We received a comment from a reader on a post we did a while back on Rattlesnake Preparation for dogs. We discussed the merits of aversion training and brought up the availability of a vaccine that can provide protection against rattlesnake venom. Paula wrote to say that the vaccine is not a cure all, especially in certain circumstances. She lost a rat terrier to a big rattlesnake.
I went to the
Red Rock Biologics web site and researched the vaccine a little more. It can be a valuable tool to protect your dog (and even your cat, if your vet approves), but there are a lot of caveats. I'd encourage anyone contemplating this vaccine to
read the FAQ's on the company web site. Here are six of the high points.
1. A single dose of vaccine is not going to cut it. In fact, they recommend an initial vaccination followed a month later by a booster. After that it gets a little more complicated.
2. If you have a dog that lives in the northern half of the country one annual booster should be protective. The theory is that snakes up north are only out a max of six months a year.
3. If you live in the southern half and snakes are a year round problem, your dog should have two doses per year.
4. Small Dog Alert: Small dogs and dogs that are at high risk like search and rescue or hunting dogs, may need to be boostered every four months. And small dogs ( < 25 LBS) should have three doses in the initial series each about a month apart. Paula's situation was the worst of all; namely a small dog bitten by a big snake. Big snakes can deliver much more venom than smaller snakes.
5. This is very important in my neck of the woods. The vaccine was developed using
Western Diamondback Venom.
There are many different types of rattlesnake and while there are similarities in their venom there are exceptions, too. The vaccine works well against most varieties of rattlesnakes and even copperheads, provides partial protection against the
Eastern Diamondback and none against the
Water Moccasin or Mojave Rattlesnake.
The Mojave Rattlesnake is highly venomous and can even be more aggressive than other snakes. My friend in Tucson was bit by one of these snakes and nearly died. They are all over the place in Southern AZ.
6. The vaccine is not immediately protective. Antibody production can take 4 to 6 weeks to max out and if your dog is bitten a week after the first dose he won't have many antibodies against the venom to protect him. Therefore it's a good idea to vaccinate at least a month before snakes get active or if they are active year round be careful until your pet's immune system has had an opportunity to produce sufficient antibodies.
The take a way is that no vaccine is perfect and this one has its share of caveats. If used properly and boostered at the right intervals it can be a valuable tool. If your dog or cat is bitten try to ID the snake involved so the veterinarian will know what she is up against.
I'd encourage pet owners to take the aversion training class along with vaccination. Avoiding the actual encounter is by far the best way to deal with poisonous snakes.