Rattlesnakes v Dogs (Las Cruces, Carrizozo: how much, live, cost)

[bigpossum]

Has your dog ever encountered or been bitten by a rattlesnake? What was the outcome and what steps do you do to prevent it from happening?

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by bigpossum

what steps do you do to prevent it from happening?

I keep them on a leash and try to be aware...




You might read this:

Hiking, Rattlesnakes, and Dogs Question

[Rocatah]

Absolutely beautiful dogs!

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by Rocatah

Absolutely beautiful dogs!

Thanks. They were both rescued dogs.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by bigpossum

Has your dog ever encountered or been bitten by a rattlesnake?

Not my dog, but a friend's in Carrizozo was bitten and she managed to get the medium sized dog right to a vet. Have no idea what was done. Dog had swelling for awhile but eventually recovered fully. As with human bites, severity depends heavily on just how much venom the snake manages to inject, where the bite occurred - on an extremity like a paw or a more vital spot. A small number of people are minimally affected when bitten.

Here is a good article on the subject of poisonous snake bites:

Rattlesnake!

Quoting from it:

The Diamondback; a western rattlesnake that can become quite nasty when provoked. The Diamondback is responsible for most deaths due to snakebite in the U.S.

[tsmw47]

Both of our dogs were bitten by a rattlesnake a couple of years ago on our property. In the NC mountains we have Timber Rattlers. They were both given anti venom at $600 per vial plus antibiotics, pain killers and overnight at emergency vet since it happened after office hours. Total cost was close to $2,000! Very sick dogs for a couple of days with very swollen heads. They are Jack Russell Terrier mixes so probably had their heads under a rock digging. One was bitten again last year by a copperhead but no antivenom just the antibiotics etc. not nearly as sick thank heavens.

[funkymonkey]

I got a "rattlesnake vaccine" one year for my dog when we lived in Las Cruces at the edge of the desert.

It helps lessen the severity of any bites.

[tsmw47]

My vet didn't mention it maybe not commonly available here, will check on it. Thanks

[Taoschick]

We get the rattlesnake vaccine for our dogs every spring. Our vet recommended it since we take our dogs hiking during the summer months. The vaccine doesn't prevent a reaction but it buys us the time we need to get the dogs back to a vehicle and contact the vet to meet at his clinic.