Where are we up to with walking dogs...?

[TheLadyAnneNeville]

Does anyone know of any official advice/directive for walking a dog? If the virus can live on fur/clothing?

I took my dog out this morning. Kept her on her lead despite her being a dog who’s usually off chasing squirrels/sticks/other dogs/swimming etc etc. However, at one point I saw a family coming toward me. Mum dad and two children. And dog. Off the lead.

As we got closer the dog (lovely friendly lab - I love dogs) ran up to me. I stepped back and it jumped up, all muddy paws and happy waggy tail. Normally, I’d say hello and give it a rub. Not this time...I totally lost my shit. Shouted at the mum/dad to get their dog away from me at which point, my dog wants to join in the fun so I’m practically throttling her on a very short lead and still their dog is all waggy around us. So, I’d spent my entire walk with my dog fully leaded only to be two minutes away from home and in close contact with... who knows what. Can’t people DO THE RIGHT THING? I don’t get it.

I’m stressed because I lost it and also very unhappy about my enforced “contact”. And yesterday at the park a dog walker had 7 dogs off lead 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think there’s going to be a huge increase in stress and “corona-rage”.

I just came back v quickly after trying to take my dog for a walk. It’s just too busy. One man just kept coming towards me on the path and I ended up just turning round and coming home.

People are not keeping their distance and it is definitely making me stressed. Going to try and go out v early in future. Normally I hardly see anyone but now everyone is going out once a day for their walk.

I went out with the dog for a walk around the streets near our house yesterday around 11.30am and saw 20 or more people in 20 mins. Today I went out at 8.45am and only saw one. I am keeping my dog on her lead, she is the type to get distracted easily and I don’t need the stress. Husband will take her out again tonight just after dark.

I think dogs should be kept on leads at the moment. Unless you have our own field or something.

Lots of dogs round here and it’s going ok, thankfully (east central Scotland). Everyone who is out has their dog on a lead that I have seen, and everyone keeping their distance. It’s pretty quiet here generally and defo quieter than usual. My close neighbours have dogs and we are adopting a staggered approach so we are not out at the same time - we frequently go out together and if we did that now, we would forget and walk too close to each other, especially as our dogs all know and like each other

I'm going out between 7 & 8 am. He will need to make do with the garden the rest of the day.

Even quieter than usual round here too.

We're only going out once a day - much to the dog's disgust - and staying on a long lead, just to be safe. However, we've not bumped into anyone at all and know we are lucky to have the space nearby to have a lovely long walk in isolation.

I live rurally so people aren't really an issue, I can walk in the woods and not see a soul which isn't unusual. We are limiting our walks though, I do one and DH does another so we're both only getting our one dedicated outside time. I take one or two DC, he takes the others on his walk.

When you saw the other people, why didn't you turn and walk a different way?

I don't see why they need to be on lead? The chance of catching it from a nearby dog is zero. However, dogs shouldn't be bounding up to people virus or no virus.

The government need to step in and say that people need to keep their dogs on lead until further notice. And I’m a person that believes that some dogs need off lead runs.

I hope you enjoy this. It made me chuckle.

I don't see why they need to be on lead?

Because ddog is just the kind of idiot to injure himself at a time when vet care options are ver limited.

I do not need the panic of trying to get a broken leg (or whatever) mended when the world has gone to sh*t and he is JUST the kind of dog to do it

These aren’t ordinary times and your need to let your dog off lead shouldn’t trump someone else’s feeling of safety. I know it’s highly unlikely that you can catch it from a dog, but I still washed each dog that cane for daycare, as an extra precaution. If the unleashed dogs don’t have excellent recall, owners will have to approach other dog owners to separate the dogs. That fucks up social distancing.

@fessmess...is that official? Absolutely NOT transferable via fur? That'd be good to know for sure but then, we don’t really, do we?

@Craiglang.. my eyesight is crap. The dog was fast and excitable. It wasn’t recalling and I did walk in a different direction but it bounced up to us.

@TOtally...fabulous meme! 😂

Is it definitely just once a day? Reading official document. And yes says once a day for exercise. No mention of dog walking. Is it just a given that that will be your exercise?

My dog is still going to her daycare, she’s there today. I’m a keyworker so is Dh. They have max of 4 dogs a day and take them out into the Cotswold hills, they rarely meet anyone else.

I have a large garden so I'm not walking my dog everyday i don't want to come into contact with anyone if i can help it. Single mum to four kids and can't risk becoming ill

And then we have to remember... construction sites are still working and the London Underground is still packed to capacity!

On lead. Especially if recall isn't reliable.

I'm also someone who is relaxed with my dog, she loves running and playing with her doggy pals.

This has now completely stopped, I'm pointedly avoiding the park because a. it's not fair to see her pals and not play and b. I just don't trust dog owners to follow the rules right now. She is on lead everywhere and I'd rather be needlessly cautious.

@Wannabangbang...that’s what I’d be doing if I were still a single mum to my autistic son. I’d have to. Right now, dog’s still getting two walks. One with me. Short one early evening with DH.

Dogs should be on leads. We are told the virus lives on clothes. How would a dogs fur be different?

*not an expert...
I read that dogs' fur can carry the virus and possibly pass it on...
Ddogs on lead imo. Close by yourself. ..
Not a hard rule to follow if we need to socially distance..

Is it just a given that that will be your exercise?

That's how I interpetted it. I spent quite a bit of time weighing up whether it really mattered if we went for our usual two walks or stuck to one which was also my exercise. Espeially as we live somewhere rural so staying away from anyone else is easy.

In the end I decided that when the world went tits up I wanted to know I'd done everything asked of me to help. That doesn't mean I judge/don't see why others might do two walks, interpetting that time instead as pet care. Just giving insight into my thinking.

DD and I are taking ddog out in the morning, DS (14) in the afternoon. She's off lead when we're away from roads, but has excellent recall and won't go near anyone unless told to say hello. We're avoiding main paths and deliberately keeping our distance from others. She's straight back on the lead if she looks like she's getting over excited about anything.

However, we did observe a bunch of other dog owners today in a park happily clapping each others' dogs. I despair - apparently the virus can survive on aninal fur for 1-2 days. I nearly told off a teenager the other day who thought it was OK to try to call my dog to him to pet her. And the parents should have taught him better - you shouldn't be touching a dog you don't know at the best of times, let alone now.

So, there are 23 replies to this thread. Some say (@fessmess) you cant catch it from an animal and others say it can live on fur (like the Chinese dog who had the virus on its fur but not systematically).

So, we need a governmental definitive answer. Is there a chief vet?

Well my neighbour across from me has just left the house for walk #2 with his dogs. I can guarantee he’ll be out twice more today - normal routine - nothing’s changed.

So, we need a governmental definitive answer.

I don't feel I do, in all honesty. I feel like the answer to that question can wait until we're a bit more through this. In the meantime, staying at home and remaining at a distance away from other people when out and washing my hands about a billion times a day is enough for me.