Well the snake job we did yesterday we ended up empty handed. The snake bite on the dog happened three days ago so the snake had a lead on us. We educated the woman on what to do and we baited up some spots for us to go back and check for the snake. What baiting up some spots means is we lay out some peices of tin and sheets of boards in shady areas. This is typically where you will find a snake during the day whens its hot, lying up under some kind of cover.
Hopefully Mr. snake will use one of them and we will catch it. We asked the woman to take a long stick and lift the edge of the boards and check for us to see if the snake was there. We told her if she saw one to just gentle lower the board back and the snake would most likely stay there until we could make the 30 minute drive but this woman is to terrified to do it. We will have to go and check the boards very few days.
This is a job we really want to complete. She has other dogs and her child is under two years old so there is some urgency there. I hope we can catch it so that she will feel safe for her child and dogs.
I wanted to share some info about dogs and snakebites. If you think your dog has been bit you need to look for the two puncture wounds it would have, one puncture wound if the snake didn't get a good bite in. Shave that area of the skin. Larger dogs can take bites to the head, snout, legs, rear end and tail better than a human can. A bite to the stomach is almost always fatal without medical treatment. With small dogs and depending on how much venom the snake delivers I think your dog could be in trouble rather quickly.
When snakes bite it depends on how aggitated they are as to the amount of venom they deliver. A snake does not want to waste its venom because it needs it to kill its food. Sometimes they will give whats called a dry bite meaning no venom. Usually with dogs, the snake is pretty mad because the dog is aggitated and barking, and snapping at the snake and the snake sees the dog as a threat so its going to defend itself.
The best thing is to get your dog to the vet, but a dog can survive. I just wish this woman had taken hers to the vet. I have had several dogs get bit through the years and never lost one over it.
What I do now with any new dog I get is to catch a black racer which always have a bad attitude but harmless. I get the snake good and mad and let it strick and clamp down on the new dogs snout. This may sound cruel to some but all my dogs now know what will happen if they go after a snake. Since I started doing this I haven't had any more dogs get bit.
Its really funny to see this black racer clamped down on the dogs snout and then see the dog looking crossed eyed at what has its snout.
Of cource the dog doesn't think its funny.
