First Rattlesnake of the Season

Today was unseasonably warm here in Walnut Creek.  As I walked Chloe in the foothills of Mount Diablo around 6 p.m. this evening, the temperatures were in the mid 80's. 

 Two days ago it had been in the low 50's.

An hour into our hike, we came across this adolescent rattlesnake half on and half off the path we were walking.

 

  It was stretched out sunning itself as we walked by.  About 30 inches long and four rattles at the tip of it's tail.

Chloe had run by missing the outstretched snake by about a foot. She hadn't noticed the rattler and neither had the rattler noticed us.

 It was not until I had passed the snake and turned to take these pictures with my phone that it coiled into the classic rattlesnake posture and rattled its tail in warning.  By now Chloe was a few dozen yards up the trail, and I kept her away.

Good-looking snake that had done all it could to not be noticed until I bothered it.  Once I took this last shot, we carried on with our afternoon five-mile hike.  Not our first rattlesnake, and I am sure this one wasn't our last.  Rattlesnake avoidance classes are worth the price. 
http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/rattlesnake-adversion-training.html

Rattlesnake Adversion Training

Rattlesnake avoidance training was $75 per dog.  Money very well spent. 

A safe Western rattlesnake used in training

 Bailey, Chloe and I do hundreds of miles of hiking in the hills of Northern California and other western states.  We come across rattlesnakes way too often to not having this training. 

 After the 20 minutes spent with each dog, I am MUCH MORE comfortable that Bailey and Chloe not only will avoid rattlesnakes, but warn me that one is around.

The training took place yesterday afternoon in Livermore, California in a corral at a private residence.

"We did snake aversion training with Patrick Cavanaugh (now deceased) two summers ago and it paid off immediately a few days later during a walk along the Sacramento River. I was checking my dog over for foxtails when he suddenly jumped five feet sideways...At the moment he jumped I heard a sound like rattling leaves and looked down to see a coiled rattler about five feet away.  Well worth the money!" - Janet Fullwood - editor Dogtrekker



Bailey and Chloe ready for their training run

 Southern California Rattlesnake avoidance trainer link

OUR PROCESS IS UNSURPASSED

We use a four step process that is more effective than any other form out there.

We are the only ones that use a variety of rattlesnake species, specific to the particular areas in which your dog lives. Every snake has a specific odor and pattern that your dog will recognize.

* I would also like to note that all dogs "choose" the level of intensity used with the collar during training. The level is slowly increased until the dog responds, and under most conditions will not be elevated beyond that intensity. Good timing is far more important than level of correction. We do not believe in "shutting dogs down," and believe in working within the dogs quirks and needs.

Very young snake with no rattle but a scent the dogs can pick up

Trainer getting Bailey ready for his run.  15' check cord and training collar.

Mouth banded so it can not be opened.

The first step focuses on the smell. Using a low level electronic correction collar, your dog will learn to associate the smells of the snake with a negative stimulus and thus begin the aversion process.

Rattlesnake skin on a stick that had been shed. 

This puppy below did not have a good nose like a Vizsla.  It had a very hard time picking up a scent of the snake.  Bailey and Chloe picked it up right off.

Trainer trying to get the dog to acknowledge that there is a snake there.  This pup did not have a nose!



This dog shows interest and the trainer uses the training collar for aversion training



 

The second step focuses on the sound of the rattle, in which the same process will be used to teach your dog about the danger associated with the sound.



This is a fake rock "cage" holding a rattlesnake that rattled as dog came close.

The third step puts it all together. Your dog will be introduced to a rattlesnake that has been safely muzzled. It is during this step you dog can use all three senses to fully recognize the danger associated with the snake.

There is a snake between the trainer and dog with the owner.  Does the dog avoiding the snake on the way to its owner?  This is a final test.

The fourth and final step is the introduction of a small juvenile rattlesnake, incapable of rattling. To further drive home the association of the danger involved with the snakes.

In April of this year, we were in the Mojave Desert and came across North America's most dangerous rattlesnake: the Mojave Green. 
 http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/04/mojave-green-rattlesnakes-and-dogs-dont.html

Mojave Green Rattlesnakes and dogs don't mix

This last weekend we held a Northern California Vizsla trial in the Mojave Desert around California City, California.  We were forced to move the event 200 miles south of our intended site because of the weeks of rain we had had in Northern and Central California.

One of the interesting and dangerous occurrences that happened was coming across two Mojave Green rattlesnakes and one Diamondback rattlesnake on courses we were running the dogs on.

Thankfully no dog or person was bit.  One dog did hold point of a coiled Mojave Green during his brace. 

Things got a somewhat interesting for a while "on course."

About the Mojave Green:


"Some Mojave rattlesnakes are greenish, but can be colored greenish gray, olive-green, or occasionally brownish or yellowish.



This rattlesnake has a very potent venom which is considered ten times more toxic than other North American rattlesnakes, a fact that makes the Mojave rattlesnake one of the most dangerous poisonous snakes in the United States. Their venom works as a neurotoxin and is called Mojave toxin. Strangely, the bite of a Mojave Rattlesnake is usually not as painful as other rattlesnake bites."


In the late fall and winter, rattlesnakes go underground to stay warm.  By late March, as the weather warms, they come out.


I would recommend not letting your dog run loose in this part of the world during the spring and summer.  The Mojave Green's venom is so potent that a dog's chance of survival, if bit, is zero.


Most dogs are naturally curious about snakes.

Here, in the West, many classes are taught for dogs in snake avoidance.  Example of a course in Tucson, Arizona is:

http://snake-avoidance.com/

I will be signing Bailey and Chloe up for classes like these as we do have rattlesnakes in our part of the world.  They are just not as dangerous as the Mojave Green.