EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Had to cut short this mornings hunt after Jester tangled with ol' Mr. Cotton Mouth and took a bite to the snout. I'm giving him benedryl and Dexametasone. Any other suggestions? How long will it take for him to pull thru this.
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I always give mine the benedryl and penicillan... swelling always went down in a day or two.

Don't know how it will affect the smaller dogs, but it's always worked for me on copperhead and cottonmouth bites.

Give some sort of antibiotic (pen is fine) and keep giving the Benadryl and Dex. Hydrotherapy works wonders. I'm such a believer since using it so many times at our clinic. Warm water is great but even just using the garden hose will make a difference. Keep an eye on the inside of his mouth to make sure nothing opens up in there.
Cotton mouths can have a nastier bite than rattlers so at the first sign of trouble get him to the doc.

How often and how much benadryl do you give dogs?

John sent you a pm, that little red pit i have got bit about a month ago.Gave her benadryl and kept her in the house on bed rest and she was back to normal in a few days!!

BE SURE and take that collar off him!  I've only witnessed a couple of snake bites to dogs, and the only one fatal was a hunting partner who didn't think to remove the dogs collar.  Head and neck swelled, and you know the rest.

Good luck!

1mg per pound. They come in 25mg tablets (don't use liquid). That little jagd could get one tablet every 6 hours or so.

I was instructed to give 2 mg per pound, by the vet, and there is a little improvement this morning. He can now open his mouth and is drinking on his own, which is a step ahead of last night. I also gave 2.5 ml of Dex subcutanious, and am considering giving another today. I believe he's going to be alright. We'll continue with the meds thru the weekend.

Thanks for all the input folks. Kinda scary when it's your first time to deal with it. Experianced advise helps ease the mind.

What is the dosage for the pen or amoxicillin?

Texasgirl, Can you elaborate on hydrotherapy?

Pen is usually 1ml per 10lbs.

Basically hydrotherapy is just spraying the wound/affected area with water. It increases circulation, stimulates the tissues to granulate (in open wounds) and speeds healing. Sounds like it wouldn't do much but I'm a firm believer and I think Krystal (Uglydog) has used it as well.
If it were my dog I'd spray his neck with warm water for a few minutes at least once or twice a day.
Hope he is up and running real quick ;)

Haven't had the occasion to use it yet...but check out the information about Vitamin C

http://www.greatdane.co.za/articles%20-%20snakebite.htm

Firm believer in hydro therapy myself.  Used it on cuts that wont stay closed.  Ran water out of garden hose for 5 minutes straight once a day.  Twice is better, but once a day made a dramatic difference as well.  You can actually see it healing up inside out after a couple days.

Scott - that was an interesting article and definately worth carrying in a vet bag with you.

I am a firm believer in the hydrotherapy as well.  It is amazing at how fast they heal with it and how little they actually scar. 

Critter - hope that Jester is up running the hogs soon!!!

over the years i hunted, i had 6 dogs biten by snakes. most were on the legs and side. i had my dashund, bitten on the head.
i would give peniccillan shots daily and i would treat the wound with a spray bottle of dmso.
the dmso would draw the poison out of the wound. all of the dogs recovered, even the little dashund. she had a misshapen head the rest of her live, but she made a full recovery.
i only had to cut one dog. my strike dog's flank swole up and i took a razor and i made a 6 inch cut along the flank. this relieved the pressure, when the black pus came rolling out. i continued the dmso treat ment and she made a full recovery.

Capt. Jack -What is dmso ?

DMSO is for horses and you can buy it at a feed store. it draws on a wound and makes heat. in the 80s it was used by people with arthritis. it comes in a paste or a liquid. i used it for all of my dogs with cuts or bites.

vitamin c is also good with the healing of a snake bite it helps build up the white bloob cell count to speed up the healing