For all classical conditioning procedures, do multiple repetitions of each step, feeding your dog a high-value treat (I like to use bits of fresh roasted or canned chicken) after each repetition. Only move to the next step when your dog becomes clearly happy at the previous step; this lets you know he’s made the association between the procedure and the high-value treat.
If he seems uncomfortable at any step, back up to the previous step until he’s happy again, and then figure out a smaller, intermediate step. In this exercise (wiping muddy paws), an intermediate step between Step 1 and Step 2 below might be to put pressure on the foot but not pick it up. Note that for proper classical conditioning, you present the stimulus first (for example, touching his foot), and then present the food. You want him to think that the touch makes the treat appear.
1. Touch your dog’s foot; then feed him a treat.
2. Hold his foot for a brief moment; treat.
3. Hold a towel in your hand (in front of him); treat.
4. Touch the towel to his foot; treat.
5. Holding the towel in one hand, lift and hold his foot for a moment; treat.
6. Holding the towel, lift his foot with your other hand, and touch his foot with the towel; treat.
7. Rub his foot gently with the towel; treat.
8. Rub his foot more vigorously with towel; treat.
The “Dog’s Choice” Approach:
When you train your dog to do any alternative method (in this case, for getting his paws clean), make the training process rewarding enough that your dog will happily choose to offer the behavior when you ask for it.
1. Start by training your dog to walk through a plastic tub with water in it. (Start with an empty tub and add water gradually if your dog is worried about the water). Use shaping, luring, or a combination of both.
2. Shape your dog to stand on an absorbent mat or towel to wick off the water. Alternatively, shape your dog to actually wipe his feet on the absorbent mat or towel to hasten the drying process.
3. Put the behavior (walk through tub and then stand or wipe paws on mat) on cue, so you can invite your dog to choose to perform it. If you have trained him well, he will happily choose to offer the behavior when you ask.
Does your dog respond with a definite, “NO WAY!” when you pull out the nail clippers?
[Updated Dec 21, 2022]
I put my hands on my dogs at least a few dozen times a day. It might be to attach or untangle a leash, look into ears, check teeth, brush or trim fur in various places, put on a Thundershirt, apply flea and tick preventative, or just to feel the soft silky warmth of dog under my hand. We humans are a tactile species, and with our handy opposable thumbs, we’re always doing something to manipulate our canine companions and their body parts.
Many dogs love being touched by us as much as we love touching them. When I sit on the sofa in the evenings typing on my laptop, I have dogs snuggled close to me on each side! But dogs aren’t born with a natural love of being touched by humans. They have to learn that human touch is good.
A well-socialized puppy learns early in life that human hands make good things happen. This is classical conditioning – giving your pup a good association with touch (and with all the other things he’s likely to encounter in his lifetime). A well-socialized pup is an optimist, believing that the world is a good place, and new things are safe unless and until proven otherwise. Getting your dog to accept new things throughout his life like Thundershirts, Calming Caps, nail clippers, stethoscopes, and otoscopes is much easier if he is well socialized. (We will publish an article about proper socializing in an upcoming issue.)
If your dog has no problem whatsoever with any kind of husbandry procedure you inflict on him – from trimming nails to getting dressed in a rainsuit, well, count your lucky stars, and show him your appreciation for his continued cooperation!
Dog Hates Being Touched?
But what if, for whatever reason, your dog hates being touched? Or maybe he likes being petted, but won’t let you pick him up, or won’t allow you to look for and carefully pull off a tick? Or maybe it’s just that he hates a certain procedure, whether it’s getting his ears cleaned or his teeth brushed.
“Counter-conditioning” is the most powerful tool to use to literally counter those negative responses. Counter-conditioning is the process of changing your dog’s existing association with something from one state to another – usually from negative to positive.
As an example, say someone once made the mistake of muzzling your dog and forcibly holding him down while clipping his nails; your dog probably now thinks nail trimming is a terrifying ordeal. You can use counter-conditioning to convince him, instead, that nail trimming is a wonderful thing, by pairing bits and pieces of the nail trimming process with high-value treats, and gradually putting the whole process together. You are working to convince your dog that nail trimming actually makes really good stuff happen.
But that’s not all you can do! You can use counter-conditioning to invite your dog to willingly and happily participate in the process of any husbandry procedure that is currently problematic for her. I’ll discuss the “how” of the process for several different procedures in just a moment.
Creating Opportunities for Making Choices for Your Dog
We humans tend to be happier with our lives when we can make our own choices. Our dogs do, too! The better we are at giving them opportunities to make choices for themselves and setting them up to want to make the right choices, the happier we all are. If you can convince your dog to willingly and happily choose to participate in a husbandry procedure, everyone is better off.
An alternative to the above-described counter-conditioning for nail trimming is to provide your dog with a canine-sized emery board, teach him to use it, and let him choose to file his own nails. (Note: Some owners report that their dogs love to file their own nails so much that they have to put the board away or their dogs file their nails down to the bloody quick.)
Whatever procedures you use, you can set your dog up for success by “priming” before you begin.
Priming is a behavioral effect in which exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a later stimulus. While well documented in human behavior, the concept of priming is less-known in the world of dog training and behavior. Simply put, if you “prime” your dog with tasty treats or a fun activity prior to engaging in the handling activity, your dog is in a happier frame of mind to begin the procedure, and thus better able to make choices and respond from a less stressful place.
Here are some handling challenges and how you can use choice and counter-conditioning protocols to make life less stressful for you and your dog:
This may seem tedious, but it’s important to understand that breaking each activity down into many small steps accomplishes two things. First, it helps your dog understand what it is that you want. Second, it makes the learning process much more engaging and enjoyable for him.
There are countless procedures that involve touching and handling our dogs, and each could be spelled out in a protocol that uses choice, classical conditioning, or a combination of the two, to make life easier for both you and your dog. But I bet by now you’ve got the idea.
Your dog’s challenge might be the application of topical flea and tick preventative, cleaning and/or putting medication in ears, electric clippers, flea combing, brushing teeth, pulling ticks, or something else. No matter which challenge it is, it’s always better to figure out how to help your dog become a willing partner in the activity than to restrain and force him into accepting the procedure. Unless it’s a medical emergency, there’s no need to use force!
