When Snakes Attack Your Dog

By : Jason Homan
Snakes are not domesticated animals that should know better or be expected to stay off other peoples property,they are wild animals and are also Protected.

No-one is asking you to put up with a snake threatening your family but you do not have to kill it , simply remove your family and your dogs until the threat has passed or until someone can remove the threat.

Venomous snakes are highly agressive snakes and will not hessitate to bite but they will not chase people or simply crawl up and bite while people are asleep in bed. Venomous snakes use venom to kill their food, without it they would die, they don't waste it because they are mean and want to bite people Snakes feel threaten and will stand up to try and make themselves look bigger, snakes like browns will do this at the slightest distrubance as they are edgy snakes. This doesn't mean they will bite but they will if they are pushed futher, now if you have a dog that tries to even smell a already edgy brown snake the dog will be biten, it's not the snakes fault they are just protecting themselves.

If you're on a property, you can't just get rid off the individual snakes. If there's snakes there, you have a good environment for snakes, and removing the ones that are there will just leave a space which new snakes will move in to. What you need to do is make your property uninviting to snakes.

Snakes chose their territory based on two things: shelter and food. Remove those two things, and the snakes will leave your property in search of a nicer home.

To remove shelter, make sure all piles of rubbish (sheets of tin and piping are favourite) are cleaned out. No branches, cluttered sheds, piles of bricks, etc. Anything like that provides good cover for snakes, and should be removed. Make sure sheds are free from big piles of stuff on the floor, so either stack things upwards against a wall or put it on shelves. Be careful of where you put your hands while doing all this, don't stick them where you can't check first, and preferably wear thick gardening gloves- most venomous snakes have quite short fangs, and gloves are usually adequate protection. Mow/whippersnip any long grass. Wear thick long jeans and sturdy boots while doing so to protect your legs from any startled snakes. Snakes really really DO NOT like to travel over open spaces, and will travel from one object to another. If there are low-lying bushes or plants near your house, you may want to consider removing them if you're really worried.

Okay, that's shelter done! Now, food- the main source of food for snakes is rats and mice. Cut down on rats and mice, and you will cut down on snakes.

If you have livestock, if possible make sure their feed is in secure bins with tight-fitting lids that rodents can't get through. Make sure any outside taps don't drip, and there are no other water sources for rodents. If you have a creek on your property, you're a bit out of luck, though. Get to any fruit trees before they drop their fruit on the ground for rats to nibble on. Don't put down poison, as natives or pets might get at it, but a few humane traps around the place might not be a bad idea. They work on a small scale, and prevention is a better option, but a few traps can take quite a few rats and mice out of circulation over time.

That's all I can think of for decreasing the rodent population, but combined with the removal of shelter it's quite effective for convincing snakes to go elsewhere. Some more tips for reducing the chances of snakey encounters:

Snakes are most active in the morning, before it gets too hot. Depends on the area, but around 9-11am is a busy time for them. Be careful around then. If you suspect a dog has been bitten, keep it still and get it to a vet. Sucking the venom out, eletrocution, bleeding them, or any other home remedy won't work, period. Don't try to kill a snake. Most snake bites occur when people try to scare off or attack snakes. A snake's first reaction to something bigger than them is to run away, let them do this. If you stop them running away (corner them, or chase them), THEN it will try to defend itself. If only we could get dogs to understand this.

But I can tell you now, as much as I like snakes, and as much as I respect all living things, I would not hesitate to protect my dogs with whatever means necessary if they were in a situation where they risked getting bitten by a poisonous snake. Sorry, but stuff the laws and stuff the ethics. If one of my family member's life is in danger, I will do whatever it takes to protect them. If that means killing a snake, I would not hesitate.



Author's Resource:

My name is Jason Homan. I was born in Detroit Michigan and moved to Denver at an early age. I have always been an avid animal lover for as long as I can remember. Interested in finding out more about a dog that can defend himself against snakes? Click here to visit my website The AskedWeb.com information portal

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