I have been receiving more questions about snake bites now that the weather is getting warmer. I thought you might be interested in learning more about your dog and snake bites.
We may live in a much more urban world than we once did but there are still plenty of snakes around. In fact, Alaska and Hawaii are the only states that can claim they don’t have native venomous snakes. According to one estimate, some 15,000 dogs are bitten by poisonous snakes per year. Most of those bites — 70-80 percent — occur around a dog’s face and head. That suggests that the dog may have been bothering the snake.
There are at least nineteen kinds of poisonous snakes in the U.S.: fifteen rattlesnakes, copperheads, water moccasins, and two kinds of coral snakes. Most of these snakes are found from Florida northward, and to points west.
If your dog is bitten by a snake, even a poisonous snake, chances are that he will recover. Even with bites from Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes and coral snakes it’s estimated that dogs recover about 80 percent of the time. However, recovery depends upon a lot of variables:
Where your dog is bitten
The kind of the snake
The size of the dog
How many bites there are
The age of the snake
How bad the bite is
How much venom was injected
A Chihuahua and a St. Bernard will have very different reactions to a bite from a rattlesnake. Likewise, if a snake strikes 3-4 times it can be much worse than one bite. A glancing bite may not inflict much venom. A snake that bites at a Chow Chow may get a mouth full of hair. Not all snake bites are the same.
Your own quick actions can also do much to save your dog’s life. If your dog is bitten by a snake you should do the following:
1. Try to identify the snake. Look at its size, color and patterns. Is there a rattle? (But, whatever you do, don’t get too close to the already angry snake.) It will help your vet to know what kind of snake bit your dog.
2. Check your dog for the bite marks. The snake may have bitten him more than once.
3. If your dog was bitten on the leg you should make a quick tourniquet on the leg above the bite. Make it snug but not too tight. You want to slow the spread of the venom toward your dog’s heart. Keep it localized. Once it reaches the heart it will be pumped all over the body. You can use part of your shirt or any other piece of fabric to make the tourniquet.
4. Head to the vet or animal hospital. Go quickly but try to keep your dog calm.
You can try to prevent snake bites by keeping your dog leashed when you’re walking, hiking or running in unfamiliar areas, especially in wooded areas. Many snake bites occur when dogs are “just visiting” places they’re not familiar with.
Try to keep your dog from doing too much exploring of holes in the ground, woodpiles and other places where snakes may have made a place to hide.
Pathways are usually safer than wandering through the woods. Snakes are more visible on pathways.
Nighttime walks can be problematic. Rattlesnakes can come out at night.
If you hear a rattle, be alert. Locate the snake with your eyes. Keep your dog at your side and move away slowly.
If your dog seems too curious about something in a hole call him back and make him leave it alone. They say that curiosity killed the cat but the truth is that dogs can get in a lot of trouble because of their own curiosity.
Dog owners can have their dogs “snake-proofed.” This is a training program where dogs are taught to have an aversion to snakes. It can be a little extreme but dogs that have this training generally don’t go near snakes again. It involves exposing dogs to snakes (often harmless snakes are used in training) and using an e-collar. When the dog goes near the snake he is given a buzz from the collar. Other trainers use Diamondback Rattlesnakes to train dogs to have an aversion to rattlesnakes in particular. Rattlesnakes account for most of the snake bites to dogs in the U.S.
Do you have a dog bite story? Let us hear about it in the comments box below.
Until next time……….
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Thanks for the info! I’ve got a puppy at the emergency vet right now with a copperhead bite over her eye. So far she’s swollen and it apparently hurts like heck, but her other symptoms are minor so we’re hopeful she’ll recover.
Belinda, I hope your puppy is okay!
Hi my name is skyla,
i am awake at 1:13 in the morning because i cat sleep.
I took my dog to use the bathroom and a snake was right by our steps.
And the only reason i found this out was because she was drinking nd jumped back all of a sudden. Luckily it did not bite her but that is two cottonmouths in one night, which usually means there is a nest somewhere close!
My precious lab was bitten yesterday by a water moc. She was running through some branches by a ditch. She didn’t cry out, just jumped out of the branches and immediately sat down, holding up her front paw. She started panting heavily and I brought her inside, but didn’t see anything. She wouldn’t let me touch her paw, though. I left her alone for a few minutes and she got up on the couch and I noticed a few drops of blood. She never stopped panting, although she never cried or whimpered. Within thirty minutes, her paw had swollen to the size of a softball. And she was still panting. I took her to the vet and he said it was a pretty big water moc and he could tell it was big because of the amount of space between the fang marks, which were on like her wrist. I was so upset! He kept her for the day and she is home now and fine, but still on pain pills and antibiotics. I am still freaked out. I LOVE my dog!!!!!!!
Nan:
I am so glad to hear that your lab is going to be OK. She is lucky you were home so that you could get her to the vet.
Best wishes
Wayne Booth
About 40 years ago I was squirrel hunting with my father and friend of his & a red bone hound in the Saline River bottoms near Poyen.
The bottoms are famous for what we call velvet tailed Cotton mouths.
The dog afew yards in front of us jumped over a dead tree trunk and a velvet tail was on the ground on the other side and the snake nailed the dog in the left rib cage with a solid bite. Despite anything we could do for the dog he was dead in 20 minutes. Haven’t had a good squirrel dog since.
My 7 yr old dachshund/chihuahua mix was bitten today by a 2.5 ft. Southern Copperhead. She was bitten in the left chest area - her left muzzle, neck, and chest are swollen and the entire area is extremely painful. She had a 25 mg Benadryl in route to the vet clinic (one hour away) and an IV drip of anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and morphine when she got to the clinic. She is very lethargic and in miserable pain… There is some bruising in the neck “pouch” and chest area. She has no appetite and is just lying under the bed. I am taking her in to the clinic again early tomorrow morning. I know she dodged a bullet and hopefully will make a full recovery. My concern at this point is possible tissue necrosis / residual damage to tissues/nerves. Perhaps she learned a valuable lesson about snakes and sticking her nose into snaky areas? (I doubt it - it must be the dachshund in her!)
Good luck Laura, I hope she makes it. A friend of mine lost her collie on Saturday due to a snake bite to the top of the head.
Wayne
I left my Saint Bernard at my friends farm for a week and when I got him back I found that his neck and leg was swolen. I guess it is a snake bite as the bite looks like a snake bite. But still I find him active but not as active as he was before. Hope all is well with him.
We just lost our beloved Skippy, a 20 lb Schipperke. He was bitten inside the mouth by a 4 foot rattlesnake in our backyard. We live in a rural area and had gotten him the rattlesnake vaccine. Unfortunately, due to the location of the bite, he died within 6 hours at the emergency vet clinic. We are truly heartbroken. He was only 5 years old.
Cullie:
I’m very sorry to hear about your Skippy.
Wayne
my dog chief is a 1 1/2 yr old male huskey i just got home from overseas and took my dog to the mountains where we good do some good hikeing with my kids and pup i just got him off the truck and took him to mark a tree i stepped down close to the tree when my son said dad theres a snake it was to late i stepped rite on the taill as my dog sensed it he wiped around and took the bite for me i got him to the vet within thirty min. the vet gave him three shots and some pills i also have been giving him viteman C, Garlic, Milk, and beef for protien the swelling is finally starting to go down. this is by far the best dog i have ever had trully mans best friend kept me from getting bit and possibley my kids to if anyone has anymore ideas to help him with full recover please post info o ya i live in southern new mexico and it was a 3 1/2 foot dimondback rattlesnake and it was december i didnt thank it would be out
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