Vaccines and treatments for dog rattlesnakes?
You’ve likely heard through the grapevine about the dog rattlesnake vaccine if you own a dog and live in a part of the country where rattlesnakes are found. Developed by Red Rock Biologics, it has been licensed for use since 2003 and has been on the market since then. In the past few years, thousands of dogs have been treated with this vaccine in different parts of the country.
This article will detail the pros, cons, and effectiveness of the rattlesnake vaccine treatment. Instead, I will focus on giving you information on how much the rattlesnake vaccine for dogs will cost you and what it includes.
The vaccine’s efficacy has been debated over the past few years. If you want to read a study conducted in 2014 to make up your mind, you can read it here.
I want to get back to what the rattlesnake vaccination will cost for dogs. The following are some guidelines to help you with pricing, followed by a breakdown of what a rattlesnake bite injury will cost you and your dog.
Can dogs get rattlesnake vaccines?
Regarding rattlesnake vaccination shots for dogs, the cost will be $25, plus any fees your veterinarian may charge for examinations. A rattlesnake vaccination for dogs will require two booster shots to be given four weeks apart, so the rattlesnake vaccine for dogs will be $50 plus the appointment fees charged by your vet.
If your dog’s annual vaccination schedule does not include rattlesnake boosters, request that your vet do so.
If your dog gets bitten by a rattlesnake, please don’t think that vaccination will be able to replace immediate medical treatment if it gets ground. As soon as you notice that your dog has been bitten, it would help if you took him to a veterinarian for professional assistance as quickly as possible.
According to the manufacturer of the vaccine, it is also recommended that you do this:
Even after your dog has been vaccinated against rattlesnake venom, it should be taken to a veterinarian as soon as possible following a snake bite to receive evaluation and care. During your dog’s visit to the veterinarian, they will determine whether or not further treatment is required. Bites from even non-venomous snakes can cause serious infections that may require antibiotic treatment. You should consult a veterinarian regarding your dog’s medical care.”
Consider the dog rattlesnake vaccination cost compared to prolonged and intensive treatment.
Injections of vaccinations may reduce vet costs and protect your dog from bites.
If a dog How much does it cost to treat a dog bitten by a rattlesnake?
Thousands of dollars can be spent on treating a dog bitten by a rattlesnake. Aside from antivenin, which will cost a few hundred dollars, your dog may also need other treatments such as pain killers, antibiotics, antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, oxygen, IV drips, and a stay in a veterinary hospital as well as the antivenin.
Your dog may only need a few minutes of treatment at the vet if the bite wasn’t as severe as it could have been. In this case, you may have to spend less money on anti-shoe shots.
Dogs might need surgery after suffering a rattlesnake bite to treat the tissue and organ damage caused by the edge. In this case, the cost of rattlesnake treatment will be huge and determined by what the snake needs to be treated for.
As a rule of thumb, ensuring your dog is insured against snake bites is wise. If you act slowly, you may be facing a bill for $5,157 from your vet. This was treated after a series of tastes.
Do rattlesnake antivenoms for dogs cost as much as rattlesnake antivenoms for humans?
It is helpful to know that rattlesnake antivenom will be part of your dog’s treatment after a bite by this snake. In the United States, a vial of antivenom can range in price from $450 to $1,000, depending on your location.
As a result, the cost of treating your dog will likely increase if additional rattlesnake antivenom is required. This is based on how severe the bite was and how your dog reacted to the treatment.
If you can treat your dogs quickly and effectively after a rattlesnake has bitten them, they have a reasonably high chance of surviving. You can find out how many dogs stay rattlesnake bites by clicking this link.
What are the benefits and risks of dog rattlesnake vaccines?
Please do your due diligence and speak with a veterinarian before using it on your dog. Multiple examples of vets and dog owners who have backed up the vaccine’s effectiveness can be found online. However, some cast doubt on the efficacy of the vaccine.
Below you will find a few of those quotations that I have compiled. This study, for example, which I referred to in my opening paragraph, observed the following:
In the study, there was no statistically significant difference between vaccinated dogs’ morbidity and mortality rates and those that were not. According to the results of this study, previous vaccinations did not appear to confer any protection in the cases of moderate to severe rattlesnake envenomation that required antivenin treatment in patients with mild to severe rattlesnake envenomation.”
According to a report published on the Science-Based Medicine website in a 2018 editorial piece, the following are the conclusions of the article:
“Would it be possible to make it work?” I asked. In a sense, it’s plausible. My dog would not be able to survive if I were to rely on it for survival. I do not currently recommend it. It is only in case rattlesnake avoidance is entirely not possible that I would consider using this product, and even then, I would make sure that if the owner does not expect that the vaccine would be helpful in the event of a rattlesnake bite, they should get their dog antivenom as soon as possible. The manufacturer states the same thing in their brochure.
You will also have to consider the fact that safety is a concern. This time an editorial piece can be found on the website of Embrace Pet Insurance. It states:
There are a lot of veterinarians out there that are concerned about the vaccine because they are worried that there isn’t a lot of science behind it. There needs to be more quality information provided by them to convince most veterinarians to unthinkingly endorse the vaccine because the information they provide is very generic and superficial. Despite quoting the vaccine company’s data, there is no evidence to support the safety or efficacy of this vaccine.”
As I mentioned earlier, there are also plenty of sources that contradict these statements. Please take the time to read all of them before making any final decisions on whether the rattlesnake vaccine is worth the expense for your dog.
What makes a difference here is how common the vaccine has become. Here’s what you need to know to put things in a whole new perspective:
In 2003, the California Department of Public Health licensed the vaccine. In 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture approved the vaccine. As of 2006, the AAHA listed this vaccine as a non-core vaccine. A total of 4,700 clinics have used the vaccine, along with more than 8,000 veterinarians who have used it. More than 250,000 dogs have been administered more than 1,000,000 vaccine doses. It is thought that about one out of every 500,000 injections leads to an anaphylactic reaction.”
The fact that so many vets have put their trust in it raises many questions.
Final thoughts
In the scheme of things, rattlesnake vaccination shots for dogs aren’t as expensive as one might think. Treatment costs could be much cheaper than a course of treatment. Therefore, it may be something you can use in the event of an unthinkable.
