Many of us have worked hard to teach our dogs to be comfortable and to feel as safe as possible during visits to our veterinary clinics. Many of our vets have worked equally hard to create and maintain a fear free environment for our dogs. And we have worked together on this very important aspect of living with and caring for the dogs we love. But procedural changes due to Covid-19 create a potential for scary visits for many of them.

People in masks (sometimes in full personal protective gear) are now approaching our cars and taking our dogs when they are injured or sick. Sometimes we get to hand them off; sometimes maybe not. This has so many new scary things for our dogs that could undo all the work we have done. And, in addition to it being scary for our dogs, it is very scary for us.

Without a lot of choice if our dog needs care, how can we best prepare both of us?

1. Firstly, and maybe most important, will be some work on ourselves. How do we stay calm in a situation we don’t want for our dogs? If we are upset, they will know it. How about working on training ourselves to cues that tell us to take a big breath? I plan on working on some visualizations, much the way I might for dog sports, so that if this happens to us, I am prepared. What might you do?
2. Is your dog sensitive to new things? Then let’s help her or him get used to a few more new things:
   • people in hats
   • people in masks
   • people dressed in unexpected ways
   • people reaching for your dog
   • you passing the dog’s leash to someone and telling your dog to go with them. Create a new cue for that and reward it highly.
3. Create some cues that you can share with the person who is getting your dog so that there is the best possible communication between them. Cues for:
   • Come with me
   • Sit (or down)
   • Calm
4. If you have doubts that your dog will be able to handle being handed off to a potentially scary person, this is a great time to work on muzzle training. (Muzzle training is a good idea for all dogs, no matter what!) A great place to start is the Muzzle Up Project: https://muzzleupproject.com/

Start with one change and gradually build up over practice sessions. The last thing we want to do is scare the dog. Make it fun!

If you live with others, this is relatively easy to do and might even create some fun for bored people! What if you live alone? Some of this will take more creativity. Do you have neighbors who also love dogs? Can you each get a little crazy with garb and masks and help each of your dogs get used to that look? (Remember, please, to keep at least 6 ft distance from each other.)  The pass off will be more difficult to teach. But, if you can teach your dog to be tethered, you can tether your dog and back off. Your neighbor can then go and get the dog and reward. If not, all your other work will have to do. And, if you cannot engage friends or neighbors to help, you can at least put on a mask and play with your dog or feed her dinner.

If you DO need to go through this for real and you have done some preparation, you will know how to coach the person who comes to get your dog so that it is the least traumatic for all.

Do you have other ideas to share? Maybe you can only do part of this. But anything you do is better than nothing. We owe it to our dogs.