Dogs and Covid-19.

[archiemum]

My daughter is planning to pick my lurcher up and take him back to their house for a play day with their puppy (and of course, the children) later this week. Because of my age, we are unable to mix as a family and Archie dog is feeling the separation almost as acutely as me! None of us are displaying any symptoms of the Corona virus.
Apart from making sure we keep our distance whilst handing him over, is there anything else we should be doing to avoid cross-infection?

 

[Ari_RR]

That’s the question I have been pondering over since the beginning, and unable to answer conclusively.

My best guess is this:

Assume your daughter or someone in her family is a carrier even if they have no symptoms.

Assume that the dog is a “surface” through which virus can be transmitted.

If this was an book, let’s say, that you lend your daughter for a day and she drops it back - I would suggest disinfecting it.

But this is a lurcher - so ideally I would recommend washing him thoroughly with soap upon return. Don’t know how realistic this is in your case...

 

[JudyN]

Everything I've read, including on the government website and PDSA guidance, has simply said that everyone handling the dog should wash their hands before and after. There's going to be so much that is handled by others that can't be cleaned - food in non-plastic packaging, mail, and so on - and a dog is another 'surface'. Of course, if you can bath your dog it might help, as long as the extra contact involved doesn't make it more likely to transfer.

I would ask yourself, though, how essential this is. Is it possible to distract Archie through other activities? Or is he miserable, and will he make your lives miserable in the process? Maybe focus on managing/entertaining him over the next few days and then reconsider how essential it is.

 

[Ari_RR]

True.. although where we are (right outside of NYC) - we have to find a way to clean food not in plastic packages (like veggies, fruit), or avoid such food for a while.

Some times I think there is a bit of overreaction... but then I see the counts jumping to new heights every day, and see what’s going on in overloaded hospitals, and perhaps we all will be better off safe than sorry. New guidelines by hospitals on which patients should receive treatment and which should receive “just comfort and pain control” are quite discouraging.....

 

[archiemum]

Everything I've read, including on the government website and PDSA guidance, has simply said that everyone handling the dog should wash their hands before and after. There's going to be so much that is handled by others that can't be cleaned - food in non-plastic packaging, mail, and so on - and a dog is another 'surface'. Of course, if you can bath your dog it might help, as long as the extra contact involved doesn't make it more likely to transfer.

I would ask yourself, though, how essential this is. Is it possible to distract Archie through other activities? Or is he miserable, and will he make your lives miserable in the process? Maybe focus on managing/entertaining him over the next few days and then reconsider how essential it is.

Thank you. I've read that the virus needs to retain moisture to survive....this it can do on hard, non-porous surfaces. Dog hair (plus the dog's body heat) will quickly remove the moisture, drying out the virus and so shouldn't hang about for long. It may sound a bit frivolous and unnecessary organising a social for the dog, but this boy has gone through the wars a bit for a couple of months now, and his happy wood, cliffs and beach walks have been severely curtailed because of a serious accident he had in January. Following an operation 4 weeks ago, he was not able to walk without lead or to play, even with his own toys or have any excitement or energetic stimulation. In the middle of this post-op recovery, the C-19 restrictions kicked in and so we can't even mix with family...several members of whom live locally and call in frequently so, double whammy for Archie! So there we are, a bit of a wordy explanation (apologies!) but maybe explains why I'm anxious for this bit of stimulation for him.

 

[JudyN]

Understood, @archiemum!