Partners Snake Avoidance

I’m not convinced that the way my dog was introduced to rattlesnakes and the way the e-collar was used was done properly. My dog is a hunting breed with an acute sense of smell. I have had the pleasure of training this dog as well as all my hunting dogs and I know when my dog smells game or something of interest. She was walked up to the first rattlesnake cage with the wind to her back and about 5 feet away from the cage. She never had the opportunity to smell the snake and was given a shock. She had no idea why she was shocked. This happened again and again. My opinion is that the dog needs to get an opportunity to get a good smell of the snake before they apply any shock stimulation. The entire event seamed to be rushed with a negative experience for the dog. Also, the report given about the training was not accurate at all. If we were to go back for a refresher course, I would insist on not being so rushed, and give the dog a full opportunity to smell the snake.

I took our little Havanese to Partners for the Snake Aversion Training. We visit Phoenix once or twice a year and we’ve seen snakes around in the desert. Our dog is a curious 17 month old. Partners staff took their time, removed his leash and harness and put on an e collar and their own leash. They gave him some time to get used to this before taking him, and me, into a large area in which snakes were located in cages. You could hear them rattling, but couldn’t see them as the cages were covered, or partially covered. One of the staff activated the ecollar a couple of times as our dog approached. After that, he would get to about 6 feet of the cage, hear the rattle or smell the snake, and stop. Even when I went and stood by the cage, he would not accompany me. This he repeated. I was unaware that the ecollar had been used, because there was no visible reaction by our dog. He seems to have a healthy aversion to snakes now, and he was not traumatized by the experience. We’re taking him for a refresher in three weeks to reinforce the lesson. Excellent service. On time. Lots of parking. Nothing to it!