Are Dogs Spreading SARS-CoV-2? Study Finds Living With a Dog Increases Risk of Contracting COVID-19

Dog COVID

A study in Spain found that living with a dog and using supermarket home delivery were associated with a 78% and 94% increased risk of contracting COVID-19, respectively. Dog owners are advised to take extra hygiene precautions with their pets, as it’s unclear whether dogs can transmit the virus or if owners were infected during walks.

A study conducted by the University of Granada and the Andalusian School of Public Health has analyzed the main risk factors in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 during the national lockdown in Spain, including going out to work or living with patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

The authors warn of the need among dog lovers to take extreme hygiene measures regarding their pets, as it is not yet clear whether the owners were infected because the animal acted as the host for the virus and transmitted it directly, or whether they picked it up indirectly due to the increased exposure of the dog to vehicles of the virus (that is, objects or surfaces where the virus lies).

“From a scientific point of view, there is no justification for children’s playgrounds being closed to prevent infections while parks, where dogs are walked, are allowed to remain open, when there are numerous objects there that can act as vehicles for SARS-CoV-2,” observe the authors.

A study carried out by researchers from the University of Granada (UGR) and the Andalusian School of Public Health has analyzed the main risk factors in the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the national lockdown in Spain, between March and May 2020.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, has revealed that living with a dog and buying basic products in the supermarket with home delivery were two of the socio-demographic variables (of those analyzed) that most increased the risk of contracting COVID-19 during the period under study—by 78% in the case of living with a dog, and by 94% in that of supermarket home delivery.

The authors warn dog owners of the need to take extreme hygiene measures in relation to their pets, as it is not yet clear whether the owners were infected because the animal acted as a host for the virus (and transmitted it) or due to having taken it out for a walk in public.

As explained by Cristina Sánchez González, a researcher at the UGR’s Biomedical Research Centre and the main author of this work, “in view of the rapid spread of the virus even during lockdown, we consider it important to study the socio-demographic characteristics, habits, and comorbidities of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in order to implement effective prevention strategies.”

To this end, the researchers designed a survey to capture variables of interest during the lockdown period that might help explain the exponential spread of the virus, despite the highly restrictive mobility conditions implemented nationally in Spain.

Study based on 2,086 individuals

This study, carried out throughout Spain, sought to shed light on other possible routes of transmission of the COVID-19 disease, risk factors, and the effectiveness of the hygiene measures recommended by the Authorities, in order to detect critical points of exposure to the virus and thus minimize its spread—not only in this pandemic but also for any future events that could compromise public health.

Based on a sample of 2,086 individuals, 41% of the population surveyed were aged between 40 and 54 years and had studied to degree (44%) or postgraduate (32%) level. This collective presented a prevalence of the disease of 4.7%.

The results showed that the risk of suffering from COVID-19 is 60 times higher among those who cohabit with a COVID-19 patient. In addition, of all the socio-demographic variables analyzed, the one with the most powerful effect in terms of increasing the risk of contracting the disease (by up to 78%) was living with a dog and taking it for a walk. By contrast, having cats or other types of pets had no significant effect on the prevalence of the disease.

“The results of our research warn of increased contagion among dog owners, and the reason for this higher prevalence has yet to be elucidated. Taking into account the current scarcity of resources to carry out the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in humans, the possibility of diagnosis in dogs is extremely unlikely,” notes Sánchez González.

These results point to cohabiting with dogs as being a strong risk factor for COVID-19 infection, although further studies are needed to determine whether the reason for this sharp increase in the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is due to transmission between humans and dogs, to the dog acting as a vehicle for the virus, or to the increased contact with other vehicles for the virus (that is, objects or surfaces where the virus is present). The latter could be caused by greater exposure to the virus due to the unhygienic behaviors and habits of dogs when out in the street and their subsequent return to the home.

“At the international level, there are several studies that have obtained results similar to ours regarding Coronavirus infection in dogs, but it is necessary to dig deeper on this issue and establish whether this prevalence of the virus among dog owners is due to one reason or another,” explains the UGR researcher.

Sánchez González warns that “in the midst of a pandemic and in the absence of an effective treatment or vaccine, preventive hygiene measures are the only salvation, and these measures should also be applied to dogs, which, according to our study, appear to directly or indirectly increase the risk of contracting the virus.”

The researcher also points out that “from a scientific point of view, there is no justification for children’s playgrounds being closed to prevent infections while parks, where dogs are walked, are allowed to remain open, when there are numerous objects there that can act as vehicles for SARS-CoV-2. At the same time, we should not rule out the possibility that the virus may be transmitted via fecal matter.”

Disinfecting supermarket products

In this study, the effect of certain variables—gender, age, educational level, type of residence, size of household, cohabitation with children or adolescents, the presence of workers among the household members, the presence of domestic workers in the home during lockdown, or having any type of pet other than a dog—was found to have no statistical significance.

The most effective hygiene measure in helping to reduce the prevalence of the disease was to disinfect products purchased from the market once back home (which reduced the risk by 94%). This was found to be more effective than other hygiene measures, such as the use of facemasks, gloves, disinfecting with ethanol or bleach, disinfecting shoes, and washing clothes when returning home.

Among mobility variables that were studied, those with the greatest effect in terms of increasing the prevalence of the virus were working outside the home (which increased the risk by 76%) and the use of public transport (particularly the underground system or tram network). A higher prevalence of the disease was also detected among those surveyed who had purchased their basic products at a supermarket and then used the home delivery service, compared to those who brought their shopping home themselves (the risk increased by 94% among the former group).

The authors emphasize that this was an epidemiological study, which neither addresses the mechanisms surrounding the virus nor establishes causal relationships. This was a descriptive study in which the selected variables were statistically associated with prevalence.

Reference: “The spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain: Hygiene habits, sociodemographic profile, mobility patterns and comorbidities” by Miguel Rodríguez-Barranco, Lorenzo Rivas-García, José L. Quiles, Daniel Redondo-Sánchez, Pilar Aranda-Ramírez, Juan Llopis-González, María José Sánchez Pérez and Cristina Sánchez-González, 22 September 2020, Environmental Research.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110223

230 Comments on "Are Dogs Spreading SARS-CoV-2? Study Finds Living With a Dog Increases Risk of Contracting COVID-19"

  1. How dare you post this. Now there will be abandoned and abused dogs all the offer the place. I hope you realize those are the consequences when you release a headline like this !