To continue reading this article or issue you must be a paid subscriber. Sign in
If you are logged in but cannot access this content, a) your subscription may have expired; b) you may have duplicate accounts (emails) in our system. Please check your account status hereorcontact customer service.
Immediate access to this article and 20+ years of archives.
Recommendations for the best dog food for your dog.
Dry food, homemade diets and recipes, dehydrated and raw options, canned food and more.
Brands, formulations and ingredients all searchable in an easy-to-use, searchable database.
Plus, you’ll receive training and care guidance to keep your dog healthy and happy. You’ll feed with less stress…train with greater success…and know you are giving your dog the care he deserves.
Subscribenow and save 72%! Its like getting 8 issues free!
Enjoying the mild spring weather, I was working with all the doors and windows in my house open. So when my dogs, who had free run of the house and backyard, started to bark at something, I looked out the window and saw a stray dog wandering around the front yard. He’s about 50 pounds, some sort of Kelpie/Cattle Dog-mix. I got up and went out the front door, and he ran off down the street. I almost started to look for a leash and treats, but I was busy, on deadline, so I went back to work. Ten minutes later, the barking started again, and there is the dog again.
I went outside again, this time with a leash and treats and Otto, my ambassador for loose dogs. Otto is big enough to handle himself with almost any dog, dog-savvy enough to not get into a fight with even a very rude dog, smart enough to run if the other dog is downright aggressive, and obedient enough that I can call him away from even a very intense greet-and-pee session. Nine times out of 10, I can open my side gate and the stray dog will follow Otto into my backyard. And then I can read the dog’s tag (if he has one) or call animal control.
The dog started to run again when I open my front door, but as soon as he saw Otto, he reversed direction and headed straight toward us, head and tail high. Oh good, there is a tag on his collar. I patted my leg and said, “Hey pup!” brightly, but he completely ignored me and fixated on Otto, leaning in to sniff Otto in a very forward fashion. Apparently Otto smelled GOOD, because two seconds later, the dog leaped onto Otto’s back, trying to hump him. Otto whirled around with a big, bear-like roaring growl and bark – “No WAY, buddy!” But the dog was like a laser-guided missile – completely ignoring me, and fixating on Otto’s nether end. He kept trying to jump up on Otto, who kept growl/snapping and whirling. Somehow, I managed to drop a slip-lead over his head and pulled him away from Otto. Whew!
Relieved to have the dog under control, Otto trotted a few yards away and peed on a tree. Seeing this, the dog immediately went into plow-horse mode, pulling with all his might to go pee on the tree, too.
This is not my favorite kind of dog: stray, intact, and so charged with testosterone and bad manners that he’s about to cause a fight, so eager is he to hump a neutered male dog 20 pounds bigger than he is.
I tied the dog to the tree, and put Otto in the house. Then I went back out and read the dog’s ID tag. Great! It had an address and a phone number; the address is just around the corner and up the block from me. I untied the leash and started walking that way, while using my cell phone to call the number on the tag.
The dog’s owner answered and seemed unsurprised to hear that the dog was out. He asked if I could put the dog back in his yard. Sure, no problem. I got to the house and approached the side gate, noting that there are “coyote rollers” on top of the six-foot fence – lengths of PVC pipe threaded onto a strand of wire fencing; the pipe rolls when a dog tries to jump/climb over the fence. It’s a smart solution that foils the escape plans of many dogs, but this dog obviously found some other way out. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to work, but I put the dog behind the fence and closed the gate.
By the time I reached my front porch, the dog was right behind me, eager for another encounter with Otto. Okay, plan B.
I opened my door, let Otto out, and when the dog started trying, again, to hump my increasingly annoyed dog, I got the lead slipped over the dog’s head again, and put Otto in the house. Thanks and sorry again, Otto!
I called the owner again. He told me that he called his young adult son and asked him to come home from work and and chain the dog up in the backyard. Ah! I said, I could have done that for you. He tells me, no problem, the son is on his way, should be home any minute.
I took the dog back to his house, and tied the leash to a post on the front porch. Another dog comes running to the side gate, a young Australian Cattle Dog-mix, female, maybe five or six months old. Cute! I waited for a few minutes, to see if the dog can handle being tied up. He laiddown on the shady porch, so I felt fine about walking away.
Five minutes later, the dog is on my porch again. Gah! He has his collar on still, and there is no stub of leash, so he didn’t slip the collar or chew his way free. I let Otto out of my house – bait dog! – and walk back toward the dog’s house, him trying to hump Otto the whole way. I am really not liking this dog!
Halfway there, I saw a young man who was obviously looking for the dog. He yelled the dog’s name, to no effect. “It’s okay,” I called to him, “we’re on the way!”
When we reached his front yard, the young man said the obvious: “I unsnapped the leash and he just took off!” He started grabbing at the dog, trying to get ahold of the dog’s collar and yelling the dog’s name. The dog ignored him like he ignored me; all he can think about is humping Otto. I managed to lasso the dog again. “Your dad told me you were going to chain him up? Where is the chain? I can take him there.”
The young man opened the gate and we all went into the very large backyard. There is a small chain-link pen back there, just four feet high, and the puppy was now in there. The young man led the way to a spot where a long cable is fastened to a tree. I clipped it onto the dog’s collar and then Otto and I backed out of the dog’s range. The guy was thanking me, rushing around; he had to get back to work.
I looked around. Lots of stuff for the cable to get wrapped around. Lots of holes where the dog has dug. No water. I said, “Is there a bucket or something for water?” The guy looked around and grabbed a five-gallon bucket, and started to run some water into it. He was grumbling about the dog, and how he’s annoyed because the dog is going to teach his dog, the puppy, some bad habits. I said, “Well, first thing, get the darn dog neutered! He will be less likely to be so obsessed with escaping – and he won’t get your little female pregnant!”
The guys says, “Well, we were going to breed them!”
