eastern Montana - rattlesnakes and dogs?

[Kyle]

I'm planning a long weekend to eastern Montana with my dog. Just curious if anyone has hunted out there, and if so if they have seen any rattler's or had any issues with them. I know all of the articles say it's extremely rare to get bit, but I'm concerned that my dog will put his sniffer in a rattler's mouth.

[harvey lee]

Few years back I elk hunted along the Missouri river in the breaks in the Charles M. Russell National wildlife refuge. We camped along the river for 2 weeks and did see a few rattlers but no issues for us.

We were just south a ways from Glascow and yes, there are some rattlers but we had zero issues. I walked slow and took my time. if there alot in this area I have no idea. Some locals at the bar/cafe in Fort Peck just told us to be careful.

Guy in town told us to be careful by the concrete bathroom at the landing as the rattlers like the cool concrete and they will get in the bathrooms. We simply did not use the bathrooms at the landing.

Never went out hunting with my dog there so I cannot coment on how that would go with a running dog.

[Ufatz]

Yes, there absolutely ARE rattlers in most of MT. Have seen a few over the years but never had a problem. Hunted my Labs without any particular fear and to the best of my knowledge none of the dogs ever ran into a snake. Talked to a couple vets about it and they said 99% of the time a dog will recover on its own unless it was a LARGE snake that put a LARGE amount of venom in the dog. It WILL make the dog sick and they will just want to lay around for a couple days. But everybody rushes their dog to a vet right away.

In fact, one of the vets told me "The most dangerous time for the dog is when the owner drives like a crazy man to get here and has a wreck!"

Be aware but don't let it ruin your day. And locate a vet in the area you plan to visit just so you'll know where to go. At moderate speed...because we will ALL take our dog in!! LOL

[rundrave]

isn't there a vaccine you can get that is a initial two shot series a few weeks apart followed up with an additional yearly booster?

The dogs develop protective antibody from the vaccine. The basic idea is that with this vaccine the dogs will get less severe symptoms than an unvaccinated dogs but they still require hospitalization and care. The treatment may not be as aggressive and if anti-venom is not needed much less expensive. I also think the size of the dog plays a role in this also.

Best bet would be to contact a vet with knowledge of this.

[Ufatz]

Good idea R.D. Check with a vet when you get where you plan to hunt just to see whether there are new developments in treatment or to get his general feeling for how to deal with an incident.

As I said earlier, at the very least learn where the closest vet is located in case you need one-for ANY reason.

[Cheetah]

Cactus might be a bigger problem for the dog depending on where you go. I know in the area Harvey Lee mentioned there is quite a lot of it in the areas that guys hunt birds.

[jeffreyd]

my vet offers the snake bite vaccine here in the middle of phoenix. because we have invaded the desert, put homes up where the rattlers hung out, they come back. this year is not as bad as last year. I would call your vet and look into the vaccine. I know that we do have tick issues here and if my big lab is treated with any of the frontline etc, he gets sick. So we rarely do it, but check him daily if he has been outside.

Have a great hunt, be safe.

[Gatzby]

I have hunted pheasants in the Culbertson - Froid area for about 10 years and have yet to see a rattle snake. I am not saying they are not there, maybe they are maybe not. Cactus and porcepines have easily been the biggest issues. Them dang ground cactuses can really mess up a dogs foot. I would not leave the truck without a Leatherman.

Steve