Michen
Well-Known Member
My English springer spaniel has been living in Colorado with me for the last couple of years, where I've kept her away from rattlesnakes by walking/hiking at elevation- easy to do because of my horses location being up there too. In addition the rattlesnake "season" is reasonably short.
Now we are in Arizona and only a month or so away from them coming out. Everyone here does rattlesnake training for their dog at a special school, which at the same time teach them to avoid Sonoran toads, and it uses an electric collar to have them associate the smell, sound etc. Apparently very effective and you can do the shock as lightly as required for a sensitive dog. And she is a sensitive dog. Apparently the shock is usually just done once.
I am sure this would be considered horrific in the UK, and I instantly dismissed it as such, but I don't know whether I should consider it from the point of view that it could save her life. The other option is that she stays on a short lead for all her walks, not a great way of life for a buzzy spaniel that loves scampering around.
My issue is to have access to snakes to train her even if I wanted to do it myself a diferent way, I have to go to one of these schools, and they only do it their way as above. She is a very high drive dog and gets in all sorts of vegetation etc, the chances of her coming across a snake are high. And even if she sticks to a trail, last year one was casually sunning itself on a rock right on it. Her first instinct would no doubt be to investigate. In speaking with the locals, a few of them did try to train with positive reinforcement but they said it was absolutely not as successful as the "usual" method.
Before I'm accused of being a terrible owner for even considering this, please bear in mind that I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep my dog safe and also not restrict her quality of life (aka her spending it on a short lead). I am trying to weigh up the idea of her being shocked once, vs a potential bite which would likely kill her at her size.
Now we are in Arizona and only a month or so away from them coming out. Everyone here does rattlesnake training for their dog at a special school, which at the same time teach them to avoid Sonoran toads, and it uses an electric collar to have them associate the smell, sound etc. Apparently very effective and you can do the shock as lightly as required for a sensitive dog. And she is a sensitive dog. Apparently the shock is usually just done once.
I am sure this would be considered horrific in the UK, and I instantly dismissed it as such, but I don't know whether I should consider it from the point of view that it could save her life. The other option is that she stays on a short lead for all her walks, not a great way of life for a buzzy spaniel that loves scampering around.
My issue is to have access to snakes to train her even if I wanted to do it myself a diferent way, I have to go to one of these schools, and they only do it their way as above. She is a very high drive dog and gets in all sorts of vegetation etc, the chances of her coming across a snake are high. And even if she sticks to a trail, last year one was casually sunning itself on a rock right on it. Her first instinct would no doubt be to investigate. In speaking with the locals, a few of them did try to train with positive reinforcement but they said it was absolutely not as successful as the "usual" method.
Before I'm accused of being a terrible owner for even considering this, please bear in mind that I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep my dog safe and also not restrict her quality of life (aka her spending it on a short lead). I am trying to weigh up the idea of her being shocked once, vs a potential bite which would likely kill her at her size.
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