I was incredulous, but kept my tone teasing and playful. “Why the heck would you do that? Neither one is a purebred, and he’s an a**hole!”
He responded with something about them both being working stock dogs. Uh huh. Here in town. Okay, good luck, and have a nice day.
FIRST THING this morning, the dog was on my front porch, whining for Otto. I got a leash on him and walked him back to his house, and knocked on the door. No one home. Little dogs barking inside. Then I took him back to my house, tied him to the tree out front again, and called animal control. An officer came right over to pick up the dog.
I feel a little bad for not calling the owner again; his number is still in my cell phone. But maybe a ticket or two will inspire him to take more serious measures to contain the dog. And neuter him!
The May 2015 issue of Whole Dog Journal contains two in-depth articles about the venomous snakes in North America that are potentially dangerous or deadly to dogs. The main article discusses the rattlesnake vaccine and antivenom treatments, as well as practical tips for avoiding snakes and emergency first-aid for snake bites. The second article discusses snake-avoidance training methods that do not involve shock collars. Subscribers to the WDJ can check out these articles and more at wholedogjournal.com — and in the hard copy of the magazine, in their mailboxes now.
However, we ran out of room in the issue to discuss another important : Discussion of the evidence that venomous snakes may be developing increased toxicity.
In 2008, toxicologists at the Banner Poison Control Center in Phoenix, Arizona, one of the nation’s busiest poison centers treating rattlesnake bites, warned emergency physicians of a troubling trend.
“Over the last five or six years, we have noticed an increased incidence of critically ill rattlesnake bite patients being admitted to our service,” wrote Dr. Steven Curry, the center’s Director of Medical Toxicology. “The collective clinical findings in these patients mimic aspects of anaphylaxis and commonly include one or more of the following: rapid collapse within a few minutes of being bitten; hypotension and shock, commonly requiring epinephrine; rapid, profound third-spacing of fluids with hypovolemia and hemoconcentration, sometimes with only minimal or absent swelling; swelling or angioedema of the lips, tongue and throat, sometimes requiring emergency airway management; and profound weakness and/or diarrhea.”
Toxicologists could not say why so many bite victims experienced severe and life-threatening symptoms. In the few cases where physicians with Banner Poison Control Center were able to examine the snake responsible, it was a Mojave rattlesnake. However, in most cases, the rattlesnake was not identified.
“We never recommend that any attempt be made to capture or kill the offending snake because of the danger involved,” Dr. Curry said. “Therefore, we don’t know that Mojave rattlesnakes alone are responsible for an increasing frequency of severely envenomated patients.
“Physician toxicologists with Banner Poison Control Center have admitted about 50 to 75 rattlesnake bite patients annually for nearly 30 years,” Dr. Curry added. “Prior to 2002, we saw patients with the above findings about once every two or three years. Now we see several of these patients each year, and have recently become aware of similar patients in nearby states.”
Dr. Curry and his colleagues have communicated with poison center toxicologists in Tucson, Arizona, Southern California, and Colorado, where similar trends have been observed.
In June 2012, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that in and around San Diego, California, rattlesnake bites were increasing in frequency and becoming more dangerous. The article quoted Dr. Richard Clark, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at the University of California San Diego Health System and medical director for the San Diego office of the California Poison Control System. “While San Diego County is seeing a rise in snake bite cases each year,” he explained, “the more alarming factor is the toxicity of the bite. The symptoms and wounds we’re seeing are worse than in the past. Some speculate that with the modern world encroaching on nature, it could be survival of the fittest. Perhaps only the strongest, most venomous snakes survive.”
All the more reason to exercise caution in any area known for its rattlesnakes.
Sorry if this is the fifth time in the past year that we’ve run a reminder in either the magazine, the blog, or the Facebook page, but here goes:
To give your dog the best chance of survival in a car accident, you really have to have him or her in a crate that is solidly fastened into the car, or seat-belted in a proper harness, one that has been independently crash-tested and approved by the Center for Pet Safety (CPS). For more reasons why you should use only a product that has been evaluated by this group, see our January 2015 article, “Restraining Order: Our Car Safety Harness Recommendation.” (Current subscribers can read all past issues online at no extra charge; the link is here: https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/care/collars-harnesses-leashes-muzzles/whole-dog-journals-car-safety-harness-recommendation/ ).
I was at my local shelter on Saturday, helping someone adopt a dog, one I’d fostered for less than a day. A month or so ago I’d seen a photo of “Jacks” on the shelter website, and thought, “Cute! He looks like (my dog) Otto’s Mini-me!” Then I saw him in person at the shelter last week, when I walked the shelter aisles while waiting to speak to a friend who works there. Again, I thought he was such a cutie, and wondered why it was taking him so long to get snapped up. So when I had some time the other day, I went to the shelter, and signed him out as a foster dog. I took him for a walk with a friend and our combined four other dogs, and he was excellent, so well-behaved and well-socialized. I gave him a bath, took a few pictures, put them on my Facebook page, and by the next morning, heard from someone who wanted to meet him. Yay! We met, and before it was noon, we were at the shelter and the lovely young woman was adopting him. Yay!
But while I was in the lobby of the shelter, waiting for the very busy staff to go over the adoption papers with Jacks’ new owner, I started talking to another lady who was waiting for help from the shelter staff. She was from Oregon, and the day before, she told me, she was driving through the area on her way to a wedding, when she was in a traffic accident on the highway. Her car rolled over and was totaled. In the crash, she told me, she hit her head hard enough that the ambulance crew insisted that she be taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Her car was towed, and her dog, who was in a crate fastened in the back of the car, was taken to the shelter by California Highway Patrol officers. Thank goodness! The dog was only bruised, but otherwise unharmed – and so was she, as it turns out. She had been released by the hospital that morning, and one of her adult sons had picked her up from the hospital and had driven her to the shelter to get her dog. Ack! I started crying in the shelter lobby, completely caught up in her tale, and completely sympathizing with her anxiety as she waited for the staff to go get her dog out of the kennels in the back and return him to her!
