We’re living through funny old times, aren’t we? Many would say scary, uncertain times! We’ve all had to change our way of life: how our families function, how our children are educated and how we work. But there’s one constant presence that keeps us all sane…our loyal, loving dogs!
I don’t know about you, but I feel that my relationship with my dogs (that was always strong) has been galvanised even further. Our pups have kept us healthy & accompanied us on our daily exercise & given us a friendly wag when we’ve felt down. Even more than ever our dogs are such vital friends, companions and comrades. Plus, recently our Cocker superstars have been trialled to see if they can use their super sense of smell to sniff out Coronavirus…impressive eh! More on that later…
In the early days of lockdown, as an asthmatic, I was feeling really fearful of even stepping outside my door. This invisible menace, such an unseeable threat, seemed to be everywhere. My wonderful husband took on dog walking duties for the first week or so, taking our two bundles of fun out for their daily exercise.
The weather was so beautiful & our little corner of Norfolk certainly looked & seemed to be just as before…and I felt that I had to venture out sharpish! I missed our dog walks so very much. Because a dog walk is so much more than purely exercise for both dogs and their humans, isn’t it?
It’s a time for relaxation, contemplation & good old fashioned fun…all so very vital to our mental health. The very process of raising our heart rate gives us obvious physical benefits, but I always feel so much better for a dog walk!
Whether it’s rainy, cold & windy (as we in the U.K. often experience!) or a calm, sunny, warm gift of a day…a good old doggie walk can transform a day!
As we have all had to be apart from our loved ones…whether they be elderly relatives, family far afield or good friends; the relationship with our canine friends has become even stronger than before.
I often wonder what our dogs are thinking about having their favourite people with them all day, every day, all of a sudden? They must think all of their Christmas’s have come at once! To have tummy tickles, chases, games and good old fashioned cuddles on tap! There must be a 100% increase in wags right the way across the country!!
It’s been such a great opportunity to catch up on those tricks you’ve been meaning to teach your hound, or that pup-tastic agility move that you wanted to perfect.
Speaking as a family who picked up a beautiful little Sprocker puppy just before lockdown (the most perfect piece of timing I think I’ve ever experienced!) This extra time with our Spaniels has been one of the few bonuses in such a terrible time.
But, there’s been another reason why we can thank our Cocker chums for their brilliance during this time of Covid. As all Cocker owners know, our breed have the most marvellous sense of smell!
Cocker Spaniels, Springer Spaniels and Labradors have already been used to accurately detect diseases in humans and this phenomenal skill might just help us in our battle with Covid 19. Medical Detection Dogs have been rigorously researching dogs’ proven olfactory ability to detect the unique odours of various diseases for the past 12 years.
They now believe that Medical Detection Dogs can be trained to detect Coronavirus. Amazingly, our Cockers have 300 million scent receptors in their noses, compared to 5 million in ours! Many of you may have seen Spaniels and Labs searching for drugs, explosives, and food at Airports. Medical Detection Dogs’ research has shown that clever canines can also detect the odour of disease with high levels of accuracy.
Medical Detection Dogs has received backing from the UK government and public donations, but always need more financial support to continue their amazing work. If you would like to help, please visit their site here.
Picture credits: by Katrina_S and OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay