Scratchings-and-Sniffings

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Hopefully Miles is Safe Now Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:39 PM PDT I may have told you of a recent backpacking trip up the Middle Fork of the Gila River. I went in May with a bunch of high school kids and we had a great time. I also saw my first rattlesnake in the Gila. In fact, I saw four of them. Kinda scary for me, but as a human I know the warning signs and that it's a good idea to give them plenty of room. Fortunately for us, the most common snake around here is the Black Tailed and as you can see from this video they are not too aggressive and would rather avoid us, too. I was really worried about Miles, though. He wasn't on this trip but we take him out in the back country all the time and we are planning a seven day backpacking trip in July. My worry is that he'll get inquisitive when he hears the buzz of a rattler and move in for a closer inspection. Even a Black Tail will nail you if you invade his personal space.   A rattlesnake strikes at three miles per hour. That may sound slow, but when you consider that his strike is usually only about two feet and that he hits 3 MPH almost immediately, a strike is almost impossible to avoid for a dog. Interestingly enough, many cats are quick enough to jump clear.   In the South and Southwest it's tough to avoid snakes unless you stay inside all the time. In some places, like Tucson, it's really tough to avoid snakes. A friend of mine was bitten on his patio last year. You can take precautions, however.   We have given Miles two doses of a rattlesnake toxoid which is very similar to a vaccine in that the body responds by producing antibodies. In this case, the antibodies are to the snake venom. From what I hear, if you use the toxoid correctly and give the recommended number of doses at the right time, it can be effective in reducing the severity of the reaction to a bite. Miles should have peak immunity about the time we head into the back country.   The other thing you can do is something called "aversion training". I've written about that a couple of times already. We decided to have Miles "trained" to avoid snakes. It was an interesting experience and not as straight forward as I assumed.   When I get my camera back tomorrow I'll fill you in on all the gory details.

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