# Rattle snake avoidence opinions



## zigzag (Oct 4, 2011)

I am planing a cast and blast rip down the John day River for next Fall. If I go for bass/chucker then rattle snakes will be a factor. I have heard mixed opinions about rattle snake avoidence training...

My dog is soft, Ecoller conditioned with low level stim basic stuff. Kenel command, hear command, leave it command. Never been stimulated on birds. We have never used the Ecollar for (trash breaking) I think that is the right tearm. 

I am affraid that my dog will shut down with intense stimulation needed for this type of training. I would lean towards a late fall steelhead trip and just get the snake vaccine if this training will creat problems.

Please anyone share there experince with Rattle snake Ecollar avoidence training.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

I had the same worry about my Riley girl, but decided to give it a try anyway. My sweet, "soft" (or so I thought) girl had to get her collar turned WAY up before she would leave the darn snakes alone. Their prey drive is really strong and it seems like they can block out the stimulation from the e-collar for the most part. She came out of it no worse for the wear and I've seen her sniff something in the grass multiple times on our walks and jump straight backwards and then take off. Pretty sure she remembers that snake = OUCH!  We'll repeat the training again this summer and it will be interesting to see if she remembers.


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## Rufus Tiberius (Dec 18, 2012)

I too had the same concern with my last Vizsla, Nicholai. He was my camping and hiking buddy and we often hiked in rattlesnake country. I had him inoculated with his first anti snake vaccine when he was 9 months old, with a yearly booster shot.

When he was one and a half years old I took him for rattlesnake avoidance training, where they used an e-collar for the training. Glad I did this. They start out on the lowest setting and work up from there. 

I was not aware that a rattlesnake, or any snake for that matter has a distinctive odor. Anyway Vizsla's like to poke their noses into the bushes and explore. More than once on our trips I saw snakes in the bushes and managed to get him out of harms way. He was smelling them.

After the avoidance training he would stop and back away from the bushes and let me know there was something in there, and to give it a wide birth. Would spot them sunning themselves on rocks beside the trail, etc. He was my early warning system.

Don't know where you are located but the people I used was, Natural K-9 Solutions Rattlesnake Avoidance Training, in Southern California. They use live snakes in their training. There web site is:

www.http://socalrattlesnakeavoidancetraining.com

They have a telephone number listed and if you are not in the area give them a call. I am sure they can help you find someone closer to you to give your dog the training. The training only takes about half and hour to get your dog some protection. They recommend a yearly follow-up to re-enforce theprevious training.

Best money I ever spent on my V.


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

As the only V owner I think on the forum that has a dog bit by a rattlesnake, I will chime in. Ruby was bit in the face at 4 months old in our back yard. 

We waited until she was 1 1/2 years before we went through rattlesnake prevention. Ruby is extremely soft and you would think she had a memory of the bite. She bee lined to that first snake right away. The shock collar was turned on high and she never had one before. She screamed and ran away. The second snake she accidentally stumbled upon and she did not want to go near it. 

Since then I have spotted a rattler curled up by our air conditioner. Ruby loved chasing lizards around the air conditioner. That day she stayed on the other side of the yard. It could be a coincidence but I hope the training helps. 

We plan to do this every year to reinforce since this will be something we deal with unless we move.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

My dogs have all went to the clinics. They are great for teaching snake avoidance but like anything else its not 100 percent effective on every dog. Make sure your dog goes back each year for a fresher course.
I recommend getting the snake shot and doing the clinic. Then make sure you take benadryl with you on hikes.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

This is Cash doing a leap and hide when he caught scent of a rattler at this years clinic. There was no stimulation to his collar. This is all Cash saying "Holy Cow Dogs there's snakes."

















He past the test with fling colors, like I thought he would. He had avoided snakes on hunts after taking a previous clinic last year. This was just insurance to see if it was still fresh in his mind.

This is a picture from the year before at a clinic. He went to put his nose to the snake and received stimulation at the exact time. He believes what happen to him was caused by the snake.









Be sure you go to a clinic that teaches your dog the sight, smell and sound of these snakes. They need to know all three to have the best chance of avoiding them.


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

Both of our dogs had rattle snake vaccine and went to avoidance clinic last year.

We are planning to do the same this year and I am VERY curious how they will react.

At the time of first avoidance clinic Max was still a puppy and Skyy has been with us for only 2 weeks (their first e-collar experience).

Since then, both of our dogs are e-collar conditioned. 

In general Skyy is very aware of her surroundings, Max on other hand is like a tank, moving with a lot of force and little thinking.

*TexasRed*, do you know if any avoidance clinics are planned for this spring around Dallas area? Thank you!


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## Rufus Tiberius (Dec 18, 2012)

Just wanted to say good morning to all you members who are on line right now. 

It is 6:30 a.m. here in Clifornia and if we are here this early we need to get a life. 

Have a good day.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I don't know about the Spring. Most of them are done in the summer. Here is a link to the person I use, he does the clinics across the state of Texas. You could send him a email and ask.

http://www.snakebreaker.com/


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## SkyyMax (Apr 5, 2012)

TXRed - Thank you so much!


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## zigzag (Oct 4, 2011)

The questions I have are

Did you have problems using the Ecollar after the training? Was the dog collar shy in anyway?
Did you have any blinking problems with other animals fur or feather?


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Oso has never ever had an e-collar on except for the avoidance training. He is extremely soft, but we live in rattlesnake country and felt it was important to get the training and the vaccine for his safety. 

He didn't like it but survived. There are no ongoing effects except that now he's our rattlesnake detector. We've come across some snakes that are off the trail by a few feet and I have to drag him past. For us, it was worth it. We don't do any other work with the e-collar though.

Make sure it's a good training if you are going to go though. I hear they vary in quality. You want several different snakes and for the trainers to train for scent, sight and sound. The whole thing went by extremely quickly (5 minutes-7 minutes) but seemed to work for Oso. He'll have to do a refresher in a couple months though.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Here's a video of Riley's snake avoidance training:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP7SdVmFTW4&feature=share&list=UUymO4DqEqgmblh1Dd7s0N1g

I'm convinced she didn't even realize it was the collar, based on the end result. She thought the snake was actually hurting her. We've done successful bird work since then and she still loves to chase bunnies and other critters.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

zigzag said:


> The questions I have are
> 
> Did you have problems using the Ecollar after the training? Was the dog collar shy in anyway?
> Did you have any blinking problems with other animals fur or feather?


Done properly, the dog associates only the snake's presence with the unpleasant feeling. As far as the dog is concerned, the snake doesn't like him, the ecollar doesn't matter. 

Off topic...but still on ecollars..
There is technique, where with each command a mandatory electronic stimulation is given(momentary, not continuous) then the dog receives a treat. Command-stimulation-treat .... Oh this makes them tough and it yields a dog that submits to the owner but at the same time walks like a Champion... Chest out, head up, tail up. Looks excellent on GSD. 
Tried on Sam, worked beautifully at lowest level at first. Dog training at its finest


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