    • What in the H is wrong with you? Seriously, what would make you think that abandoning or abusing dogs would be a logical response to this?

      You do know that people are transmitting Covid to others, right? People that live together such as spouses, parents, and children are far more likely to spread it to each other. No one thinks that killing or abandoning them would be a solution, so why would you think people would do that for pets? They are part of the family.

      Anyone that would mistreat a pet because of this likely already doing so for countless other “reasons.”

      Instead you should (as the article says) be aware that dogs may spread it, so you should take precautions such as social distancing for your pet and cleaning them after walks in case they picked up virus particles.

      • ur an idiot, they have u scared about this covid I can see and now using animals n ya that person was correct they may be abandoning animals but u say no like u can perdict the future.. also do u work in medical?? ur have been lied to and once Trump gets all this b.s. fixed when the truth is finally shared 2 you are u going to admit or fill like an idiot for believing this covid… do u remeber war of the worlds cowboi?? that’s all u staunch covid beleives and what it’s doing

      • I agree with you Zach good job set them straight! If anything people are giving it to their animals but you do not abandon the animals they are our family. And whoever wrote this article is rude to blame it on our pet family members.

      • Against animal abuse | November 17, 2020 at 5:22 pm | Reply

        Exactly what I was thi king how inhumane!!! Now evil animal abusers will feel like doing the community a favor and killing all stray dogs they find. 😭😭

        • I reject censorship of science simply on the basis of not liking the results. Anytime liberals don’t like the results of a study, they scream for censorship. That’s what so many of the comments are calling for regarding this article. Meanwhile, exactly nobody has taken their dog to the incinerator based on the correlation found in this one article.

    • I was thinking the exact same thing when I seen this. How ridiculous! There have already been dogs being dumped when this all began and then studies revealed that you can not get this from pets. So irritating as if our shelters aren’t full enough with ***holes abandoning their pets

    • Jahaziel Maqqebet | November 16, 2020 at 10:27 am | Reply

      This original article is bogus, #FakeNews. Shame on this original article.

    • You idiot liberals love science, except when the results show something you don’t agree with, which is almost every time nowadays.

      • Amazing thing, all the studies I’ve read about here in the US stated that A: there is tiny to no chance of catching covid from packaging in grocery stores and B: not transmitted by dogs. (ever occur to you that the PEOPLE are those touching infected surfaces during walks rather than the dogs?)

        • This seems obvious, but still apparently below some people’s radar. No reason for these dog lovers to be freaking out and trying to censor science. This isn’t China, where the family dog gets dragged away to the incinerator. It’s America: if you like your dog, you can keep your dog.

          • Sounds like we should all be wiping our store bought items down with disinfectant. Like the article says. Why wouldn’t the dog be a vector? 2016 had a dog flu epidemic that virus was also a coronavirus.

      • Who says they are liberals?? Animal nuts come from all aspects of the political schema.

      • F*ck off idiot MAGAt

        • You go girl. Anyone who doesn’t love trump is a liberal a hole. When are people gonna realize that the country and whole world are more center than we all think. Africa Mexico ,Australia ,even Kentucky all want the same. A job ,food and a roof overhead and kids to be smarter then them thru education. Period.

          • I reject censorship of science simply on the basis of not liking the results. Anytime liberals don’t like the results of a study, they scream for censorship. That’s what so many of the comments are calling for regarding this article. Meanwhile, exactly nobody has taken their dog to the incinerator based on the correlation found in this one article.

    • agree complete trash

      -s.binx

    • Animals were meant to be free. Stop getting pets and feeding this industry. People that have pets must have a need to control something. It’s cruel. Have someone take you for a walk with a collar.

    • Stop Spreading Lies | November 17, 2020 at 9:41 am | Reply

      I agree with you 💯%!! There’s one on the Internet about Cats too!! I Believe it’s Fake News!
      I have both a dog/cat and Ive been Covid19 free!! I had a test done. There are A LOT of people with pets who haven’t gotten sick!! Let’s face it.. We all know where Covid19 originated… China!!!

    • Thank-you for posting this, I feel the same way. These people are heartless and stupid

    • I am glad that I am not quite as stupid as some people…Wow is all my comment will be. Some people should just go crawl back under the rock they came out from…

  2. How dare you post this. Now there will be abandoned and abused dogs all over the place. I hope you realize those are the consequences when you release a headline like this. So unbelievably sad.

  3. Henry De La Paz | November 16, 2020 at 5:31 am | Reply

    #FakeNews

  4. This is irresponsible use of studies. Does it ever occur that your subjects happen to have dogs?

    We are in crisis. Dogs help us cope with this virus. And you make a study against them? The humans are cause of the virus so please, make a vaccine instead of this useless research.

    • You idiot liberals love science, except when the results show something you don’t agree with, which is almost every time nowadays.

      • I love all animals. I am involved in animal rescue and have been for 12 years. An article like this makes every idiot who can’t think for themselves drag their dogs into rescue, or worse yet, an animal shelter. I am also a health care provuder, so I do listen to science, when it makes sense. In addition to all of this, I am a staunch CONSERVATIVE! Please do not make broad generalizations. One size does not fit all. Clearly this study, and this article, were perpetuated by idiots who did not consider the ramifications of reporting such nonsense.

        • I reject censorship of science simply on the basis of not liking the results. Anytime liberals don’t like the results of a study, they scream for censorship. That’s what so many of the comments are calling for regarding this article. Meanwhile, exactly nobody has taken their dog to the incinerator based on the correlation found in this one article.

          Sane people like yourself should reject their way of thinking.

  5. Here is another little factoid. CoV-19 makes media types turn into dumb*sses. hahahaha

  6. My wife and I own a dog kennel, and since the beginning of the pandemic we have done independent research and found no direct link, as the article corroborates. However, the American publics attention span reads what they want to read and moves on and I find it irresponsible to post an article like this without a bold underlined disclaimer up top saying that there is no direct evidence. It hurts our business otherwise.

