Dog snakebite

My late father’s dog got hit once. Out in the mountains and probably 45 minutes from a vet. He gave her Benadryl and she laid in his lap with labored breathing for a while, then fell asleep and woke up next day and wasn’t 100% but was back to herself. Hair never grew back on the fang puncture area on her nose.


Dad also hit hit twice on the leg in one encounter. Different story fir a different day.
 
Tim said:
My 8yo 65# cur/mutt got bit about an hour ago. It was just about dark and I never saw the thing, just saw the dog jump about 3 feet in the air. Obvious puncture wounds on his lower leg. Some minor swelling.

The ‘net tells me what signs to watch for to know if it’s venomous, but what’s your say? How long do I wait/watch before going to the vet? If it was just a non-venomous bite I’m thinking he’ll be just fine so long as we keep it clean.

He’s hobbling around in obvious discomfort, but never yelped or cried out.
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Non-venomous bites don’t really hurt. I’ve personally been bitten by everything we’ve got on the east coast.

So if he was sore an hour later, it’s almost surely a venomous bite. The risk of serious systemic problems, or death are pretty low if you’re not even seeing much of a local reaction. The main problem with distal limb bites is that if they get tissue necrosis, there’s not a lot of extra skin and flesh to protect and scar.

Please keep us updated
 
The Benadryl recommendation that is so common is actually pretty funny. Benadryl is recommended to prevent an allergic reaction from the anti-venom. The likelihood of having an allergic reaction to a snake bite is basically zero. So it was recommended as part of a cocktail with anti-venom and over the years, somehow got separated into its own treatment. probably by somebody who wrote a textbook chapter that never treated a snake bite 😂
 
So how about human bites? Not too worried about dogs..
 
Mathieu18 said:
So how about human bites? Not too worried about dogs..
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I’ve only been bitten by a copperhead 😂

Hurt like hell. Felt like a bad ass wasp sting at first. Then it felt like a really bad sprained ankle the day or two after it happened. No pain when elevated and standing still that will start pounding and pulsing when you move it or you will jump off the bed if it gets bumped.

I got crofab which cost me $18K out of pocket. It was like magic though and the swelling decreased in front of my eyes. I’m sure I would have survived without it and they don’t tell you it’s not covered by insurance when they give it 😂

Took about a week to get closer to normal.
 
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P01135809 said:
I’ve only been bitten by a copperhead 😂

Hurt like hell. Felt like a bad ass wasp sting at first. Then it felt like a really bad sprained ankle the day or two after it happened. No pain when elevated and standing still that will start pounding and pulsing when you move it or you will jump off the bed if it gets bumped.

I got crofab which cost me $18K out of pocket. It was like magic though and the swelling decreased in front of my eyes. I’m sure I would have survived without it and they don’t tell you it’s not covered by insurance when they give it 😂

Took about a week to get closer to normal.
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You find a different church after that encounter?
 
Dale Gribble said:
They gave you the fab? For a copperhead bite?
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Yeah. Apparently the recommendation is/was related to swelling crossing major joints. The ankle in my case.

Even though it isn’t made with copperhead venom, there’s enough cross-reactivity (probably from the cottonmouth) that it’s effective.

It definitely worked! I could actually feel it working in my foot during the infusion. The swelling went down by like 50-75% during the infusion.

It was actually pretty cool…until I got the bill!
 
Tim said:
My 8yo 65# cur/mutt got bit about an hour ago. It was just about dark and I never saw the thing, just saw the dog jump about 3 feet in the air. Obvious puncture wounds on his lower leg. Some minor swelling.

The ‘net tells me what signs to watch for to know if it’s venomous, but what’s your say? How long do I wait/watch before going to the vet? If it was just a non-venomous bite I’m thinking he’ll be just fine so long as we keep it clean.

He’s hobbling around in obvious discomfort, but never yelped or cried out.
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Any updates on the pup? Hope he's ok.
 
yard mongrel said:
You find a different church after that encounter?
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😂 like an idiot I’ve gone back to wearing flip-flops in the yard

What was funny was that I had a PTSD-like reaction that was wired for a year or so after. If I got poked by a stick walking through the woods I would uncontrollably jump straight up in the air 😝
 
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P01135809 said:
😂 like an idiot I’ve gone back to wearing flip-flops in the yard

What was funny was that I had a PTSD-like reaction that was wired for a year or so after. If I got poked by a stick walking through the woods I would uncontrollably jump straight up in the air 😝
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Was it the thought of pain or your wallet that made you jump?
 
Good boy! Probably a young snake or (mostly) dry bite 👍
 
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