This is very normal. They were bred to kill vermin.
I am blessed my girl has absolutely no prey drive at all except toward flies and grasshoppers. I keep rodents, birds, chickens, and yes, snakes, as pets. She has adopted them all as hers and will groom them with her tongue, nurse them if they are ill, and will supervise the chickens for me. If they make a sound of alarm, Kaira will check on them. It's incredible.
I would look into a snake avoidance class. They do offer them. Do prepare yourself, though- the training is very hard to watch. They use shock collars and live snakes. The dog goes too close, and they shock it. They learn very quickly that a snake means pain and it can be lifesaving where I live- we have rattlesnakes. Dogs get bit all the time and often die in the wilderness before they can be got to a vet.
Keep in mind if you do the class that it is intended to cause pain. It's very hard- I did it with our labrador years ago (she has since passed away). I insisted, due to her sensitivity, they put the collar on the lowest setting and it was still very hard to watch. But it DID work. She was not interested in snakes- my aunt's dog also took it and he will run away from snakes. |