Comments on: How to Snake Proof Your Dog

on 7/4/2008 Yes, Leighton, using non-poisonous snakes probably will lead to "false positive" reaction, and if you want your dog to avoid poisonous snakes only, you should train them with only poisonous snakes. However, I've seen dogs bitten by non-poisonous snakes that have resulted in injury to the dog and infection in the bite. It's painful and dangerous, especially if the snake bites the dog on the nose or around the eyes.

I'd rather have my dog avoid any kind of snake in the field, so "false positives" are just fine with me.

Eapainer

on 2/27/2008 I have been snake proofing dogs for about 10 years, and have trained about 9,000 dogs in that time. While this article is good, there are numerous variables in sound and scent recognition that need to be addressed by experienced instructors. Also, it is incorrect to use non-venomous snakes, as their scent and behavior is different to rattlesnakes, and leads to false positives.
Leighton Oosthuisen
Partners Animal Institute
www.snakeproofing.com