• Michael D’Abruzzo

    Administrator
    April 26, 2016 at 11:23 am
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    Hi Mason, I know very little about rattlesnake vaccine so I would suggest asking a Veterinarian on the Pros and cons of its use and how effective it is.  I do however know of a training option that can be used in conjunction or as an alternative if you do not like what you here from the experts.  I knew a trainer in Arizona that made a lot of business offering “rattlesnake proofing”.  This is very similar to poison proofing a dog but in many ways easier since you are only teaching the dog avoidance toward rattlesnakes and not all kinds of food that can be tossed at a dog.

    This guy basically had a bunch of disarmed rattlesnakes and taught the dogs to avoid them by consistently applying  a high level remote collar correction when a dog tried to engage with one.  This had to be done with perfect timing and generalized in different areas over a few weeks/months of training but then the dogs would get a whiff of a rattlesnake and go the other way.  I assume a lot of pre-training training can even be done with dead snakes or their skins.  For sure it is a serious enough risk to teach a dog consequences to avoid them at all costs.