As stressed as she was all night and all that morning, waiting to hear how her dog was, and WHERE he was, and waiting to get him returned to her, she was lucky; if her dog had been loose in the car, he may well have been smashed up or sustained a broken neck in the car during the crash, thrown from the car in the crash, or jumped out of one of the car’s broken windows after the crash. In the minutes immediately after the accident, had he been loose, he may have run from the car in a panic, and gotten lost or, worse, hit by another car on the highway. Thank goodness he was in a crate that was properly fastened into the car!!
If you haven’t taken steps to protect your dog in your car, please do it now! Any time your dog goes on the road with you, he should be wearing ID with current contact information, and should be either seat-belted into the car (with a proper harness) or in a crate that is properly fastened.
Snake venom consists of proteins, enzymes, substances with a cytotoxic (poisonous to living cells) effect, neurotoxins (which damage nerve cells), and anti-coagulants. Four distinct types of venom act on the body differently. – Proteolytic venoms disrupt tissue integrity. – Hemotoxic venoms affect cardiac tissue, blood vessels, and blood cells. – Neurotoxic venoms damage the central and peripheral nervous systems, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis. – Cytotoxic venoms damage cells at the bite site. Each snake has different amounts of different toxins in its venom. For example, the Mojave rattlesnake’s venom consists primarily of a neurotoxin, while the western diamondback’s venom contains digestive enzymes and anti-coagulants to immobilize its prey. The following components are common in venomous snakes. – Phosphodiesterases cause cardiac pathology and hypotension (loss of blood pressure). – Phospholipase A2 causes hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells) and thrombocytopenia (loss of blood platelets that help the blood clot). – Cholinesterase inhibitors make prey animals lose muscle control. – Hyaluronidase increases tissue permeability and enhances the rate of venom absorption. – Amino acid oxidases and proteases predigest prey.
On October 25, 2013, three days before his dog’s fifth birthday, Dan Owen of Helena, Montana, went pheasant hunting with his friend Doug Denler in Shonkin, Montana, 40 miles east of Great Falls. Owen’s Golden Retriever, Dusty, and Denler’s Brittany Spaniel, Radar, were experienced hunters. “It’s really desolate looking country,” says Owen, “full of coulees, creeks, gulches, and ravines. We started in the morning, when the day was cool, and it gradually warmed up.” In the early afternoon they crossed a creek to a small island covered in tall grass where the dogs followed pheasant trails. “By then it was getting warm,” says Owen. “My main concern was all the burrs that kept collecting in Dusty’s tail and on his coat. But then Dusty disappeared and didn’t come when called, so I got worried. A few minutes later I saw him standing in the creek holding his foot up and I knew something was wrong.” Dusty grew weak and collapsed in the creek, and when they pulled him out and examined him, Owen and his friend saw puncture wounds on Dusty’s right paw. “I grabbed my cell phone to call the vet, but we were in the middle of nowhere with no cell coverage, and we were a good three miles from the truck.”
Denler, an ex-Army Ranger, took off with Radar while Owen stayed with Dusty. “Quite honestly,” he says, “I was expecting the worst. Dusty was just lying there, and then he began to convulse. His leg began vibrating and shaking, and he got that closed look in his eyes. I took my shirt off, wet it in the creek, and spread it over him to help cool him down. I talked to him the whole time, and I prayed. I was really frantic, especially at the thought of him dying so close to his birthday. Then a calmness came over me and I felt peaceful and relaxed. Something told me not to worry. So I just stayed there with him and talked to him, and after a while he moved a little and opened his eyes. I’d been wondering how in the world I was going to haul my dead dog out of there but now I realized there might be hope.” Owen assumed it would take hours for Denler to return with the truck, but suddenly there he was on a nearby bluff with the pickup. “A rancher whose land was adjacent to where we were hunting showed Doug a shortcut that saved considerable time, and he called the Big Sky Animal Medical Center in Great Falls to let them know we were coming. Apparently the area is rattlesnake heaven and Dusty wasn’t the first dog to get bitten there. Doug drove while I held Dusty, and as soon as we arrived, with Dusty all covered with burrs and semi-conscious, he received the antivenom.” After Owen arrived home in Helena, the veterinarian called to say that Dusty was recovering well. The next morning, Owen returned to Great Falls to pick him up. “He didn’t look anything like a show dog,” says Owen. “They had shaved his tail rather than pull all the burrs out, so he looked pretty chopped up, but I had never been so happy to see him. He was still weak, but after a quiet day at home he started to bounce back. Two days later we took him to our local vet for blood work and his recovery continued. His only follow-up care was the application of cold compresses on his leg for 10 to 15 minutes at a time two or three times a day. By the fourth or fifth day, he was himself again.”
My stepson and daughter-in-law have a son, who will be three years old in May. Their whole family moved to my town a year ago, so I’ve been spending a lot of time in my new role as Nana.
When my own son was about the same age as my grandson, my mother accomplished the lion’s share of his potty-training over the course of a single weekend, using M&Ms as rewards for “going in the potty.” So I feel a certain amount of responsibility to “pay it forward” to my stepson and his wife, to help in the potty training of their toddler son, who is exasperating everyone with his inconsistent interest in “going in the potty.”
Because they have to get to work at a set time, and I work at home, I have been spending the past few mornings with the toddler, so he’s neither being rushed to perform, so to speak, nor making them late for work by “going” exactly as they are all marching out the door for daycare and work. I declared that I would spend every morning this week with him so I could be ready to “catch him in the act” of pooping, or, preferably, announcing that he has to poop or is about to poop, so I can rush him to a potty and have him “go” there. (Pee-pee has not been a problem. This is all about #2.) Then I could take him to daycare.
Yesterday morning, he was playing in the backyard of my house, wearing shoes and a shirt and nothing else. We were on potty-watch. Suddenly, with NO WARNING WHATSOEVER, he stood still and started to poop. I swooped in, exclaiming, “Liam! You have to tell Nana when you have to poop! Let’s get to the potty!” I carried him – fast but at arm’s length, like an inexperienced TV uncle – about 20 strides into the house, and put him on the toilet. He finished pooping there, and yay! We started celebrating. “Yay Liam! You went poo poo in the potty! That’s so good! Let’s wash our hands and get some M&Ms!” He was happy and proud, and so was I. This is the first time anyone has managed to get him onto a toilet seat at poop time. So we only got the last half of the poop; we can improve!
