Long before The Snake School existed, Scott had two constants: a lifelong love of dogs, and life on a ranch property in Santa Clarita — the same open, rattlesnake-country terrain his own dogs got to run free on. That love of dogs goes back to age 5, when his first dog became his best friend, sparking a lifetime passion for learning canine behavior so he could understand and communicate with his own dogs better — and build a life that let him spend more time with them.
Scott had spent a lifetime with dogs when his dog Buddy nearly got bit by a rattlesnake on a walk — a close call that sent him down a different path. He started handling rattlesnakes out of necessity alongside his father, wrangler Cary Quashen, and over five years became a professional rattlesnake handler himself.
He then trained under one of the top rattlesnake avoidance trainers in the country — and saw that program making huge mistakes: the snakes weren’t safely managed, and handlers and dogs were at constant risk. He was almost bitten himself when a fang worked its way out the side of one of the program's muzzles. Between that close call and watching fully venomous baby rattlesnakes get born alive — several at once, ready to bite within minutes — he became convinced double muzzles simply aren't safe enough — only purpose-built containment is.
So instead of walking away from dog training, he built it right: not a wrangler who added a dog-training side business, and not a dog trainer who bought a snake, but a professional rattlesnake wrangler and a professional rattlesnake avoidance dog trainer, built into the same person — running a program built on balanced training, with every rattlesnake securely caged and never muzzled. Hundreds of dogs have been through the course he built, and the program has grown quickly into one of the region's leading premium rattlesnake avoidance training providers.
Scott's specialities include scent work, sound work, and e-collar calibration — safe, low-level corrections calibrated to each individual dog.
It sounds impossible. It isn't — it's just what happens when a dog learns rattlesnake avoidance from an actual rattlesnake, run by an actual rattlesnake handler who's also a professional balanced avoidance trainer. Every dog we've put through the course has stayed snake-safe in real-world encounters. To our knowledge, not one has been bitten after going through the course.
"This is a way improved version of rattlesnake avoidance training for dogs. I have a highly anxious and sensitive dog, and Scott handled this very well. My dog left non-traumatized, and highly prepared for rattlesnake encounters."
"Baxter and Stevie were trained very well. They're as prepared as they possibly could be for a real-world rattlesnake encounter."
"Thank you guys for training my German Shepherd — the rattlesnake training could not have gone better or been performed better."
"As someone with training experience, I was thoroughly impressed by their methodology. The setup is out in a dirt field — exactly the real-world environment where you'd actually encounter a snake. It was the ultimate test for my three crazy Jack Russells, who go after absolutely anything."
Working dogs don't get to sit this one out — a service dog trained to detect cancer, or a K9 partner on duty, still walks the same terrain everyone else's dog does, and can't afford to get it wrong.
Scott adapts the course to each dog's job and training history rather than running every dog through an identical script — which is how Gracie, a service dog with special needs, went through the program and came out doing exactly what she was trained to do: working mode, pushing her handler to safety.
Whether you're deciding between a ranch class and a private on-location visit, have a question about your dog before booking, or just aren't sure where to start — reach out. I read every message myself, and I'm the one who calls or texts you back.
Every weekend at our private Santa Clarita ranch — a multi-station, scent-first rattlesnake avoidance course built around the standard you just read about.
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