Rattlesnake Season in Arizona

Arizona Humane Society Snake Avoidance Training

It is rattlesnake season in Arizona.  The babies are being born and out hunting for a food source.  

Please find a reputable trainer to have snake avoidance training. This training is not foolproof, but it is a start.

Please be sure your dog knows the command "LEAVE IT".  Practice over and over with a variety of things that may attract your dog.  Some dogs are more naturally more curious than others.

There are many methods of snake avoidance training and they are all different in some way.  The best way is to start when they are a puppy to avoid all snakes and reptiles especially the Colorado River Toad which is poisonous.  The Arizona Humane Society also offers Toad Avoidance Training.

Dogs react to our emotions about everything.  If you choose a method of training where you are the handler and you do not react when encountering a snake, your dog may not react either and not see it as a threat.  My dog Mya laid down next to a rattlesnake during training.  It was defanged and I showed no reaction so neither did she.

There is no way in Southern Arizona to totally avoid rattlesnakes.  My land seems to be in the path of the rattlesnake migration so we have hundreds cross over each year.  Luckily we have only encountered one at a time so far.

PRECAUTIONS HELP BUT DON'T RELY ON THEM

• Be cautious of where you and your dog walks.  If they have a tendency to roam when on walks, leash them. 
• Put 1/4 inch wire mesh around any porch or building that is off the ground and bury it at least 3 inches below the ground.
• Fill in any holes that rodents may have made.  Get rid of the rodents.  Sometimes easier said than done in remote living areas.
• Prepare yourself on how you will deal with a rattlesnake.  If you can walk away it is best to do so. 
• But, there are times when you cannot.  After my last encounter, I keep a flat shovel on every porch leading from our home.  I have more rattlesnakes on the east side of my house than anywhere else.  I believe it is due to the migration path from the mountains.  I am not advocating killing any thing, but, it is a fact that sometimes it cannot be avoided. 
• ABOVE ALL BE SAFE

Chase

The Dog Chase was created in honor of my best friend Chase.  Chase was killed by a rattlesnake four years ago.  Chase died in my arms following one of the most horrible deaths I had ever seen.  He is still very much on my mind and my emotions still are very strong when I think about him. 

Chase was one of those very rare special dogs who loved everyone and no matter what happened life was good.  He didn't bark until he was six months old and I was surprised to hear his deep voice for a small dog...and very thankful.  He would grunt when he disapproved of something.  For the most part he was very quiet.

When he was a puppy he would dig holes straight down in the ground and I would have to pull him out by his hind legs.  He was just so happy all the time.  I had never known anyone to be that happy.

He would go to the store with me and stay in the car.  I would be in the store and a horn would start honking.  I would tell the clerk "Oh it's just my dog, he thinks I have been in here too long".  There he would be behind the wheel laying on the horn.

We had a fish pond with a stream and Chase would stand in the stream and pet the fish.  When we did get another pug Chase would bat him around like he was one of his toys.  I kept telling him that the puppy was going to get bigger.  Chase was the best mom to our other pug you could ever ask for.  Our other pug Bugsy has not been the same since Chase died.  He is never happy or playful.

Chase would use mirrors to watch you instead of looking at you directly.  If you moved he would come flying around the corner to see where you were going. 

I forgot to shut the side gate one morning on my way to work.  When I came home Chase was sitting at the side gate just starring at me at tad discussed letting me know that I had made a mistake and put his life in jeopardy.  We had a lot of pit bulls that ran loose in or neighborhood and it actually was dangerous.

 I always got the feeling he knew something that no one else knew.  Maybe it was that life is just too short to spend it unhappy.