Advice for dog owners in lockdown during Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic
Current status – National Lockdown: Stay at home
Fellow dog owners of Britain, welcome to national lockdown 3 as of January 4th 2021. Do not despair! We’ve done this twice last year, we can do it again.
We’ve built this page to cover anything regarding the well-being of our dogs during the lockdown from what we can and cannot do with our dogs to what to do if you’re self-isolating or feeling too unwell to care for your babies. You can also find tips on how to work from home with your dog, enrichment activities to keep them busy and entertained while you get some work done.
Government advice for dog owners during Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic
This is the most up to date page on gov.uk website wher you can search for ‘animal’ for related sections:
Government guidance on national lockdown
Individual advice pages for dog owners haven’t been updated yet, it’s early days. Links are below nevertheless, feel free to check if they have been updated when you come across this page. They state at the top of each page when it was last updated. If any information clashes, national lockdown rules apply as linked from above.
Summary of National Lockdown rules for dog owners
When can you leave your house
“You must not leave or be outside of your home except where you have a ‘reasonable excuse’. … (Including) Animal welfare reasons – you can leave home for animal welfare reasons, such as to attend veterinary services for advice or treatment.”
Exercising and meeting other people
“… You can only leave your home to exercise, and not for the purpose of recreation or leisure (e.g. a picnic or a social meeting). This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
… You can exercise in a public outdoor place by yourself / with the people you live with / with your support bubble (if you are legally permitted to form one) / in a childcare bubble where providing childcare or, when on your own, with 1 person from another household.
Public outdoor places include: parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, forests, public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them), the grounds of a heritage site, playgrounds.
… When around other people, stay 2 metres apart from anyone not in your household – meaning the people you live with – or your support bubble. Where this is not possible, stay 1 metre apart with extra precautions (e.g. wearing a face covering).”
Travel
Our take is, you can travel to exercise your dog or to take them to the vet. You need to stay local within your village/town/city – unless it’s an emergency and your nearest emergency vet is in the next town. Or if it’s a serious illness where you’re referred to a specialist veterinarian.
Walk or cycle where possible, try to avoid rush hour if you need to take public transport and don’t car share with anyone outside your household or support bubble.
Businesses and venues which can remain open
“Businesses providing essential goods and services can stay open.” which includes “vets and retailers of products and food for the upkeep and welfare of animals” and “animal rescue centres, boarding facilities and animal groomers (may continue to be used for animal welfare, rather than aesthetic purposes)”
This page is currently a work in progress, please check back later for more information – thanks!
Please note: At the time of writing this article, January 2020, the information given was correct. If in doubt, please check with gov.uk website.
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