As Snake Sightings
Increase Across California,
Dog Trainers Promote Prevention
Specialized Rattlesnake Aversion Courses
Use Scent, Sound, and Sight to Help Dogs
Recognize and Avoid Dangerous Encounters
By Tiana Molony | June 11, 2026
Read more from our 2026 Pets & Animals cover story here.
The months from March through October require a certain level of vigilance outdoors that the winter months don’t call for, though particularly warm winters can demand the same caution.
It’s rattlesnake season, and ever since my chocolate Labrador, Maple, was bitten by a baby rattler two years ago, I find myself scanning trails, listening for the sprinkler-like sound, and keeping a closer eye on where curious noses wander.
But if there’s one thing the experience taught me, it’s that rattlesnakes are a reality of life in California — and this year, they seem to be out in full force.
Only two months into this season, the state has already seen unusually high snake activity. California Poison Control (CPC) has reported dozens of rattlesnake-related calls this year, including two incidents in Santa Barbara County, along with three reported fatalities in California — a higher number than typically seen this early in the season.
This increased activity makes me even more grateful that after Maple was bitten, I enrolled her in a rattlesnake aversion training (RAT) course, a specialized training designed to teach dogs to recognize and avoid rattlesnakes before an encounter becomes dangerous.
Most programs follow a similar outline. A dog is fitted with a training collar and taken through various stations equipped with the scent, sight, and sound of rattlesnakes, which are live but carefully muzzled by trained experts.
The goal is for dogs to associate the collar’s discomfort with the snake itself and instinctively retreat when they encounter one in the future. While no training is 100 percent foolproof, trainers say it can dramatically reduce the likelihood of a bite.
Gina Gables of Ma & Paw Kennel Canine Training Services has been conducting RAT classes for 17 years and training dogs for more than 35. She hosts courses throughout Southern and Central California, including Santa Barbara County.
Gables is not a fan of what she calls the “wham, bam, thank you ma’am” approach to RAT, in which dogs are rushed through a single exposure.
“We’re talking about a nonverbal toddler, essentially,” she said, emphasizing that dogs are situational learners and require ample time and effort for the training to click in.
In her training, Gables runs dogs through multiple stations and scenarios, teaching them to recognize rattlesnakes through scent, sound, and sight in different environments. The goal is for dogs to generalize the lesson rather than simply avoid one particular setup.
Gables also uses the wind as a training tool to control how strongly dogs smell rattlesnakes. She first works dogs downwind so the scent blows into their faces and they clearly learn that “this smell means danger.”
Later, especially with returning dogs, she works them upwind (wind at their back) so there’s little or no scent, forcing them to avoid the snake using memory and sight instead. This way, dogs learn to stay away from rattlesnakes, whether the wind is helping them or not.
Depending on the provider, most rattlesnake aversion classes cost around $90 per session, while Gables’s class, which she said is longer and more thorough than the standard, is $289. Two or three follow-up sessions are generally recommended to reinforce the lesson over time.
As Gables noted, “We want to make sure that no matter where the dogs see or hear or smell a rattlesnake, that they immediately know what it is.”
If you don’t already know which emergency veterinarians in your area carry antivenom, you’ll want to find out before you need it. Veterinary Snakebite 911 maintains an antivenom locator where owners can search by ZIP code. If your dog is bitten, get them into the car immediately and head to the nearest facility equipped to treat snakebites. For more information, see veterinarysnakebite911.com.
For information on Gina Gables’s classes, see snakesafedog.com.
