How to identify snake bite in a dog?
 

I am curious to hear if anyone knows what a snake bite in a dog would look like. I have had quite a scare today, and we are just leaving the vet...But, I'm still just not 100% certain this isn't a bite.

My dogs are NEVER outside unattended. For that matter, they are with me all day long and especially for the last 3-4 days, they have not been unattended at all while inside or outside... I have been home sick, and we all have been right here together.

After I took them outside to use the bathroom in my fenced yard...with me standing right there with them, ...well a little while later one of them started throwing up pretty violently ..I might add. Immediately, I couldn't figure out what was causing it because I know for a fact that he has had absolutely nothing out of the norm!! Well, I was washing his face off, and I felt something under his chin...really at his neck. When I looked it was a small spot bleeding ... I know he didn't fall or do anything to hurt himself because they literally haven't been without me at all the past few days.

It was a fresh wound and small,but I couldn't see 2 spots that would indicate a fang... and it isn't a deep deep cut. But with the fact he was vomiting profusely...we had been outside an hour earlier, and that there have been snakes around here over the past few weeks, I immediately worried it might be a snake bite.

The vet that was there didn't think it was because there weren't two puncture wounds, and it wasn't swollen. He theorized that my dog had scraped it against something and that the vomiting was a coincidence. He prescribed antibiotics.

Does there always have to be two puncture wounds and or swelling? I'm sure I'm over reacting, but I'm just still a little worried bc I really can't imagine how he else he possibly cut open his neck like this?

Was there swelling in the area? I think there usually is after a snake bite?

I have a large lab mix that was bit by a snake about 7-8 years ago. It swelled immediately.

Thank you very much!! It actually has scared me a good bit! He is sitting here in my lap, and he definitely doesn't feel good. Don't get me wrong, if this is just a scrape, I will HAPPILY take that!! It's just that this same dog is extremely curious, and I have seen a few snakes in my back yard over the past few weeks...which is one of many reasons they NEVER go outside alone.

A few weeks ago I looked over to him three feet from me and bending down to examine what was a HUGE snake! I said leave it, and miraculously he did. Thankfully he wasn't bitten, and I now look first before they go in the yard. I didn't see a snake today, but the man that mows my yard hurt his shoulder last week so the grass is taller than normal. I'm beginning to feel like I live in the animal kingdom vs. my quiet neighborhood!! I have seen hawks earlier this week, and now this!!! I'm terrified to let them outside at this point to be perfectly honest!

I'm so sorry you and your dog had to go through that and I would imagine that had to be extremely frightening!! Thank you for the information.. He has definitely not had swelling. Were they able to save your dog?

We have snakes here too. So I understand! I freak out when we see them. There are also other critters too. Is it possible he was bit by something else?

I thought about that, and it is possible I guess. I just can't imagine what else it could be. My only thought it possibly being a snake was because I have found some tiny skinny snakes in the back yard before, and I was thinking that maybe it could have gotten him if he reached down to sniff it, and even though I was standing there I guess I might not have seen it with the grass being a week overgrown. Maybe when I turned to look at the others...I keep them all right by me these days...so I just don't know! I think it's an awfully big coincidence that the vomiting started at the exact same time of the bleeding on his neck though.

BTW, I had to laugh about Rosie chasing the deer earlier today:D That is crazy, but I probably would have been scared to death at the time to have her chasing something so large!:eek: She must be pretty fearless:D

That does seem a little strange. The vet didn't think so?

Yes, Miss Rosie thinks she is a bad A! :D She never barked or anything. Just took off! So I am running across the yard in my PJ's and bare feet! :eek::eek: Quite a sight!

We have snakes here, too. I have killed 2 while cutting our grass. When I take Raley out, he is leashed. If he decides to spend too much time sniffing near bushes, etc...I tell him "no" and we move to another spot in the yard.

I just about can't take the snakes!! I'm literally terrified of even the smallest ones, but I am telling you I lost it when the huge one was I swear to you, an inch from him a few weeks ago!! I looked and thought he was maybe pawing at a lizard just in time to see him paw at what I immediately realized to be a very large snake..that raised up in the air past my knee level, and I realized there was still at least 1-2 feet of his body still flat on the ground! That did it for me!

I just thank God Cooper listened and came running to me. I made it inside to realize I was crying and shaking. Had it been my tiniest, I have no doubt that she would have tried to play and paw at it, and the outcome could have been absolutely horrible for any of them!

My brothers collie got snake bit on his face, but the angle the snake struck, it only got one fang embeded in his jaw...in the area under his ear and toward his mouth....that is what probably saved his life.....my brother called me in a panic...the dog was frightened and in pain, and my brother couldnt get him out from under his truck....the vet came to the ranch, he gave "large doses of Benedryl, antibiotics and Vitamin C...the dog survived...took 3 days for his face to go down so he could open his eye...but, to answer your question, there was just ONE fang that went into Fred's face....