  7. Dylan Wentworth | November 16, 2020 at 6:05 am | Reply

    I’m not surprised about pets as a fomite but what I am surprised about is the disinfecting of groceries. With the exception of fruit that I place directly in my mouth
    without cooking (which I would wash anyway) I stopped washing groceries months ago thinking it’s a respiratory virus and it doesn’t live forever on surfaces regardless and I’m going to wash my hands before sitting down to eat anyway. I’d like to know more about that source.

  8. JAMES CHRISTJOHN | November 16, 2020 at 6:16 am | Reply

    This is the most irresponsible headline I have read. Do you have any idea how many ignorant people will read this headline and dump their dogs? In a world full of abused and abandonded dogs, rescues and shelters are already overwhelmed. This won’t help Shame on you for doing such a crappy job. HUMANS are the worst spreaders. NOT animals.

  9. So a dog may be a carrier. Funn, but nowhere in their commentary did they state that they tested dogs of owners who have Covid to see if the dog is a carrier. How absurd is this study. But reading further, you should sanitize every item you buy at the grocer. So why not just lock your doors, shut off the lights, cower in the corner and wait for the reaper. More scare tactics

    • It’s clear that you libtards failed science in school.

      A person or animal doesn’t need to become infected and sick in order to spread it. One example being fomites, among many others.

      • Another example is dumb*ss Trump, who’s a super spreader, among other things. Oh, yes, and a loser. But this article wasn’t meant to be political.

        • I reject censorship of science simply on the basis of not liking the results. Anytime liberals don’t like the results of a study, they scream for censorship. That’s what so many of the comments are calling for regarding this article. Meanwhile, exactly nobody has taken their dog to the incinerator based on the correlation found in this one article.

  10. Masks for dogs (eye roll…)! This is a pretty irresponsible article. It’s all based on conjecture with the intent to stoke fear.

  11. How Loco crazy can you be remove me from your list I thought you were spreading false information and you’re encouraging people to sit there and put their animals down for something that is a different strain even is a science person you should know better than to sit there and press this

  12. Has anybody thought of the fact that dog owners get outside more than other people? Walking the dog will have you meeting more people close-up than sitting at home on the couch. We seem to be buying improved heart and mental health at the risk of more COVID-19 exposure. Is that so bad?

    • This is 100% the correlation. Dog owners are more sociable on average, therefore they’re more likely to be around other people during the pandemic.

  13. This is irresponsible, overreaching and misleading. The sheer audacity to post a click-bait headline exposing innocent creatures to being dumped. I do animal rescue and see first-hand the effects of these dangerous and ignorant articles. Science has learned that the threat of getting covid from a vector is very low.

    • How is it clickbait when the title is exactly what the article is about? This is peer reviewed science, which is a lot more useful than your opinions.

      There is important info for protecting your pet, yourself, your family, and your community by simple distancing and hygiene precautions. Certainly no inducement to panic or abandon pets.

  14. Dogs are smarter than you ***holes

  15. Richard E Hansen | November 16, 2020 at 7:23 am | Reply

    Bullshot

  16. Christine Richardson | November 16, 2020 at 7:26 am | Reply

    This article is not only full of falsehoods but extremely irresponsible and puts so many dogs in danger of being abused, abandoned and God forbid what else. I have 2 rescue dogs and 25 rescue cats and prefer to spend my life with them during this Pandemic. I have no cause for concern for my health even though I am 65 years of age.

  17. Wadsworth Periwinkle | November 16, 2020 at 7:30 am | Reply

    The authorities are trying to isolate all of us from one another. It’s part of an agenda to break down society so it can be “rebuilt better”. Now they are attacking man’s best friend. I guess dogs are helping some people maintain their mental health, and the “experts” won’t have any of that.

  18. dwight hochbaum | November 16, 2020 at 7:35 am | Reply

    You people are fools. Now people are going to be scared of their pets and give them up in shelters. DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR PETS PEOPLE!!!

    • Or maybe you’re the fool. No where does the article say to give up your pet or panic. It just says to practice good hygiene on your dog and be careful with who/what it interacts with.

  19. FALSE INFORMATION!!!
    My border collie is a SHOP DOG. A bike shop dog. We do NOT require masks in our store. 75% of our customers that DONT wear a mask are high risk. I was high risk jan-july 2020 being pregnant. NO ONE at our shop, neither us nor employees have gotten sick and EVERYONE PETS THE SHOP DOG!

  20. Molly B Johnson | November 16, 2020 at 7:59 am | Reply

    So the authors of the paper don’t see why we’ve closed playgrounds, but kept parks for dogs to walk open. Multiple studies have shown children are a huge vector for respiratory disease, and dogs pee outside in parks you absolute potato. We have only had confirmed cases in a small handful of canines and that has shown no transmission.

    It’s almost as if you potentially interacting with something/someone while walking the dog is the risk factor.

  21. The message to me is not to reject the data, and not to give up our dog, but to minimize risk that the dog will serve as a Covid-19 vector. We don’t take the dog to dog parks, and we don’t let him interact with other dogs or with strangers. It’s a loss for him because he’s a very friendly guy who loves playing with other dogs, but for now that’s not worth the risk.

  22. Wadsworth Periwinkle | November 16, 2020 at 8:01 am | Reply

    Children can spread COVID, too. Maybe we should abandon our children?

  23. ΨΦ Sailor William aka Jack Brennan | November 16, 2020 at 8:08 am | Reply

    Key take away.

    Correlation does not equal causation

  24. Neill Christopher | November 16, 2020 at 8:08 am | Reply

    The author of this p.o.s. article should have to feel what it’s like to be abused by people taking this seriously. Horrible.

  25. A speculative article at best. The authors clearly indicate they don’t know the infection vector (host vs carrier), only that close proximity to a dog is a suggested factor in infection.

    The grocery reference is a red herring, not at all in keeping with the premise of dogs as infection vector. That alone should cast doubt on the article as a whole.

    I suspect that the dog environment in Spain is markedly different than in the U.S. Many more canines in Spain living in dense quarters (apartments, ‘flats’ & other dense housing) wherein when walked outside, dogs will interact actively & passively with many common objects such as sidewalks, tree trunks, bushes & such. In the U.S., dogs are typically less likely to interact the same simply because of available space, dense inner cities being the exception.

