Has anyone given their dog a rattlesnake vaccine? My son has a 5 month old Jack Russell that he is training to track wounded deer during hunting season. We have a ranch in south Texas where it is not unusual to see monster rattlesnakes (6ft and up). Anyhow our neighbor at our ranch recommended we vaccinate him. He had his dogs vaccinated and said it saved one of his dogs already. If anyone has information or advice send it my way.

Thanks,
Patty

I do because during the spring & summer I do quite a bit of walking in the local foothills which have a sizeable rattlesnake population. I feel the vaccination will buy me some precious extra time to get him to a vet with antivenom for treatment.

I posted about the various snake-bite vaccines last year in a thread and I think I had some links included in that post.

 Quote: susan tuck

I do because during the spring & summer I do quite a bit of walking in the local foothills which have a sizeable rattlesnake population. I feel the vaccination will buy me some precious extra time to get him to a vet with antivenom for treatment.

All the vaccine does is buy time to get to the vet.
The main thing for a dog who is bitten as far as care goes is:

You need to remain as calm as you can and keep your dog calm as well. If you can, carry them back to the vehicle and transport them the vet.

I have discussed anti-venin quite a bit and to be quite frank, it has a short shelf life which makes it expensive. Most vets do not carry it due to the cost and lack of use (it usually expires first).

My vet does not carry it due to that fact. The biggest thing your dog will need after a snakebite that was loaded (venom injected) is going to be intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatory and antibiotics.
I carry all of these when I train in the Spring, Summer and into the Fall. This way, I can get everything started "on scene" and then start to the vet.
If you are worried about snake-bites and you have a vet that is willing, you can ask them to show you how to start and I.V. and have them supply you with what you will need for supportive care.

IMHO, anti-venin is a money maker. Good for humans, but 95% of untreated dogs with snakebites do not die even if left untreated.
They are sick for a few days. It sucks that I know about this living in a ranching/farming community like I do, sometimes they are pretty old fashioned when it comes to their pets.....

I would have my dog treated with the anti-venom if he were bitten. The 24hr vet in my area and my regular vet both keep it on hand.

A lot of people would and I do not think there is anything wrong with it at all, and I am not trying to say that people should do what I do. I kind of have no alternative since there is not a vet within 3 hrs that carries it.

I would still have to do supportive care while he ordered it in overnight and if I had to, I would travel to do what I needed to do.

I guess my main thing is that some people freak out about stuff like this and that is one of the worst things to do, since it will get your dog upset (more than they are) which will cause their systems to work faster, therefore pushing the venom through faster.
So it is really important to remain calm and do whatever you need or decide to do for the dog.

I hope that makes sense....

http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/vaccinesurvivors9.html

this is just one of many websites that relays info like this.

I would NEVER give this to any of my dogs. I would rather spend my time and money training my dogs to avoid snakes, and have a good knowledge of first aid in case of a bite.

Ed and I have both received emails from people whose dogs have died within days of the vaccine.

WOULD A DOGTRA 280NCP BE ENOUGH (LOW TO MEDIUM). I HAVE A LABRADOODLE.HE IS NOW ABOUT 45LBS SOON IM GUESSING 75LBS.IVE COME TO A GOOD PRICE ON ONE BUT DONT WANT TO HAVE TO MOVE UP LATER. OH, HE IS NON AGGRESSIVE BUT IS DISTRACTED EASILY AND TRAINS WELL TO PLEASE

Just changing the post back to its original name.

Back to rattlesnake vaccine discussion.