Weathering the Coronavirus Pandemic with Your Dog

Posted on March 12th, 2020 by FetchMasters in Uncategorized

With Covid-19 being declared a pandemic virus, the question looms: What will this eventually mean for Denver, Colorado? While we certainly hope that it doesn’t become a health disaster or represent an economic downturn for Colorado’s Front Range, we are very much a city that gets plenty of international visitation via our international airport. So, hoping that it doesn’t become serious here (though optimism is generally a good thing) should not take the place of being reasonably thoughtful about how we will behave, live and work.

Since FetchMasters Dog Training is a dog training company, we have given a lot of thought to how we can best provide for our clients and their dogs. Here are a few thoughts that might be helpful:

DON’T BE AN INSTIGATOR OF PANIC OR A DOG FOOD HOARDER

By raiding pet stores and buying up large quantities of dog food, you will send the message to other people that, if they don’t hurry up and buy their fair share, supplies will run out. Get what you need. If you feel the need to take precautions, we recommend having enough dog food to get you through a month or two – which probably doesn’t equate to more than a couple large bags for most dogs. This is not the zombie apocalypse. It is more like the flu on crack. Most estimations I’ve heard indicate the virus will wane greatly in the spring and summer months, just like influenza.

TRAINING VIA BOARD-AND-TRAIN

While training your dog in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic is (rightfully) pretty low on your list of concerns, we still do not know exactly how bad this will be, how long it will last, and how it will affect us and our dogs. But untrained dogs chew up the sofa and pee on the baby regardless of the status of our virus-related problems.

Until there is a reason not to, training via group classes and private coaching in your home is fine. In such cases, though, being careful about what/who you come into contact with and keeping your hands clean and out of your face is a smart approach. However, if a time comes where being in pubic settings (group classes) or having strangers coming into your home (private coaching) becomes undesirable, there are other methods to train.

Our board-and-train programs provide a training environment for your dog that requires very little human contact for you – and thus very little chance of infection. We have already put policies in place that if any employees are showing symptoms, they are not to report to work.  

We also have made preparations to beef up our board-and-train enrollment capabilities so that we can take on more dogs if necessary. Finally, we have stocked up on the requisite cleaning solutions and disinfectants to get us through for a while. So, your dogs will be able to be in a clean, well-run training environment.

We also are able to use the FetchMasters Distance Coaching Program (more info on that below) as a substitute for in-person follow-up after our board-and-train programs.

TRAINING VIA DISTANCE COACHING

Should people find themselves in need of help during a quarantine, our Distance Coaching Program offers nearly limitless potential to help folks with their misbehaving dogs. Government agencies and many corporations are already requiring employees to telecommute and work online. Following suit, we have significantly beefed up our distance coaching capabilities to be able to handle even more clients. With modern technology, our distance coaching trainers can do most of what our private trainers can do … short of petting your dog. And our library of videos, podcasts, and written tutorials provide a nice reference system to accompany our distance coaching capabilities.

Stay safe out there, make sure you and your dogs are well taken care of, and visit the links above if you need any assistance with your dog training needs.