    Any true dog lover with even a modicum of intelligence will read this article, file it away as an item of interesting speculation, and continue to live happily with their beloved canine companion(s). Anyone who would abandon their dog because of this article was not to be trusted with being responsible for another life to begin with.

    • This is the first comment in this thread that showed any rational thought. I agree, someone who would abandon their dog after reading this,probably isn’t someone who should have a dog in the first place. The article did not suggest that anyone should get rid of their dog. It is interesting, but, as the article states, the study didn’t attempt to draw conclusions. It simply seeks to provide data. It’s a place to start, not a conclusion. People need to stop freaking out and listen. Science is not the enemy.

    • Thank you for your comment!! Absolutely well said! 💯 Everyone must read your comment.

    • 1.I was surprised and dismayed at the irrational and vehement attacks at the study’s authors.
      Slim Jim had the first coherent response, with Allan H. not too far behind.
      We have two dogs (and two cats) who run around our fenced back and front yards. I could never imagine owning pets without the outdoor space to keep them happy.

  26. No, dogs don’t “spread” it. People who have dogs *have* to go outside more than people who don’t have dogs.

    Correlation and causation. Honestly, this level of click-bait-ism from a “science” website is embarrassing. Where are your editors?

  27. Steven M Kornegay | November 16, 2020 at 8:18 am | Reply

    Responsible dog owners don’t catch covid-19 from their dogs. Next article “You can catch covid-19 from a hotdog stand.”

  28. Great. This could of been written so much better. Now idiots are going to start killing dogs. Do you not remember what china did.

  29. so if you don’t walk your dogs or expose them to outside contamination or risk of infection there is no increased risk of contracting covid. what isn’t totally clear is dog to dog transmission. is there evidence that a dog can transmit to another dog then a human host? or is it a dog comes into contact with humans or surfaces humans infected?

  30. How dare you post this! Our pets are going to get it from us bringing it home to them! You should be ashamed for posting bogus story. Now there will be pets abandoned because of not so intelligent owners.ugggghhhh!

  31. I have 7 dogs and around them all the time. I kiss and hug them. I just had a COVID test and it was NEGATIVE. This article is ridiculous. If anything it’s the owner bringing it home to the pet. Stupid irresponsible article. If any animal is harmed bc of this stupidity then the author of this article should be sued.

    • Jonathan Joestar | November 16, 2020 at 9:48 am | Reply

      The fact that you have 7 dogs is disturbing in itself. I can only imagine the smell of your home… And the fact that this article disturbs you so much that you suggest the author “should be sued” is another sign of psychological issues. I like dogs too, but your post has crazy written all over it.

  32. THE SCIENCE ARTICLES REFERENCED IN THIS ARTICLE DO NOT EXIST! Try to verify them yourselves! 🙁 The University exists, the JOURNAL itself exists, but the ARTICLES DON’T EXIST. The blog post is total click bait. Dogs don’t make transmission worse, please ignore this blog. :'(

  33. I believe the article makes clear that the authors do not know exactly why there is a higher risk factor associated with dog ownership. They suggest dog owners take strong hygiene measures to mitigate the risk. This seems to be information that any dog owner would welcome. If the dog owner becomes seriously ill with covid I believe there would be an increased potential for the dog to suffer from lack of care. I don’t see the downside of simply taking steps to minimize the possibility that a pet dog would contribute to the spread if covid. Some people have commented that they do take these steps – good for them – they value their dogs.

  34. This article is BS. I walk my dog daily… I social distance and wear a mask. Most people I see walking outside (dog or no dog) are NOT wearing a mask and not social distancing because they think they are safe outside. The people getting Covid-19 walking their dog are people not following the mask mandates. And you filthy joggers… Stop spitting everywhere!

  35. Enough all ready. This virus thing is blown up so much so it’s as pathetic as the world is coming to an end every 10 years due to the environment. I should have been dead and the world gone to ashes 3 times by now. Stop being a blind sheep and take your lives back and don’t do what these coward leaders we sadly elected in our states are ramming down our throats. Think about it, are they going to arrest us all when we go on with our LIVES!!! Not even close–ignore the media and articles like this that are meant to instill fear and control but most of all take your lives back. The people of this country only follow laws that we choose to obey otherwise go right ahead and arrest millions of people and see how that works for you. The hell with the media, and this article is another example as to why they are pathetic. Never in my life did I ever think the media profession would be Lower then a used car salesman that lies for a living.

  36. Read the article before before reacting. There is no claim that dogs spread the virus. It is a study of cause and effect. From the authors – “The authors emphasize that this was an epidemiological study, which neither addresses the mechanisms surrounding the virus nor establishes causal relationships. This was a descriptive study in which the selected variables were statistically associated with prevalence.” Please, everyone needs to settle down.

  37. This is irresponsible reporting. There is no evidence dogs pass Covid-19. You should be ashamed.

  38. No way fake news I will never get rid of my dogs. Stop spreading fake news. Don’t post this crap if even one dog is dumped by a owner it is too much.

  39. Absolutely ridiculous..you should be ashamed of yourselves for spreading this garbage!
    People do not believe this please, do not dump your living pets at shelters or the pound over this nonsense 🙄 So sad! I hope karma bites you in the ass!

  40. this is old news but …

    Actually the virus lives in the canine digestive tract and can be spread the feces or even flatulence, so yes this article is true , like it or not.

  41. The dog nutters here are in full force. Brace yourselves to any of the sane people reading. Your dogs don’t care about you, they care about food!! Glad I’m not brainwashed.

  42. This is just another misleading article on a virus. There’s no proof or evidence that animals spread this virus or any other virus to their owners. Whoever published this article should be thrown into jail ASAP because they are a disgrace. They are selfish and arrogant.

  43. Dogs are far less likely as a Covid source than arrogant “scientists” and Democrats. I wouldn’t want either in my house.

  44. Wow, so in other words, you guys have zero clue as to how it’s transferred. Yet you call yourself a scientist?

    Good reminder to not go to this school.

  45. Your mom's side peice | November 16, 2020 at 9:52 am | Reply

    The person who wrote this article must be stupid and bored and hates dogs.. you should be ashamed that your a writer..

