A course on rattlesnake avoidance training for dogs — featuring live rattlesnakes that have been disabled from biting — will take place at the Ojai Humane Society on January 16th 2011.

The course will be led by Gina Gables, a local professional dog trainer for more than 20 years, and Kent Beaman, who has more than 20 years of experience studying the behavior and ecology of rattlesnakes.

“Rattlesnakes in Southern California can be active any time of the year. Warm daytime temperatures may cause snakes to be surface active during the winter months and could present problems for dogs and their owners,” said Beaman, a research associate in herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and at Loma Linda University. He also teaches biology courses at Riverside Community College and Chaffey College, and recently served as editor of and contributor to the book “The Biology of Rattlesnakes.”

During the daylong training session, Beaman and Gables will use live rattlesnakes that have had their mouths banded shut to prevent them from biting.

“Our first priority is the comfort and safety of your dog, the snakes as well as the humans,” said Gables of Simi Valley. As the owner of Ma & Paw Kennel since 1991, she specializes in obedience training and problem behavior modification with dogs.

The training will take place in a controlled environment, using a remote training collar system adjusted to each dogs’ temperament, personality and physical response characteristics, Gables said, explaining that the device “delivers an uncomfortable stimulation to the dog when the dog has been alerted to the (snake), whether it be the smell or the sound or the sight. We do this so the dog will be able to avoid any of these clues to a rattlesnake’s presence individually even if the other clues aren’t present.”

For instance, “your dog may be downwind of the rattlesnake and can smell it but is not able to see it; and the snake — not being aware of the dog’s presence — may not be giving a warning rattle,” Gables explained. “The dog, by avoiding just the smell, would avoid the rattlesnake. If the owner is observant of the dog’s behavior, he or she can possibly prevent themselves or others from being bitten as well.”

Individual 20-minute training sessions will be given to each pooch. The program consists of a dog handler accompanied by the owner walking the dog on a leash to different staging areas for each phase.

During one phase of training, the dog is introduced to the rattlesnake’s scent. When the dog smells the scent a low-level stimulation from the remote training collar will be applied. “This teaches your dog to avoid the specific smell of a rattlesnake,” Gables said. “When avoidance behavior is displayed by the dog, he avoids receiving the uncomfortable sensation, and we then proceed to the next staging areas where we follow the same process for training the dog to avoid the sound and sight.”

In the final stage, each dog will be tested. “The dog will be brought by the handler to a location opposite the owner with a snake in between,” Gables said. “The owner will then be asked to call their dog and the dog should arc his path avoiding the snake as well as the discomfort as he returns to his owner.”

What: Rattlesnake Avoidance Training for Dogs.
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. January 16th.
Where: Ojai Humane Society.
Cost: $80 per dog; reservations required. Space is limited to 15 dogs early registration recommended!
To register: Call Gina Gables at 523-3432.