Dog viper bite treatment at home. The dog was bitten by a snake. What types are dangerous

There is no creature more inquisitive than a young dog! And in nature, even in the well-known surroundings of your favorite dacha, dangers can always lie in wait. And the object of close attention of your four-legged friend, who has not yet gained dog wisdom, can easily become a viper warmed up in the sun.

If your pet is bitten by a snake, don't panic! The bite of a viper for a healthy dog is dangerous, but in most cases it is not fatal.

Well, if you yourself managed to see a snake, this is important, because it will help you correctly assess the degree of danger: the larger the viper, the more poison it releases. The average size of a viper is 50 cm, an individual reaching 70-80 cm in length can be considered a large specimen. A lot also depends on the body weight of the dog - it is clear that a bitten dachshund is in much greater danger than, for example, a Caucasian shepherd dog.

Most often, the snake bites the dog in the neck, tip of the nose or paw. A bite to the neck is the most dangerous, the poison can get into the carotid artery, which threatens with swelling and suffocation. True, a skirmish with a snake most often occurs not in front of the owner, so you need to clearly know the symptoms of a dog's defeat by snake venom.

If during a walk in places where snakes can be found, the dog suddenly limped, her breathing became heavy, if your pet shows unreasonable anxiety, begins to orient poorly in space, carefully examine it. The wound from a snakebite is not very noticeable, but you can find it, especially if the dog is smooth-haired.

In any case, the actions should be as follows: the dog must be kept immobilized (so the poison spreads more slowly). If you are in a car, it is better to take the animal to the vehicle in your arms, lay it on its side and cover it with some kind of warm jacket.

If you can find the bite site, try gently squeezing out some blood (this only makes sense if no more than 15 minutes have passed since the bite). Just do not try to make an incision yourself, this may not be better, but worse! The wound can be treated with hydrogen peroxide, but in no case do not treat it with alcohol-containing liquids - they contribute to the accelerated action of the poison. A tight bandage that disrupts blood circulation should not be applied either.

But if you are already at home, where there is a refrigerator, then you can put ice on the bite site, this slows down the development of edema. And be sure to give the dog suprastin or tavegil! Basically, this is all you can do before taking your pet to the veterinary clinic. The measures are simple, but none of them can be neglected! Health to you and your pets.

In the forest, every dog feels like a hunter. But sometimes mining can be too dangerous. The snake may be waiting for a curious dog under a tussock or in tall grass. A snakebite for a dog is rarely fatal, but can bring serious trouble.

In our forests, one species of poisonous snakes is found, this is an ordinary viper.

Reference: Common viper (lat. Viperidae berus) is a species of poisonous snakes of the viper family, often found in Europe and Asia. The body length is up to 1 meter, the color varies greatly depending on the habitat and can be of any brightness and tone from gray-blue to black and from yellow to brown and copper-red. With light colors, a characteristic zigzag pattern is clearly visible on the back along the spine. In the summer, it often basks in the sun, the rest of the time it hides under old stumps or fallen trees. The snake is not aggressive, and when danger approaches, it tries to retire. The snake will try to crawl away to the last, and only driven into a corner will start attacking. When threatened, it takes active defense: hisses, makes threatening throws and the most dangerous bite-throws, which are most easily provoked by a moving object. If you see a snake, call off the dog, don't let it chase it. The viper will not catch up with you, on the contrary, it will hurry to hide faster.

Mosaic Viper. Photo by Cheurin G.S.

The venom of an ordinary viper, according to the mechanism of toxic action, is a poison of predominantly hemorrhagic (causing hemorrhage), blood clotting and local edematous-necrotic action. In spring, viper venom is more toxic than in summer.

A non-venomous snake looks like a black morph of a viper. It can be easily distinguished by orange spots at the base of the head. The viper does not have such spots on its head.

At the site of the viper's bite, there are two point wounds from poisonous teeth, which are quite difficult to detect on the dog's body. The poison at the site of the bite causes severe increasing pain and already in the first minutes there is severe redness and swelling of the bitten area. Edema begins to spread upward from the bite site. As soon as the poison enters the bloodstream, a general reaction develops. Most often this happens after 15-20 minutes: lethargy, nausea and vomiting, shortness of breath and rapid pulse appear. The dog may experience convulsions, foam from the mouth, and be restless. If the bite is located in the neck or head, then the reaction starts faster and the dog's condition will be more severe.

What to do?

Put down the dog. Active movements only accelerate the flow of poison into the blood. The dog should not be in direct sun, but in the shade.

Do not suck the poison out of the wound. If you have sores or sores in your mouth, you will get your dose of poison. If you still find a bite site, then it will be useful to squeeze out the contents of the wound and rinse it off with water.