We cleaned up, washed our hands, and still celebrating, trotted out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where I grabbed the bribery bag of candy and gave him a small handful. Then I went outside with a plastic bag, to clean up what Liam left out there.
But it wasn’t there.
Tito the Chihuahua WAS, however. Standing in the spot where the warm poop had so recently been, licking his lips. AAAACCCKKKK! I screamed. Liam, thinking we still celebrating, screamed happily, too. AAACCCCKKK!
I know that some dogs eat poop. And though I don’t want to think about it in graphic terms, I know that my own dogs have eaten deer poop, horse poop, and the like. I’ve never SEEN them eat cat poop, it might happen, but I have no evidence of this and so I am happy to imagine it doesn’t. And I’ve never owned a dog that ate dog poop, though I feel for people whose dogs do this. This, though – oh my. I have to admit: It has changed the way I feel about Tito. Time may heal this wound, obscure the memory somewhat, but for right now, I could not be more grossed out by my own dog.
Tell me your dogs have done worse, and you’ve gotten past it?
Signs of a snake bite include distinctive puncture wounds and acute swelling, as seen on this dog, who was photographed at an emergency clinic. He was bitten just 30 minutes prior and already can’t fully open his eyes or breathe through his nose.
Snakes and dogs are a bad combination in any circumstances, but it’s helpful to know what venomous snakes look like, both where you live and where you might be traveling.
All of North America’s pit vipers (Copperheads, Cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes) have a broad, triangular head and narrow neck. Their eyes are slanted, not round, and their bodies tend to be thick and stocky, not slender. Their mouths can open wide with formidable looking fangs. The “pits” for which these vipers are named are heat-sensing hollow areas between the eyes and nostrils.
Most (though not all) rattlesnakes have rattles, and their sound is a distinctive buzzing. Want to hear it? Search online for “rattlesnake sounds” and you’ll find dozens of examples.
The rattles are actually modified scales with a bony core. Each time a rattlesnake sheds its skin, a new “button” is added to the rattle. As a result, rattles show the number of times the animal has shed its skin. Most rattlesnakes shed their skin three to five times per year, and some even more often, depending on their health and growth rate.
One or two puncture wounds, acute swelling, bleeding, and pain are the most common signs of rattlesnake bites. Dogs investigate the world with their noses, so it’s no surprise that their faces are the most common target. Of 67 canine patients treated between 1994 and 2005 at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, all were bitten on the face or legs. (During that same period the hospital treated 5 cats, 3 llamas, 15 horses, 1 sheep, 1 goat, and 1 parrot for rattlesnake bites.)
Rattlesnakes fill most of us with fear and anxiety. For many, the only good snake is a dead snake.
But rattlesnakes deserve our respect for being among the earth’s most efficient and specialized predators. Without snakes keeping their population in check, the rodents and other prey that they consume can be serious pests. Snakes play an important role in maintaining the balance of nature. Biologists consider rattlesnakes, which exist only in the Western hemisphere, to be the newest or most recently evolved snakes in the world.
Rattlesnakes also deserve our appreciation because, for the most part, they are shy and avoid confrontation. According to the World Health Organization, venomous snake bites are an important public health problem in rural Africa, Asia, and Latin America. A recent worldwide study estimates that at least 421,000 and as many as 1,841,000 humans are bit by venomous snakes each year, resulting in 20,000 to 94,000 human deaths. The greatest number of bites and fatalities occur in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
In contrast, according to the (U.S.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7,000 to 8,000 Americans receive venomous snake bites per year, and, on average, only five of them die. Millions more dogs in the U.S. are hit by cars and euthanized in animal shelters than are ever bitten by snakes.
By learning about rattlesnakes, adjusting our property and behavior, and training our dogs well, we can reduce the risk of rattlesnake bites and more safely coexist with them.
Few medical emergencies are as terrifying as snakebites. They happen fast and they’re dangerous. Will your dog survive? Knowing what to do and acting immediately can save your pet’s life.
Thousands of dogs are bitten in the U.S. each year by venomous snakes. Ninety-nine percent of the snakes that bite them are pit vipers, whose Crotalidae family includes Copperheads, Cottonmouths (Water Moccasins), and more than a dozen species of rattlesnake. The remaining one percent are Coral snakes, native to the American Southeast and Mexican border.
Rattlesnakes account for most U.S. snakebite-related deaths in humans and domestic animals. According to the Animal Medical Center of Southern California, dogs are 20 times more likely to be bitten by venomous snakes than humans are, and 25 times more likely to die as a result. Snake bites are life-threatening, painful, expensive to treat, and can cause permanent damage even when the animals survive.
Thanks to his owners’ quick action nine years ago, Gizmo, a Yorkshire Terrier, recently celebrated his 15th birthday. One August night, as Micheline Campbell of Belt, Montana, and her husband were getting ready for bed, they let Gizmo outside one last time for the night. “A few minutes later, we heard him yelp and went to see what was wrong. A baby rattlesnake coiled up on the patio had just bitten Gizmo on his leg.”
Campbell’s husband, Mark, put a garbage can lid over the snake and brought Gizmo into the house. “Within two minutes he started whining and within five minutes he was yelping like he was being beaten,” she says. “We called our veterinarian, Dale Schott, DVM, who lives just a mile away. He told us to bring Gizmo right over. As we were transporting him, Gizmo lost consciousness. This was about 10 minutes after being bitten.”
Fortunately, Dr. Schott keeps a supply of antivenom (also known as antivenin) on hand. This antidote is administered intravenously or, in some cases, injected into muscle close to the bite location.
