Meet Our Trainer
Shane Armstrong.
Lead trainer with over 1,000 dogs trained in rattlesnake avoidance — and 20 years of venomous snake handling experience.
What We Do
We've caught over 1,000 rattlesnakes at people's homes in Santa Clarita alone.
Each session moves your dog through realistic environments — rocks, brush, trails, hidden burrows — so the avoidance response holds wherever they encounter a rattlesnake.
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Avoidance you can't get in a 10-minute park training.
Experience in venomous rattlesnake handling and K9 handling
Most trainers spend 10. We proof every station until it sticks.
Dogs snake-safe after a single session
Private ranches — in partnership with Cary Quashen Rattlesnake Wrangling
The level of avoidance we teach cannot be trained in 10 minutes. We spend 30, one-on-one — with a dedicated K9 handler and rattlesnake expert working together on your dog at every station.
Ends with an intense rattlesnake den encounter — to ensure avoidance is absolutely dialed in before your dog goes home.
Baby and adult rattlesnakes — trained by sight, sound, and scent. Faint and full scent exposure, live rattle audio on speakers, and real snakes at every stage.
Three times the scent exposure of most competitors — the single most powerful trigger for avoidance in the wild.
Muzzled non-venomous gopher snakes for adult and baby visual recognition — safe, effective, thorough.
Bluetooth speakers play real baby and adult rattlesnake recordings at accurate volumes — no scent, no sight. Training the sound alone to stop your dog cold.
Treat stations that look like encounter stations — so your dog doesn't finish training afraid to go outside or pick up sticks.
No muzzled rattlesnakes — they're not as safe as you think and offer no added benefit. Zero bites in class, ever.
Training cannot be done more thoroughly than this without traumatizing your dog. We truly maximize your dog's chances of successful avoidance in a real encounter. No other class is effectively more thorough.
Each dog finishes the day with a graduation diploma, a happy family, and a behavior pattern that lasts.
This was Zuko's very first training session. After just 30 minutes with us, he was as snake-safe as a dog can possibly be. This is what an actual encounter will look like after your dog graduates.
Real reviews from dog owners who trained with us — in their own words.
"I'm so happy with Snake School! I'm confident that Maple will avoid snakes now. Thank you so much Scott, Cary, and Shane."
"My dog learned so much! This is a life saving training. Thank you both so much for what you do."
"My 2 dogs were a bit rambunctious and are still puppies but I think they learned a lot. This was a great course. I'm going to recommend my friends and neighbors!"
"My dog learned so much! He's snake safe now. I want to volunteer with you guys. Thank you so much."
"My dog didn't naturally avoid the snakes at first, but learned during the course. I'm feeling so much better, and really think he will stay away from snakes now! Thanks guys."
"Hey Scott! Thanks again for training Kitty. Wanted to see if you could train Cleo's two little dogs next. Proud puppy parents ahahah!"
"This was my first session with the dog I have now, and after Snake School I feel confident taking him hunting with me. He'll be off leash and working the entire time — and now I know he'll avoid a rattlesnake if he comes across one."
"I brought 3 dogs. Two were naturally avoidant right away — the third needed more correction. They adjusted the training for each dog individually. My fourth one is coming next week."
"So Happy with The Snake School! After a close encounter with a rattlesnake on the trail near our home, we had been worried about our dog Barley's safety — also being off-leash much of the time. We are now confident that Barley is prepared to avoid a rattlesnake should an encounter happen in the future. Thank you Snake School :)"
"They were great with my dog she learned a lot ty"
"Both Shane and Scott are two of the nicest guys imaginable. My dogs took to them right off and the training is exceptional. Both my dogs are older so their senses do not allow them to respond to all the stimuli right away but I was blown away by the way Shane and Scott adapted the training to give them the best protection possible. I can't recommend this training highly enough and it's an absolute pleasure to give them this five star review."
"My dogs are trained hunting dogs — I was worried a standard course wouldn't cut it. They adapted the whole session around where my dogs specifically needed work. I left genuinely impressed. Honestly I'd volunteer here if I could."
"You can tell a lot of thought went into this. Good people running it — you feel that the moment you arrive."
"I came in nervous. Left feeling like my dog was actually safe. Night and day."
"Very professional people who took good care of us and our dog. The course is laid out well with plenty of safe snake encounters to familiarize the dog with the sight, sound, and smell of rattlesnakes. So important in our area of SoCal."
"Better than I expected, honestly. My dog and I both had a great time. I know my dog will avoid snakes now."
"The snake school was a great experience for our 4 dogs. The handlers were gentle and calm, walking the dogs through the different stations and reworking the stations that they showed some signs of struggle with. All 4 dogs passed the course and it was clear they wanted to avoid the snakes!"
A peek at our trainer, our handlers, our dogs, and the ranches where we work.
One of the only 12-station rattlesnake aversion programs in California that uses secure containment for every snake — a full-effectiveness program that never puts a dog in striking distance of a live rattlesnake.
Gracie is a service dog trained to sniff out cancer. Her handler came in hesitant — Gracie is sensitive to e-collar stimulation and prone to ear infections, and the stakes felt high. Our trainers focused on positive reinforcement throughout, taking careful breaks to avoid overstimulating her.
Gracie picked up the course quickly. She required very little e-collar stimulation — mostly the vibrate setting — to build a strong avoidance response. But what stood out most was what happened next: Gracie didn't just avoid the rattlesnakes. She went into working mode. She began jumping on her handler and attempting to physically push her away from the snakes — protecting her the way she protects her every day.
The handler arrived stressed. She left smiling, completely at ease — amazed at how smoothly everything went, and couldn't be happier with the result.
"We love Snake School! This was Gracie's refresher course, and if we had known about it the first time, we definitely would have started here. There is no comparison to our first experience elsewhere, which was just a backyard setup with a few boxes and live snakes, nothing close to real-life conditions. Snake School takes you out into real field environments, like actual hiking situations, which makes a huge difference. We trained together the way it's meant to be done — no handing off to a handler, just real teamwork and response. Gracie stayed engaged with me the entire time, and we both felt calm and confident afterward. I 100% recommend Snake School!"
We are available to talk 7 days a week, and would love to chat with you. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.
At Cary Quashen Snake Wrangling · As of May 29th, 2026
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