Stupid Rattle Snakes

Our mini dachshund got bit in the face by a rattle snake this afternoon about 6 feet from where we were sitting talking with my wife, kids, and dad. My youngest son was right in same spot 10 minutes before and got his butt chewed by my wife and the snake lecture. Really glad it was not my son, but feel really bad for our weenier dog, hes 11 and a pretty tough ol sucker though has held his weight with some overmatched competition before. Hes still doing okay right now, time will tell. Snake lost to the 20 guage, dont screw with my dogs even the little ones. Dont mind snakes, but I really dislike rattle snakes!!!!!

If he is still doing ok then it was probably a dry bite or at least one that had little venom in it. I hope he gets through it ok.

Hope the little pooch is alright!

Thats what my vet said also, and anti venom is about 750$ a vial and due to his small size it would take two plus with his age and underlying issues he recommended a wait and see approach, kinda sucks but tis life. He did say that bites on the face is actually better with small dogs because there is only limited tissue to swell as opposed to a bite on there body, does not spread as rapidly throughout and cause shock. Ive lost a dog to snake before, ruined some good horses as well, guess they will stay on my ADC list...

That seems very rational and responsible of your vet. Most around here would do what they could to shame you into spending the money.

Benadryl will help him out a lot surprised the vet did not mention it.

Hes a pretty good dude, was out cattle vet for years and took a national gig with Zoetis and sold his local practice to his brother.

I did first thing, Ive had dogs snake bit before.

x2 on the dry bite and if so that is a lucky stroke for the wiener dog

This is the norm. Herpetologists suspect they usually conserve venom for prey. Since there is time required for it to regenerate. Bites from young are often worse. we presume, they have not figured the system out yet.

My red heeler that got bit and died was bit in the ribs running by the snake totally unaware it was there, we were moving cows. He swelled up like a tick within 30 min and was dead within a hour. Mr Weenies face is fairly swollen above eyes and down muzzle but not horrible, Ive seen dogs that have lived that you cant even see there eyes because of swelling from snake bites. The black spot above his right eye is one of the puncture marks, other was on top of skull.

Hope the little feller is ok - good on the 20 guage ...

Oh man he looks sore, sir. Hope he pulls through OK.
Jim

X 2

Hope he makes it. Glad we don't have to worry much around here. Have never seen one of our Massasauga Rattlesnakes here and we have Timbers in Southern Indiana.

Yoter, you need either more black snakes or more badgers in that country as they will clean out a den in a hurry. Guessing prairie dogs are too numerous that you can't whittle down the prey base so you try to increase the predators. When i was younger I was mushroom hunting south of Nebraska City and had either an eastern diamondback or a timber rattle take a shot at me and miss. Guy I was with and I tried to turn him into a "good" snake but he was back in a pile and got away before we could lower the boom. Anyone ever hear of using a spark plug hooked to a car engine and placing that on the bite area while the engine is running? My friends down south swear by it as the eV shock destroys the tissue of the bite area before it gets too far into the bloodstream............... the mike

that sucks, I hope for the best for you guys.

My shorthair has been bitten twice. He never went to the vet, we just gave him Benadryl, 2 teaspoons per 10 lbs body weight (he got 14). He was sad a day or two and recovered. Once bitten in the nose and once on the leg. We lived in AZ and got the dogs from a breeder there. He said he never had good luck with the antivenin and that the dogs recovered just fine with Benadryl and antibiotics only if there was bite site infection. He said any bites to the muscle usually healed quickly, if the snake injected into a vein or artery the dog would be dead long before you could get them help anyways. YMMV

Bummer, we have a horse or dog bit about every other year or so, but so far nothing fatal. Have had put tubes in the nostrils of a horse or two to keep them from swelling shut and closing off the air way. Killed a rattler this afternoon about 300 yards from the house when we going out antelope hunting.

They have a vaccination for rattlesnakes out now. The wife got her redbone one. Didn't make it no smarter though she still went out and got bit shortly after. She did survive but not sure what it was.

Well its midnight basically and hes still alive and has been drinking water, so looking positive as of right now.

I gave my outside dogs thats, but I was told you have to give a booster every year and that however has not been done. Weenie dog lives inside 95% of the time for obvious reasons so he has never got it. i would say he probably wont be poking his head in bushes anymore, but lets be real hes a wiener dog training is not there thing. But they are cool tough little hunting dogs.

I have heard of that also.
No eastern diamondbacks in that neck of the woods, but there are timber rattlers. I grew up at Pawnee City and there are some in the area.

Yep timbers and massaugas on our corner here but pretty rare got to be area that didn't see much spray over the years. The rocky pastuers around Southern corner that weren't tillable have best chance of seeing one. Got a few Osage copperheads around here and south, too. All mostly prairie rattlers west and north parts of state.

Were a little puffy today, but still doing better than the snake half of this equation.

The little guy must be miserable but it sure looks like he will make it.I hope you see daily improvement and a fast recovery.I have to think he took one for the family.That is too close! Good luck.

Hope he keeps doing better. Looks like a rough time

One of mine got tagged by something too. Didn't take a pic until the swelling was almost gone. Gave him benedryl.

Sure hope he pulls through this.

Mark I, where did that happen at? I see you are in mn

Right here in Faribault. No idea what tagged him. Was last summer. He was swelled up almost as bad as the above pic of the brown one.

Hoping your good dog gets better soon.

I would bet bees or hornets. I have seen our weaner get stung by ground hornets and swell worse than that.

Hope he heals up

Nobody heard of the spark plug on the bite area? My friends from SC carry a 10' long plug wire with them and lay it on the snakebite for a second or two after they immobilize (tie) the dog's legs....... the mike

Back to normal like nothing happened, didnt keep him out of the bushes at all either. Cold coming here tonight should run snakes to dens fairly quick as its supposed to stay under freezing at nights from here on out. Thanks for all the support, my kids really liked reading the comments about there dog and someone they dont know caring about him.

Good news, glad to hear he’s back to normal. Thanks for the update.

Bite to the face is not usually lethal. Bite to the feet is far worse. Vets say it is far easier for the venom to enter the blood steam from a leg or especially the paws.
Sounds like he'll make it and the face is the best place for them to get poked. Venom stays in place far better and is soaked into the surrounding tissue with less into the overall blood stream.

Good luck!
Blessings,
Mark

That is great, glad he is doing fine!