting forth the demons of anxiety.

The bite was not a "dry" bite. The miserable reptile bit hard before ever rattling. Yes, I killed the snake. Plus another that came close enough to my own carcass. Thankfully, Rusty has been given annual snake bite vaccinations.

There are few experiences more worrisome than carrying your buddy in your arms when he is too sick to walk, especially when your own knee is not right and the truck is half a mile below you. A trip to the vet was quite useful and after treatment for shock and a few other minor issues, Rusty appears to be on the mend.

The small cost of a snake bite vaccination is the best money I ever spent. Today's visit was quite a bit more costly, but well worth every cent and much less than antivenin treatment.

Another friend's dog was bitten this summer and she is healthy and hunting hard today. He has been through this three times now. Each time the dog in question had been vaccinated and each event turned out for the better after about a week.

This was the lousiest sage grouse hunt of my life. One grouse and several misses. At least I didn't miss the infernal snakes. Some days just aren't kind. This photo was taken two hours before the incident. Hopefully my boy and I can go hunting fairly soon. As he recovers, he will grow restless.
[[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/52517_512x768/] [/URL]][/img]

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Dogchaser37
PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:45 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 08 Aug 2011
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Location: Central CT

Stay positive and in the moment like your pup will......you two will be at it again before long!!

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Coyote Crusader
PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:49 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Mar 2017
Posts: 44
Location: Nacogdoches Texas

Wyochukar, Sorry to hear about rusty. I hope for a speedy recovery.

Best wishes
Preston

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skeettx
PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 7:58 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
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Location: Amarillo, Texas

WHEW
Good foresight
Get well soon our canine hero
Mike

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67galaxie
PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:33 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Mar 2017
Posts: 226
Location: Valdosta GA

I'm glad your pup is doing ok. Ol sneaky no shoulders always ruins the party. I hate them
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Gil S
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 3:46 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 1943
Location: Lowcountry Ga.

I know of too many stories of dogs that reptiles have gotten the upper hand. I hope Rusty makes a full recovery. One man I know has lost two Brittanys to gators. Another friend's cousin lost his Lab to a gator at the boat ramp at pre-dawn while duck hunting. Many more have lost bird dogs to snakes. I try to minimize exposure by hunting the winter mornings when the snakes are more likely to be burrowed and temps are below 50 F. They may still be out, but are somewhat sluggish. Balmy winter days can have snakes out and active here in the lowcountry. Carl lost his Boykin to a huge EDB one February years ago. One man in TX only hunts slopes with northern exposures early season which means the snakes are less likely to be out sunning. I have had my dogs "snake broke" by a retired vet who uses live venomous snakes, EDB, canebrake, cottonmouths and copperheads. The technique works if the dog senses the snake first. I have not vaccinated them with the Red Rocks vaccine which is made from western rattler venom. There is some controversy with its effectiveness here in the SE. Glad it worked for you. I carry Benadryl caplets, 25 mg per cap. According to my vet, they will prevent the air passage from swelling closed and are good to give a bitten dog as a stopgap treatment while on the way to the vet. My 40 lb. dogs can take two safely. Gil
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canvasback
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:00 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 684
Location: Ontario

Best wishes for a complete recovery for Rusty. Stories like this make me glad I live and hunt (mostly) in the land of (almost) no venomous or large reptiles. I'm much more comfortable with the threat posed by large mammals.....I guess it's what you're used to.

A close friend moved to Australia years ago. I can't believe the poisonous crap he puts up with. He has to clear his swimming pool of funnel web spiders EVERY time the kids o swimming!

