HISSSSSSSSSSSS CLINICS TEACH HIKERS' DOGS TO AVOID RATTLERS.

Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer

SIERRA MADRE - Lisa Gallo kissed Gordo on the head and told her mixed Labrador shepherd, ``Have fun.''

But Gordo and his mother, CeeCee, were having anything but fun. Shortly after the kiss, Robert Kettle placed a shock collar around the dog, put a squirt of water underneath the collar on the throat, and Tim Bovard of the San Gabriel Valley chapter of Quail Unlimited marched Gordo up to a cage that held a rattlesnake in the dog park section at Sierra Vista Park in Sierra Madre.

``She'll be squealing bloody murder,'' said Bovard. ``But it won't hurt.''

Bovard slightly kicked the cage and the snake began rattling. Gordo sniffed with interest. Then, Kettle gave Gordo a slight electrical stimulation, something akin to a shock one might get from static electricity. The dog yelped and jumped on his hind legs. Bovard did all he could do to restrain Gordo. When he was finally contained, Bovard practically had to push reluctant Gordo back toward the snake again. When Gordo made eye contact again, he again lept in fear after another slight zap from Kettle.

Jim and Lisa Gallo, of Pasadena, looked on anxiously, but they also knew that the quick electrical pulses could save Gordo's life.

``This is very important because we take our dogs in the mountains all the time,'' Jim Gallo said. ``It's wonderful that Quail Unlimited is doing this. We know they're devoted to preserving wildlife and this is a real good service for our dogs. We hike up Eaton Canyon and above (the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) all the time. We've already seen rattlesnakes up there.''

The San Gabriel chapter sponsored the snake-avoidance clinic for the first time, after helping the Santa Clarita chapter for the previous six years. Snake handler Kettle brought 19 rattlers from his Fallon, Nev., home to lead the clinic, something he has done for seven years - three years in Southern California. More than 50 dogs participated in the clinic last Saturday and Sunday.

Every dog going through the clinic yelped when Kettle applied the electricity. And they also wanted nothing more to do with the snakes after that. After Bovard relaxed and untied the dogs under a tree on the northern edge of the park, Kettle told the owners how their pet had fared from the southern edge of the park, offering tips. The owners then called their dogs to come. Many refused to budge from their spots. And when they finally came, nearly all ran against the fence, staying as far away from the snakes as possible.

``I want to get a reaction without overkill,'' Kettle said. ``Using this collar is using a training tool. You have to be trained in how to handle it properly. Like anything, it can be misused.''

Kettle asks the owner the dog's age and if the dog has been through the clinic before. If there is a lot of hair under the dog's throat, he puts more water on it. He then judges how much stimulation the dog can receive by its size and hairiness.

``I want the dog to see it and smell it, so it knows what a snake is,'' he said. ``We want to get a reaction to snakes. Not necessarily a barking one, but a reaction so that it avoids the snake.''

The clinic drew all kinds of dogs. Simon Kazayan of La Crescenta brought Dina, an 18-month old Hungarian Pointer that he takes on hunting trips.

Lisa Steg of Arcadia brought Katie, her 4-year-old Border Collie that she takes on hikes as a trail leader with the California Canine Hikers.

Nancy Tinker of Monrovia takes her mixed breed, Doby, on trail runs.

Kazayan says the training is important because when he is on hunting trips, Dina will nearly always get ahead of him.

``I don't know what Dina is going to get into,'' he said. ``She'll go through brush and will clearly need to understand if she is in danger. I think this gave her some body language.''

Steg said that a dog's knowledge is important when in the wilderness.

``If they're bitten by a snake, you're going to have to carry them out,'' she said. ``If it's a small dog, they're probably not going to make it. And it's expensive if you get the dog out; at least $400.''

Tinker said one of her dogs once jumped on a woodpile filled with snakes.

``He jumped back and yelped just like these dogs,'' she said. ``Doby is now awfully skittish. I hope we've taught him something.''

Kettle, who has handled poisonous snakes for more than 30 years, has an importer's license from Nevada. He had to obtain a California Department of Fish and Game license when he entered the state and he rotated the snakes during the clinic.

Besides teaching dogs, Kettle has trained the militia in snake avoidance and provides clinics for school children. He says he has been bitten only once by a poisonous snake, a year and a half ago by a Great Basin Rattlesnake - more poisonous than California's diamondback rattlers - in Central Nevada.

``It was my mistake,'' he said.

Kettle was more than 125 miles to the nearest hospital. He called paramedics on his cellular phone and they met him halfway to the hospital.

``It nearly killed me,'' he said.

But he survived to lead more clinics. And his goal is for dogs to also do the same.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Bob Kettle, left, and John McNabb conduct a snake- avoidence clinic for dogs in Sierra Vista Park in Sierra Madre.

(2 -- color) Rattlesnakes are used in a snake-avoidence program conducted by the San Gabriel chapter of Quail Unlimited.

Michael Haering/Staff Photographer

(3) Splice, an 11-month-old Border Collie, rests after being put through the snake-avoidence program.

Michael Haering/Staff Photographer