Page 49 - Chow LIfe - Spring 2021

• Ask the client if they or anyone in their family has
someone wants to meet my puppies ahead of time, I
don’t want people coming into my house. So we plan
to find a local park and set up a couple of ex-pens
with canvas covering the ground. We can bring a
pop-up tent and a baby pool if the day is warm. The
people can be on one side of the pen and us on the
other, so we are not close.”
Early socialization is a tougher puzzle to solve as
having visitors to your home and taking puppies on
field trips (once they have vaccines) is risky these
days.
“Even seeing another person is a good experience for
a puppy so they can be socialized that way,” Beasley
said. “We live near a park, so we plan to carry them
or put them in a stroller and roll them around the
park. We can stop and point out novel people to
them, plus strollers and other things that they don’t
see at home. You can also take them to dog-friendly
businesses that are still open and carry them through
the stores, maintaining distance from shoppers.”
Dressing up in different hats, wigs, and costumes is
another way to bring “new” people into your puppies’
lives without bringing in strangers, she said.
Even when this crisis ends and the world returns to
normalcy, these practices may continue for breeders,
Skou said.
“This might be our new norm. Perhaps we do not
want strangers in our homes any longer, and this is
how we practice good safety and health precautions
for our canines and families.”
Suggested Social Distancing for Breeders
• Make appointments to see a puppy, and limit the
number of puppies shown.
• Explain that the buyers’ health and safety are
as important as the health and well-being of your
family, dogs, and puppies.
• Discuss what the customer should expect during
the visit.
had a cold, flu or allergy symptoms or been exposed
to, contacted, or overcame COVID- 19.
• Inquire if anyone has recently traveled by air or left
the country, or if anyone works in the medical field.
• Ask that young, older, and compromised persons
do not come to the appointment. Limit the number
of visitors to two at a time.
• Limit contact with the customers. Do not shake
hands and disinfect all touchpoints.
• Wash hands often with warm water and soap.
Use plenty of hand sanitizer, if available, as well as
keeping the proper social distance of at least 6 feet.
• Consider doing all transactions outside. Do not
restrict yourself to small confined spaces.
• Ask puppy buyers to remove shoes or do a shoe
bath. Ask them to put on rubber gloves to reduce
touch points – if you can obtain gloves.
• Do not hand the puppy to the customer. This will
put you too close to the customer. Set the puppy on
the ground or floor and step away.
• Discourage face-to-face contact with the puppies.
• If you do paperwork with your customers, give
them a pen which they can keep.
• Keep the time spent with customers to an absolute
minimum.
• If the customer does not take the puppy,
immediately bathe the puppy or clean with canine
disinfecting wipes.
• Consider printing and posting a physical copy of
these guidelines in and around your home and/or
kennel.
The AKC is here to help dog owners adapt to the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Find answers to all
your coronavirus concerns, plus at-home activity
ideas, training tips, educational resources, and more
at our ‘Coping With Coronavirus COVID-19' hub.
Reprinted with permission from AKC.org
Editor's Note: This article was
previously published in the
Summer 2020 issue of Chow Life.
However, it has been reprinted so
that it can be used as a reference
for those who have litters to
place while still dealing with
COVID-19.
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