Although 3 dogs are known to have tested positive in China for coronavirus or COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) state that it is highly unlikely that you and your dog will become infected from each other. yes with COVID-19. Dogs that tested positive in China were thought to have been exposed to too high concentrations of viral contaminants to have the detectable level they did.
You may have noticed a strain of “coronavirus” on your dog’s vaccination checklist. Fortunately, this is specifically a canine type of coronavirus only. Unfortunately, that strain is not the same as COVID-19. COVID-19 has the potential for other types of animal-human transmission.
Should my dog wear a mask?
No. Applying a mask to your dog can interfere with your dog’s breathing and cause more harm than good.
It is very likely that a dog will not be comfortable with the mask and will keep trying to remove it.
And finally, the masks are designed for human faces, human nose and mouth measurements. If you examined the line of your dog’s mouth, you’ll see that it cuts deep along the length of his cheeks. No human mask could effectively cover that.
There are medical masks made for dogs that wrap around their muzzle. However, it is not recommended for the same reasons. It is not comfortable, it can interfere with breathing, and the dog will keep trying to take it off. Most importantly, your dog is unlikely to contract our COVID-19 strain.
How to protect myself and my dog?
I’m sure many of you are doing a great job of these protection practices. Are they the same ones you’ve been hearing everywhere?
Wash your hands with soap and water for 20-30 seconds.
Clean high-traffic, high-touch surfaces frequently.
Isolate yourself, it’s okay to be around your dog
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth before washing your hands, these are the easiest areas for germs to get on you and make you sick!
COVID-19 generally has an incubation period of 2 days, which is rare, to 5-14 days, which is more average, this is the time you are sick before you start having symptoms.
Humans are highly contagious in this incubation phase, even before they have symptoms.
Humans are still contagious when they blow their noses and cough.
Research has also found that humans even shed the virus in their feces.
Sources:
https://pethelpful.com/misc/Can-Dogs-and-Cats-Get-Coronavirus-Your-Pets-Health
https://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_column/coronavirus-pets/