What is the vaccine made from?
The vaccine is made from the venom of the rattlesnake and is called a “Crotalus atrox toxoid.” It is manufactured from the inactivated Crotalus atrox venom’s protein components combined with an aluminum hydroxide adjuvant (a chemical that makes the product more able to stimulate an immune response in the dog and binds the venom components to the tissues at the injection site, so there won’t be a whole-body dispersion of the venom as with a natural bite). The antibodies elicited by the vaccine are cross-protective against the venoms of other types of rattlesnakes found in the United States. It is labeled against the venom of the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. So what does the vaccine do? First, you must realize that the vaccine does not prevent the dog from approaching, challenging, biting, attacking or in any other way making contact with the rattlesnake! (That would be too much to ask. This behavior can only be changed by training the dog to avoid the snake.) The purpose of the vacc
