puppy discovers australia’s deadly wildlife

snake avoidance training

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Over the years Phil has grown used to my gasps and screams.  He normally sits silently through them reading the paper not bothering to ask what’s the matter.  When I say, “Don’t you even want to know what’s wrong?” he’ll reply, “I already know what’s wrong.”  “What???”  “Nothing.”   (Nothing much, anyway.)

However, when he heard me scream the other night, he came charging out of the house barefoot.  Not the best choice given what was wrong.  Very wrong.  Our puppy had bailed up a metre-long snake.  Phil insisted it was a red-bellied black snake, but when I later presented him with a photo lineup, he pointed confidently to an eastern brown snake and announced, “That’s the one!”  Anyway, it doesn’t really matter which species because in Australia nearly all snakes are venomous (some more so than others).

The sight of our Labrador Lila in a standoff with a potentially lethal creature had taken my screams to a new pitch.   Blood curdling they reverberated throughout the valley prompting neighbours to come running from all directions.  One brave woman wielding a large stick.  No one knew what to expect.  Lila, on the other hand, appeared to be deaf.   Mesmerized by the snake.  With only a few inches between them.   Every time I tried to grab her collar, the snake would rear up and strike out.   We’d both recoil, but then Lila would go back for more before I could stop her.  My screams had words attached, but it was hard to tell.

When Phil arrived on the scene, he shouted, “Get her some food!” hoping to break the spell by offering Lila what Labradors live for.   I found myself shrieking, “Lila, would you like some dinner?!?”  Perhaps the question was indecipherable because it clearly had no impact.  That’s when Phil somehow managed to get hold of Lila without being bitten himself.   But we still didn’t know whether or not the snake’s fangs had contacted Lila because puncture marks are virtually invisible under a dog’s fur.  We wasted no time getting her to the nearest veterinary hospital.

While travelling there, she showed no signs of distress.  No vomiting.  No salivating (no more than usual).  No trembling.  And her pupils were not dilated.   She seemed fine, but the vet did appropriate blood tests to make sure.   Apparently, Lila had not been bitten.  Or perhaps had received only a “dry bite” (snakes sometimes reserve their venom for prey rather than waste it on predators).   At any rate, she took the whole episode in stride and enjoyed swapping notes with other patients in the vet’s waiting room.

As for me, I knew Lila had not learned her lesson.  And I was worried sick about the prospect of another visitation.  But two days later something truly wonderful happened.  While out cycling, I spotted a dead snake!  I seized the moment and brought it home to give Lila some avoidance training.  I’d read that dead snakes could be used in this way…helping the dog make an association with the handler’s fear reaction.  Maybe this snake wasn’t a perfect match, but I figured it was worth a shot…

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lila the labrador flees the fire zone

lila window-shopping

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Until last summer’s Black Saturday (the worst bushfire in Australia’s history), I’d always stayed close to home on days of high fire risk.  Now I like to be as far away from the bush as possible.   Rather than stay to defend our property on dangerous days, we’ve boosted our house and contents insurance.

When a “code red” or “catastrophic” fire warning was recently issued to parts of Victoria, I knew Lila and I would be heading to the haven of a city office. The temperature was tipped to hit 43°C and drop only slightly at sunset, resulting in Melbourne’s hottest night on record.   By the time I’d packed our things (and please do not underestimate how many toys, treats and other comforts a pampered pup requires!), I wanted to weep.  There’s something profoundly disturbing about not feeling safe in your home.  Disturbing and disorienting.

We made our escape with the car’s air conditioner going full blast.  Despite her ongoing difficulties with motion sickness, Lila put on a brave face and kept her breakfast down for the duration of the trip.   She’d never been to the city before but, when we arrived, she handled all the traffic and noise with equanimity.  The footpaths scorched her paws and shade was hard to come by.   The tap water tasted funny, but it was too hot not to drink.   And we couldn’t throw a ball in the office.  She never complained.

We eventually found ourselves going for a walk in a filthy park.   Negotiating broken beer bottles with the wind driving hot heavy air into our eyes and mouths.  I pleaded with Lila to please do whatever was required before one or both of us keeled over from heat stroke or something.   Perhaps she was dehydrated because it took her forever.  Afterwards, we slogged to an outdoor café for refreshments.  With Lila doing a little window-shopping along the way.

Thankfully, no big fires had broken out during the day so we slept in our beds that night.  Exhausted from our wanderings.  And feeling more certain than ever that there’s no place like home.

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rodger and dodger: two ferrets doing a dog’s job

lila leaves rabbits to the ferrets

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As you may recall from “a labrador with no taste for rabbit”, our lazy Lila has been reluctant to help control Australia’s exploding rabbit population.  This summer the plague on our property has reached a critical mass where doing nothing is no longer an option.  So, for the first time ever, we called upon a ferreter and his furry team of two for assistance.

Naturally, Lila had never before encountered ferrets and when she caught her first whiff of Rodger and Dodger (arriving in a box), she was pretty excited.  Much more so than she’d ever been about rabbits.  I feared for the ferrets’ lives and tied Lila to a fence post where she could watch them from a safe distance.  Quietly.  So as not to distract them from their work.

The ferreter and his young daughter laid nets across the entries and exits of a rabbit warren and then encouraged the two sleek, curious creatures (neutered in case one or both should go missing and create a different sort of ecological problem!) with a soft excited sh-sh-sh to tunnel through and flush out any occupants.  Lila strained at her lead, but understood that barking was forbidden.

After exploring every passageway, disappearing at one end and then popping up at the other as if to say “Nothing here!”, Rodger and Dodger led us to believe that the rabbits were not in residence.  It was evening so maybe they were otherwise engaged. Wreaking havoc on the environment elsewhere.   Wherever they were, it was a disappointment.  And Lila would now have to wait till another occasion to witness the ways of the world.

[If you have received this post by email, please click “dog downunder” or “rodger and dodger:  two ferrets doing a dog’s job” in order to view accompanying video in a web page.]