It is impossible to impose a tourniquet on the affected limb above the bite! This measure will not stop the spread of the poison throughout the body, but it can aggravate both local (up to gangrene) and general manifestations of poisoning.

Give your dog plenty of water. You can slowly inject subcutaneously from 100 to 200 ml of saline.

Give an antihistamine (suprastin, tavegil, claritin). A large dog (15 to 30 kg) will need one to two tablets. Small (from 3 to 10 kg) ¼ or ½ tablet, respectively.

The use of anti-viper sera, which are used to treat people, does not justify itself. Often this serum in dogs occurs anaphylactic shock. Treatment of the consequences of a viper bite provides only symptomatic treatment.

After providing first aid, the dog must be urgently taken to the veterinary clinic.

The course of treatment includes injections of diuretics, drip infusions, heart medications. Usually recovery occurs in 5-7 days.

According to goodpetfood.ru

In central Russia there is only one poisonous snake, the viper (common). And the symptoms of a snake bite in a dog can be different.

Vipers reach a length of about 50-60 cm, have a black / brown zigzag pattern on the skin and a V-shaped head.

They live in dry sandy wastelands in swampy areas and wooded areas. A few years ago one of my collies was bitten by a viper. It's only been a few minutes - his nose is swollen. He received prednisolone as first aid and was then taken to the vet.

These twoPhototaken just a couple of minutes after the snakebite, on the way to the veterinary clinic

When can a snake attack a dog?

Snakes bite in self-defense when alarmed by your dog. Biting occurs more frequently in spring and summer when the snakes are more active, often basking in the sun. Unfortunately, animals get bitten because of their natural curiosity, because they stick their noses in everything! But this injury is rarely fatal. When a viper bites, it injects about 1 ml of venom. Peak effects occur around six hours after injury.

Symptoms

The symptoms of a snake bite in a dog are local swelling that is dark in color and can lead to serious consequences. You will see 2 small puncture wounds in the center of the tumor. Reptiles bite dogs most often in the paws or muzzle. Your pet will show signs of pain, be nervous. Other signs include pale mucous membranes (gums), bruising, increased salivation, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, restlessness, drowsiness, and lethargy. Eventually, the animal may die if there are clotting problems, tremors or convulsions. Bites in the muzzle of a dog lead to swelling, difficulty breathing.

Walking dogs "in nature" can become not only a source of ticks and fleas. Forests with tall grass and well-warmed edges, as well as reservoirs, hide poisonous reptiles in their depths, which can be dangerous to the life and health of a pet. What to do if a dog is bitten by a snake? How to understand this and not miss the moment when first aid can still save the animal?

Signs of a snake bite

It is natural to assume that the dog was bitten by a snake somewhere in the city among the asphalt is stupid. However, if you are somewhere outside the city, where there is a forest, tall grass and hot, then a snake bite should be ruled out as one of the first options for sudden health problems. Especially if it was noticed that the dog jumped sharply and unexpectedly with a squeal from the place where it was, whined, fell to the ground and began to rub on the ground, breathing becomes hoarse and labored.

The dog was bitten by a snake - the main symptoms:

detection of small red wounds on the body: two - with a usual bite, one - with a side attack. A snake can bite on any part of the body. But usually this happens at the moment of self-defense, when the dog detects it and tries to grab it, so the main places of localization are: neck, muzzle, tongue, paws, sometimes the stomach.
the state of excitement is sharply transformed into depression, apathy, lethargy, shortness of breath appears, loss of consciousness may occur.
the bite sites swell, the ichor begins to ooze. Edema may be insignificant, or it may “spill” over a large area. The peak occurs 1-2 hours after the snake attack.

Edema in the body appears with the bites of non-venomous snakes. Poisonous individuals do not give edema! This is an important diagnostic difference.

The intensity of the manifestation of symptoms after a snake bite increases extremely quickly, so it is impossible to delay in bringing the dog to the veterinarian!

First aid

The sooner the owner of the dog realizes that the pet was bitten by a snake (for example, a viper), the higher the chances that the animal will survive. If there is a first aid kit at home, this is good, if not, then the owner’s main help will be to deliver the dog to the veterinary clinic as quickly as possible. Emergency care and delivery to the veterinarian should be invested in 1-1.5 hours.

