How To Protect Your Dog From Coronavirus!

With all the talk of coronavirus everywhere you turn, you may be wondering about your pet. Well take a sigh of relief for the good news: there’s no evidence that companion animals such as dogs or cats can be infected with the new coronavirus as of now, according to the World Health Organization!

The Facts

Coronavirus, or Covid-19, transmits primarily through droplets of coughing, sneezing, saliva, or discharge from the nose. While dogs do generate a lot of drool and lick plenty of objects, there are significant barriers for the virus to spread from humans to animals, and vice versa. However, in extremely rare scenarios, when a pet carries the virus, it’s unlikely that it would spread to a person.

There was some recent news in late February when health officials discovered an older male dog in Hong Kong that tested “weakly positive” for COVID-19. The dog was the only canine in the world with a confirmed infection, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead of the World Health Organization’s emergencies program. 

The dog reportedly belongs to a 60-year-old woman who developed symptoms on Feb. 12 and later tested positive for COVID-19, according to The Wall Street Journal. The dog has not developed any symptoms since and scientists believe that the infection was found and remained in the dog’s nose.

Despite this case, medical professionals have found no evidence of human-to-dog or dog-to-human transmission of the disease.

However, there are still best practices for you to take to make sure your dog lives healthy through the uncertainty of this global pandemic!

What You Can Do To Help Your Dog

• As more people start working from home, the time you spend with your dog will inevitably rise. The World Health Organization advises washing your hands with soap and water after contact with pets. “It’s the pet owners, rather than pets, that have a higher risk of spreading the virus.” 

• It is important to include pets in your emergency planning. If you get sick and are quarantined, you should make sure you have extra pet food on hand. Also, it’s a good idea to make your neighbors aware of any feeding, walking, or medications that your pets need in case you can’t make it back home, in the case of an emergency.

• To reduce the spread of any germs, you may consider wiping your pet’s paws when they come in and out of the house with a paw cleaner and paw wipes.

• DO NOT place masks on your dog. This can inhibit your dog’s breathing and won’t even protect your dog from the virus.