Rattlesnake Aversion Training Update Post #6 Spoiler Alert, it stuck!

[atlatl]

After encountering multiple rattlesnakes in the course of 7 days, we decided to do rattlesnake aversion training with our dog.

It was pretty quick, on the order of 15 minutes and looked to be pretty effective. They use a shock collar, starting on a low setting. Mr. Atlatl had the trainers shock him at several levels before the collar went on the dog.

All the snakes were humanely muzzled.

They started with a baby snake, and it took a single zap for our dog to decide he wanted nothing to do with it. He correctly responded then to a shed skin, a rattle (from a snake) and an adult snake. He got some reinforcement at each of the subsequent items. The handler was great about petting and praising him along the way.

The final test was when we got to call him to us with the adult snake in between us and the dog; he took the scenic route to us, dragging the handler so as to give the snake a wide berth.

This is the company we used, I highly recommend them.

https://socalrattlesnakeavoidancetraining.com/

[ekat]

I live where rattlesnakes are quite common.

I took my girl through a similar training when she was about a year old. And she never forgot it the rest of her life (almost 12 years). She saved me from stepping on them more than once, and saved my other dogs.

Weirdly, the other dogs just didn’t grasp the concept at all, and I’ve had one rattlesnake bite this year, without her patrolling the yard for us. The dumb dogs get the vaccine, which only buys you time, but we are pretty sure it saved my little guy by getting us the time.

But I’m with you. I highly recommend the training if rattlesnakes are common where you and your dogs are.

[erinmeri]

I should send this to one of my best friends. We were doing a location scout at her ranch in the Mojave Desert (first time I had been there) so that I could do a video for them when one of her two pits was bitten in the face. It was terrifying, expensive and traumatizing for all involved.

[dressagetraks]

I read a great book once called Scent of the Missing about the training of a search and rescue dog, and this was a standard part of the training since they would be doing searches out in all sorts of places. This particular dog happened to get bit nosing around in her back yard before her search dog training was complete (dog needed urgent vet care but did make it after treatment), and when the owner took her for snake aversion training, she definitely remembered that snakes can bite. So she actually started her own snake aversion training before she was up to that course in her official training.

[OnAMission]

When we lived in rattlesnake country there wasn’t formal training available, or just barely maybe, but we sure trained all our dogs to LEAVE IT when they heard the buzz. A bull snake that had learned to imitate the sound was a perfect learning experience though I’m sure the poor snakes didn’t enjoy the stress of being the learning object. I’m sure our dogs learned to smell snakes at some point b/c we had amazingly good luck considering how many animals we had living with so many snakes.

Bad thing is dogs move so fast sometimes they run over a snake and get bit with no warning; had that happen to one dog when she jumped off the flatbed while we were fencing and we had unwittingly stopped right next to a big snake.

Totally recommend any training possible for snakes. We never lost a dog but we did lose a much-loved cat.

[atlatl]

Update.

Took the pup for his annual refresher session this morning. I was a little concerned because while hiking in the last couple of months, Mr. Atlatl and I spotted two snakes (2 different occasions) while pup was oblivious.

I mentioned this to the trainer who politely reminded me that a standing human’s field of view is considerably different from that of a small dog. She suspected he just didn’t see or smell them and of course we avoided them so who knows.

It was clear that he remembered everything when she took him out on the “course.” He got just 1 zap when approaching a shed skin from upwind that he just didn’t see. Every other obstacle he avoided so passed with flying colors.

They suggested taking him back in 2 years for a refresher.

[WildLittleWren]

I didn’t even know this kind of training was available! But I’m going to mention it to my aunt who occasionally sends dogs off to a bird dog trainer in rattlesnake country for bird dog training. Their getting bit during training is always a big worry.

[AllSport]

Ugh, I should be scheduling another training too. All of our dogs get the training but unfortunately the closest training is almost 2 hrs from here. My current dog got a B grade last time. She just wasn’t using her nose enough. It also ended up being a cold day and his snakes (literally pet rattlers) weren’t very active. I fixed the sniffing part but I’m not sure the snake aversion part really stuck with her. My last dog only had one class but she was a better decision maker in general.