    • So utterly stupid and scientifically inaccurate. Crap like this is the reason we have so much misunderstanding about this virus.

  46. This just in from W(oof)-T-F News: 100% of dogs that tested positive for COVID-19 report that they live – you guessed it – with human beings. Yep, dog’s best friends, humans are the ones who are responsible for spreading COVID-19 worldwide. W(oof)-T-F reports that they searched everywhere – and they have a nose for news (and other stuff) – but have yet to find any dogs on their own accord going to parties, political demonstrations, schools, churches, restaurants, bars, gyms, hair salons, travelling internationally, or other places known to be high sources of infection. Nope, this dog of a story just won’t hunt…

  47. This article does not make clear for the casual reader the difference between relative and absolute risk. Follow the link to the study and look at the table of results. The same data also says this: 93.1% of the 407 people who walked their dogs did NOT get Covid. 95.8% of the 1,997 people who don’t have or walk pets did NOT get Covid. Is this statistically significant? Maybe. But hardly a reason to be terrified that walking a dog will give you Covid.

    • I’m glad *someone* intelligent read the original study.
      Thanks!

    • The article might not be clear, but it doesn’t make it trash. Media and public opinion are very sensitive and aware of animal abuse/abandon. Main stream media will not publish this, so articles like this one are only seen by “informed” (not really) people.
      So calm down and sit, now on your belly and roll!

  48. It is very surprising there are so many xpert epidemiologist commenting. One would think real experts would not have the time to read and comment about articles like this. Let alone label this content as “stupid”.

  49. Brenda and Dayday | November 16, 2020 at 10:21 am | Reply

    I have been dealing with severe depression and anxiety. And while reading this article I started having a panic attack! I’m so glad that I started reading the comments. Made me feel alot better. I love my dog so very much. It’s just the two of us. NO thank you for the FAKE NEWS!!!

  50. If you think about it, it makes sense. Dogs sniff everything exposing them to any potential infectious particles on objects, substances, people, or other animals. The greater the inhalation of the COVID-19 viral particles, the greater the likelihood of infection. As one with a background in science, I appreciate the research that is conducted which give us more data to consider and that can help inform our future decisions.

    I’m saddened by all the comments attacking the research by those that would prefer ignorance instead. This is a science oriented web site, so please consider that the target audiences are primarily those of us that appreciate the truths derived from scientific data, instead of subjective opinions of politics, etc.

    • Thank you for some common sense. This article isn’t telling anyone to straight up get rid of their dogs.

    • Thanks for the reasoned response!

      Dogs probably have better immune systems than we have, otherwise they wouldn’t have been scavengers for millions of years–until very recently when they became child-surrogates. This is an important study, if for no other reason that it points out how much we do not know about the causal connection. I certainly won’t be taking my dogs to any dog park until after some vaccines have been distributed to everyone who wants it.

      As far as anti-vaxers are concerned, we can be strictly scientific about it and think of it as evolution in action. Being suspicious of the government probably has survival value, after all.

  51. I have been dealing with severe depression and anxiety. And while reading this article I started having a panic attack! I’m so glad that I started reading the comments. Made me feel alot better. I love my dog so very much. It’s just the two of us. NO thank you for the FAKE NEWS!!! And I almost believed this bulls***!

  52. To all the people angry with this article. Facts don’t care about your feelings

  53. am I reading it correctly that grocery delivery is more risky than shopping yourself?

    would like more explicit info on the dog issue….

  54. I’m sorry but my dog 8s very important to me so I call BullS***. This is going to leave alot of loving dogs homeless shame on you for posting such garbage.

  55. other research seems to indicate that pets get COVID from their owner … not necessarily the other way around. … except minks of course.

    https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/covid-19-likely-spreading-people-animals-and-vice-vers

  56. Gregory A Peterson | November 16, 2020 at 10:55 am | Reply

    ASININE!!!

  57. LMFAO!
    Dog lovers yesterday: #TrustScience
    Dog lovers today: #Don’tTrustThisScience

    It hurts your feeling when research finds dogs may contribute to getting COVID so you immediately dismiss it as wrong then quickly scour the internet for contradictory research to prove your right.

  58. Completely irresponsible garbage masquerading as science journalism. The study authors emphasized this doesn’t prove causation. They did not control for “other types of animals” so they cannot include that as a valid claim. There are many other factors that have been PROVEN to contribute to viral susceptibility and disease progression that are mainly diet and health-related. As astute commenters of this article have already stated, the benefits of dog ownership far outweigh the risks during the pandemic and likely contribute to greater risk reduction from stress which is a key driver of the inflammation that marks a coronavirus-susceptible person.

  59. More CONTROLLED LYING BRAINWASHED MEDIA HYPE!! THIS IS THE NEW WORLD ORDER B.S. THAT THEY WANT OUT THERE IN ORDER TO SOMEDAY SOON DO AWAY WITH DOGS AND ALL ANIMALS!! THEY ARE, RIGHT NOW KILLING OFF MILLIONS OF INNOCENT ANIMALS ALL OVER THE WORLD!! WAKEY WAKEY!! ALL BY DESIGN.. ..ALL OF IT!! ALL PLANNED OUT….SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME!

    • I agree. So much today seems to be heated to oppressing the people and taking away our rights. Our pets are important to us especially now with so many people isolated because of the fear of the pandemic. Fear is the pandemic. We had flu before. And yes it’s always a different strain. Use your head people.

      Look at the symptoms and those records of people who died from the flu! Suddenly it’s turned into chaos as soon as someone dies of pneumonia for instance.

      If you let yourself get sick and don’t seem help then yes things can get worse. Even doctors makes mistakes so be your own advocates.

      And keep your pets. It’s not thier fault.

  60. This article is reprehensible. This ‘’study’’ is garbage!

  61. I am disgusted with this nonsense. I’m not going to complain about it on social media because that will give this garbage site more publicity. There will be both people and canines suffering because they believe this. The editor who put this out should be fired. Please email me if and when you get rid of this worthless person.

  62. This is BS if that was the case all animals would be suffering from COVID-19 right now….another reaso.n to push vaccines

  63. The conclusions of this study and your publication of those conclusions is incredibly irresponsible and will lead to the abandonment of dogs by people who believe everything they read on the net. Shame on you.

