Snakes, Bells And Dogs.

[ash1]

found a vid of a 12 week old Brittany pup in field training with a bell =] just goes on doing what he's doing and the bell doesn't phase.

Thanks Noishe, he really doesn't seem phased by the bell at all.

I've found some cow bells on ebay cheaply, so worth a try, if they drive the dogs nuts then I'll take them off, but gee, if it DOES work, then what a marvellous cheap fix. I'm going to put them on our goats, the dogs and our little calves.

Our dogs have already killed a snake this season, fortunately it was a whip snake not a brown and they didn't get bitten, but poor old snake didn't come off well. And the dogs were just very lucky not to have been bitten. Looks like they just bit the snake in the middle and shook it in half.

[asal]

the smaller cow bell type bells on the goats. They have a much lower resonance, not like the higher tinkling sound of little ball bells [sleigh bells?]

Yes!

I use brass bells on my goats ,usually ..they are quite heavy ..I can't imagine anything making the same sound light enough for cats/small dogs

(if anyone needs to bell a dog when free running/or if there are vison impaired folks in teh house , etc ... THESE are excellent - very audible, but not 'loud', and it soon becomes easy to work out where and what dog is doing ;) )..little 'rod bells' for use on fishing rods.

where is a link???????? please

[persephone]

rod bells ....

can be found at most fishing tackle places/big W etc

brass bells ..

I used these , when I didn't have any

goat bells

:)

[Kajirin]

found these they slip over the dog's collar, from a hunting dog site...

hunting dog bell

ETA have a feeling these may have a higher pitch ringing

Edited January 4, 2013 by Noishe

[sheena]

Please excuse my ignorance & don't shoot me down for asking....but why do they put bells on hunting dogs. Is it to scare away the snakes like the OP says or is it to keep track of the dog I would imagine it would scare the birds away.

[Kajirin]

Please excuse my ignorance & don't shoot me down for asking....but why do they put bells on hunting dogs. Is it to scare away the snakes like the OP says or is it to keep track of the dog I would imagine it would scare the birds away.

To keep track of the dogs and where they are [or what direction they took off in]. These days though with technology, only a few still use bells in hunting, most opt for radio trackers or electronic beepers.

Ahah, found the page I'd been reading earlier which explains...

http://www.dogcollarsboutique.com/dog-collars-blog/dog-training/hunting-dog-training/

[Meah]

On 3/1/2013 at 1:33 PM, persephone said:

It would be interesting to know which soundwaves are picked up by the snake's 'hearing'. if bells work ..then so should barking dogs? I am happy to have brass bells tinkling

What kind of Bell do you think would be good to buy? I’m on a farm. We have 6 dogs . not sure what Bell to look up. Any advice would be appreciated.

[coneye]

Couple years ago  i seen a snake coming towards me  whilst i was on my houseboat , big bugger has well ,  it got to the water and went under the boat , i spent probably half hr walking around the boat stamping my feet  and banging the deck with a broom ,  i was convinced the thing had got on top of the pontoons , i had not seen it swim off , i also started the 2 motors   , telling the wife the moise will scare it of , after 30 minuites or so she was laughing at me stomping up and down , but i still never seen it swim off , i gave up  probably 10 minuites later   i went out the back  and there it was sunning itself on the swim deck    3 foot from 2 very loud outboard motors , noise certainly did'nt scare that thing off ,, the shovel did though , also went to a   fauna farm thing , guy there handling snaked told everyone , never to stamp your feet which i grew up thinking was the right thing to do  , he said it scares them and they may attack , stand still and let it  slide away he said , .

 

Also he said nightime was the worst time  to  run into them , because there out hunting , i always thought  thats when they went to bed ,  out in the  riverland on the boat i never walk the dog at night anymore since he told me that

[DogsAndTheMob]

I highly recommend this group as a source of accurate information about Australian snakes.

 

https://m.facebook.com/groups/1842921039241229/?ref=share

 

They have various useful guides including one on snakes and pets and another on what to do if your pet may have been bitten.

One interesting fact I learned from this site is that there is a large disparity in snake bite risk between men and women, simply because men are so much more likely to try to kill or otherwise interfere with snakes. . 
 

Edited December 13, 2023 by DogsAndTheMob