Dr. Schott mixed the antivenom with distilled water to hydrate it. “During the mixing, which seemed to take forever, Gizmo lay motionless on the table,” Campbell says. “Both Mark and I were sure he had died. Dr. Schott shaved a spot on Gizmo’s front leg to find a vein and then injected the antivenom. Within a few seconds, Gizmo started showing signs of life, and within about 15 minutes, it was as though he had never been bitten. The vet gave him a shot of Benadryl and kept him overnight. When we picked him up in the morning, he was fine.” Gizmo’s only lasting symptom is that he licks his leg every day.
Gizmo was lucky to have received veterinary attention and antivenom so quickly. Pit vipers give birth to live babies whose fangs and venom help defend them against predators. The snake that bit Gizmo was very young (rattlesnakes are generally born between August and October). “We learned that baby rattlesnakes are more potent than adults because when they bite, they release all of their venom,” says Campbell. “An adult snake releases venom according to the size of its prey.” In addition, the venom of young snakes may contain more neurotoxic elements.
It’s an emergency!
The bite of most pit vipers is called “hemotoxic,” meaning that its venom disrupts the integrity of blood vessels. As a result, dramatic swelling, blood loss, and uncontrolled bleeding can quickly lead to shock and death. Up to one-third of a dog’s blood supply can be lost to tissues within hours, causing a severe drop in blood pressure.
Most dogs are bitten on the face or leg. Facial bites can be serious if swelling closes the throat and impairs the dog’s ability to breathe, but in general, bites to the face or legs are considered less dangerous than bites to the torso, especially the chest or abdomen, where they can directly affect the body’s organs.
As the Merck Veterinary Manual explains, “Rapid examination and appropriate treatment are paramount. Owners should not spend time on first aid other than to keep the animal quiet and limit its activity. The following commonly touted measures are ineffective and can be potentially harmful: use of ice, cold packs, or sprays; incision and suction; tourniquets; electric shock; hot packs; and delay in presentation for medical treatment (waiting until problems develop).”
According to Animal Pharm News, published by the University of California Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, it’s important to:
Remain calm.
Wash the bite with clean water and soap.
Keep the animal quiet.
Immobilize the bitten area and keep it lower than the heart.
Seek veterinary help immediately, even if you are not certain that it is a rattlesnake bite.
Call an emergency veterinary clinic ahead so they can prepare.
Remove restrictive collars, choke chains, etc., before swelling begins.
Unless the bite is on the head or face, consider applying a muzzle to protect anyone who handles the dog, as extreme pain can cause any dog to bite.
The terms antivenom, antivenin, and antivenene all refer to a biological product used in the treatment of venomous bites or stings. It is created by milking venom from a specific snake, spider, or insect, then diluting the venom and injecting it into horses, sheep, rabbits, or goats. The injected animal’s immune response produces antibodies against the venom’s active molecule, and these antibodies are extracted from the animal’s blood and freeze-dried. Antivenoms sold internationally conform to the World Health Organization’s standards of pharmacopoeia.
The term antivenin, which is derived from the French venin, meaning poison, has been in use since 1895. In 1981, the World Health Organization adopted the English terms venom and antivenom, replacing the terms venin and antivenin, or venen and antivenene. Antivenoms have been created for dozens of poisonous snakes, spiders, and scorpions around the world.
Rattlesnake antivenom has been a miracle cure for many American dogs, but for the treatment to be successful, it has to be the right product and it has to be administered in time. Antivenom is considered most effective if administered within four hours and less so after eight hours, but it is still recommended as a treatment for severe symptoms within 24 hours. However, much depends on the bite’s location, the dog’s size and overall health, and the venom’s toxicity. Rattlesnakes tend to be most toxic when very young, agitated, angry, or targeting prey.
The antivenom also has to be available, and it often isn’t. Many veterinary clinics, even in areas inhabited by rattlesnakes, don’t carry it. This is because antivenom is expensive, has to be stored at a stable room temperature, and has a limited shelf life. Cost is an important factor, for not everyone can afford the treatment.
Several antivenom products are available to veterinarians, including:
– ACP from Boeringer Ingelheim Vetmedica is currently the only USDA-approved antivenom for use in veterinary medicine. While considered effective against the hemotoxic effects of all North American Rattlesnakes, Copperheads, and Cottonmouths, it is not effective against the Mojave Rattlesnake’s neuro-toxins. The cost to veterinary clinics averages $300 to $500 per vial. ACP’s manufacturer recommends between one and five vials per patient, depending on the dog’s size, condition, and symptoms, and in some cases higher doses are needed. Even when only one or two vials of ACP are sufficient to slow or halt the progression of clinical signs, the cost to clients can be prohibitive.
– CroFab® is an antivenom from sheep exposed to venom of the Eastern Diamondback, Western Diamondback, Mojave Rattlesnake, and Cottonmouth. This antivenom is more rapidly reconstituted and about five times more potent at neutralizing pit-viper venoms in animal models than ACP. Its small molecules are rapidly cleared from circulation, and it is well tolerated by patients allergic to horse-derived products. CroFab is expensive. Depending on the distributor, a veterinary clinic’s cost may be $1,000 per vial or more. One prospective veterinary clinical trial reported that most dogs required 1.25 vials on average.
– Antivipmyn®, an equine serum manufactured by Bioclon Institute in Mexico, is considered highly effective against North American pit vipers, but repeated doses may be needed. This antivenom tends to be significantly less expensive than others. It requires a USDA importers’ license and permission from the State veterinarian prior to purchase.
– Another Mexican product, Crotalid Antivenom®, is derived from horses exposed to the Tropical Rattlesnake and Fer-de-lance. A retrospective analysis of 180 dogs treated with this antivenom in Arizona found that one vial was sufficient to improve clinical signs in most patients, and it was shown to resolve both neurologic and myotoxic effects of rattlesnake bites. An experimental safety trial in healthy dogs demonstrated no acute or delayed reactions when up to six vials were administered over one hour. This antivenom is available for veterinary use with a USDA import permit. The average cost to veterinarians per vial is $300.
– Coralmyn®, manufactured in Mexico with venom from the Black Banded Coral snake, has been shown to neutralize Eastern Coral snake and Texas Coral snake venom. This antivenom is available for veterinary use with a USDA import permit. An antivenom for the Coral snake went out of production in 2006; the snake is so rare that its antivenom wasn’t profitable.
