Snake deterent for the dog

Thanks Jason,

I am pretty sure you are right about the type of dog.

Thor was a Norwegian elk hound who had his nose to the ground all the time, would find bobtail goannas at a long distance, I guess that was his DNA.

My best mate before him was a Staffy and he lived to the ripe old age of 15.

Bandit, the new addition is a real bitza I think he has a bit of Heeler in him, he should be allright.

Glenn

Vitamin C..... wow.... is that specific to dogs or would it work on cats, or horses or humans?

Royce,
it only works on dogs I believe.

I have seen it done with a mates dog bitten by a brown at Bloomsberry and the dog pulled through ok.

have a good one
RA

Sorry Rockape, I have to interject here. Liquid (or any other form) of vitamin C does not protect or treat dogs for snake bite. Urban myth. Any anecdotal stories of animals surviving after being given the inj are simply cases of natural survival/coincidence. By the way- If you have ever tried to inject vitamin C - It stings like anything.doc.

Oz doc,
I know about30% of dogs live from snake bite with no intervention at all so the dog I saw recover may well have been one of those.

I just googled Vit c and here is the first thing that came up. This was just a small extract.

The first one was a pony, almost moribund, whose blood was later diagnosed as having the largest amount of Tiger Snake venom the Vet had ever seen in an animal. Within 24 hours of being unable to move, and also having considerable difficulty in breathing due to pneumonia, the pony was grazing happily in its owners garden, apparently quite healthy. I only had one 30ml bottle of Vitamin C, half of what I would have liked, so I put half of the bottle into each side of the neck by intramuscular injection.
After that we treated sundry dogs, two cats and several goats including a stud buck. All recovered. A very valuable Alpaca which was being watched by its owner from her kitchen window went down to the dam to examine something. The owner, horrified, watched a large snake rise up and strike it on the nose - the worst place - and thanked her lucky stars the Vitamin C was in the fridge - not still on the shopping list. Rushing out with only 15 mls in the syringe - she injected the Alpaca before any symptoms arose. The snake had looked like a brown or a tiger, the result - happy ending.
The great advantage of Vitamin C is that anaphylaxis does not occur and the variety of snake does not matter. Vitamin C is cheap, easy to store and taking it on a hunting trip is no problem. All you need is a 20 ml syringe, some largish needles - say No 18 - and the bottle of Vitamin C. It can all be carried in a small wallet on ones belt. In between times it should be kept in the fridge. Although the stuff can be carried in Summer without deteriorating, I suggest to hunters that they get a fresh supply each Spring just to be on the safe side.
After much reading of printouts of Bellfield's and other literature, many supplied by Dr Glen Dettman, a retired pathologist who lives near Melbourne, I have tried Vitamin C on many situations. A dog in a tick coma, spider bites, dogs with Parvo, Tetanus following a terrible injury from a car, and in cases of shock - all with unfailing success.

Have a good one

Ozdoc... you are on a 'hiding to nothing' when it comes to alternative medicine enthusiasts. Anecdotale evidence beats logic and research everytime! :-]]

Hi Royce, you are problably correct. Unfortunately there is so much anectodal and sometimes dangerously incorrect information out there on the internet it can cause confusion and consternation amongst the masses. I should probably hold my tongue on the matter but I would hate to see someone rely upon this information and end up in losing thier pet as a result. As I said before- Vitamin C is of no proven benefit to treating snake evenomation. It is remarkably panful to inject and I sure as eggs would not be relying upon it to treat any case of snake bite. doc

Royce and doc,
Just let you know I am not an alternative medicine enthusiast at all.

$1000 plus for vet care, person doesn't have that money or doesn't want to spend it. Result dead dog.
No vet available. Result dead dog.
Vitamin C injection hurts like hell, dog on the way out anyway.

Try vitamin C you have nothing to lose, dog is going to expire anyway.

You may well be right Doc but as you know many people can't afford vet bills anymore.

Rockape- you make a very valid point. Many people do not have the funds for vet bills. Some snakebite treatments can be hugely expensive.Some antivenoms are thousands of dollars for each dose.With some evenomations you have to give multiple doses of antivenom to rescue the patient.
This raises the question- would Vitamin C injection be better than doing nothing? If an animal was NOT going to receive veterinary treatment, I doubt that giving vitamin C would adversely affect the outcome. However if you were going to get veterinary treatment then there are two circumstances in which injecting Vitamin C may actually make the situation worse.
Just as an aside, we should probably keep an open mind about "alternative" medicines. There is a plethora of evidence that many "alternative" treatments are valid, appropriate and sometimes more effective/less detrimental than mainstream medical treatments. Perhaps enough said on all this and we should get back to the origional question on snake deterrants. Cheers, doc.

