Q. Which dogs should receive Rattlesnake Vaccine?
A. Any dog over four months of age that is exposed to rattlesnakes whether at home, walking, hiking, camping, hunting, or elsewhere might be a good candidate for rattlesnake vaccine.

Q. How common are rattlesnake bites?
A. About 7,000 to 8,000 humans are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States every year.  The best estimate of dogs and cats bitten by venomous snakes is about 150,000.  Dogs and cats are about 300 times more likely to be bitten by venomous snakes than to get rabies.

Q. How dangerous are rattlesnake bites to dogs?
A. Rattlesnake bites are about 25 times more fatal in dogs than in humans. Even dogs that survive the bite can be permanently damaged..

Q. How safe is rattlesnake vaccine for pets?
A. Rattlesnake vaccine is laboratory tested, government approved, and has been used in over one hundred thousand dogs over many years. Thousands of veterinary clinics nationwide recommend this vaccine for dogs at risk. The side effects are rare and typically very mild. About 1% of dogs may get a temporary lump at the injection site that doesn’t bother the dog and goes away by its self in a few weeks. Temporary flu like symptoms are reported in about one in 3,000 vaccinations and other miscellaneous symptoms are reported in fewer than one in 15,000 vaccinations. These systemic symptoms are rare, and don’t appear to have any pattern, so it is possible that many are coincidental and unrelated to the vaccine use. Even the most severe side effect reasonably attributable to the vaccine is likely to be much easier for a veterinarian to treat than a moderate rattlesnake bite.

Q. How well does the rattlesnake vaccine work? 
A. The vaccine has been reported to both delay the effects and reduce the severity of rattlesnake bites and help dogs survive and recover more quickly with less pain and swelling. It is likely that many dog owners don’t even notice their vaccinated dogs are bitten by rattlesnakes. Other owners have reported seeing their dogs bitten but did not take them to the veterinarian because they were too far out in the back country and the dogs recovered quickly and completely without veterinary care. Note that it is always recommended that a rattlesnake bite be treated as a veterinary emergency-even in a vaccinated dog because of the complexity of a rattlesnake bite.