benadryl for snake bit dogs ?????

old folks

New member
I hear hunters here in east texas use benadryl for snake bit dogs. we have lots of water moccasins and coper heads. ol tuffy got bit twice. vet bill tore me a new one. has anyone used this. thank for any help.
 
I had a Rat Terrier bit by a copperhead last summer. He swole up like a dog tick. I called my vet when it happened and he said there wasnt nothing wrong with giving Benedryl but didnt think it helped. He said just keep him comfortable and hope for the best. In two days he was fine.

Disclaimer: Thats what my vet said. Any negative comments should be directed towards him. I dont have a clue.
 
From what I know Benadryl will help block the receptors in the body which will slow the absorption of the venom. Also, Benadryl will calm most dogs down a little which can't hurt. It is not a fix but can be helpful
 
I had a dog bit two years ago that had already had the rattlesnake shot, he still swole up bad, I happened to be going by the vet so I stopped in and he give the dog a shot of pen for infection and a shot of dex for the swelling, next morning he was ready to hunt, so I quit the rattlesnake shots and since then just give dex and pen, works fine
 
There are some studies that show antibiotics, dex and supportive therapy work as well as anything for snake bit doges. Studies I have seen show little to difference than those treated with anti venom witch is very expensive and sometimes hard to find. Snake bite vaccines are safe, but there is zero evidence that they help in any way. You will never see the FDA approve a study for them so there won't every be any evidence other field experience's. Bites very so much from one to another with amount of venom it is impossible to tell how effective vaccine is.
 
I always have used Dex and antibiotics ... just had one bit a couple of weeks ago, she was only sick for a day or 2.. she was bit in the head puffed up pretty good and it looked to be a pretty bi g rattler
 
Benadryl is a antihistamine to relief the effect of your body's reaction to allergens. It can be skin introduced like poison ivy, or injected like bee stings or inhaled like hay fever. Unless you have a sever allergic reaction like anaphylaxis it can help but in severe cases other medications maybe necessary to stop sever system issues like epinephrine on humans along with it.
But with a snake bite I would think the venom in pit vipers which cause hemorrhage and clotting issues would take a different direction. A vet would be the expert on those cases.
 
Veterinarians are conflicted on the value of the vaccine, such a high percentage of dogs live through snake bites that it's pretty hard to prove it does anything except increase a veterinarian's income.

Now on the other hand while most dogs will live through being bit, there is a relatively high incidence of a bad reaction to the vaccine. My wife is a practicing veterinarian with two clinics, even though we can obviously get the vaccine much cheaper than most people it is our personal choice not to use it. We have gotten 12 rattlesnakes this year, and several were right outside of doors or in the aisles of our raised garden beds where they would likely bite if the dog blundered into them.
 
woodguru, that is the same advice my vet gave, said the vaccine was made for a different species of rattlesnake beside what we had in this area and he advised against it, bites on the lower leg and chest region are the worst places for a dog to get bitten. The nose looks real bad, but they usually recover in a few weeks to months depending on the amount of necrosis.
 
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