Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum My three border collies just cornered a rattler

Thanks for asking. They are going to pull thru. Both are responsive (even on codine) and awake. Swelling is pretty bad but that should start getting better soon.

Yeah, its a racket. When they first got tagged the momma dog had some swelling so I knew she got a dose of venom. The other pup wasn't swollen at that time. Wife wanted to take them to the vet so I told her to take them to our vet in Cullman. On the way she called and the vet told her that they don't stock anti-venom and told her to go to Birmingham... I had to go to work so I was on the outside looking in until I finally got to talk to the vet in Hoover at about 2PM. She said we had 3 options. Of course, option number 1 was leave the dogs and a blank check, number 3 was take them home and monitor them. They had them hydrated, medicated and the venomization was "mild to moderate" so I said bring them home. Their bill was around $1870 plus 10% for the worthless state. Probably could have gotten the same treatment at my vet for a few hundred bucks.

My question is, if the dogs needed anti-venom why wasn't that suggested early on? I know they were running blood tests at first, but suspect that early on they knew anti-venom probably wasn't required and still ran up a big bill. In the end though, the pups got treated and are doing ok.

PS, I look forward to every dang pit viper I can draw a bead on in the future.

I believe most vet bills are directly related to your obvious concern and ability to pay, not required services. The few times I’ve used a vet I was surprised how negotiable the cost was based on my rule of not being willing to spend more than a replacement cost

Like the other guy said I have had numerous hunting dogs hit, Benadryl will work wanders. Keep it in my dog box, give it to them and plenty of water soon as there hit

Well antivenom is about $600 a vial. There can be secondary effects due to swelling and rotting flesh. Don't feel bad about carrying your dog to the vet. It's worth it to me. People recommend all kinds of home remedies for dogs but I guarantee none of them folks would pop a Benny and a bacon grease biscuit and call it good if they got bit by a rattlesnake.

yep I believe in dogs living a natural life without vet bills. a $2K Bill is the vet telling you don't bring them back.

Yeah, I'm loyal to my pups and we always do our best for them. This afternoon one of them hadn't taken a leak in over 24hrs so they are both back at our home vet's office overnight for IV fluids and anti-inflammatory treatment. Our normal vet will be much more reasonable on the charges.

Hope they turn the corner tonight and get better 👍

That’s typical for an emergency vet…just saying. Regular vet would be way cheaper. But…you gotta do what you gotta do.

The only reason she went to the emergency vet was the anti-venom availability and then they didn't give it to them. Its a racket. I wish our vet had a stock of the anti-venom because I knew the emergency vet was gonna be highway robbery.

Yep Emergency Vet prices are rough. They exist cause people will pay for an emergency for their pets. A good friend has been party owners in several. Heck regular prices can get rough. Our Boston had 13 chemo treatments plus other services for 10 months. Wife didn’t flinch at the cost.

My first duck dog got hit by a moccasin during teal season way back in the late 80s. Was $400 and that included Sunday afternoon vet called in.

Anti-venom probably has a shelf life so I’d bet most regular vet offices don’t keep it in stock.

Hopefully your pups will make a full recovery.

We gave ours Benadryl and amoxicillin and force fed them water and Gatorade to keep them hydrated.

I keep a bottle of clear Pedialyte and a syringe to shoot down their throat. But Gatorade will work at that point. The clear pedalite seems to work better if I put it in their bowl. I keep an eye on how much they're drinking. You can pinch their skin to check for hydration. It sounds like you're staying on top of it though.

How are the pups today?

When y’all talking benedryl, I assume you are doing the liquid and mixing it with water? Or the tablets? How do you administer it? Never been through a snake bit dog experience.

Dang snake. Poor dogs. Hope they get better soon.

I use tablets. You should look up dosage rates. But roughly it's one tablet per 20 pounds. My dog is 60 plus. But I usually only give 2 tablets. They'll bout take it in anything, but I keep some hotdogs in the freezer and thaw as needed.

Understand that Benadryl is going to have minimal effects on a snake bite. More times than not, it's a dry bite. That said. I use it mostly for the tranquil effects. It's better than nothing. But don't expect miracles from it. It's not gonna save your dogs life.

Pups are still at the vet. They have both eaten something this morning and are hydrated enough to pee. Swelling still pretty bad. Vet wants to keep them until tomorrow to keep fluids, antibiotics, etc going. In all, they're doing well from what I can tell.

I hate a snake and especially hate a poisonous snake. Our little dog got bit a little over a year ago by a water moccasin and it cost me $1,800 for anti-venom but it was money well spent and she survived it. I got home and found the snake after We took her to Med Vet and happily gave the pit viper a couple of 45 ACP slugs to head and body. Hope Your pups come through it OK!

I did get to do a partial mag dump with my M&P40 on what was left of the snake. It was satisfying.

Hard to buy a new person for a couple hundred bucks. My dogs get Benadryl