Most bites occur from March to October with peak incidence (69% of bites) occurring in April to July. Bites to dogs are also most common during the afternoon between 3 and 4 pm, when the Adders have been basking in the sun for the day and are on the move back home.

This makes them more visible to a dog due to the movement and our curious Fido’s just have to take a closer look! Vets would recommend that in these forest and heath areas dogs are kept on a lead at this time of day (and by lead I mean a fixed not flexi) so as to minimise the risk of uncontrolled exposure and investigation.

But we need also some level of context. Just how common are dog Adder bites in reality?

Well in actual fact not that common, at approximately 100 reported cases every year. This will be a underestimate, however it is likely to be fairly accurate; having worked in the heart of the New Forest for over a decade, I was in prime Adder real estate and we only saw a hand full of cases a year.

Next myth to bust is how severe are Adder bites? In virtually all cases they are no worse than a wasp or bee sting. Very very few cases result In severe systemic symptoms and death is very rare. Death occurs in 3-4.6% of cases – at 100 bites a year on average thatbmakes the number of canine deaths in the UK in the last 50 years 230 fatalities.

Puts it in context doesn’t it. And for those of you wondering, there have only been 14 recorded human deaths from Adder bites since 1876.

Of course, the level of reaction to an adder bite depends on location and on individual physiological reaction. The vast majority of cases result in local swelling, bruising and pain. Most bites occur on the lower limb or the face. If the bite is on the muzzle this local reaction can look very significant but have minimal to no impact on the dog’s ability to breath. Breathing is only likely to be compromised if the dog is bitten on the neck, inside the mouth or has an anaphylactic reaction to the bite.

For this reason, anti-venom, is not required in the majority of adder bites. But there is another major reason why antivenom should on only the most severe of cases where there is systemic symptoms of the venom. Antivenom is produced using horse serum – the clear liquid part of blood. As a result when you inject antivenom into a dog, a different species, there can be a potentially life threatening reaction from the dogs immune system.

This is more likely if the dog’s immune system has been “prepped” by having a previous administration of antivenom. So you can begin to see why it is important to only use antivenom when absolutely necessary. If we use it for a bite on the foot that has nothing more than local swelling and bruising, then the same dog has another bite with systemic symptoms or a bite to the neck that could affect breathing we have a very serious risk of inducing a life-threatening reaction by administering antivenom a second time. The availability of antivenom is another issue. It is only produced by two companies, the main one being in Croatia. Supplies are limited and very few clinics hold any stock at all.

Most GP clinics will have none. As a result, it will take time for any clinic to get antivenom in if they want to use it and for cases with only local signs antivenom is of no use once 24 hours from the bite has elapsed anyway.

So, in the event of an adder bite what can you do?

First of all get back to the car, but don’t run the dog to the car. Walk at a normal pace so as not to increase the dogs heart rate and circulation which is more likely to move the venom systemically. If you have a breed that you can carry great, if not try and bring the car to the dog where possible.

You do not need to place a torniquet to the leg if the dog is bitten on a limb. This is unnecessary and will only increase the local swelling and subsequently the pain.

Administer an antihistamine – this helps to limit the reaction and is easy to immediately achieve. The drug of choice is Chlorphenamine – marketed most commonly as Piriton 4mg tablets (other brands are available!!). As a rough guide, in an emergency, dogs under 20kg can have one 4mg tablet and dogs over 20 kg two 4mg tablets.

Next on the list. – pain relief. For this in the field we use paracetamol as it is safe and effective. The dose to give is based on 10mg of paracetamol for every kilogram of weight. Every 12 hours. So for a 50kg dog that’s a whole 500mg tablet. A 25kg dog – half a tablet. 12kg dog – quarter of a tablet.