Diablo Dog Walking has been hiking off-leash with dogs for 12 years now in what is technically rattlesnake country. A common question we get from prospective clients is "how do you keep our dogs safe from rattlesnakes?" and rightly so. Since we just scheduled our 2025 Rattlesnake Aversion Training Clinic for 5/30 (more on that below) we thought there's no better time than to put together this blog on the topic.
How Many Venemous Snake Species Are There In Bay Area?
Just 1. The Northern Pacific Rattlesnake.
Why are People or their Pets Bitten, and What Results?
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes, which means that they inject their prey with venom, which will disable or kill them, before eating them.
Since they're not particularly fast, when they are threatened they will stand their ground and shake their rattle as a warning. If you don't give ground and you're within striking distance, they will bite. They'll also bite you if you accidentally step on them in the brush. This is why it's a good idea to stick to trails. Most adult humans survive bites, but due to smaller size human children and pets fare worse.
Poisonous vs Venomous
If you bite it and you die it's poison, but if it bites you and you die, that's venom. Snakes are venomous, some mushrooms are poisonous.
Ecology and Behavior
It's important to understand a wild animal to best protect yourself and your pets from them. We'll get more into this further in the blog, but it's good to know that rattlesnakes will often warm themselves in the sun, and migrate in dens when it's not warm. They will generally avoid being out if it's too hot or too cold.
Rattlesnakes rely on camouflage to blend in with their surroundings and usually they will ignore people.
If a snake coils up or rattles, you are too close for their comfort. Back up a few feet and they will generally go on their merry way. Obviously dogs won't necessarily understand that and while curiosity killed the cat it's also killed far too many dogs. We'll touch on how to help avoid that below.
Rattlesnakes shelter in winter dens during the cold months and come out in spring, often migrating several miles in search of food. They'll be out and about until fall.
Hunting usually occurs in late afternoon and evening once they're warm. As an ectothermic (cold blooded) animal they get their heat from the environment rather than from their food like we endotherms (warm blooded) do.
Awareness and Avoidance
Keep your eyes and ears open when hiking to keep yourself and your pets safe.
Watch for snakes basking on trails in the sun. You should be able to walk in a big radius around them without much trouble. They aren't going to come after you.
Watch where you put your hands or feet. Be careful around brush, logs or rocks where animals can be hiding.
Don't wear headphones while hiking as you won't hear their warning if you get too close.
Wear boots to protect you from potential bites. Sandals are a bad idea.
Use extra caution around dusk and dawn when they're most likely to be out.
Travel in groups or ask other hikers if they've seen any rattlesnakes.
What do you do if you encounter a snake?
If you hear it first, freeze in place until you can find the snake.
Once you do locate it put some distance between yourself and the snake. Rattlesnakes can strike their body length, which may be 4-5 feet. Don't rely on your spatial awareness: just get back!
Leave the snake alone. Don't try to be Steve Irwin out there. Don't move the snake with your hand or a stick.
How do I protect my dog from rattlesnakes when hiking with them?
Avoid the trails they commonly show up on: During rattlesnake season, which is mostly spring to fall, you'll want to avoid trails that are likely to have them. We put together a blog last year on great dog hikes and we did touch on rattlesnake heavy trails in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Best Dog Hikes In The Bay Area (Mostly the East Bay)
Know when they're out, and where they show up: They tend to show up on trails when it first gets sunny, and they tend to leave the trail when it's too hot. Evening tends to be a little less likely than early mornings. I find that they are often lining the beginning of trails, however they can show up at any part of the trail. Shady trails tend to be a bit safer as well but again they can show up there too. It's also good to stay on a trail since rattlesnakes aren't generally aggressive and when they bite it is out of defensiveness. Why would they warn you with that rattle if they wanted to bite you?
Get to know the trail first: I suggest if you're going to hike with your dog on a trail, do a hike where they're on-leash first. Get an idea on if you're likely to see rattlesnakes before letting them off leash. One of the most rewarding parts of living with a dog is hiking with them, and that's for them and us. If you're doing an out and back trail you can also have them on leash on the way out and then let them off on the way back. That being said there is no guarantee you won't run into a snake that just arrived!
Get to know what rattlesnakes look like on the trail. They'll often look like branches lining the trail and you can usually see them from a distance as they do stand out depending on the clarity of the trail.
If you're determined to hike in an area that has rattlesnakes and you want your dog to be off-leash then it's a good idea to talk to a vet and see if a rattlesnake vaccination is right for your dog. Unfortunately there isn't much evidence that this particular vaccination works to reduce morbidity and mortality. The idea is that it should give you a bit more time to get emergency veterinary care. Which brings us to our next point.
Know where your emergency vets are and check on if they have antivenin. I suggest knowing before you hike, and definitely call ahead any time you head to an emergency vet so they're ready to receive you. Our closet emergency vets in Contra Costa County are SAGE at Address: 2055 Meridian Park Blvd, Concord, CA 94520, Veterinary Emergency Group Address: 622 Contra Costa Blvd Suite A, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 and VCA Encina Veterinary Medical Center Address: 2803 Ygnacio Valley Rd, Walnut Creek, CA 94598.
Call the California Poison Control if you or your pet gets bit. 1-800-222-1222.
What if you want to keep hiking with your dog in an area that has rattlesnakes?Rattlesnake Aversion Training. If you're not in our area or go with another company, I highly recommend doing your research and making sure they know what they're doing, and that what they're doing is effective. But if you're near us, 2025 will be our 9th year hosting a clinic by Natural Solutions, a southern California company. They use a remote collar to give stimulation to simulate rattlesnake bites and negatively associate the sight, smell, and sound of rattlesnakes for the dogs, so if they run into a rattlesnake they will avoid them. This makes not only your dog safer, but you while you're with them. I've personally seen a group of dogs respond to seeing and hearing a rattlesnake, and the four dogs who had gone through the clinic responded by turning away and trying to go the other direction. The one dog who hadn't went straight toward the snake like she either didn't see it or didn't care. Thankfully all 5 dogs were on leash! Here's a video of that snake. And here's a video of our clinic.
If you'd like to have your dog join our 2025 Rattlesnake Aversion Training Clinic you can sign up through our website. We will be holding it May 5th in Martinez (At Alhambra Christmas Tree Farm) You can create an account here. We will be charging $115 for non-clients. If that date doesn't work or you're not in our area you can check the company's schedule and if they have availability here. While there are other companies that do Rattlesnake Aversion training I can't personally recommend anyone else.
Matt Heikkila Diablo Dog
725 Alhambra Ave, Martinez, Ca
925-215-0410
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