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The Dogmother

Watch out for adders!

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My friend's hound has just been bitten on the snout. They have seen 3 adders in the last two months, compared with 2 in the previous 5 years - perhaps the early warmth has brought them out.

 

Please be very careful yourselves, as well as looking out for your animals.

 

ETA, just found this article which shows a picture of an adder for those who need help identifying one

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I spotted one basking in the heather last weekend.

I used to see Jack Russels (strange...no other breed....) bitten regularly rabbiting on Hounslow Heath in the summer. Normally a healthy dog would just be ill for a day or so with some local swelling and I used to just give them a shot of dexamethasone. One didn't make it so I kept antivenin and all got a routine shot after that.

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Middle son saw one in the woods while we were camping last week! He was pootling in the woods while we sat by the tent and came shrieking in saying he'd seen a snake. On questionning it appears to have been an adder he disturbed - luckily it just hissed and slithered away rather than bite him! :shock:

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I love wildlife spotting :D Sadly I have never seen an adder, although it's on my list of things I'd like to spot... but not at biting distance! :shock:

 

Hopefully I'm correct in saying that adders will only bite if surprised/alarmed. So good advice is to make a bit of noise if you are in an area where there could be adders, such as woodland.

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My dog got bitten by something last year, we don't know what it was that bit her, but the vet said an adder was a definite suspect. The bite made her really poorly and her face swelled up like a football. She made a full recovery (thank goodness) but I did think I might lose her, specially when she collapsed on the floor of the vet's surgery. I'll never know what caused it, but she's had a stern lecture about the dangers of snakes!

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