Bumped into my first Adder of the year this afternoon,just down from my gate sunning itself.I tried to take an unintrusive picture but it slithered away.Lucky I didn't have the moots with me or they would have investigated for sure.Remember to carry some anti-histamine with you eg Pirion Adders are known to kill a few dogs each year.

Shudders at the thought of coming face to face with one :-(

We are off on holiday next week to an area where adders are common, I will be carrying the piriton, but do you know what the recommended dose would be for a 30kg GR? Thanks.

1 Piriton tablet but this only buys you time.Vetenary help must be given asap.If your dog is unfortunately bitten then carry the dog if possible back to the car.Exercise after a bite will increase the heart rate and cause the toxicity to circulate.Keep the dog calm and cool(not easy if you are panicking) and well hydrated.Most bites will be on the nose as dogs are inquisitive.They will have swelling and pain witrhin 30 mins.They then will become restless and depressed and may collapse.Bites apparently are more potent this time of the year.Each dog has different tolerence levels,many will just have localised swelling and pain,some may actually lose a limb but luckily very few die as a result and most dogs will actually avoid snakes(though my cat brought one into the conservatory a few years back - kindly killed it first but I think they can be toxic even when dead for a while.)

Thankyou for that information, I now know what to look and what action to take.