The dog was bitten by a snake - what to do first:

Fix and literally immobilize the dog so that it moves as little as possible. Any active movements - especially with the limbs - will contribute to the fact that the poison will rapidly spread throughout the body through the blood and lymph flow.
Be sure to try to find the bite wounds in the next 10-15 minutes to try to squeeze the blood out of the holes with the remnants of the snake toxin. In this case, you should not make any incisions, just squeeze out. The maximum that can be processed before the intervention of a specialist is hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine.
Apply something cold to the affected area (ice from the refrigerator or any frozen product from the freezer wrapped in a towel).
When the body temperature drops, cover the pet with something natural and woolen, or try to warm it in any way possible.
Pour water into the animal's mouth periodically, because. snake venom causes dehydration.
The muzzle is swollen - what to do? You can try to inject an antihistamine, but it is not always in the house.
Urgently call the veterinarian at home, if possible, or take the pet to him!

What absolutely cannot be done

Sometimes, due to inexperience or in a state of stress and deep anxiety, the owners in the first moments of a dog bite by a snake only make things worse, sharply reducing the likelihood of the pet's survival.

Forbidden:

treat bite sites with alcohol-containing products and alcohol. This will contribute to faster absorption of the snake toxin and its distribution throughout the body;
try to apply strong pressure bandages. When a tourniquet is applied, blood with poison stagnates. When it is removed, the condition of the animal becomes sharply worse, because. all this poison abruptly enters the body through the lymphatic system, mixing with other products of intoxication;
give nothing that will speed up the work of the heart: no drugs, no tea, and, moreover, alcohol;
attempt to self-administer anti-snake serum without a veterinarian's command. The fact is that an incorrectly calculated dose can make it worse at times, provoking, for example, anaphylactic shock;
cauterize and/or incise bite wounds. In a state of emotional overexcitation and excitement, you can cause even more harm to the dog by making an incision too deep, thereby increasing the pain shock and / or introducing an additional infection.

What does a veterinarian do

The outcome of the situation largely depends on how quickly the veterinarian reacts when the dog enters the clinic. In most cases, dogs survive. However, sometimes the poison enters the body so much that a fatal outcome is inevitable.

The course of actions of the veterinarian:

straightaway prednisolone or dexamethasone subcutaneously or intramuscularly at a dose of 0.5 to 1 ml (has anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antipruritic, anti-shock and anti-edematous effect);
cordiamine or sulphocamphocaine subcutaneously at a dose of 0.5-2 ml, depending on the size of the dog (maintaining the work of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems);
tavegil or diphenhydramine(as an antiallergic agent) - intramuscularly 0.5-2 ml. You can also try suprastin: 1 injection into the wound area 0.5 ml, 2 - back or withers up to 1.5-2 ml;
novocaine blockade of the bite site - introduction 0.5% novocaine in several places around the bites (usually 3-4 injections at a distance of 3-4 cm from the wounds);
injected subcutaneously saline or Ringer's solution in a volume of 10 to 50 ml, depending on whether the dog is large or small. The procedure should be repeated every 20 minutes in severe condition and after 2-3 hours, with mild poisoning. Saline will help to cope with dehydration;
treatment of local wounds - washing with hydrogen peroxide and any non-alcoholic antiseptics, ointments, gels;
covertal, hepatoject appointed necessarily, tk. the liver suffers from snake toxin one of the very first;
introduces anti-snake serum in case of urgent need in a dose of 0.1-0.25 ml intravenously. It is catastrophically important to correctly calculate the dosage of this remedy for a dog. With errors in the calculations, anaphylactic shock is possible, the dog will become worse, and she will die right in the clinic.

It is forbidden to mix drugs in one syringe. All medicines must be filled in different syringes and have separate needles.

Good to know

It is important for dog owners to know some useful information regarding the "snake" topic, especially if there is even the slightest potential risk of bites.

On the territory of Russia, only the bites of the steppe viper and muzzle are really life-threatening.
The older (larger) the snake, the more poisonous its toxin. The bite of an adult is much more dangerous than a small serpent recently hatched from an egg, because. as the snake grows older, the toxin accumulates in the body of the snake.
Dogs with fair, unpigmented skin are more sensitive to snake venom. Breeds are recognized as more stable: mestizos, dachshunds, hunting. There are cases when these dogs naturally restored themselves, without the intervention of specialists, within 6-8 hours.
Poison is not absorbed as quickly in larger dogs than in smaller ones.
After a bite, immunity to the toxin does not occur, that is, each subsequent bite will be as dangerous as the first. Under certain conditions, poisoning from a bite can only be worse, but not easier.
The lethality of a bite depends on where it was produced. The place of entry of the toxin plays one of the primary roles in the defeat of the animal. The most dangerous points of primary interaction with snake venom are: lips, tongue, neck.
The most aggressive snakes are from May to September, when the ambient temperature rises. It is generally accepted that the hotter the season, the higher the poisonousness of snakes. But the most dangerous period for bites is spring, during the “mating games”.
Mortality of dogs after bites is no more than 2%. The whole point is in the defeat of internal organs and systems by intoxication.