Rattlesnake Ready in Cave Creek trains dogs to avoid rattlesnakes

Arlo, a German Shepherd attending a training class at Rattlesnake Ready, watches a rattlesnake during training. Photo taken at Cave Creek on April 24. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

Brittany Slominski and her dog Arlo take a class at Rattlesnake Ready. Arlo was exposed to a rattlesnake skin to associate the smell of a rattlesnake with danger. Photo taken at Cave Creek on April 24. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

A piece of rattlesnake skin at the Rattlesnake Ready training area is used to train dogs to smell rattlesnakes so they can avoid them in the wild. Photo taken at Cave Creek on April 24. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

Cody Will, co-founder and co-owner of Rattlesnake Ready, poses next to a rattlesnake, Kevin, used for Rattlesnake Ready dog ​​training classes. Photo taken at Cave Creek on April 24. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

Kevin, a western diamondback rattlesnake, is curled up in a shaded area of ​​the Rattlesnake Ready training area. The rattlesnakes are muzzled with bandages that allow them to breathe comfortably while reducing the risk to dogs and their owners during training. Photo taken at Cave Creek on April 24. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

Rattlesnake Ready trainer Cody Will plays a recording of rattlesnakes for Arlo, a German shepherd, to help the dog associate the sound of rattlesnakes with danger. Photo taken at Cave Creek on April 24. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

PHOENIX – Rattlesnake season in Arizona is getting closer and while that means watching out for snakes, it can also mean watching out for your pets.

Experts warn Arizonans to be aware of their surroundings when hiking or walking their dogs and to keep their eyes and ears open for the telltale signs of rattlesnakes: their coiled bodies and the unmistakable rattling of their tails.

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“There are certainly avoidable situations and potentially unavoidable situations,” said Bryan Kuhn, a pharmacist and toxicologist at the Banner Health Poison & Drug Information Center. “I can say that the vast majority of our bites this year were these kinds of unintended, unavoidable scenarios where someone is in an area where they don’t know there’s a snake.”

That’s where Rattlesnake Ready and Rattlesnake Ranch come into the picture. Co-founders and owners Cody and Kate Will have built a large collection of rattlesnakes at Rattlesnake Ranch, which people can pay to visit to see and learn about the snakes. Through Rattlesnake Ready, the couple prepares and educates pets and pet owners about these misunderstood desert creatures by utilizing the ranch’s resources at the 2,400-square-foot nature center and training area in Cave Creek.

Cody Will said he launched the Rattlesnake Ready training program, which teaches dogs to avoid the venomous reptiles, because he “saw a great need for it, knew I could do it, started doing it for fun and it became a success.”

“The training itself, the ultimate goal is to teach the dog to avoid rattlesnakes so that if he ever sees, smells or hears one in the future, he has the wisdom and knowledge to leave it alone instead of approach as most dogs do. he said. “Teaching them to avoid them can save owners thousands of dollars in vet bills, because when a dog gets bitten, it’s really scary.”

According to experts at the Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary, 13 different species of rattlesnakes can be found throughout Arizona, from metropolitan areas to rural desert peaks. While the Sonoran Desert is a beloved place to hike and explore for locals and tourists, it is also the natural habitat for these venomous reptiles.

“We have, hands down, the most rattlesnakes than any other state. We just have the perfect climate and habitat,” said Cale Morris, poison manager at the sanctuary. “We move hundreds of rattlesnakes a year. The fire brigade moves hundreds of people. There are other companies and organizations that are also moving hundreds. So we estimate that thousands of people will be displaced from the Phoenix area.”

By using real rattlesnakes during training, Rattlesnake Ready gives dogs exposure to the very real danger that rattlesnakes pose without actually endangering them. Medical tape is used in strips to muzzle the snakes, rendering them harmless and unable to bite the canines, while an e-collar is placed around the dogs’ necks to give them a small shock if they get too close .

“It’s humane the way we do it for the snakes. Dogs are going to have a great encounter with a real rattlesnake, and we train them to avoid them,” said Cody Will. “The hoses only work about one day a week, so we use them all day, let the dogs get close to them; we correct the dogs if they are too close. And basically the snakes’ only job is to just sit there like a rattlesnake for a few minutes at a time, several times a day.”

Rattlesnake Ready trainer Cody Will holds Arlo before letting the dog run past a rattlesnake to his owner. (Photo by Emily Mai/Cronkite News)

The average training session is divided into four parts, all aimed at getting dogs to avoid the sight, smell and sound of rattlesnakes. The first part is the introduction of the small, muzzled snake, followed by the first shock. The second part exposes the dog to a pile of molted rattlesnake skin, followed by a second shock. The third part involves playing the sound of a rattlesnake’s warning rattle from the bushes, and having the owner jog with his pet. And for the final part of the training, Cody Will places a larger, muzzled rattlesnake against the exit gate. Every dog ​​reacts differently, from giving the snake a wide berth to stopping and running in the opposite direction.

Although rattlesnake bites are more common from March through October in Arizona, experts like Morris and Will say there are ways to be proactive in avoiding rattlesnake bites year-round by learning more about the native reptiles and take precautions for both people and pets. safety.

“Rattlesnakes are just part of the desert ecosystem here. They’re not out to get you,” Cody Will said. ‘They don’t want anything to do with you. So if you ever encounter one, it’s not really a matter of what to do, it’s more a matter of what not to do.”