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jschultz
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:25 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 1624
Location: northwewst Wyoming

I'm happy to hear that Rusty is on the mend.
Annie and all of my previous dogs has been vacanated for rattle snakes. We have had two of the critters in our yard and one evening I was going out the door and almost stepped on a rattle snake.
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byrdog
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:52 am  Reply with quote
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Snake Aversion Training. I lived in AZ for 10 years. rattle snakes are everywhere because of the home building being done in the desert. A very good friend of mine was a professional dog trainer ran all my dogs through his snake training program. not only did he save the lives of many of my setters he saved me from being bitten when the dog I was running turned and alerted me to a rattler that I was about to step on. i hunted on the average 4 days a week for all 5 months of the quail season for 10 years and never had a dog bitten. I think the vaccine is a good measure to take even if you never have a bite. The snake training is necessary just to be fair to the dog.

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goathoof
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:16 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Dec 2009
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Location: eastern oregon

[img] [/img]

This one was on our front door sill. My wife almost stepped on it. We have four dogs and fortunately my german short haired pointer mix has no interest in snakes and walks away when she smells or sees one. I have done anti-snake behavior treament with all the dogs. I use live bull snakes and have a large dead rattle -snake in the freezer which is brought out now and then. I have caught all the dogs on the front porch surounding a rattler and barking to call me out so I can dispatch it. Our problem is if a rattler is in the sage and a dog cannot smell or see it before they get to close. No dog has been bitten yet. We do not vaccinate, but have discussed it.

I hope your dog fully recovers!
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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:28 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2124
Location: Hudson,Wy

I put Rusty through my own avoidance training first year. Border Collies tend to shy away from them naturally anyway. The problem is that he had no idea the snake was there. He was trotting along with the wind at his back and wasn't working any active ground scent either. It was warm, he was a bit tired, and scent was not laying well either. The snake provided no warning either, it just bit instantly.

His leg is swollen today but he is eating again. He received a good bit of venom. He showed signs of trouble within minutes.

I asked the vet about Benadryl a couple times and this morning he still insists that in this case it won't hurt him but it also won't do anything useful. He said that if anything, he would recommend Rimadyl if deemed necessary, but not until the steroids have worn off. The steroids provide the additional benefit of stabilizing cellular structure that is being attacked by the toxins in most snake venoms. Beyond that, time and rest in addition to massaging the affected zone to ensure proper capillary function. I'll take his word for it, he deals with these bites far too often during "snaky" years like we are currently experiencing.

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wj jeffery 16
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:02 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 18 Aug 2010
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Location: Ballymoney Northern Ireland

Sorry to hear about Rusty but glad he's on the mend and hope he makes a full recovery . Makes me thankful St Patrick did the business on the snakes over here . Keep us posted on Rusty's recovery ,all the best WJ.
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Ruff Hunter
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:04 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Dec 2011
Posts: 156

Glad to hear Rusty is on the mend!

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grousepointer16
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:54 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 02 Jun 2016
Posts: 96
Location: Boreal Shield of Ontario

My thoughts are with you and Rusty. Glad to hear he is recovering.

Here in Parry Sound Ontario, it is the core habitat of the Massasauga rattler. I normally encounter rattlers several times a summer but almost never when my dogs are with me and Usually when my crew is working a bush fire.

Grouse season just opened and we are hunting in rattler habitat. I was thinking about snakes this morning before I hunted because it is so warm here; the snakes will be active because they will be moving toward their hibernation sites. Then at about 1350 hrs my 2 yo male black lab and I were hunting along a trail when he winded something and veered 90 degrees off the trail, went into the cover about 20 meters then ran perpendicular to the trail for about 50 meters then came back out onto the trail and stopped to look back at me. Not seeing a flush I started walking toward my dog and only went about 10 meters and happened to look down at the trail and coiled up between the two track was a adult Massasauga Rattler. The good Lord saw fit to steer my dog off the trail and for me to see it. I let the snake be. In my tribe, the rattler is viewed as a protector of the forest and keeps man from over harvesting. I got the message and Smoke and I ended the hunt.

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Ohio Wirehair
PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:53 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jul 2016
Posts: 546
Location: Ohio

Here in Ohio it's a $5000.00 fine to kill a rattlesnake or copperhead. The same fine as killing a eagle. Figure that one out.
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