My dog got a snake bite in a remote area. Can I give medicine?

Hello, sorry to hear about Al. He can have up to 160 mg of benadryl every 8 - 12hours. I would increase his dose to 80 -100mg every 8 hours and see if that helps decrease the swelling. Otherwise, you may be able to be seen by Virginia -Maryland School of Veterinary Medicine since they have a 24h emergency room. That is located in Blacksburg. You can also try to ice the leg to decrease some of the swelling. Hope this helps and best of luck.

There is a rattlesnake venom vaccine that is on the market, but there is not concrete research to show hat the vaccine works and many veterinarians do not recommend the vaccine. At best, the vaccine might lessen the 'severity' of a bite but immediate veterinary care would still be recommended. Some veterinarians do recommend training clinics where dogs are conditioned to avoid rattlesnakes - you could ask your veterinarian if rattlesnake avoidance training is available in your area.

Poor Viper! I don't recommend giving over the counter pain medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen or Tylenol as these can have serious side effects in animals. It will also limit the type of pain medication that your veterinarian can prescribe and may result in Viper not getting adequate pain control. Unfortunately there is nothing over the counter that can be given to dogs for pain control, so if he is acting very painful, I would recommend taking him to a vet tonight if you can. If you are unable to, I would recommend taking him as soon as you can tomorrow. Most bite wounds will get infected and they almost always need oral antibiotics. The veterinarian will also make sure the wound isn't worse than it looks. Bite wounds can appear small on the surface, but can penetrate deeper than what we see or tear the skin from underlying tissue so that a pocket is created under the skin. These pockets can fill up with blood or pus and need to be drained. Good luck and I hope that Viper is feeling better soon!

Is this the location where the envenomation occurred? There could still be residual swelling and gravity is taking it to the lowest place. Otherwise the skin could be becoming necrotic from the bite. I would recommend a follow up appointment with your veterinarian just to make sure that nothing serious is happening. I’m so glad he made it through that crisis! What a scare!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bluey! I am glad that Bluey is doing ok at 2 days post snake bite. The prognosis is fair to good with early intervention (antivenom, hospitalization). I think he prognosis is guarded with out Veterinary care. In one study, 8/11 affected dogs survived to discharge, with a median hospital stay of 4.5 days. Clinical signs can last for 1-1.5 weeks, and full recovery may take months as neurologic receptors regenerate. Even if she doesn't receive the antivenom, administration of appropriate supportive care is very important. Clip and clean the wound. Broad spectrum antibiotics may be indicated for 7-10 days if infection and localized tissue damage/necrosis are present at the bite location. Although the mouths of snakes contain a multitude of bacteria, prophylactic antibiotics are not warranted for most bites. Clinical signs can be delayed, with American snakes it can be 10-18 hours. Clinical signs are primary neurologic, respiratory, and cardiovascular in nature. They may include hypersalivation, vomiting, diarrhea, ataxia, depression/decreased mentation, ascending flaccid quadriplegia (curare-like syndrome, decreased spinal reflexes), muscle fasciculations, reduced nociception, hypothermia, anisocoria, dyspnea, tachypnea, tachycardia, cardiac ventricular arrhythmias, cranial nerve deficits (e.g. decreased pupillary light, gag and swallow reflexes), weakness, and respiratory depression. Evidence of coagulopathy (e.g. hematuria, hematochezia) can also occur. Aspiration pneumonia is a potential complicating factor. Death is possible and is usually secondary to respiratory paralysis. My best recommendation is to seek Veterinary Care, but I understand your situation. The best thing to do is watch her closely and hope for the best! I hope this helps and I wish Bluey the best!

This does not link to your previous question so I'm not sure what your initial question was. General A dog bitten by a copperhead should see a veterinarian. They typically need antibiotics and pain medications at a minimum. Dogs bitten by copperheads are usually extremely painful. If the bite was to the faceor neck. it can potentially be fatal due to swelling of the airways. Depending on location of bite, amount of venom, many times tissue may slough requiring debriding and/or bandaging. Hope this answered some of your questions.

This is a medical emergency, and Princess has to see a vet now. You cannot treat this at home, and if you leave her like this, she could die. Please take her into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website.