Dog owners are being warned to be vigilant after a staffy was bitten by a snake at Albert Park Lake at the weekend.

Darren Ryder noticed his two-year-old dog, Chilli, was lethargic as he returned to the car after a walk on Sunday afternoon.

“She just progressively got worse so we took her to the vet and the vet actually said I think she’s been bitten by a snake,” Mr Ryder told Neil Mitchell.

Press PLAY below to hear Mr Ryder’s warning to other dog owners

Vets think Chilli was bitten by a copperhead snake.

Mr Ryder believes it may have hitched a ride on equipment being stored in Albert Park ahead of the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“At the moment there’s a huge amount of equipment and pallets … and everything for the Grand Prix so there’s potentially tyres and containers, and all that stuff that we think it might have hitched a ride up to Melbourne on,” he said.