  64. Oh my god why are people freaking out in the comments. All it’s saying is that we should be aware of hygiene if we have dogs, it’s not saying we should dump all our dogs in the street. Personally I think it’s good that people are being informed that dogs can increase transmission risk, because it’ll cause people to be more aware of pet hygiene.

  65. Dog owners are retarded anyway. You pick up s*** from another animal, lol. Also look at their responses. Morons.

  66. So many dog lover nuts on here. This article is sharing the results of an objective collection of scientific data, which could possibly help save lives. Per usual, dog nutters are thinking with their emotions only, concerned more about dogs being displaced than preventing human deaths from covid. People come before dogs. Period.

  67. What a crock of s***… I have 6 dogs and there is no way I believe this ridiculous article. You should have spent that money on furthering your education. We as humans have been around dogs forever. Absolutely the dumbest post i have seen..

  68. At the same time they are injecting DOG CELL grown flu shots into people and have you muzzled like their ‘god’ the DOG STAR sirius.
    Why do you think the K9 dog named SIRIUS was in the towers after the planes (shots) flew/flu into them?

  69. What absolute, utter BS! Anyone who publishes this krap, or believes this krap is an idiot! All dogs should be cherished, protected and properly cared for.

  70. Anyone who doubts this (or believes it) hasn’t seen un chien andalou by Salvador Dali–YET

  71. Who ever posted this you are stupid as stupid can be. I can’t believe that people like you exist on this earth.

  72. We have our dogs groomed faithfully ever month, in otherwords every 25 to 30 days the lastest! The dogs are at the groomers getting Fluffed & Buffed, teeth brushed, nails Clipped, and I mean scrubbed and dubbed, soaked to the bones with soap and water! So i am not sure what your saying here, but there is no contagious disease coming from them. Unless its from their bath, and then that would make me even more confused. So what is it than! Because as a family they are our family!!!!!

  73. So, THAT’S how China beat Covid-19 so quickly. They ate the dogs!

  74. You should, honestly, be ashamed of yourselves for how you’ve framed this article.

    You’ve made it sound like dogs carry Covid the way rats carried the bubonic plague.

    Really, it’s just that dog owners need to take into consideration where their pups are going and touching, as much as they consider where they, themselves go and touch.

    Honestly, we’ve already been over this topic, and already had a wave of people abandoning their pets at shelters, or worse.

    No, integrity, whatsoever.

  75. Living in society right now is a risk by itself, let the dogs and cats out of it. There more of risk catching covid from your children than there is your pets,just saying.
    Just seen that Dr Fauci said today, ” just because you have taken the vaccine, YOU STILL NEED TO SOCIAL DISTANCE AND WHERE A MASK!!”. I thought the point of the vaccine is to go back to normal, guess not. Government controls is what looks like more and more.

  76. It’s funny how pissed off everyone was with their findings. It was an epidemiological study looking as possible factors in life which are associated with people who got COVIDS-19. It was not all that scientific because it was not followed up (yet) with more focused study. Just because a factor was associated with a problem doesn’t mean it causes the problem. All I can say is, “Well, that’s an interesting association, wonder when they will get around to studying their new found theory”.

  77. Seems like maybe the grocery delivery guy is a vector for COVID-19 as he/she goes around to many homes. Otherwise, some one at the grocery store packing the goods may be contaminating them some how. I guess my not relying on service people to deliver goods has a positive benefit after all. However, I need to get more religious about always wiping down my groceries.

  78. It’s funny how pissed off everyone was with their findings. It was an epidemiological study looking for possible factors in life which are associated with people who got COVIDS-19. It was not all that scientific because it was not followed up (yet) with more focused study. Just because a factor was associated with a problem doesn’t mean it causes the problem. All I can say is, “Well, that’s an interesting association, wonder when they will get around to studying their new found theory”.

  79. I am so tired of fear over everything in our lives. Next thing will be a study of why we should be frightened of our own shadow!!!

    • None of your business | November 16, 2020 at 4:22 pm | Reply

      Amen

    • snowflake from hell | November 16, 2020 at 4:37 pm | Reply

      Don’t be too sure, new research has shown that 100% of people with COVID have shadows. We need to start eliminating shadows now!

    • Nowhere does it say to be fearful. That is entirely on you.

      It simply says that similar precautions that you now take for yourself (social distancing, washing hands) should also be applied to your pet.

      Typing that makes it seem so obvious, but it is something that never crosses most of our minds. We’re used to friendly strangers interacting with our dogs, and we never wash them up after a walk, so this article is a useful “heads up” to help us mitigate this pandemic.

  80. Strange how they did not consider behavioral factors. Someone self isolating would naturally soend more time with their pet, as well as rely on deliveried. Which points to social isolation actually INCREASING risk.

  81. Here’s a third (and probably correct) interpretation: it’s a statistical fluctuation with no meaning.

    This problem is endemic with these sort of studies that collect a huge volume of data with no working hypothesis and then search for apparent correlations to retrofit a hypothesis onto. It is the reason for the current replication crisis in social science, and I expect that as in social science further data collection will cause this result to disappear in a regression to the mean as well.

    Now I expect that is what the authors ACTUALLY said, and the breathless sky is falling was added by the journalist who reported on it.

    • Where or where is any “breathless sky is falling” talk in the article?

      You may think there was given the crazy comments, but there is nothing in the title or article to warrant the unhinged reactions.

  82. Now they want to take away our pets, after shutting everything down! I call BS!! A huge pile of it!

  83. Bull! It’s people Not wearing masks and the so called president that didn’t think it was important enough to let us know sooner. Frankly, I don’t want to be around you or your runny nose kids without your masks. Thankyou but I’ll stick with my dogs any day!👎👎👎👎

  84. This is truly absurd!!!

  85. This is truly absurd!!!!

  86. Whoa the crazy is strong in these comments. I know dog lovers are emotional but to deny evidence of a study because you don’t like the findings shows just how unstable people are. If dogs could be spreading the virus just keep a closer eye on your pet. Have them follow the same social distancing guidelines you follow. Or leave them at home next time you go out to run errands, I believe in you, you have the strength go visit Lowes without your dog.

