2 dogs bit by huge cottonmouth

Is it wise to use both Bena and Dexa?

Do you think that dogs who have been bitten previously have any resistance to the effects of future bites?
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleCK
Do you think that dogs who have been bitten previously have any resistance to the effects of future bites?

i do 100% I have dogs who have been bitten several times over the years, and each time, the affects are much less. The last time my pit was bit it was by a baby cotton mouth, about 12 inches long, it got her on the lip, got her so good that it stuck there, she shook, spun, and floped until the snake let go, and flung it, then proceded to kill it. this was about her 4th copperhead bight to the head, and she barely swelled up this time, just the lip swelled up. THe first time it was her whole head, then just the bottom part of her head, until now she barely swells at all.

Its not just her, it seems all my dogs have been bitten more than once, and each time they take it better than the time before.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleCKIs it wise to use both Bena and Dexa?

Do you think that dogs who have been bitten previously have any resistance to the effects of future bites?



yep, every one is a little less hard on them. our poisonous snake here is a small rattler called a masasauga sp? a 18 inch snake is a big one with most around a foot long. catdaddy posted his coonhounds swelled up so did my old farm dog his eyes and nostrils would swell shut,his tounge would stick out and he would look like he!! for a couple days. my vet said if they make it after the first incounter they should make it from there on. but he might of meant our little rattlers. i have in laws in texas and they can keep them big S.O.B down there!
laugh.gif
they look like they could poison a horse.
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleCKIs it wise to use both Bena and Dexa?



When Sarge got bit by the copperhead, the Dex was a one-time injection at the vet's office about thirty minutes after the bite. The Benadryl was every 8 hours or so for the next few days.
He got bit on a Saturday evening, and all of the swelling was gone by the following Wednesday evening.
We called the vet just a few minutes after he got bit, and he said we better bring him in because of his small size..he only weighed 26 pounds at the time.
As far as the effect being less on subsequent bites, I hope we never find out!!
laugh.gif
 
The first time the Brittany was bit, he was swelling bad in 10 minutes. One dose of Benadryl and 12 hours later, you could barely find where he was bit.
But that was a smallish copperhead.
I think some dogs handle it better than others for some reason.

Shayne
 
Originally Posted By: yotehunter57 I think some dogs handle it better than others for some reason.

Shayne

Yep, I think the size of the dog has a lot to do with it.
 
Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: yotehunter57 I think some dogs handle it better than others for some reason.

Shayne

Yep, I think the size of the dog has a lot to do with it.

I don't know about this, my 10 lb jrt took 'em on the nose like a champ. Only problem was one time a fang went through her nasal, and from then on she would whistle when she started to get winded. Kindof handy when she was working a brush pile, you knew right where she was!
 
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canines have an incredible healing ability, that's for sure. Size also helps too, I had my English Coonhound get nailed by a copperhead when he was 13 months old and he was good as new in 48 hrs. he looked like [beeep] the first few hrs... After that bite, he wasn't bothered by wasp stings or anything of that sort.
 
Yes, please post some info on the Benadryl. We had a lab get bit by a rattle snake and it was rough. Any remedy in a situation like that is good to know of.
Don't buy that Benadryl BS. Your dog could be allergic to it and die. Take it to a vet. When my cocker spaniel got bit by a water moccasin he wouldn't eat or drink anything he was dying so I took him to the vet and they actually put fluids in his shoulders so it would absorb into his body and within 3 days he survived and was fine. Always take it to the vet if you care for your dog
 
Buster thanks for posting the information and joining PM !

This post is 14 years old…..so most of the people in this thread probably won’t see this.
 
Buster thanks for posting the information and joining PM !

This post is 14 years old…..so most of the people in this thread probably won’t see this.
LoL
Been a lot of that lately.


As for the thread.... hell, lets keep it going.


I've had a lot of dogs get bit by snakes. Got two that were just bit last week and week before last. Shoot them up with some penicillin and give them benadryl. If they make it through the night, usually they recover just fine.

On a side note. I couldn't find any penicillin. I read where they may have pulled it and made it RX only. So I gave them some benadryl and doxycycline that I had and they are fine.
 
All depends where the dogs are hit as well. According to the vet, the head area is the best…Benadryl works great.
Unfortunately we had a dog tie up with two cottonmouths on the very first hunt of this past season. He’s a hard charging male and the manager was trying to shock him off of them. Too late. By the time we caught up to the dog I grabbed him while calling for a truck to meet us. He had 2 visible bite marks and a possible 3rd. I carried him to the Jeep and we loaded up to meet the managers wife in the truck. I’m talking a 3min ride and he was already going limp on me. She got him to the Vet in less than 18min from bite and he was a limp ragdoll. Believe it or not he spent over an entire month at the Vets and was hunting by the 3rd week of January again.
The main issue with cottonmouths is the flesh rotting away.
What’s crazy is he’d gotten bit last summer by a baby cottonmouth and his head got about as big as a watermelon. So apparently there’s no “immunity” cause even the Vet thought he was a gonner after these last bites. Needless to say, we canceled hunts on any warm weekend we encountered throughout the season. Generally the scenting conditions sucked, the dogs had to be watered constantly, and other than the horse ride, it was just miserable anyways. No client is worth possibly losing a dog.
 
My GSD got bit by one of our Mojave Green Rattle snakes last year. He was already dead when I found him. These rattle snakes are 10x more venomous than an Eastern Diamond Back.
Always going to miss that dog!
 


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