[QUOTE=BabyGirl Rosie;3947723]That does seem a little strange. The vet didn't think so?

No, that's what I kept asking him because the timing was just too strange..this dog had not eaten a bite for hours and it was only a while after we came inside when he started to vomit so profusely. But the vet just said it was probably a big coincidence.

Thank you for the info!! I'm so glad the vet came out to him, and I'm happy the dog is now ok...How horribly scary!!!

That's why I thought it was indeed possible to have a bite and not have the two distinct marks. But, this was on the top front of his neck and almost looked like whatever it was thankfully didn't get much past the surface.. but obviously, it was enough to cause him to bleed a bit.

They did prescribe him antibiotics, and I gave him a large dose of antihistamine when I got home. Again thank you for the info!!

I was wondering if it could have been a bee sting. The fact that there is no swelling kind of indicates it is not a bite. If a little dog did get bit by a poisonous snake I doubt it would even live long enough to make it to the vet. Garden snakes rarely bite and when they do the most you would have to deal with is a topical infection. A bee sting could cause some issues especially if your dog has an allergic reaction but I would think that there would be some swelling at the site.

Do you have rose bushes or something with sharp edges in the yard? Maybe he managed to eat a bug or plant that made him sick. It's all just speculation at this point. Did the vet give him something for the vomiting? Has the vomiting totally stopped?

We have garden snakes around here. We live down in a wooded area. I only let Gracie play in the part of the yard that is kept mowed short and I keep her out of the garden and the edge of the woods. I'm sure she would love to play with a snake.:rolleyes: I hope your baby is feeling better real soon.

If they survive the snake bite, the next issue is secondary infection at the site of the bite, so antibiotics are good! Yes....the vet went to the house...but it took him all day to get there and he kept coming up with excuses not to come...was "going to be at least 3 hours before he could get there"....."going to be after the clinic closes"...."charge much more for house calls"...."additional charges for after hours"...."additional fee because they could NOT get the dog out from under the truck so the vet had to crawl up under the truck to care for the dog"....with each excuse, my brother just kept saying, MY dog NEEDS you, come on".....my brother loves his animals and would have floated a loan for that bill if he had to....but I lost a lot of respect for that vet.....

Ooooh that's so terrible!!! I can't believe he would tell your brother three hours?! Because your situation sounds like a true emergency! I'm glad he eventually came and treated the dog, but I too would have been so disappointed. In an emergency we just want our babies taken care of, and since it was your brother's vet and not someone he didn't know, it seems like he would have known that he would do whatever it would take

Happy to say that Cooper is starting to seem better today.

The mark looked between the shape of a horseshoe and a round mark. The vet we saw gave him an anti nausea shot and antibiotics, but he still started seeming a little worse as the night progresses...wasn't throwing up..just didn't feel good. I ended up giving him a temperil p that I had here. This is the second emergency that I have used this medicine for in the past two weeks.
I asked the ER vet I was speaking with if he thought it might help any inflammation and reduce his body's reaction to whatever it was. He checked to make sure no interactions with his other meds, and He seemed to think if it didn't help, it wouldn't hurt. This did seem to help, and he is seeming better as the day goes on.

Glad to hear he is feeling better!

Interesting you describe the bite area in that way. Read this:

If your dog is bitten by a snake, there may be no cause for concern, as the majority of snakes are nonpoisonous. The bites of harmless snakes show teeth marks in the shape of a horseshoe, but there are no fang marks.

Dog Snake Bites

OMG! THank you for that info!! I am really thinking it had to be a snake bite..it is just really one of the only thing that makes sense. It isn't a complete horseshoe shape and almost is a circle...but maybe? I do know that I talked to a friend of mine today, and his dog was bitten a few years ago...he said it was same thing... there wasn't really swelling, never found tow pucture wounds, and the dog was better by next day....

I don't know for sure, but I do know that now I am even more uneasy about bringing my babies outside!

Maybe if it is nonpoisonous there won't be swelling??? I don't know. Just a thought?

Wow... What a scare!:eek:I am so sorry!

I am glad he is feeling better today. I would print out that information and give to the vet... He should have known that!:mad:

Yes, I do fell like he should have. I obviously wasn't convinced with his answer which is when I got on here to ask if anyone else knew. This vet clinic has been ours for years, but this particular vet is brand new...we had not seen him before.

I had a pretty large mishap a few weeks ago with my babies getting their vaccines...and I had already decided to look for another regular vet. It's just that when this happened, it felt like an emergency, and I just went to where I could get him in asap.