Snake Breaker clinics offer avoidance training to dogs

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Country World

By Carolyn Rost

July 13, 2006 - The sound of danger rattling in the grass. The scent only a keen nose can smell. The sight that can make a human’s knees shake.

These sounds, smells, and sights were of live rattlesnakes and water moccasins. The reptiles were placed there, in a grassy field, to train dogs at a clinic taught by Wayne Lain.

Lain operates a unique business he calls Snake Breaker, based out of Wallis, which is about 50 miles east of Houston. He offers his snake avoidance training, which teaches dogs to leave snakes alone, through clinics within the state.

“Most dogs have a natural curiosity, especially Retrievers. They want to go out and find something for their owner and bring it back. They get their pleasure from bringing us various items,” said Lain.

A dog’s curiosity and their desire to bring things to their owner can sometimes be a bad situation.

“It can be a sock, it can be a ball, it can be a snake. So what will happen is they’ll go out there – they’ll find a snake. Some will run right up and try to pick it up ... and what we do is teach them that that’s a very bad thing.”

Lain, who started de-snaking dogs for the public three years ago, hopes that introducing dogs to the sounds, smells, and sights of snakes will keep them, and their owners, away from danger.

“A snake puts off a very distinct smell, sound, and sight. Even as a human, when we look at a snake, it will give us a start when we first see it.”

Lain said if the training is done right, it works very well.

“The dogs will get the same startling feeling in their heart when they see or hear or smell a snake.”

Lain got into snake avoidance training by accident when his favorite dog was bitten on the paw by an unknown species of snake. He feared the dog was going to lose his toes or worse, his foot. Thankfully, the dog survived, but Lain was not going to let that happen again. When his cousin informed him of a de-snaking clinic, he went and watched. He came away knowing that’s what he wanted to do.

“I started doing it on my own dogs and then friends’ dogs, and then the next thing you know I pretty much ... hung out my sign. We did a few private sessions around my house and a few big clinics. Then I decided I wanted to get into it even more. That’s when we opened up and started calling the kennels.”

When training dogs at his Snake Breaker clinics, Lain uses an e-collar which sends an electronic charge to apply heavy pressure to the dog at critical times. The charge is slightly painful, said Lain, but mostly it scares them more than anything.

“It takes them from that happy-go-lucky (feeling) ... to that real frightened sense; and they just want to get away from it.”

For the training sessions, Lain uses live rattlesnakes and water moccasins, which he defangs. The snakes’ mouths are taped shut, too, before the training begins. Using real snakes is the best thing to mimic a real outdoor situation.

The dogs are allowed to investigate the snake placed in the grass by an assistant. As Lain and the dog approach the snake, he pays close attention to the dog’s reactions.

“I’m watching what they’re going to do. And usually they have a very distinct body language of whether they’re going to go to the snake or try to go away from the snake.”

As soon as the dog tries for the snake, Lain applies heavy pressure via the e-collar. He immediately lets off the pressure when the dog turns away.

In most cases, he only has to give a correction with the collar about three times.

“They immediately learn – looking at the snake is bad – getting away from the snake is great.”

At the clinic in Waller it didn’t take Savannha, a 14-month-old yellow Lab owned by George Sucarichi of Spring, to learn that getting away from the snake was a good thing to do. Sucarichi said he brought Savannha to the clinic to lessen the chance of her getting bitten when he takes her hunting.

After watching Lain work with Savannha, Sucarichi feels more confident about taking her out in the field with him.

“If she finds one or runs up on one she won’t be as apt to run up to it. She’ll go away from it which will help eliminate her from getting bit and her chances of getting killed by one or hurt by one,” Sucarichi said.

Once the dog receives training, for good insurance, Lain recommends repeating the training every year for the first three years, especially before getting into specific rattlesnake country when dove hunting in South Texas.

“On the third year, watch the dog’s reactions. If he starts heading out and a snake rises up and he just absolutely backs away I wouldn’t do it anymore. He knows by then.”

As the well-known proverb says, “Curiosity killed the cat;” but with Lain’s help, curiosity won’t kill the dog.