RAUK - Archived Forum - Adders and dogs

My dog was bitten on the leg by an Adder in early April. I was walking off the coast path, exploring some rocky outcrops at Gwenver, down in West Penwith, Cornwall where I live. I noticed the puncture wounds straight away and knew what had happened. The gap between the wounds was about 1 inch. Was that a big snake?

I took my dog to the vets where they treated her with Anti-histamine, Steroids and homeopathic remedies including Arnica (made from bee sting I believe?) as they said that the anti venom was more dangerous than the bite.

Over the next couple of days, my dogs' leg swelled up to treble its' normal size and she was feeling extremely sorry for herself. But thankfully she made a speedy recovery.

The vets told me that Adders are extremely docile at this time of year after coming out of hibernation, and that usually they would slither off before my dog had got near, is this true? and are there any reasonable precautions I can take to avoid it happening again?

Thanks for your comments. I have taken the time to read the finer points of the website regarding location exposure. I too am sensitive to the need to be conscious about habitat. I regulary encounter lizards and snakes around the area that I live in, so I am not entirely suprised about the incidence of people and dogs encountering Adders.

My dogs (Pointer and Springer) are also recall trained to the hilt as cliff tops also pose other potential dangers and they are aware that chasing other widlife is unacceptable, they share this habitat also and need to be managed to an extent  but I believe that this was an unfortunate incident for both parties.  

As for the size of the bite, I cannot be certain as I only had a breif look to make an assesement of the situation. However I am fairly sure that the distance between the puncture marks was closer to 1 inch as it was about the same size of her Dew claw, right below the bite. Again I cannot be 100%, but it was not a wild guess.

I am keen to learn more and your site is a valuable resource, I would like to post pictures to those that are interested as I'm sure that the local diversity would be of much interest to flora and fauna enthusiasts.

Thank you again for your comments, and keep up the good work!

Read

Yes I do have a dog and he does come with me in areas where adder may be present.

as

Yes I do have a dog and he does come with me in areas where adder may be present to protect me.

Sorry Mervyn just kidding :0)

I feel We do have a responsibility here to inform people of adder habits to help avoid dogs getting bitten. I have a site with a fair number of dog walkers where adder were sat out at the base of brambles for much of the early spring and could easily have come into conflict with dogs. The only dog walker I've spoken to at this site was well aware of the adder and very pleased that she had seen a pair last year.

Would it be more constructive if we could all list the sort of areas within habitat where adder are likely or known to be present that owners of dogs should avoid?

I would suggest

1) the base of brambles surrounded by long grass.

2) Edges of rank grassland bordering paths (A case where a dog on a lead could still easily come in contact with adder if allowed to stray in the longer grass)

3) Areas of layered dry bracken

4) Piles of logs or sticks in otherwise featureless areas such as low cut heather.

If we can all add some obvious features where dogs are best kept away from in adder habitat I'll add them all to the adder info page. Remember it will help adder as well as dogs if people are better informed.

I think it is a good idea to help inform people about the potential consequenses of distubing Adders. Info about their habitat is valuable and it will help people to make decisions about where they and their dogs exercise.

Depending on the occurence of the noted habitat in different geographical areas, there will be a greater or lesser chance of coming into contact with Adders depending on where you live.

My immediate surroundings consist mainly of granite outcrops, with heather, gorse and bramble in between and small steep paths to traverse. It is an area which appers to hold a good diversity of small mammals,insects, spiders, lizards and snakes and and raptors like buzzards and kestrals as well as scavenging seabirds.

I do not walk my dogs on a lead because it would be too dangerous ,for all of us, trying to clamber over rocks on steep cliffs, which commonly jut out on the paths. I have had to train my dogs hard not follow their natural instinct in this habitat - to hunt and kill, but they are allowed to act this out in play with balls and sticks (and each other) when they are on the beach.

I understand the risk of distubing Adders is greater in this scenario, but I also believe that as we all share this environment we also have the the right to equal access to it. Humans and their activity has a greater impact on the environment generally, so I try to be aware and sensitive.

I want to give some thanks to the people who put this website together and those that contribute to it as it a valuable resource for helping to understand the dynamic between us and our environment.