Snake Bites in Dogs: Treatment and Prevention

It's not very uncommon, our dogs betting bit by bees, wasps, ants, and snakes. Our dogs go with us everywhere! They are exposed to the world around them and they are insanely curious about it! Dogs, especially puppies, play with just about anything moving or not. A bite or two will generally ease this appetite for chasing bees and wasps. However, dogs, even fully grown ones, will stick their nose just about anywhere to figure out what's going on in their surroundings. As such, snake bites can be a very serious problem among dogs that spend any amount of time outdoors and especially in the bush. Dogs generally don't back down in a dog versus snake encounter, which leads our furry little friends to have to deal with the pain, inconvenience, and seriousness of a snake bite.

When our pets are injured we tend to panic. What can we do? Our pets can't communicate their feelings or what they are experiencing. We can only take cues from their behavior and appearance. As such, getting immediately veterinary assistance after a snake bite is crucial. There are also a number of things you should and should not do in the meantime.

First, try and identify the snake, as with a spider bite there are a number of factors that affect the seriousness of the bite. One of these factors is the size, age, type of snake, and how much venom was injected. 20-25% of bites are dry, 30% of bites are mild in severity, 40% are severe, 5% are fatal. What you shouldn't do is try to catch it or kill it, however, try and take mental notes on the details of the snake. How big is it? What type is it? If you don't know the type or can't tell, take mental notes on what it looks like. What color is it? Does it have a diamond head? Did it have a rattler? Where did you encounter the snake? (In a desert, mountains, near grass, in a hole, etc...) This can help to identify the snake. You'll also need to give the veterinarian information about your dog, for example his age, health status, weight, etc, will help as these element affect the toxicity of the venom as well.