What is snake aversion training for dogs? Let’s Explore

Who Needs Rattlesnake Training For Dogs?

Overall, less than 1% of dogs and cats in the U.S. are bit by snakes. However, if you live in an area prone to rattlesnakes, your odds are obviously higher. About 85% of rattlesnake bites to dogs occur in the dog’s in the backyard, so if you have a backyard where your pets roam freely, or if you hike with your dog (especially off-leash) in a place where rattlesnakes are common, avoidance training is a good investment to keep your pet safe.

Sidney Hardie, of Southwest Airedale Terrier Rescue, unfortunately learned this lesson the hard way. She’s raised many Airedales on her Tucson acreage without issue. But a few year ago two of her dogs confronted a rattlesnake in the yard.

The vet bill for the dog that took the brunt of the attack? $2,234, plus untold heartache wondering if the dog would pull through after a night in the doggy E.R. (Happily, both dogs are okay!)

What is snake aversion training for dogs?

For my dog, Bailey, and me, training has always been fun. So, learning that most snake avoidance classes rely on painful shock collars, I faced a dilemma. Of course, I don’t want Bailey to be bitten by a rattlesnake. But I also don’t want her to suffer during the training process. What makes it worse is that there’s evidence this type of training doesn’t work for all dogs!

Generally in these classes, the dog encounters a live rattlesnake that’s been muzzled, had its fangs removed, or been milked of its venom. Then, while the dog is near the snake, a painful shock is delivered via the e-collar.

The idea is to teach the dog that snakes equal pain and should be avoided. In theory, this can be an effective strategy. However for some dogs, this type of training can result in unwanted side effects and might even produce the opposite behavior of what’s intended.

Because the trainer cannot control what connections the dog is making, this type of training can be unpredictable. Some dog might develop a fear of oscillating sprinklers, which can sound like a rattlesnake. Other dogs, rather than learning to avoid the snake, could choose to attack instead!

Given my reservations, I began looking for a different type of rattlesnake training for dogs. I called dozens of Arizona dog trainers. Most of them said that shock collar training was the only option. Fortunately, I kept digging and found Jamie Robinson, a dog and cat trainer in Tucson.

Jamie Robinson, of Brains Bones & Behavior, specializes in many areas of dog training, including medical alert service dog training and canine & feline cancer detection. She uses the same basis of techniques for all of her training — introducing sight, smell, and sound an then teaching the expected behavioral response. In the case of rattlesnake training, the rewarded response is to run away when the dog becomes aware of a snake.

You can take the positive reinforcement snake avoidance course in person in Tucson, Arizona. Options include six weekly classes (with homework!) or attending the course over a weekend. The cost is $125. Or you can order the class online for $65 and progress at your own pace.

What is snake aversion training for dogs?

Does your dog chase after squirrels, rabbits, cats, toxic toads, lizards, porcupines, skunks, cars, or bicycles? Do you live around dangerous plants, like spiny cactus or poisonous mushrooms? Does your dog vacuum the floor, picking up cookie crumbs, ant traps, prescription drugs, or chocolate? Maybe your pup swallows chew toys and underwear. Our dogs risk life and limb every day, even without the threat of poisonous reptiles, and Robinson’s exercises can help any dog avoid all of those problems.

Robinson’s Seize the Leash training center in Tucson offers eight-week Snake Avoidance Without Shock workshops. She will soon offer classes in Clearwater, Florida, where she moved in March.

Robinson’s approach, which she calls Structured Game Training, combines play with purpose, cooperation, and goals. “If you really want a dog to stay away from something,” she says, “you have to make it the dog’s choice, not just a conditioned response.”

In California, trainer Pamela Johnson became interested in rattlesnakes when she and her husband moved to a rural area. “In my opinion, teaching dogs to avoid rattlesnakes is the same as teaching them to do tricks or any other behaviors,” she says. “I build a relationship and use management and common sense to keep dogs safe from all dangerous things, not just rattlesnakes.”

When it’s time to introduce rattlesnakes, she offers step-by-step instructions using fake snakes and the real thing, provided by a local herpetologist.

From hiking trails to your own back yard, rattlesnakes can pose a real danger to our pets. Most rattlesnake avoidance classes use aversive pain-based methods, but there are alternatives!

What is snake aversion training for dogs?

Moving to the desert opened my eyes to all kinds of new dangers as a dog owner. In addition to needing essential gear for dog friendly desert hiking in our backpacks, I also learned about rattlesnake avoidance training. Many of my hiking friends have gone through this training with their dogs, and I’ve heard stories of their dogs successfully avoiding snakes on the trail.

But here’s the thing about rattlesnake avoidance training: 99% of the classes out there use e-collars, or electric shock collars. While most of the people I spoke with felt this was better than a rattlesnake bite, I knew there had to be another option.

SNAKE!!! How you can keep your dogs safe | Rattlesnake Aversion Training