Wife and I are leaving for Thanksgiving and our friend w/ a ranch who normally watches our dogs has offered to house them again. He's has a few dogs and a nice kennel set-up so it's not much trouble to him and it's normally no issue to us except that a few weeks ago two of his dogs got hit by a snake (or 2 snakes).

One of the dogs was in the kennel (~8 month old lab) and she swelled up a bit but is fine now. The other dog was a middle aged Akbash who lives with his sheep (not in the kennels) and he wasn't so lucky. I'm not sure if he was bit near the kennels or while out with the sheep.

To my knowledge they haven't killed any snakes this year so it's likely still around somewhere (as is expected on 3000 acres in West Texas though I guess).

Should I be concerned still or with the colder weather are the odds good that the snakes aren't out as much? Our dogs have stayed there quite a few times in spring and summer with no issues. They are not snake trained (they do have the vaccine though) however in a kennel setting I'm not sure it makes a difference as there's nowhere to go...

Sorry if it's a silly question but just trying to get some peace of mind as we'll be gone a few days with no way to get home quickly. All the local kennels are full so the other option is that my brother in law who lives a few blocks from me (in town) feeds them and lets them in at night/out in the morning. I'm hesitant with that option though because they won't get any exercise and one of our neighbors is very sensitive to barking dogs. Our dogs don't bark much but I'm concerned that if they're alone for a few days they'll get restless and start barking again.

Thanks!

Stuff happens. It wouldn't concern me personally.

All depends on the temp of the day... if it warms up or they find a spot that warms up like under plastic sheeting or what not they will warm theirselfs up and move but I don't see many moving right now... killed a big copper head the other afternoon that got stuck on the road trying to heat up.

Stuff happens. Anyone who gives advice on this one is nuts. I've hunted bobwhite quail in over 80 Texas counties for over 40 years and seen a total of 4 rattlesnakes. I've never given the shots or done snake breaking, but I wouldn't advise you to follow my path, because stuff happens.