    • Hmm. Now that you mention it our shoes are causing the spread if there’s anything to spread. Next we will be trading our shoes in for one time use skippers while shopping at department stores.

  87. None of your business | November 16, 2020 at 4:19 pm | Reply

    This article is full of s***. My dogs go nowhere. So don’t feed me your crap story.
    You shouldn’t ever post a story like this. Poor dogs love unconditionally and people already abandoned them. Why post a crap article like this. You should do an article on something educational or another subject. Don’t talk crap about dogs. Guessing you are a democrat and now want people to put their dogs down so we aren’t words of someone on our property. Well go screw yourself. Not happening.

  88. This is complete and full blown bullcrap!! I’m working with animals for 25 years and the only thing I ever contracted a few times was ringworm..
    Stop trying to scare ppl into dumping their pets!!!!!!

  89. You f******g idiots! Now dogs will get abandoned or killed. No, I didn’t read all the way through… couldn’t. Whoever wrote/published this should be shot.

  90. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/07/europe/mink-covid-19-denmark-update-intl/index.html

    In Denmark their killing between 15 to 17 million mink. People gave mink covid then covid mutated In the mink population. The virus was passed back to people. This is fact. I’m not saying this article is right or wrong but it’s something we need to think about.

  91. Seriously????? Unbelievable how stupid this article is, and how irresponsible of you and your company. You are now going to be responsible for the abandonment of innocent pets. Can’t believe you put this out there. Don’t be taken in by this BS, folks.

  92. This is disgusting. It’s high time we started blaming stupid snow flake people who can’t follow simple directions and stop blaming innocent pets. These poor creatures are unceremoniously dumped at shelters or worse by ignorant, selfish people. Would you dump your kids for being little super spreaders? (Which is actually scientifically proven). Show me a study out of a reputable university or well known medical centre and I would be more inclined to believe it. And for those anti masters and covid deniers DON’T GET ANY ANIMAL’S FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

  93. How dare you comments about dogs. The have covid 19 shame on you

  94. Oh for f#€&€ sakes stop with this COVID lie bulls***. Wake up people! These evil bastards want to destroy all which is good. Including you. Our power is in the word NO. Say it!!! Stop giving away your power!!!

  95. What is guys problem????????? Why would you post something like this so people would go and abandoned their dogs. I am gonna report you guys. Irresponsible website. Horrible.

  96. Lots of comments, but I don’t see anyone commenting on the aspect of home delivery of groceries.
    Are they really saying that it’s safer to actually go to the store rather than have them delivered?

    • The delivery guy’s shoes are the culprits. They carried the covid to thier doorstep.
      Now that I said that—
      How can anyone not see how ridiculous this has become?

  97. I predict shelters being overcrowded if this is widely read. That’s a shame.

  98. The title of this article is misleading.

    Upon close inspection, this article states that it is people who take their dogs out on “walks” who were ‘studied’ here.
    Plenty of people have dogs who “do their business” in backyards – so it would be the same as all the other pets this same article states are just fine and not spreading infection.

    Of those who take their dogs out, how many in this ‘study’ were irresponsible in other ways?

    C’mon!

    I’m not denying science because I love dogs, I’m questioning the validity of *this* study here, as a whole.

    Irresponsible writing at best.

    SMH

  99. KATHLEEN MONTIGNY | November 16, 2020 at 7:55 pm | Reply

    I think you are full of bullcrap bullcrap bullcrap trying to say dogs have anything to do with covid-19 and passing it on to humans.
    I quess you have to blame the dogs to let humans off the hook..
    This is stupid and ridiculous..fause news faulse news faulse news

  100. Bad title!

    Read carefully.

    It’s not that *living* with a dog increases risk of contracting COVID-19 – it’s that taking them out on walks does.

    Where were the people in this “study” taking their dogs on these walks? What other possible bad habits did these people have concerning proper methodology for virus containment?

    I like a little logic and proper analysis used in *scientific* studies and their conclusions.

    If the other pets mentioned in this article were ok because they clearly were not taken out – thus NOT exposing their humans more to public places – then most people who live with dogs would be in the same boat.

    Most people I know with cats let them in and out as the cats demand, so clearly it’s not about animals going out, but about the humans going out.
    People with dogs in the suburbs usually let their dogs out on their own in their yards… People in city buildings are having to take their dogs out on walks – but being in a more populous city is, in and of itself, more likely to be a factor in COVID-19 spread.

    People who go out more often are more likely to be exposed to COVID-19 … *THAT* should be the title.

  101. KATHLEEN MONTIGNY | November 16, 2020 at 8:05 pm | Reply

    everyone is going FRUITLOOPY fruitcake freaking nuts-oh crazy off the hook off the wall and mentally bonkers demented and just plain psyco over all this covi-19 properganda properganda properganda bullcrap bullcrap bullcrap
    If joe biden gets elected it will all go away overnight disappear because the democrates devilcrates won’t be brainwashing all these sheep brainwashing them to believe that its as bad as it is. They used the covid-19 agenda to the max to the max to control the sheep that believe them..

  102. All this article is going to do is makes people take their pets to shelters or let them free on the street. Are there not enough homeless animals as there is?

  103. I understand how passionate dog lovers are. I am one, as well. In fact, I have a precious, 10-pound seizure alert dog servive dog which walks with every where I go, so this article was very interesting to me..
    Many people do not realize the real facts about how COVID not only originated but was developed. These viruses are actually CREATED for the specific reason to develop a vaccine for that virus. Yes, it sounds insane…but it’s the truth. Some of the worlds deadliest viruses have been created this way, including several of the other strains of the other COVID strains. I have done alot of research on this subject. It just happened that the COVID 19 accidentally got out of the lab before the vaccine was developed. Viruses DO have the ability to mutate. In fact, that is exactly how the scientists develop the viruses from a feret (which was the case in COVID) and continue to attempt to mutate it until it becomes tranmitable to another animal like a monkey (both of which have common human DNA). Once that transmission is successful, it becomes a possible human transmission. Then a vaccine can start being worked towards. Unfortunately, COVID 19 escaped and now we have a global pandemic. Now…to address to dog issue. Can this virus mutate further? Probability of this happening is next to nothing. Canine DNA is so far from human DNA, whereas ferret, monkey, mink, pig and a very precious few other animal DNA is closer to human DNA. That’s why scientists use these animals for testing and mutation manipulation. This scientific article, I think, was NOT to cause hysteria in dog owners or for those folks who have groceries delivered. As I said, I have a service dog, which I HAVE to take everywhere with me. I believe the intent of this article was informative only. To inform folks that the sidewalks and street are filthy (which they always have been). But with COVID especially, good hygiene now is SO very important to keep your sweet little Fido healthy. BUT, think about it…if Fido just happened to sniff where someone just spat in the grass, then jumps on your lap and licks your face???? Put booties on YOUR sweet Fido. Keep him healthy, along with you, as well. The Lord says, “Fear Not, for I am with you!” But He never said not to be smart either!

