Help-dog and snake?????????

[LLLReptile]

My dog grew up around the snakes and is pretty much completely unfazed by them, which is ideal. He doesn't come up to smell them or even care that I'm working with them, although given the opportunity he'll roll in snake poop. If he's in a room with me while I have snakes or lizards out, he'll stay away, which is what I've taught him. The only grey area is the blue tongues, because he'll steal their food and vice versa...

As others have pointed out, it's stressful for the snake to have the dog around and all about it, so it's best to teach the dog to just ignore the snake. One way to do this is to teach your dog the "leave it" command, which helps for immediate concerns, and teach it that you having the snake out is incredibly boring for the dog. Don't give the dog any attention, don't look at it, don't acknowledge it at all - just walk away and ignore it any time you have the snake out and the dog is coming up to it. Be sure to give the dog attention when the snake isn't out, even more so if the dog has left you and the snake alone while you have the snake out. It's even easier if you give the dog something else to do first - a bone or toy to chew on, or a bed to go and lay down on when you want to be left alone.

The snake, naturally, will want to smell what's around it, but that doesn't mean you should try the whole 'friends' thing - while it may seem okay at first, the dog can change its mind, and so can the snake. My parents' dogs are not nearly as reptile friendly as mine, and while one of their great danes is very sweet and has not bothered smaller animals before, he saw my mom holding a snake and after sniffing it, tried to nibble on it (without success). Danes are big enough that it's pretty hard to hold things out of their reach, and after he failed to be as indifferent to the reptiles as the other dogs, the next month was spent teaching him to ignore them. He'll obey the "leave it" command now, but just to be safe, none of their dogs are allowed in the room when the snakes are out these days.

Animals are animals; they can be unpredictable. Keep 'em separate.

-Jen