Colorado is rattlesnake country, but taking a few preventive steps can greatly reduce the chances of your dog being bitten.

1.  Know rattlesnake habits. 
Rattlesnakes are generally out during dusk and dawn in the summer. In cooler weather (70s or 80s), they can hang around all day long, usually on a rock or other sunny perch.  Snakes are most abundant in August and September, which is their breeding season.  During these months, they will generally go to cooler areas in the blazing sun, like a beneath a shady branch or rock.

2. Walk your dog on 6-foot leash.
Vets say the vast majority of rattlesnake bites occur when a dog is off-leash or on a flexi-lead.  The best way to keep your dogs away from snakes is to keep them where you can see what they are encountering. Letting them run off into the tall weeds is just asking for your faithful friends to stumble upon a rattlesnake lair.

3:  Avoid rocky or dense brush or grassy areas.
Stay on the trail, and choose wide trails or roads, rather than narrow brush-bordered trails whenever possible. Doing so allows you to see a snake sunning itself across your path. If there is no path, try to stick to the shortest grasslands with the most open area.

4.  Watch what you—and your dogs—touch. 
Most dogs like to dig, but they should not be digging in rattlesnake territory. Pretend every hole has a rattlesnake in it and pull your dogs away. Likewise, be wary of touching or moving rocks, logs, piles of debris and other places snakes could be hiding. Consider carrying a walking stick—if necessary you can poke at things in your path with it to make sure no snake is lurking near it.

5. Snake-proof your yard.
Your yard may be fenced to keep Fido safely in, but it won’t keep most snakes out unless you fortify it. Snakes can get under fencing that does not have a solid cement base (like a block wall). On wood fences or solid iron fences, use hardware cloth all along the base of your fence, including across any gated areas. You’ll need to dig a trench to bury 22″ of it into the ground, with 18″ above ground attached to the base of your fence. Hardware cloth runs about $100 per 100 feet — expensive, but if you live in a rattlesnake-dense area and want your dog to be safe in your yard, the cost may be worth it.

6. Know a dog’s rattlesnake-bite symptoms.
If you don’t recognize the symptoms of a rattlesnake bite in your dog, you might delay rushing them to the vet  – and that delay could be fatal.

Immediate symptoms include:
puncture wounds (can be bleeding)
severe pain
swelling
restlessness, panting, or drooling
Depending on the  size of your dog and the amount of venom the bite injected into your dog, any of these more severe symptoms may appear quickly or within a few hours:
lethargy, weakness, sometimes collapse
muscle tremors
diarrhea
seizures
neurological signs including depressed respiration

7.  What to do if you and your dog encounter a rattlesnake
If you or your dogs are within striking distance, tell your dog to “stay,” or “stop,” or whatever makes them stand still.  Then calmly & slowly back away from the snake until you are no longer within striking distance (about the snake’s length) and/or until the snake stops rattling at you.  Then very quickly leave the area.  Remember, seeing one snake means there are probably more.

8. What to do if your dog is bitten by a rattlesnake
If possible, carry your dog to your car. If you can’t carry your dog, walk them to your car. Do not let them run; limiting activity limits the movement of the venom in their body.  THEN IMMEDIATELY GET THEM TO A VET! The faster dogs receive anti-venom and other emergency treatment from the vet, the greater their chance of survival.

9.  Consider getting your dog the rattlesnake vaccine. 
It is important to know that while the rattlesnake vaccine may reduce and/or delay your dog’s reaction to a snakebite, it does not “protect” them from snakebites,  A vaccinated dog bitten by a rattlesnake still requires immediate vet care.