Dogs and the Pit River

[chapmag]

I have a 14 month old English Lab that I'm training to be my fishing buddy. I'd like to fish the Pit for a few days sometime in the next month.

My last dog hated that river. He couldn't navigate the big rocks hidden by the tall streamside grasses. So he worked his way back to the woods away from the streamside rocks, and got lost (which is a different story).

Has anyone discovered a nice reach for dogs on the Pit? I'm open to dog training advice too. Thanks.

[Walter]

I dont know about the Pit River specifically but many rivers in California, if not just their slower sections, are experiencing higher levels of blue green algae because of the drought and warmer water. I am keeping my dog away from anything but the ocean at this point untill we get cooler water or rain. The pit is probably colder and has more moving water than many but heads up.

Dogs have died in the russian river and a few years ago many rivers I know of had dogs die from the algae/demoic acid or whatever. Ot takes about 30 minutes for them to show symptoms and then die suddenly. Most people dont have a clue what happened, they think it ate a mushroom or got stung by something and died....

And apparently the dog doesnt have to go in the water, just right next to it even.

[Terry Thomas]

The Pit is a tough river for young dogs...and anglers. Lots of poison oak and more than a fair amount of rattlesnakes. The Hat below the Power House riffle or Carbon Bridge is a pretty good place to break your partner in.
T

[k9mark]

I wouldnt even think about taking a dog anywhere until snake proofing

[chapmag]

Thanks all for your responses. I'll look into snake proofing and look out for algae. It's tough this year - the slow trainable parts of the trout rivers are low and slow and hot.

[JFinrey]

I would consider the EF Carson River, lots of space, low flows for the dog, cooler overnight temps and I have never seen a rattler there (although I'm sure they are around). I started my lab there and he does well on the river.

I am a vet, albeit a large animal vet, but here is my opinion on snakes. There is a multivalent rattle snake vaccine that has shown some efficacy and covers most snakes seen west of the Rockies (company is based in Woodland Ca). However, when dogs come in with snake bites, treatment recommendations (anti-venom and supportive care) are the same with or without vaccination. The best thing you can do is avoidance training with them. There are classes offered for dog owners with live snakes for this type of training. If you can get your hands on a dead snake, you can do it yourself with a collar or stern correction when they inevitably investigate.

[chapmag]

The best thing you can do is avoidance training with them. There are classes offered for dog owners with live snakes for this type of training.

Do you know of Sacramento area trainers (I include Winters in that region) that use live snakes? Thanks.

[pgw]

Get Rattled out of Reno conducts avoidance training in various locations throughout the year. I had Gus (a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon) go through the initial training last June and he had a refresher course from them this June. Both sessions were held in Fairfield and they use live rattlesnakes (defanged) under a high level of control.

[chapmag]

Thanks for the info on the Reno trainers. I'll contact them.

[Randy B]

I've had my 9 year old German Wirehair, Jake, through snake avoidance training three times. The first time he went through Callaghan's training - Patrick Callaghan had an amazing avoidance training program, but he has passed on now. Since then, I've sent Jake though the avoidance training at Raahague's pheasant club in Dunnigan. The next session there will be in a couple weeks. Here's the contact info if you're interested.

Sat. Oct. 3, 2015, Raahagues Hunting Club, Donna (530) 724-0552, traahauge@yahoo.com