Blueborders Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Posting in reference to a comment brought up under Buddy's post.. My understanding and from what my veterinarian has shared with me and talking to a few other veterinarians around here... The rattlesnake vaccine helps mostly with the swelling and that if a dog is going to have a reaction to the venom, the dog will still have the reaction...it just might be that the swelling isn't as severe. Festus, my cardi, had a severe reaction and was very touch and go for the first 18 hrs or so. His case was the worst that the vet clinic had seen in all the years they've been around. He made their record book. Luckily, he's much too ornery to have let the snake take him down and he made a miraculous recovery. Just like us humans, we will all react differently to bites. Some dogs won't have much of a reaction and some will have extremely harsh reactions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoku's mum Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 That is exactly my understanding, too. My vet recomended the vaccine, as it does reduce the severity of the swelling, so less tissue dammage, less pain, and a quicker recovery. But any Rattlesnake bite, veccine or not, is an emergancy vet visit. Let's hope for peace with the snakes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Watch Debatable Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 SoCal handler Jennifer Ewers praised the rattlesnake vaccine in a thread on Sheepdog-L: I have vaccinated for 3 years and it has saved 4 dogs on my ranch including one this week. Last year I had a small female bit on the inside of the backleg[...]I thought she had injured herself as we always think there will be some giant amount of drama when they are bit, NO [...] In 2 cases we killed the snakes in the other 2 cases we had no idea they had been bit, of course until the swelling. The legs still turn black and the skin died in the immediate area around the bite, but antibiotics and Benadryl were the only thing the vets suggested because of the vaccine. The vaccine obviously buys you an enormous amount of time since in the case of the "unknown" bites the dogs were crated waiting to go to a vet for some unknown injury; snake bite puncture holes are not exactly easy to find on a fur ridden leg. So anyhow for people that are in the area that has the vaccine available I think you are foolish not to use it. Am I complacent about the rattlesnake bite? Not even, but I am a bit more relaxed. I only have a few dogs that "alarm" me to the fact that there is a rattlesnake in the area...I believe more in the vaccine than the shock collar [so-called "snake avoidance training"].This handler lives in a VERY remote part of San Diego County. I've run dogs all over SoCal, and although I've seen tons of rattlesnakes while riding and hiking, I've never seen one while working dogs on stock. Hope my luck continues --- my dogs haven't been given the vaccine... /lifelong reptile-wrangler //bitten more times than I can count ///never by anything poisonous, though ////a Gila monster fell asleep on my arm one time /////bah, slashies --- it's late and I hab a code, therefore lazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyrasmom Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 We have rattlesnakes up here and my dogs are currently not vaccinated. I'll probably do it because it "may" help but so far, according to my vet who treats quite a few, it's not a guarantee for anything. She has still seen dogs who get really sick...and dogs who don't. It really depends on the location of the bite, how many bites, and how much venom the snake gives up. Many quick protective bites are dry bites or have limited amounts of venom. Two of my dogs have been bitten, the first was overnight at the vet with swelling but required nothing beyond fluids and was sent home the following evening. The second was in intensive care for a week and cose a small fortune to treat. She was bitten twice, killed the snake, and everyone concurs he dumped his entire load of venom into her shoulder. It's been a month and we're still medicating. My vet's experience is that the vaccine buys you some additional time to get to the vet, which in itself is the reason I think I'll get it next year, but it doesn't seem to lessen whatever medical care the dog will need. They may still need the antivenom etc etc etc. Now that I've seen the almost worst case scenario the vaccination is much more appealing to me, butI would not want anyone to think it makes the snake bite any less of an emergency. Maria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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