How To Keep Your Dog From Pain And Suffering. By Kevin Franklin THE RATTLESNAKE COILS up to strike. My dog Shelby ambles over to investigate the snake. When she gets too close, a stinging pain jabs her neck. She leaps three feet in the air. But the snake never moved. Glen Seal's thumb did, though. Seal hit the switch on the remote control activating Shelby's shock collar. But as far as the dog knows, the snake launched an attack. Later Seal leads Shelby over to the snake, relocated to a new spot. She avoids it like a pepper spray-toting postman with a mean disposition. Seal and his wife Anne own Kachina Ranch Kennels. The cats and dogs who are their guests get exercise, good food and top-quality medical care. And for $50 the Seals will throw in snake- avoidance training. The modern dog faces all sorts of life-threatening challenges, from cars to anti-freeze cocktails to psychotic neighbors. But rural dogs and camping canines face one more threat--rattlesnakes. Several hundred Tucson-area dogs are bitten by rattlesnakes each year. Most survive the ordeal, but many suffer permanent tissue damage and a few die. "Our practice averages six to seven dozen cases a year," says Joseph Trueba, an emergency veterinarian at Pima Pet Clinic. The smaller the animal the higher the dosage of venom it receives from a bite, and therefore the more serious the case, Trueba says. But even on a larger dog, a bite in the right place can cause lasting damage. "The snake's venom is half digestive enzymes," Trueba says. "The venom starts digesting your dog's leg or face or wherever. Rapid swelling takes place in the first five minutes, and then it looks like real deep bruising. Eventually the skin starts flaking off." Citing the nation's premier expert on rattlesnake bites, University of Arizona toxicology professor Fin Russell, Trueba says the best first-aid remedy for snake bites is car keys. Get a set of car keys, get into a car and drive to a veterinarian who has antivenom available. The full effect of the antivenom can be obtained if it's administered within two or three hours. If used within 24 hours, the antivenom is about half as effective. Generally, dogs who tangle with rattlers lose about a two-inch patch of skin. But that much skin on a small dog's leg, assuming it survives the venom shock, can result in long-term damage. "The main reason we treat them is not that they're going to die," Trueba says, "but to reduce tissue damage. If they receive the antivenom, they usually do real well. They do real poorly if not treated." Of course the best remedy is prevention, which is where Glen Seal comes in. He's been training dogs all his life and working with his own dogs on snake avoidance since 1965. Seal started the training because his hunting dogs occasionally encountered rattlesnakes. After all those years, Seal feels he's pretty much perfected his technique. "I know dogs 12 years old," says Seal, "which I broke when they were one, and they've avoided snakes all their life." Seal defangs the training snakes so the dog never comes into harm's way. He trains dogs to be wary with all of their senses. The first time a dog comes near the training snake, Seal silences the rattle so that, coming from downwind, the dog first smells the reptile. And when the pooch practically steps on the rattler, Seal jolts the dog. For round two, the snake rattles, so that sound becomes another warning signal. Round one is enough for Shelby. Just the smell and sight of the snake now make her want to stay clear. The hostile-sounding rattle simply reinforces her desire to avoid the coiled danger. In two weeks we'll go back to Seal's place to make sure the message got across. Seal stresses that even quick learners can still find trouble if they run over a concealed and downwind snake that gives no warning before striking. But those are chances we're willing to take. If cool and cold-blooded heads prevail, dog, snake and man can all come out winners with help from Glen Seal. GETTING THERE Have a hiking dog with its face intact? Want to keep it that way? Call Glen or Anne Seal at Kachina Ranch Kennels, 682-4114. If you need to board a pet, the Seals can set you up in style for $6 to $9 a day.

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