[TxHuntermn]

I am of the opinion that "their" habitat is ours as well. I do not go out of my way to encounter rattlesnakes in the field, but when I do, I will treat them with the same deliberateness that I would a stinging scorpion crossing my living room floor.

All other things being equal, the dog would not have been bitten if hunter three had not shot into the snakes while there were loose retrieving dogs on the ground. The pointers are all Whoa broke, and had they run in, we could have whoa'd them, and stopped them from running into the snakes, or could have used "Ready Kilowatt" to reinforce that idea.

Anyone that is not a thrill seeking moron, wears snake protection in warm weather down here, and most, including myself, wear gloves in addition.

All of our dogs are snake trained, and those that need it, get a little "reminder" walk prior to hunting season. Some dogs, once is enough for a lifetime. My Vizsla Hobbs got tagged on the end of his nose in our driveway about four years ago. He went out with me when I was going to turn a brisket on the smoker, and was running downwind to get to the grass for a little relief, and just ran nose to nose with the snake. Since then, he checks out everything visually as well as by nose! If there is an object that is significantly longer than wide on the ground, he carefully checks it out. In addition, we vaccinate all of our dogs with the crotalotoxin vaccine, in addition to carrying proper medical supplies on the truck....antivenin, dexamethasone epi pens etc., in addition to a medical stapler in case we need to help a dog that has a run in with a javalina.

Again...had hunter three yelled Snake!, the other four of us on the ground would have policed up the dogs, then dealt with the snake.