Emergency
A yelp by a bush, then a muzzle swelling up within minutes. Keep him still, take his collar off and head for a clinic, ringing them on the way.
Emergency. Keep him still, carried if you can, take the collar off, note the time and ring the nearest vet now to ask whether they have antivenom. Do not cut, suck, use a tourniquet or ice, give him your own medicines or wait to see how much it swells.
Call your own vet or the nearest clinic with an emergency service now, and set off. Do not ask a group what to do: every answer you wait for there is time lost for the dog.
Use this page to know what to observe, what to note and what to ask at the appointment, not to treat at home. If you still have doubts after a consultation, ask another vet or a specialist (dermatologist, internist) for a second opinion, not a group. And if you do not have a regular vet yet, find one now, while your dog is healthy: how to choose a veterinary clinic.
A warm May morning, a hillside path, an old dry-stone wall. Your dog pushes his nose into a bush, yelps once, jumps back and paws at his muzzle. Ten minutes later one side of his face is noticeably bigger than the other, and there are two small dots on the skin with a little blood coming out. Sometimes you see nothing at all: he goes suddenly lame on a front leg, and the leg swells while you watch. An adder or viper bite is an emergency, even though most dogs who reach a vet in time recover. Here is what to do now, what to tell the vet and how to avoid it.
Dogs mostly get bitten on the muzzle and head, or on a front leg, because that is how they approach a snake: nose first. The first signs come within minutes. The pain is sudden, the swelling grows fast, and sometimes there are two small punctures about a centimetre apart, oozing blood or a pinkish fluid. Often you will not find them under the fur and the swelling. The skin around can bruise. Drooling, trembling, vomiting, fast breathing, pale gums and weakness can follow, and in serious cases the dog collapses.
Some bites are "dry", with no venom in them. You only know which after a few hours, so you treat every bite as an emergency.
Europe has several species of viper, all of them venomous. In Britain the adder is the only venomous snake, found on heaths, moors, sand dunes and woodland edges. Across the continent, Romania included, vipers live mostly in hills and mountains and in dry, rocky country. They are out from mid-spring until autumn. You find them most often on sunny slopes and along stone walls or rock piles, though woodland edges, long grass, heather and bilberry suit them too. Harmless snakes such as the grass snake are far more common. From a distance, though, with an excited dog on the lead, telling them apart is hard, so any snake bite is treated as a viper bite until the vet says otherwise.
Most dogs treated in time make a full recovery. The risk is higher for small dogs, for bites on the tongue, neck or body, and for dogs who arrive late.
| Situation | What you do |
|---|---|
| A hill or mountain walk, May to September, in the morning | Dog on the lead, especially on rocky slopes and in heather |
| He yelps suddenly by a bush and paws at his muzzle | Stop, pick him up, check for swelling; if it swells, ring |
| Swelling growing within minutes, on the muzzle or a leg | Collar off, ring the clinic, go |
| A small dog, or bitten on the neck, tongue or chest | Top priority, leave at once |
| You do not know whether it was an adder or a harmless snake | Treat it as an adder |
If your dog comes walking with you, talk to your own vet about snake bites before the season starts: which clinics have antivenom in the areas you visit, and what to do until you get there. Ten minutes of talking at home saves a lot of time on a bad day.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer. The answers are a guide only: the decision belongs to your dog's own vet, after an examination.
Keep him as still as possible (carry him if you can), take his collar off so the swelling cannot choke him, note the time and ring the nearest vet at once to ask whether they have antivenom. Then set off without waiting. Do not cut the wound, suck out venom, use a tourniquet or ice, or give him medicines from home.
Usually he yelps suddenly by a bush, a rock or in long grass, then paws at his muzzle or starts limping. Within minutes a swelling comes up and grows fast, mostly on the muzzle, head or a front leg. Sometimes you can see two small bleeding punctures. Drooling, trembling, vomiting and weakness can follow.
It can happen, but most dogs treated in time make a full recovery. The risk is higher in small dogs, with bites to the tongue, neck or body, and when they reach the vet late. That is why you do not wait to see how it develops: some clotting or heart problems only show up hours later.
Yes. You only find out whether there was venom after a few hours, and clotting, kidney or heart rhythm problems can appear late. The vet examines him, runs tests and usually keeps him under observation for at least a day. For a dog who looks fine at first, the observation is the part that matters most.
In Britain, on heaths, moors, dunes and woodland edges; across the rest of Europe, mostly in hills, mountains and dry rocky country. They like sunny slopes, stone walls, rock piles and heather, and are out from mid-spring to autumn. In those places keep your dog on a lead and on the path, and find out beforehand where the nearest open clinic is.
The information on this page is educational and does not replace an examination. For full details and a diagnosis, consult your dog's own veterinarian.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
A muzzle puffed up on one side looks frightening and usually settles within a day or two. What matters is the first 30 minutes: breathing, gum colour, vomiting.
Panting with a wide tongue, looking for shade, wobbling, then lying down. Cool him first with cold water, travel second, and do not stop at "he seems better".
Sudden head shaking after a walk through dry grass, sneezing fits, one eye held shut. A grass seed only travels forwards, so the first few hours count.
Half a bar of dark chocolate missing, the grape stalk bare, the sock gone. Gather the wrapper, work out how much he ate and call. Do not make him sick yourself.
Call your own vet or the nearest clinic with an emergency service, say what happened and when, and set off. A call made from the car saves minutes on arrival.