Dog Aggression

So I bought a puppy. He is very cute. Last night was feeding night and I decided to let the puppy see the snake.

My snake is 2 1/2 years old. She is very tame and has never shown aggression to me or my cat. It is not uncommon for my cat to watch the snake eat either. I feed my snake in a box that is intended only for that event. My cat is allowed up to the edge and the snake never seems to care. She has taken notice not nothing more than looking at the cat for a second and a forceful breath out.

So last night I had my snake in the box and she was finishing her first mouse. I put the puppy on the ground and he slowly walked over to look in. When he was about a foot away, my snake freaked. She, mouse in mouth, S-curved and started rattling her tail against the box. It was a really neat sound. Puppy became scared and ran away. My snake finished that mouse very quickly and seemed to follow my dog with her head to the point I thought she would consider leaving the box. My cat was nearby and she did not react to the cat nor me when I was walking around. When I had the snake as a baby she never ever rattled her tail even once.

I know dogs and snakes don't have a great relationship. Has anybody else's corn had a different reaction to different animals? (other than feed animals)

I kept the puppy away after that as stress+eatting=regurge but next feed, Ill let the puppy see the snake at least once more with camera ready.

Why would you subject your snake to the stress of a boisterous puppy while its eating? Why not introduce the puppy during a non-stressful time?

Why introduce them at all... It's not like they need to get on..... We bring snakes into the lounge when our dogs are about, but we never make a point of showing them to each other.....

dionythicus said:

Why would you subject your snake to the stress of a boisterous puppy while its eating? Why not introduce the puppy during a non-stressful time?

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ya,, I agree, not during feeding. I wasnt thinking when I posted that. I havent been holding my snake as often as I used to and was thinking of the next time I would for sure have him out of his tank.

My close friend recently bought a 2-year-old okeetee and keeps the viv in her living room, and both her and the roommate have dogs. The snake has never had a problem in its life with people, but the moment the dogs strutted into the room to have a sniff at the viv it freaked out, made a show of tail rattling and repeatedly striking the glass to the point she moved the viv into her bedroom and away from the dogs. Her snake passed away 3 days ago due to unknown causes, but I'm not going to say the stress from the dogs always bothering with it contributed to that. :X
My own snakes don't seem to mind our two dogs, but then again, I never made a point of introducing them. I'd imagine some snakes just get entirely stressed over other animals, while some might be indifferent.

My snake freezes for a moment if I have her out when the cat walks into the room. Once a few seconds go by she resumes her roaming over my arms. I've had the snake for over 6 months now and my cat only noticed her a few weeks ago. His eyes got HUGE and hepanicked and ran up stairs. A few minutes later he was back, hiding behind the couch, craning his neck to look over the coffee table at where the snake was. What a wuss, lol.

My cat just noticed that I have snakes. He was acting so bizzar I was certain one had gotten loose but it must have been the scent of the feeding bins under the table. This occurred last night since then I have been shutting the door as my cat likes to sit on top of the aquarium and watch the fish and I dont think I trust the snakes viv screen lid and his weight. If I were you Id watch the dog closely in a way it may be good that they get to know eachother from a distance. Im new to snakes but my dog and cat know the difference between my pets (aside from the snake issue last night) and outdoor wild animals that they cat especially bring home. But as a dog groomer I have heard stories of dogs tearing up garder snakes. What Im saying is it may be good to teach the dog that the snake is a pet but be careful and I dont think the snake would win any battle with your pup.