Dogs right upper lip no tongue
Swelling a little
No trouble breathing
Dog acting not hungry or thirsty and very subdued

Trying to decide if I need to take to urgent care
I can give Benadryl here at house
I'm and MD but don't ever treat snakebites
Advice?

Benadryl for sure
Clean wound if you can
Wait and watch

I'd have to search for it but I listened to a top snake bite Dr out of Houston on Michael Berry a few weeks ago. The Dr treated Sundance Head's wife, who was not three times I think by a copperhead.


Someone asked "why does benefit work for dogs and not humans?". His response was "Easy, it doesn't work for dogs. Snake bites aren't a histamine reaction".

I can't recall what the follow up was.

Here's the podcast I mentioned. Minute 33 ish is where he talks about dogs and Benadryl. It's a good listen regarding bites to humans too.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-the-michael-berry-show-27764850/episode/everything-you-think-you-know-about-snake-bites-is-wrong-according-to-our-snake-bite-expert-dr-greene-170476177?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false

Should be fine our dogs have been bit several times over the years with no issues other than swelling and subdued. Not a vet but I wouldn't rush to take it in.

Thx guys
I'm just gonna watch and see if he looks to be showing systemic symptoms like rapid breathing, pale gums/eye lids, and take him in if I get worried.

I'm now on guard on our new property we are just about done building on. I've seen several copperheads. Saw the biggest I'd ever seen a year ago when mowing, it rolled under a burn pile while I was mowing and bumped a log.

The trash guys killed three babies cleaning up form lumber last year.

The concrete guys just killed 3, plus sadly a big speckled king snake that was probably there for a meal. I'm hoping there are more king snakes around.

Yeah they are here, we gotta deal with it

On FB.
Benadryl does not work on dogs.
All the info you require is on this site.

Ive always heard remove collar if there is one

Nose/lip best area to get bit. I'd take his collar off and just watch him. Mine got bit by a rattlesnake a few years back and his head swelled up like a pumpkin. Was fine though. Gave him Benadryl we had for the kids.

toolshed said:

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I'd have to search for it but I listened to a top snake bite Dr out of Houston on Michael Berry a few weeks ago. The Dr treated Sundance Head's wife, who was not three times I think by a copperhead.


Someone asked "why does benefit work for dogs and not humans?". His response was "Easy, it doesn't work for dogs. Snake bites aren't a histamine reaction".

I can't recall what the follow up was.

Here's the podcast I mentioned. Minute 33 ish is where he talks about dogs and Benadryl. It's a good listen regarding bites to humans too.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-the-michael-berry-show-27764850/episode/everything-you-think-you-know-about-snake-bites-is-wrong-according-to-our-snake-bite-expert-dr-greene-170476177?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false

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He is correct. It'll just make them sleepy.

He is perking up! Swelling going down. I don't think he got much venom. Gonna see if he will eat his dinner if he stays perky for an hour.

Why would you give an antihistamine to a dog when he gets poisoned???

I've gone 4 years without a Copperhead and this year so far have killed 4 around the house. What's up with that?

My folks had little dachshunds and there's no telling how many times they got hit in the face/head. Poor things would swell up bad for a bit, but no issues without a vet trip. I think dad would give them Benadryl too. I guess it just helped them get through the pain.

You mean envemoned?

Long range Ag said:

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He is perking up! Swelling going down. I don't think he got much venom. Gonna see if he will eat his dinner if he stays perky for an hour.

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Good news, glad to hear it!

Is the speckled King Snake still alive. Don't kill KSs.

4 said:

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Why would you give an antihistamine to a dog when he gets poisoned???

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Because a lot of dog owners want to do something, and it gives them something to do that won't harm the dog while it recovers like it normally would.

Our great Pyrenees got bit one time by something I assumed it was a copperhead. Underneath her stomach by back leg and eventually her whole whole leg underneath split open and healed .went back to normal like nothing happened.

We gave her her shot from tractor supply but I don't remember what it was and then treated the wound with wound care stuff

As I said, sadly they killed it. I wasn't around or it wouldn't have been killed. I told them no more killing black snakes.

OnlyForNow said:

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You mean envemoned?

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Dog is fine! Thx guys. Another time we went to vet ER and he was given Benadryl, Tylenol, and steroids. That's why I would try Benadryl. But I understand it doesn't directly impact the action of the venom.

So are there any type/ breed of dog more apt to alert to snakes if you were to look for a dog to hang with your kids running around the woods?

We have what I think is a Plott Hound mixed breed dog now. Just wondering if there's another more specific breed that's family friendly and snake aware.

We have an HOA, so no guineas or other type animals to help keep them at bay. We could get a fixed cat or two to help, but I'm it a fan of cats.

We used to have copperheads until we got two cats that mostly stay outside. Now we don't have copperheads. Or pretty much any other small animal.

Quote:

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We used to have copperheads until we got two cats that mostly stay outside. Now we don't have copperheads. Or pretty much any other small animal.

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There is a dad at our school that built a really nice new ranch home on a big spread near Athens. He kept having trouble with mice and other rodents, and was spending big bucks with service companies to solve the problem.

Finally, his mom from a small town farm in Kansas showed up with a few cats and the problem got better pretty quickly.

Only problem then was the Cats would bring their kill into the house every now and then. A small price to pay really,

At first I thought the cats had just got rid of their food sources. Then I kept finding shredded copperheads in the yard. Observed them one day and one cat would distract it and the other would come from out of nowhere and just absolutely **** it up. Recently, they've taken to laying on the garage door rails when it's open and slapping birds out of the air when they fly in. I know this is the outdoors board and dogs are everything, but cats in the country can be really fun to have.

Quote:

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At first I thought the cats had just got rid of their food sources. Then I kept finding shredded copperheads in the yard. Observed them one day and one cat would distract it and the other would come from out of nowhere and just absolutely **** it up. Recently, they've taken to laying on the garage door rails when it's open and slapping birds out of the air when they fly in. I know this is the outdoors board and dogs are everything, but cats in the country can be really fun to have.

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I learned that unlike most species, including dogs, cats cannot produce an essential amino acid called Taurine. They have to get it from digesting meat from prey, which makes them such motivated hunters.

They are definitely Apex predators on the farmland. My old great uncle who had a big spread out near Crowell would shoo us away from his feral cats due to disease, but also said he would not know what to do without them as they kept his barns snake free and either killed or scared off rodents. He loved those things.