We have a Lab that was bitten last year a dove field last year. We didn't know dog was bitten till a day or so later when I saw his front paw was swollen. I found two sets of puncture wounds one large and one small. Figure it was a cotton mouth (mom and a young one) since we were dove hunting by water. Took the dog to the vet and got him checked out. Vet said he should be fine put him on antibiotics and said don't hunt him for a couple of weeks and he should be fine.
I'm just wondering if that is what has brought on so much trouble for this lab. Since then he stopped eating and I started checking him out and found a swollen testicle, so vet removed them both that was a about 4 to 5 months after snake bite I didn't think about the snake bite at the time. then a month or two later stopped eating again this time I find a small hole draining fluid with another small hole next to it on his lower chest, back to the vet again more antibiotics and he seemed well on the road to recovery. Now a month later dog quit eating again I let is go for a day or two (dog was still eating) but not like he normally does. Back to the vet and 2 antibiotics a steroid and now Thieves oil on inside of ear one drop a day and he is on the road to recovery again. Now I have always had trouble keeping weight on this Lab but I always thought it was because he was a pretty high strung dog and was never still. Now he looks like a 20 year old dog but seems to be getting better every day. So does any of this sound aside effects of a snake bite nearly a year later.

I've never lost a dog to snakebite. I've only had one that was ever bitten by a rattlesnake. But he was bitten on three different occasions. Every time was on the head. He was a big pointer and the first time he was bitten we thought he might die. His head swelled up bigger than his body. It took him two weeks to recover and we let him stay in the laundry room. The swelling finally went down and it didn't change him at all. The second time was not as bad and the third time didn't bother him too bad at all. This was a long time ago and all we had to do for him was rub this green salve on his head and hope for the best. He stank bad, I don't know if it was him or the salve.

Yep when I was much younger I had a dog named Levi and after the 3rd time it was like Levi got stung by a bee or mosquito. They get immune to it after a few times. He was a snake killing son of a gun though.

Yes I had an old black tan hound when I was kid that got snake bit in the head. His head swelled up like a baseball but he was fine in a couple of weeks.
This dog has never had any health issues but my vet was telling me a snake bit can really mess up a dogs immune system.

Liquid Benedryl down his throat every hour or two for the first day and night and a few times a day for the next few days.

Neosporin on the bite, for a few days. Had a pack of hounds and they would get bit every year.

I spoke with a vet earlier this year before it got hot and he said he only had one dog die last year from a rattlesnake bite that had received the vaccine. He said that dog had been bit a few times and the owners waited a couple days before brining him in.

I am always afraid my dog is goIng to get bit. I take her to avoidance training and get the vaccine. It gives me some peace of mind.

I have had lots of dogs bitten by rattlesnakes over the years and lost many of them. It seems a pretty good rule of thumb is if the dog is bitten in front of the shoulder, head being the best, an excellent chance of survival. If bitten in the body in the shoulder or behind, chances of survival are greatly reduced. Possibly the worst place to get bitten is the big muscles in the hind legs because there is going to be more tissue damage when it starts to decay. What kills the dog in most cases is that this decay gets in the blood system and overloads the liver, causing it to shut down.
I do think that the rattlesnake vaccine helps reduce swelling and therefore muscle decay and damage. I never worry about any of the other poisonous snakes as they can make a dog sick but I have never come close to loosing one from a bite.
I have heard some folks say that they fear the smaller ratters more than the big ones but I feel that is unfounded. A big 4-5 foot rattler generally has a big head, lots of power and can deliver more venom in a bite. All of these factors can help deliver a deeper injection with more poison, resulting in great damage.
Since I have been vaccinating my dogs, I have not lost one but I know if a dog gets bitten in the wrong place by the right snake, he/she will be difficult to save.
Adios,
Gary

I would doubt all the other problems are related to a snake bite that happened a year ago.
Sound more like a immune deficiency problem.

What Michael describes does not sound like snake bite complications.
Most often you see tissue loss. In some cases an infection follows the bite.
Since there is a great range in envenomation bite problems can range from immediate death to almost no symptoms.

A friend of mine, who used to research anti-venom and has been bitten several times and says that you know immediately if venom has been delivered because it burns. Another friend who was hit in the back of the calf with snake leggings on said it felt like getting hit be a baseball bat (yes, the chaps worked--they were triple layer cordura).

I agree, I never thought that the bite caused other complications in one of my dogs. Yes, a 5.5 ft. South Texas special will make you think that someone used a Louisville Slugger on you.
Adios,
Gary

Hmmm, i would be looking for things causing immune supression... cancer is somthing that comes to mind.

Or he just likes to get poked by stuff...

That is what I'm asking has anyone ever seen a snake bite cause a immune deficiency problem. Because that is exactly what he has is an immune deficiency problem. Cancer is exactly what I'm thinking but the vet does not think that is what it is. Would an antibiotic make him feel remarkably better in in 24 hours if it was cancer?

Something's up.
I've had dogs snake bitten but never had any long term effects.

Might be time to ask a different Vet what he thinks.

My dad had a Weimaraner that he quail hunted with, that got struck under the neck. My cousin, a vet, was hunting with them when it happened, so Jug got very prompt care.

His head looked like a misshaped melon for a week so, the he appeared to be back to normal. About a year later, he developed a lump at the site that progressed to a huge fluid filled abscess, that had to be drained every couple of months. Many rounds of antibiotics, minor surgeries, but it eventually grew until it impacted his ability to eat.

Michael,

Sorry to hear about the snakebite last year. Though I am not sure what is all linked together, I do have first hand experience with cottonmouth. According to team I worked with at DFW North Animal Clinic, the cottonmouth is worse than the diamondback. The venom is not only potent but it also can create infection. My dog Cassie was bit last summer after training at a cove on Lake Lewisville, two strikes, both on the same leg. Once struck, she was in massive pain, and would not walk on the leg. Though the bleeding was minor from the puncture wounds, within 15 minutes the necrosis started and the flesh started to ooze away - very nasty.

Thankfully, I was able to get her on antivenom, fluids and antibiotics within one hour of the bite, which probably saved her leg.

One picture is within 30 minutes at my vet and the next 2 pictures 1 hour later at the hospital.

Sorry I cant see the pictures

Michael,

Sorry to hear about the snakebite last year. Though I am not sure what is all linked together, I do have first hand experience with cottonmouth. According to team I worked with at DFW North Animal Clinic, the cottonmouth is worse than the diamondback. The venom is not only potent but it also can create infection. My dog Cassie was bit last summer after training at a cove on Lake Lewisville, two strikes, both on the same leg. Once struck, she was in massive pain, and would not walk on the leg. Though the bleeding was minor from the puncture wounds, within 15 minutes the necrosis started and the flesh started to ooze away - very nasty.

Thankfully, I was able to get her on antivenom, fluids and antibiotics within one hour of the bite, which probably saved her leg.

One picture is within 30 minutes at my vet and the next 2 pictures 1 hour later at the hospital.

Our Lab is doing much better now. He is back to running and jumping. Still needs some more weight put on him. I'm just waiting see what happens when he is off the antibiotics for a while.