Rattlesnakes and Dogs in the High Desert

If your dog is bitten, right now

• Get away from the snake. Do not try to identify, catch, or kill it. More people are bitten doing this than in the original encounter.
• Keep your dog as calm and still as you can. Carry them if you can lift them.
• Call ahead while someone else drives. If we are open, call us. If we are closed, call the emergency hospital you are heading to so they can prepare.
• Take off any collar or harness near the bite. Swelling comes fast and hard.
• Go now. Swelling that looks mild in the first twenty minutes is not reassurance.

What NOT to do

• Do not apply a tourniquet. It concentrates venom and costs tissue.
• Do not cut the wound or try to suck out venom. It does not work and it wastes time.
• Do not apply ice.
• Do not give aspirin, ibuprofen, or any human pain medication. Several are toxic to dogs and some worsen bleeding, which is already a problem with envenomation.
• Do not wait to see if it gets better.

What a bite looks like

Two puncture marks are the classic sign but are often hidden by fur and swelling. More reliable: sudden severe swelling, obvious pain, bruising or discoloration spreading from the site, drooling, weakness, collapse, or laboured breathing if the bite is near the face or neck. Cats are bitten less often, and when they are, they tend to be sicker by the time it is noticed.

Lowering the risk

• Walk on cleared paths and keep dogs leashed on desert trails and washes.
• Snakes shelter under woodpiles, rock piles, and yard clutter. Clearing those clears the ambush spots.
• Rodent control is snake control. Where there are rodents, there are snakes.
• Walk at times when you can see the ground. Snakes move at dusk and after dark in hot weather, which is exactly when people walk dogs in summer.
• Rattlesnake aversion training is offered by trainers in the region and helps some dogs learn to back off.

About the rattlesnake vaccine

We stock the rattlesnake vaccine and recommend it for dogs out here. It is intended to reduce the severity of a bite and buy time. It does not make a dog immune and it does not change the plan: a vaccinated dog that is bitten still needs to be seen immediately. Whether it makes sense for your dog depends on where you live, where you walk, and your dog's size. Ask us at your next visit.