Doc,
I respect your opinion and knowledge and yes we should leave it alone and keep to the original post.

Have a good one
RA

Oz doc , speaking of dodgey information, i was watching tv the other morning ( before work so at maybe 4 am ) and seen something that caught me by surprise

here was a lady selling a snake bite kit , she was demonstrating all the items inside the kit , those items included an alcohol pad for wiping the bite site, Scalpel for cutting open the bite site and a special pump to suck the venom out. now i thought wow this must be an old show , till i seen a modern 4x4 in the back ground - no mention of correct immobilization of the limb - just this silly kit the suck out the venom ....

crazy

Begaboy

very popular in yankeeland and I have seen them here in OZ

possible because of a big difference in snake venom

their rattlers arnt very venomous and pump in a fair bit of venom which kills skin,and flesh

to immobalise the venom can result in gangrene and loss of limbs so they try and get the venom out

I suspect its also to sell stuff to dumb yanks as well

He would stick pretty close to us in the day time off the lead and not wonder off.
But at night I had him on a 15m run between 2 trees, where he was quite happy.

It was in the morning when I heard a yelp from the tent, it was quite distressing for both of us to see the effects of the venom, I can feel for your son, hope he got over it.

I actually gave him mouth to mouth and he came good for a short while, but was gone in about 15min still on his lead. It was the first really hot day after winter and the snake must have been loaded with poison.

Glenn

I will keep a very vigilant eye on Bandits movements when we first go camping with him.
I've grown up with dogs all my life and could never imagine living without one.
They never complain and are always happy to see you when you come home.

I work away a lot and apart from the misses they are the best mates in the world. Sometimes I just love to sit on the beach or in the bush and watch them do their own thing.

Just thiking of that.....
If you locked your dog and the misses in the boot for an hour, who would be more pleased to see you ?
If your reading this hun I'm only joking... honest.

I have always been alert where I camp, as over the years I have seen quite a few snakes there, mainly tigers and dugites.

Geez one night we had a visitor come right under my chair and it was heading to the warmth of the fire.
It was a little 2 foot dugite and scared the bejesus out of me.

I grabbed the dunny shovel and my first reaction was to knock it on the head, but then i thought that I was invading his terittory and flicked it in the river instead.
Damn things can swim pretty well too.

Another time at the same place I was flicking the rod around looking for a redfin or trout in the river and almost stepped on a very large tiger snake, sunning itself. The prievious rock I had stepped on rocked a bit and the big sucker took off. That scared the bejeejus out of me too.

I have always known there a snakes where I camp and they are usually not seen.
Both of us have taken the St Johns senior first aid course and know what to do in an emergency for ourselves.

But what to do for the dog ?

Can you tell me what solar powered unit you are talking about ?

If it is cheaper than the previously mentioned vet bill then I will give it a go.

cheers

gidday Marc,

I have recently read your posts with great interest, you have a wealth of knowlege that I am glad you are sharing with us and your blog is great.
Has the misses finished the painting ?

The bush trip wont happen til I get back from work in 5 weeks from Korea.
I will definately take your advise and let you know how it went.

What sort of vinegar ? brown or white or doesn't it matter ?

cheers

Hi Glenn

It is not the colour of the vinegar (snakes generally see in infra red, picking up heat, not colours), it is the acidity of the vinegar. From the few trimes we have seen a snake react, I would say that is burns their tongues to such an extent that they are gone.

I would disagree about me having a wealth of knowledge, I am just another bushy who has picked up a few books along the way and always listen to people when they are discussing things they know about.

Yes, my wife finished that painting, it took her nearly 4 months, but it was bought unfortunately by an American collector, hence another painting out of the country.

My blog will be good when I get things moving a bit, but I am still learning how to use my camera.

Cheers

Hi Marc,

Is the reason for the 50 50 with water just to make the vinegar go further or for some other reason? Just wondering if any reason why you couldn't just use straight vinegar (thus possibly making it even more effective?).

Sounds like a great tip to know!

Hi Ayita5

I must be honest, I am a lousy shopper (that's the wifes speciality), so I mix it and that way I still have some vinegar left for fish and chips when we cook them. Unfortunately I am serious. Straight vinegar would be extremely effective.

Cheers

Cheers Marc, great tip. :)

I thinks that the best idea of all. The hopefully no one is bitten at all. I also take the same line with the kids.

Lots of different views I can see.

After reading all of this I think I will give both the vinegar and the solar charged devises a go.

If anything at least I am trying to improve the situation to deter snakes, cause I aint stopping my camping with the dog and it will give me some peace of mind knowing I've done my best.

cheers
Glenn