Allergic reactions to the serum components of antivenoms are less common in dogs than humans, but they can occur. In 2005, the Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care reported the first known case of antivenom-associated serum sickness in a dog. The patient, a Boxer, had been bitten by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake and was in shock and suffering blood loss.
Three days after treatment with ACP, the dog developed an allergic reaction with a fever, limb edema, and eye swelling, symptoms that continued through the sixth day of hospitalization. As physicians do for human patients, some veterinarians test for serum allergies with a skin test before administering antivenoms, but their results are not always accurate.
Controversial Vaccine
Researchers at Red Rock Biologics developed a rattlesnake vaccine, Crotalus Atrox Toxoid, that can be given to horses and dogs in advance of a trip to rattlesnake country or before rattlesnakes become active (generally in spring and summer), in an effort to reduce the adverse effects of rattlesnake bites and allow extra time for conventional treatment.
The venom used in its production came from Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes, so it is considered most effective for that species, but it is assumed to protect against related venoms, such as the Western Rattlesnake (including the Prairie, Great Basin, Northern, and Southern Pacific varieties), Sidewinder, Timber Rattlesnake, Massasauga, and Copperhead. Partial protection may be obtained against Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake venom. The vaccine does not protect against venom from Cottonmouths, Mojave Rattlesnakes, or Coral snakes. In 2012, Red Rock Biologics began developing a vaccine for the Eastern Diamondback and similar species.
According to the manufacturer, “As part of its licensing process, this vaccine was shown in dogs to generate protective antibodies against rattlesnake venom. Protective antibodies function by neutralizing rattlesnake venom. Dogs with protective antibodies are reported to experience less pain and have a reduced risk of permanent injury from rattlesnake bite. Veterinarians typically report that vaccinated dogs bitten by rattlesnakes experience less swelling, less tissue damage and a faster recovery from snakebite than unvaccinated dogs.
“Several factors may influence antibody effectiveness against venomous snakebite. Snake-related factors include the snake species, age of the snake, and amount of venom injected. Dog-related factors include location of the bite, how well the dog responded to the vaccine, and the length of time since the last dose of vaccine was administered.”
It takes four to six weeks for the vaccine to produce maximum protection, and that protection continues for approximately six months. The manufacturer recommends an initial vaccine followed by a booster dose one month later and an annual booster after that. In some cases, anticipated rattlesnake exposure or the dog’s size require two or even three booster shots per year. Search and rescue dogs, hunting dogs, small dogs, unusually large dogs, or dogs living in high-density rattlesnake areas where snakes are active year round may benefit from booster shots every four months.
The rattlesnake vaccine is considered safe for use in pregnant and lactating dogs, puppies as young as four months, and healthy older dogs. Side effects reported by veterinarians have typically been few and mild. Less than one percent of vaccinations result in a mild swelling at the injection site.
How effective is the vaccine? That’s a good question. The manufacturer recommends treating every snake bite as a medical emergency, for even vaccinated dogs may need antivenom and other conventional care. No objective studies testing the vaccine have been published. Not all species of snakes are well covered by the vaccine, individual patient responses vary, the amount of venom in a bite might overwhelm a vaccinated dog’s immune response despite high titers, the dog might receive multiple bites with the same result, or the bite might be near vital organs or a vein. In addition, the vaccine does not protect against tissue necrosis or infection.
Because of the vaccine’s cost, questionable efficacy, and the fact that vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs receive the same veterinary care when bitten, many veterinary hospitals do not recommend it for their canine patients. At the same time, for dogs at high risk in areas where immediate treatment is impossible, the vaccine might delay the venom’s effect so that the owner can reach a veterinarian in time to save the dog’s life or decrease the venom’s effects.
Conventional Care
Because most deaths and adverse reactions to rattlesnake bites result from blood loss causing circulatory collapse, intravenous fluids (sodium chloride or colloid fluids) are given to maintain blood pressure. Oxyglobin, which is chemically stabilized bovine hemoglobin used to treat anemia in dogs and which has fewer risks of causing clotting abnormalities, can be given instead. In rare cases, if uncontrolled bleeding is life-threatening, blood transfusions may be needed.
In addition to fluid therapy, anti-histamines and steroids can help prevent further swelling and anaphylactic (allergic) reactions. Because of increased mortality rates reported in human patients, steroids are controversial, but they may help patients with recurrent bites or symptoms of serum sickness.
Antibiotics are used to prevent secondary bacterial infections of the bite site. Because venom can spread rapidly in an agitated patient, pain killers such as fentayl or diazepam may be given to relieve severe pain and agitation. Anti-inflammatories are not used because they may worsen bleeding problems.
An estimated 20 to 25 percent of rattlesnake bites to dogs are “dry,” meaning they don’t contain venom; another 30 percent produce mild local symptoms of pain and swelling; 40 percent are severe; and approximately 5 percent of rattlesnake bites are fatal to dogs.
Follow-up care includes at least eight hours of observation, for mild bites can become severe and dry bites can become infected. The wound should be rechecked within two or three days, at which time follow-up bloodwork can be performed.
Provide plenty of fluids, and return to the veterinary clinic if the dog’s urine decreases in quantity or becomes dark and cola-colored, if swelling worsens, or if the dog develops dark, tarry stools, new bruising, or signs of wound infection, such as redness, heat, pus drainage, or extreme tenderness.
Do not administer anti-inflammatory drugs such as carprofen, meloxicam, or aspirin for at least two weeks after a snakebite. Limit the dog’s physical activity and avoid surgery or dental work during that time. Return if the dog develops a fever, rash, itching, joint pain, or swollen lymph nodes within a month.
Snake Bites and Homeopathy
Before he became interested in homeo-pathy, Douglas Falkner, MD, MHom, was a Level I Trauma Center emergency physician. “Emergency physicians confront and successfully manage life-threatening problems on a daily basis,” he says, “but most homeopaths, at least in the U.S., rarely have an opportunity to test the efficacy of homeopathy when accident, injury, or illness brings one toward the brink of death.”
