Services
Snake Avoidance Training is a safety measure that is designed to humanely educate dogs that there are consequences for engaging snakes so that they will not want to engage them in future.

SNAKE AVOIDANCE TRAINING

2 Training Sessions
  • Sessions are undertaken at 2 different locations in the suburb of Stirling.
  • 30-60 minutes allocated per dog per session.
  • 9 snakes used (Includes 2 venomous snakes).
  • Teaches avoidance for both snake movement and snake odour.
  • Generalisation used to train dogs to avoid all species of snakes.
  • Dog trainer and snake handler present for the safety of all animals involved.
$400 per dog
This is a booking request form. No payment is required at this stage.

SNAKE AVOIDANCE REFRESHER

(Annual Refreshers Recommended)
1 Session
  • Undertaken in Stirling at a different location to the initial training.
  • 2 snakes used.
  • Dog trainer and snake handler present.
  •  Approx. 20 minutes per dog.
$75 per dog
This is a booking request form. No payment is required at this stage.

HOW IS THE TRAINING DONE?
Reliability is paramount for a safety-based behaviours such as snake avoidance.

To discourage dogs from engaging in dangerous behaviors, consequences must be associated with their actions so that they are less likely to repeat those behaviours in future. Since constant supervision is impractical, Snake Avoidance Training should not be dependent on the presence and interference of a human. A remote training collar (E-collar) is required to provide a correction (consequence) that the dog can associate with the snake, rather than the dog trainer.
 
Live snakes, under strict safety conditions, are essential for effective snake avoidance training; anything else is simply not suitable. For a dog to generalize the avoidance behaviour, understanding it should avoid all snakes in all locations, exposure to at least 8 different snake species in 8 different locations is required. This aligns with canine learning principles. Additionally, training should address snake odour and movement avoidance separately and combined for comprehensive understanding.
 
Our training program consists of two sessions. The second session is essential to avoid overwhelming your dog, test retention of the prior lesson, and change location. It is possible that a dog may learn to associate a snake with a consequence in 1 session, however it is best practice not to rely on this outcome.