Posted By: kry226
Snakes and Dogs - Training - 06/24/15 10:58 AM
In anticipation of purchasing a gun dog once I hang these boots up and settle down, I poke my nose in here from time to time to catch up and ask an elementary question or two. I've had dogs before, but I was a lot younger, and they were pets. Never had my own gun dog and certainly never in snake country.
We'll probably end up with a GSP professionally trained for quail (and an occasional dove retrieve) and we'll be living at our place in the panhandle. So far, I'm sold on the rattler vaccine and avoidance classes.
But my wife and I have two younger children (currently 10 and 7 years) and of course I have a great concern for them regarding snake bites. They each have a good pair of chaps and will have snake boots eventually, but wearing them 100% of the time or every time they walk outside isn't very practical. (I saw the pic of the cottonmouth on Wal's porch ).
Here's where I need advice and an azimuth check: While I certainly want my dog to avoid the snake and potential bite, I don't want the dog turning inside out and running and hiding under the truck. I would like the dog to alert me to the snake with a healthy dose of "freak out" but stay in the neighborhood while I get the nearest dose of snake medicine.
I don't want my dog bitten, it's family of course. But I desire much less having my wife and kids bitten. Last November, I killed four rattlers within 24 hours and all within 20 yards of my wife and kids. Two of the rattlers were 15 inch yearlings and one rattled at me from 10 feet away all coiled up in his "strike pose". The largest one, a 4 footer with nine rattles and a button, let me get within 12 inches of him before rattling. There's no telling how many more were around that I didn't see.
I would like a dog trained to avoid being bitten but also able to keep the snake located for me for dispatch.
Are these wants or expectations reasonable? Is it reasonable to ask this of any dog, much less a GSP?
Thanks in advance for entertaining what might be a dumb, long winded question.
We'll probably end up with a GSP professionally trained for quail (and an occasional dove retrieve) and we'll be living at our place in the panhandle. So far, I'm sold on the rattler vaccine and avoidance classes.
But my wife and I have two younger children (currently 10 and 7 years) and of course I have a great concern for them regarding snake bites. They each have a good pair of chaps and will have snake boots eventually, but wearing them 100% of the time or every time they walk outside isn't very practical. (I saw the pic of the cottonmouth on Wal's porch ).
Here's where I need advice and an azimuth check: While I certainly want my dog to avoid the snake and potential bite, I don't want the dog turning inside out and running and hiding under the truck. I would like the dog to alert me to the snake with a healthy dose of "freak out" but stay in the neighborhood while I get the nearest dose of snake medicine.
I don't want my dog bitten, it's family of course. But I desire much less having my wife and kids bitten. Last November, I killed four rattlers within 24 hours and all within 20 yards of my wife and kids. Two of the rattlers were 15 inch yearlings and one rattled at me from 10 feet away all coiled up in his "strike pose". The largest one, a 4 footer with nine rattles and a button, let me get within 12 inches of him before rattling. There's no telling how many more were around that I didn't see.
I would like a dog trained to avoid being bitten but also able to keep the snake located for me for dispatch.
Are these wants or expectations reasonable? Is it reasonable to ask this of any dog, much less a GSP?
Thanks in advance for entertaining what might be a dumb, long winded question.