Dr. Faulker was camping in Oregon’s remote high desert, when a rattlesnake bit Bob, a fellow camper’s Border Collie-Lab mix, on the right side of his forehead. Bob lay on his side, with the right side of his face dramatically swollen, his right eye completely shut, his swollen jowl sagging, and heavy drool hanging from the side of his mouth. The lightest touch made him yelp in pain. His owner, Don, decided that because the nearest veterinary clinic was far away and it was late in the day, transporting the dog was not an option.
On a camping trip in a remote location, Bob was bitten by a rattlesnake on the right side of his head. His face swelled dramatically and he was in extreme pain.
Dr. Falkner checked his collection of homeopathic remedies and selected two that he thought would help: Lachesis (potentized venom from the South American Bushmaster, or Suruku, the world’s longest pit viper) and Cedron (a potentized plant known as “Rattlesnake Bean”), both in a 30C potency.
He diluted each of the remedies in a cup of water, labeling them to avoid confusion later, and instructed Don to alternate doses, giving a spoonful of one or the other every five minutes for four doses of each altogether.
Half an hour later, Bob was moving more, wagging his tail, and looking up. His swollen right eye was beginning to open. Then Dr. Falkner suggested alternating doses every 15 minutes, and when he returned after an hour, Bob stood to greet him. “His face was still swollen and he was drooling,” he says, “but Bob was becoming more animated. He was acting more dog-like and less ill. His eye was now half visible. When I patted him, he didn’t yelp like before. The pain seemed significantly diminished.”
Don continued alternating doses every half hour, then during the night gave Bob one or two doses of each. The following morning when Dr. Falkner went to check on him, Bob ran to greet him with a wagging tail and both eyes wide open, showing no signs of illness. “There was still some boggy edema under his jowls,” he says, “but it seemed to have no negative impact. He was clearly well and thriving!”
One of his owner’s camping companions was a homeopath, Douglas Faulkner, MD (far right), who gave Bob’s owner some homeopathic remedies and instructions to use them throughout the night.
Bob had already eaten breakfast, consumed large amounts of water, and eliminated on his normal schedule. Don weaned Bob off the remedies by extending the time between doses for another day. “When the patient responds quickly and well,” says Dr. Falkner, “you can extend the treatment by a couple of doses and then stop. Use common sense and gauge the speed of improvement. A dog that improves quickly can stop quickly, while one that recovers slowly should disengage slowly.”
Although Bob had a speedy recovery, Dr. Falkner advises that it is always prudent to seek conventional medical care in emergencies where bites from venomous animals can cause serious injury or death. However, such options are not always available, as in a wilderness setting like this one.
After his report of Bob’s rattlesnake bite appeared in a 2013 holistic health magazine, Dr. Falkner heard from two dog owners who reported that the same remedies, administered as described, worked perfectly for their dogs’ venomous snake bites. “While there is typically no universal remedy in homeopathy, as individualization is the rule,” he says, “there are circumstances where a specific remedy will work most of the time. Our tradition states that symptoms are the guideposts to treatment, and most snake bites will start off causing similar symptoms. The size or breed of the dog makes no difference at all. Lachesis and Cedron are the two remedies I would carry with me and use first off in the event of such an emergency.”
By the next morning, Bob was almost completely recovered. Dr. Faulkner recommends conventional medical care for snake bites, but was happy to have his homeopathic kit for this wilderness emergency.
There are other homeopathic remedies available for snake bites, including Crotalus horridus, the Timber rattler, and Crotalus cascavela, a Brazilian rattlesnake. In reply to our questions, Dr. Falkner agreed that a homeopathic Crotalus remedy could work well for rattlesnake bites, assuming the symptoms of the remedy agree with the symptoms of the patient.
Ounce of Prevention
The first rule of common-sense bite prevention is to understand snake behavior and use that knowledge to avoid encounters. You and your dog are most likely to meet a rattlesnake while hiking, climbing, camping, or just walking on a trail. If you live in rattlesnake country, it can happen in your own backyard!
Rattlesnakes tend to be most active during summer months, but spring and fall are dangerous throughout most of the U.S., and in mild climates (Southern California, for example, or the Southwest, or wherever temperatures stay above freezing) they can be active at any time. Their favorite temperatures are between 70° and 90°F (21° to 32°C).
Because reptiles are unable to control their body temperatures, snakes depend on their environment for comfort and mobility. In cold weather they seek warmth and in hot weather they seek shade and cooler ground. On sunny mornings you might find rattlesnakes warming themselves on asphalt or driveways, but encounters are more likely to occur around rocks, shrubs, brush, woodpiles, or wherever snakes can hide.
While walking where rattlesnakes are known to be, keep your dog on a short leash and stay on well-defined trails, avoiding tall grass, brushy areas, fallen logs, and abandoned buildings. Rocks, holes, ledges, and brush are favorite hiding places for rattlesnakes. Don’t let your dog explore holes or dig under rocks, and never let your dog examine a dead snake, as it can still be venomous.
If you notice a snake, back away quickly and quietly. Keep in mind that a rattlesnake’s striking distance is half to two-thirds of its body length, and it strikes faster than the human eye can follow. Always keep a considerable distance between a snake and your dog. Be careful around water because rattlesnakes swim, and anything that looks like a long stick might be a snake.
Rattlesnakes feed on rodents and other small animals, and whatever you can do to remove their food supply will make your property less attractive to them. Below-ground fencing, frequent mowing, rodent-control measures, and wire mesh that blocks small holes or cracks under doorways and in garages and other buildings will encourage snakes to depart. Store firewood away from your house, plug holes in the ground, and limit birdseed waste, which can attract rodents.
Experts advise against using caustic lye or products such as gels, powders, and ropes that are advertised to deter snakes as these are ineffective and potentially harmful to pets and children.
A couple of days ago, I received a text from a dog-training client, wondering about a video she had just watched—and which she linked in the text. “Is meat meal bad for dogs?” she asked. She followed that message with, “I get that she’s selling her own pet food, but is it (meat meal) that bad?”
