Wife was taking the dog out to pee a little bit ago. As soon as she opened the back door and the dog heads out to the patio my wife screams. I jump up and head out to find our Rottie circling a Copperhead at the edge of the patio. My wife said the snake had struck at the dog twice but didn't think she had been hit. I grabbed her collar and put her back in the house and went back out and dispatched the Copperhead. Came in and checked her over carefully and luckily she wasn't hit. Don't know if she was just quick enough to avoid the strikes or smart enough to stay out of range. Not the way to spend a Tuesday evening but it sure could have been worse.

Our dogs have found several copperheads this year, they've both been bit on the nose once.
I've always heard the more the dog gets bit, the more immune they become?

Strangely enough we've lived here since 1980 and that was the first Copperhead I've seen on the place. I've seen rat snakes and king snakes but never a venomous snake of any kind.

Never had one of my bird dogs to a snake breaking clinic but dogs have jumped back from a couple of rattlers.

My dogs (two Blue Lacys and a Border Collie) bark differently when they have a snake and they keep their distance. Where we live, it's nearly always a rattlesnake. Damn, I hate those things. I can't go outside at night without a flashlight and a gun. Not many copper heads.

Glad your girl (Rottie) did not get bit

Has anyone had their dog trained to avoid snakes?

Yep, glad she wasn’t bit.

Glad she's okay

Dozens. They post up the dates on the upland and gun dog forums. They call them snake breaking clinics. They use a rattler without fangs and an E-collar.

She went out this morning looking for that thing that was after her last night!!

Smart dog.

Glad to hear she wasn't struck.

My Border collie would also bark differently around any snake or varmint. Once she would not shut up so I opened the door to see what was going on. She was having a 'Mexican standoff' with a very large and very bold Bobcat. It saw me and turned and ran. Could have been really bad for her.....Mike C, glad your pup is OK.

My Pyrenees is the same way, she has a distinct snake bark and holds her distance. I always grab my .22 revolver loaded with ratshot before I go outside when she snake barks. She isn't picky, any snake will do fine, but most of them here are rattlesnakes.

A Cottonmouth killed my Wife's Doxie several years ago, but not before he tore that snake apart.