[Alter_Ego]

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

I found his body today morning in the park outside my house, and he was all wet, seems like he drowned somewhere and then caught a cold.. Dont know how it happened, no clue, but he tried his best to reach home.

Most cats do not like water but they sure are hell of a swimmers. There is no chance that your cute little cat could have drowned.

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

Dont know how it happened, no clue, but he tried his best to reach home.

Don't know why but after reading this a tear just rolled out of my eye.
May your buddy rest in peace.

[drdeepudev]

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

Snakes are dangerous.I lost my 8 month old boxer when he was bitten by a poisonous snake when I was playing with him in the woods when I was kid.Never forgave myself when I realized that he tried to ward away the snake to protect me. :(

+1 to it. We lost our 4 month old Bruno (GSD) after he was bitten by a poisonous snake (Viper). The death was slow and painful, a view we could not watch. It happened 3 months back. May his soul R.I.P.

[Googleman]

^^^^ Bruno was a naughty yet cute dog. R.I.P

Sad to read the last few posts.

Anyways, guys please give some precautions to people who take their dogs out. I take my dogs to a deserted place with lots of bushes and barren land. I always thought that the Dog's sixth sense will prevent them from going so close to the snake.

My Grandmom had few street dogs which she used to feed and a lots of snakes were found around the area. I have seen the dogs barking like hell and freaking out at the sight of the snakes, but those were street dogs which I think have the strongest senses and defence mechanism due to their daily practice.

Now since I have read it already, please give suggestions. I am pretty sure all the dog owners would be taking their dogs to such places for them to enjoy and need to be more careful.

[vamsi.kona]

I think dogs which see a snake for the first time are eager to check the new thing and in their eagerness and curiosity they do move close. And if such dog is more playfull it would try to do the same with the snake also. Some dogs are however more circumspect and keep their distance.

I am not sure but this is what I think.

[drdeepudev]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

I think dogs which see a snake for the first time are eager to check the new thing and in their eagerness and curiosity they do move close. And if such dog is more playfull it would try to do the same with the snake also. Some dogs are however more circumspect and keep their distance.

I am not sure but this is what I think.

Yes, that happened with bruno. He was curious about the snake and one sniff, he got bitten by it on his nose. Every thing happened so fast.

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is very sad to hear of these deaths --- and a bit worrying too.

Well, the snake is coming and going under the gate (through an amazingly small gap) so there is not much I can do except for hope.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Well, the snake is coming and going under the gate (through an amazingly small gap) so there is not much I can do except for hope.

I think cats are a bit fast in their reflexes than dogs so that can come handy when evading a snake bite, though not completely.

By the way how about plugging that gap?

[srishiva]

I know about dogs and cats from my village. The cats are just to catch the mice and dogs to guard. I love them but not as involved as you guys in this thread are.

I keep coming to this thread to look at the photos. They are full of expression.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by vamsi.kona

I think cats are a bit fast in their reflexes than dogs so that can come handy when evading a snake bite, though not completely.

By the way how about plugging that gap?

We built a hump outside the gate to stop flood water coming in, and the gate closes almost against it. I was very surprised to hear that a snake got under --- but they can make themselves very flat. I don't know if we can make it even less: will take a look.

Maid saw it come under; maid and wife have seen it; I haven't. In fact, just the one sighting so far.

One thing: I am not taking any bare-foot walks in the garden, especially the bit that is grassy!

[Alter_Ego]

Originally Posted by drdeepudev

+1 to it. We lost our 4 month old Bruno (GSD) after he was bitten by a poisonous snake (Viper). The death was slow and painful, a view we could not watch. It happened 3 months back. May his soul R.I.P.

Life seems unfair.Bruno seems such an innocent and cute buddy to leave at that early age.RIP.

Originally Posted by Googleman

Anyways, guys please give some precautions to people who take their dogs out. I take my dogs to a deserted place with lots of bushes and barren land. I always thought that the Dog's sixth sense will prevent them from going so close to the snake.
Now since I have read it already, please give suggestions.

Pet dogs do not have a fully developed sixth sense as they never get a chance to develop it.They are always cared and pampered and never really develop any survival instincts.Sad but true.
Best thing is to carry a long and tough stick when you take your pet for a walk.Serves more than one purpose

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

We built a hump outside the gate to stop flood water coming in, and the gate closes almost against it. I was very surprised to hear that a snake got under --- but they can make themselves very flat. I don't know if we can make it even less: will take a look.

Maid saw it come under; maid and wife have seen it; I haven't. In fact, just the one sighting so far.

One thing: I am not taking any bare-foot walks in the garden, especially the bit that is grassy!

There are many snake deterrants available in the markets but nothing serves best as calling a snake catcher and relocating the snake in the wild.
Win-win situation.

[prasadee]

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

Snakes are dangerous.I lost my 8 month old boxer when he was bitten by a poisonous snake when I was playing with him in the woods when I was kid.Never forgave myself when I realized that he tried to ward away the snake to protect me. :(

That sucks, very sorry for your loss.

We live among rattle snakes, and there are rattle snake avoidance training classes here that we are thinking about enrolling. Mowgli likes to play fetch in the lakes here that are in the rattle snake territory. The training may be cruel on the rattle snake, but very useful. As I understand it, they fit dogs with a shock collar, and introduce a rattle snake with its mouth stitched up. Every time the dog approaches the snake, they trigger a small shock to make sure the dog stays away.
Natural Solutions K-9 Rattlesnake avoidance

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Alter_Ego

There are many snake deterrants available in the markets but nothing serves best as calling a snake catcher and relocating the snake in the wild.

We did that last time, and a small rat snake was re-located. I might have mentioned that we have a few too many rats so maybe we should have kept it.

Absence of food is a good snake deterrent: if only they would finish off our rats!

We have made a stupid mistake with the rats too. We put grain our for birds every day, and only coming home very late one night caused me to see that the rats have a feast in the night. One of those "Doh!" moments. Just never thought it through before.

[sathyaprakash]

Thad E Ginathom>>>>>>>>>Where in the hell do you live in chennai? bcz i have not heard about snakes in decades bcz of chennai's fast urbanisation may be you are in suburban you can always contact forest department for catching the snake and they do it free of cost, there is a office in velachery.</p>

[Googleman]

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

Thad E Ginathom>>>>>>>>>Where in the hell do you live in chennai? bcz i have not heard about snakes in decades bcz of chennai's fast urbanisation may be you are in suburban you can always contact forest department for catching the snake and they do it free of cost, there is a office in velachery.</p>

Urbanisation? I have seen snakes in Bangalore city.

One of my colleague is a reptile rescuer here in Bangalore. He has rescued 100s of snakes and turtles and leave it in Bannergatta forest. Some times he gets a call in the middle of a meeting and rushes to save the creature leaving all his important work.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

Thad E Ginathom>>>>>>>>>Where in the hell do you live in chennai? bcz i have not heard about snakes in decades bcz of chennai's fast urbanisation may be you are in suburban you can always contact forest department for catching the snake and they do it free of cost, there is a office in velachery.</p>

Actually just outside the current (due to be expanded) Chennai Metro area. Certainly never saw a snake when we lived central, but South of here I think there are plenty