COVID-19: What Stage 3 Lockdown Means for Walking Your Pet

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COVID-19 is changing the way we parent our pets. From finding supplies, to walking them, this is what our reality is for now.

We recommend you follow some basic guidelines to help you follow the rules for Stage 3 Lockdown to reduce the chances of transmitting Covid-19 to keep you and your family safe. 

So, here are our recommendations on the do’s and don’ts of walking your pet during lockdown.

If you usually drive to the beach to walk your pet, you should change your plans. You shouldn’t be driving unless you have a very good reason to do so.

Exercising your pet is important but stage 3 lockdown will likely include a ban on non-essential car travel. That means only use your car for essential travel to get shopping or medical supplies or if you are an essential worker travelling to, from or as part of your essential work.

If you ordinarily drive somewhere to walk your pet, you need to change your pet walking route. Stay local and do not drive to walk your pet.

We recommend that owners have their pets on a leash at all times to avoid coming into close contact with someone else when walking or retrieving their pet. This includes within off-leash exercise areas.

Importantly, the COVID-19 Alert Level 3 rules of keeping a 1.5m distance must be applied when exercising pets. This is to avoid a person coming into close contact with someone else when walking or retrieving their pet.

As an extra precaution, we discourage people from petting pets that are not within their own self-isolation ‘bubble’.

Keep exercising your pets and caring for your pets as usual, while following government guidance.

Now is the time for people to be more vigilant than ever about their pet exercising practices.

It’s also important to remember that rules around where you can and can’t take pets still apply, so please don’t take your pets to areas where you ordinarily wouldn’t. Locations such as sports fields, some beaches and parks are still off-limits, and will continue to be through to stage 3 restrictions. 

So, in summary, stage 3 may cause you to be a little more vigilant when it comes to exercising and socialising your pets, but you are still very welcome to do so!