• Don’t Sanitize Your Dog’s Paws!  Their feet are sensitive and permeable, and help them stay cool.  Their foot pads often may have microscopic cuts or abrasions. The alcohol content in the sanitizer will sting and irritate the wound.  Also, dogs often clean their own pads as part of their cooling process and for their own grooming needs.  Licking and ingesting sanitizer is poisonous for them.  Even though you mean well, we don’t want you to have to take your dog for an emergency vet check.  Any signs of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if you think your dog has ingested even a small amount of sanitizer, should be examined by a veterinarian.   

• Don’t Make Your Dog Wear a Mask.  They do make masks for dogs; it’s an opportunistic market attracting the impulse and uniformed buyer.  First off, dogs don’t get our human strain of COVID easily.  COVID has been rarely found in dogs and only under extenuating circumstances. It would take much more for your dog to get COVID than you being sick at home with them.  So it is very hard for them to get our COVID. 

Dogs are usually vaccinated from many of their own canine strains of corona viruses, which do not affect humans.  Putting a mask on your dog only takes your dog’s abilities away and makes them feel restrained and frightened which could lead to aggressive behavior. 

Dogs have no way to cool down in summer expect to pant, which they cannot do with a mask on.  And if they are not the aggressive type, they will likely just keep trying to pull the mask off, since it blocks their ability to smell, lick and taste freely, so if the main idea from a human perspective is to protect the dog from germs – how protective is all that added face fussing!  Not very – the results are counter-productive.

• Avoid being in new enclosed spaces with your dog for long periods of time.  If you take your dog to the mall, to the dog groomer, dog training, or a friend’s house, anything that involves you and the dog being inside and around strangers for several hours is high risk for you! Try to avoid unnecessary pet visits or appointments and indoor activities for now.  Too much close contact won’t hurt your dog, but could affect you.  Stay home, stay safe.

• If you sell a dog during COVID – Please keep the price realistic. This is someone’s investment for the life of the dog. We hope that you chose someone who is getting the dog for the right reasons, and we want it to work out well for everyone involved.

Now You Know How To Protect Yourself and Your Dog During The Pandemic

In this article we discussed what your dog does not need you to do for them during the pandemic. Please keep yourself and your friends and family safe. Don not use sanitizer to disinfect your dog’s paws even though you have the best intentions. Please do not make your dog wear a mask, only people should be mask-wearing. For your safety, avoid enclosed areas for extended periods of time. And if you are selling, or buying a dog during COVID, make sure the price is reasonable and the seller is reputable.

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