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Ask the Trainer
Your Dog During These Trying Times
I
t is certainly a difficult and uncertain time due to the
COVID-19 outbreak, but luckily we have our pets! We
have heard from many people that their dog is the only
thing that has kept them sane while being stuck at home.
Dogs are incredible at offering that comfort and support
we currently need so badly! A huge positive is that current
information states that dogs are not affected by COVID-19
like humans are. The American Veterinary Medical
Association states that there is no evidence that dogs pass
COVID-19, and only two dogs in the world are reported
to have tested positive but the waters are murky in both
situations. This means that you can keep counting on the
love and support of your four-legged friend!
Another thing that we have noticed is that the various
shelter-in-place rules issued by many states, cities, and
counties have given people the time to spend with their
families and their pets. This time is usually lacking but it is
suddenly present! If you find yourself with more time you
can definitely utilize that to do some fun and exciting
things with your dog. They don’t need to be training
related but certainly can be! If looking for training ideas,
you can visit www.wshs-dg.org and look back through
our old articles in the Resource Center. You may want
to take a look at our Nosework article for a great way to
take up some time and have some fun.
Another great training option with everyone at home
is working on front door manners. Many dogs struggle
with this and during the quarantine you shouldn’t have
many visitors (potentially making the issue worse once
the quarantine is lifted). Use this opportunity to have
the members of your family that wouldn’t normally be
off work and doing other activities help you. It can be
a great game to break up the boredom for kids as well.
Have the kids run around the outside of the house,
knock on the door or ring the doorbell while you work to
calm your pup down inside. Do this over and over again,
until the dog calms down to the activity.
is a great opportunity to work on your dogs walking skills
and ability to listen around distractions!
Finally, there are some easy games that you can play to
pass the time. Hide and seek is by far our favorite and
once again you can get kids involved. Simply put your dog
in a stay in one room and go hide! When you get to your
spot, release your dog and ask them to come find you.
You may have to help out a bit the first few times but it’ll
be great mental and physical exercise for your pup!
If not working on training, just getting out for a walk is
a great option to get some fresh air while still practicing
your social distancing. We have noticed in the last few
weeks that there are a lot more people walking with
dogs in our neighborhoods. Sometimes these are people
that we haven’t seen the entire time we lived in the
neighborhood! The shelter-in-place orders have pushed
people to get outside more, which is a great thing. This
Stay active, play with your pup and stay safe!
Visit www.suburban-k9.com or call (847) 232-1269
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