I am thinking of getting my dogs vaccinated against Rattlesnake Bites. Are the available vaccines like Red Rock any good and do they neutralize the venom 100% ?

Thanks for any input.

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/182524/page/0/fpart/1

Nice little discussion.:smile:

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

According to the company, your dog has to have a booster shot every six months, FOREVER, for the vaccine to continue to be effective.

Holy $#!t!!!:shocked:

That's insane!

Booster shot every six months, oooorrrrrrrrrrrr, proof your snake-avoidance training every month?

Recently, a local (Northern California) news program was doing a story on a dog here that was bitten by a rattler. They said that canine antivenin is no longer being produced and left over stock is running out. This dog received human antivenin which they said is more expensive and less effective on dogs. There has been no follow up story so I don't know the outcome. The Vet in the story said that the best alternative is the vaccine. I personally don't
know that this is factual but I thought I would throw it out there.

I hate to throw this out here without the whole story, but I'm rushed right now. I can say (to add details to later) that UC Davis does not recommend it and has stated that for several years now in their vet newsletter.

I will dig out the caveat later if no one else beats me to it.

Here is the link to what UC Davis has to say about it (scroll down to rattlesnake vaccine):

http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/vmth/clientinfo/info/genmed/vaccinproto.html

Here is the FAQ page from Red Rock Biologics (scroll down to frequency of vaccination):

http://www.redrockbiologics.com/FAQ.html#4

If I remember correctly this is changed. The company used to recommend annual boosters, now it is talking about quarterly shots in areas with year-round and heavy rattlesnake infestations.

I did this vaccination for my dog a couple years ago, because I am in an area with a lot of rattlers. However, I have not had him re-vaccinated since because I asked Red Rock for info and was not satisfied with the answers I got. Couple that with number of times they suggest a dog be vaccinated, well it just seems crazy to me.

As far as keeping antivenom on hand, I don't think you can. It's not something you can just buy, keep on the shelf and administer yourself.

For myself, I am very, very careful where I go with my dog. I do a lot of hiking, but go during the time of day rattlers are not active, and during spring, summer and fall I use fire roads rather than narrow hiking trails. Of course, my dog is always on a leash. As a matter of fact, earlier this year a guy was hiking with his GSD locally, the dog was off lead, got tagged by a rattler, and died before they were able to make it back to his car.

(continued)
When I asked them about their response to what U.C. Davis had to say about their vaccine, their answer to me was "we plan to have published data very soon". I guess I just need a little more than a wing and a prayer before I use their product again. I only hope this doesn't come back to bite me (or my dog) in the ass.

Another thing, if my dog ever is bit, it goes without saying, I feel it is my responsibility and duty to take him to an emergency vet ASAP, and pay for however much anti-venom and all the supportive care necessary to help my dog, REGARDLESS of cost.

So what is the proper 1st aid if they get bit? Is a snakebite kit for sucking out the venom effective at all?