  104. Please don’t blame animals for our mistakes/irresponsibilities – I do not trust this kind of study nor do I care to believe it 🐾

  105. Hi! I just left the above comment and forgot to say…keep your sweet Fido’s nose up off of the ground too. Hope you and your family stay safe and healthy. May God Bless!

  106. stop lying about this covid and now using dogs… sad things is 20 million libitards who cant study or research will beleive n now be wearing a mask in their house and making their dog wear one… idiots… mask dont work and the lies about covid are disgusting…

  107. More fear mongering and fake news!!!

  108. I would completely like to think that in fact a lot of commenters who have seen this, are pissed but that’s expectable! even though dogs do not contract Covid19 as it’s written, it is easy to understand that they can still carry it around – look, i don’t have to be phased by evidence because i’m not ignorant; a highly informal article at last.

  109. What a bunch of idiots to put this BS out. I’ve taken my dog places and haven t caught anything. Stop with this BS. And by the way Trump isn’t at fault of this do your research and you will find the truth. I spent a couple of hours finding the true facts as to how this s*** started and how he actually tried but in the research it tells you exactly who gave him false info. And told him it wasn’t anything to worry about. Unlike our bias news that didn’t report that part.

  110. I hope the extreme left kooks like Whitmer, Cuomo and Inslee “order” the “destruction” of dogs to “prevent COVID-19 infections.” If the sheeple will not defend their dogs with armed resistance, nothing will get them to effectively resist.

  111. Alexandra Peters | November 17, 2020 at 3:52 am | Reply

    Such fake news. YOu know the study is garbage when it also says washing groceries reduced the disease by 94%—- while experts know that the disease is spread primarily by droplets and hands and that it doesn’t survive will in the environment. All this article will do is make people take more risks and abandon their pets.

  112. It’s a very interesting article but its too easy to jump to conclusions from this small survey. I had thought it was unusual for these viruses to “jump” between species and then very different mutations could occur, like with the minks. It’s pretty far fetched to speculate that tens of millions of dogs have the virus and are the ones spreading it, and the reason we don’t know is because we don’t test them.

  113. Great. Now all the 90% of the population not being able to fully understand this article, will dump their pet into a shelter. Why press always want to instil panic and fear I have no clue.

  114. What a disgusting example of media fear mongering. This article comes right after seeing ‘That negative Covid test doesn’t mean you should spend thanksgiving with loved ones, you could still be sick’. I’m so sick of heathens like you trying to spread panic and fear in the public. You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to make people afraid of their pets.

  115. So taking a dog out for a walk in a park puts you more at risk than letting it out in your backyard but going out to the store is safer than having groceries delivered!?

  116. This is completely ridiculous! They want to do away with everything that makes people happy! Thanksgiving, Christmas and now pets!!! Well guess what……Our family will be having Thanksgiving, Christmas and we are getting our third dog in December!!

  117. It’s because the people are walking dogs outside more than people who are walking dogs they don’t have. Cats give you toxoplasmosis and herpes, so it evens out. Also COVID-19 is mostly harmless.

  118. This is the most irresponsible article I have ever seen. This will cause a multitude of abandoned dogs. This is nothing more than fear tactics using innocent animals. Sites like this should be removed from the internet and people like you should never be allowed to publish a single article.

  119. Lots of negative comments based on emotion rather that rational analysis. Sad.

    Read the research publication. Seems well referenced and I assume peer reviewed before publication in a reputable journal.

    Search Google woman dies from dog licking

  120. NormalHumanBeing | November 17, 2020 at 6:20 am | Reply

    You people are exactly what is wrong with society today….people involved with the study, the authors, editors, and all the drama loving morons in the comment section. All those of us with common sense and the ability/inclination to actually use our brains can hope for is that this pandemic will wipe the likes of you out in droves so that we can have a sane world to live in once again.

  121. Did it ever occur to the researchers that 78% of the humans in the study also own a dog??

  122. Thank you for making
    Stupid people even more so now they will dump dogs more on side of the road and shelters whoever wrote this is a giant a..ho.. I wouldn’t subscribe to this if they payed me money

  123. This article will increase the abandon of dogs to about 25%. And Google even promotes it. What a disgrace of human beings. There’s no factual data that can 100% state that dogs help spread the virus. This is probably a boring and sad cat person being hateful. Go back to Tumblr you idiot. This article should be deleted.

  124. I have had the virus for 12 days my dog lives with me and for the most part is wit me 24/7 can expect to recover or never get better as long as my dog is wit me

  125. You All Sound Crazy | November 17, 2020 at 8:24 am | Reply

    Here’s a fun game. Replace the words dog/dogs with child/children in the article, and everyone will say, “ya that makes sense. Those little guys are gross. We need to protect them and ourselves by teaching them better hygiene and make smarter decisions.”

    Now do the same thing to the comments:

    Maggie | November 17, 2020 at 7:51 am
    Stupid people even more so now they will dump children more on side of the road and shelters whoever wrote this is a giant a..ho.. I wouldn’t subscribe to this if they payed me money.

    Mary C | November 16, 2020 at 5:00 pm
    Seriously????? Unbelievable how stupid this article is, and how irresponsible of you and your company. You are now going to be responsible for the abandonment of innocent kids. Can’t believe you put this out there. Don’t be taken in by this BS, folks.

    None of your business | November 16, 2020 at 4:19 pm
    This article is full of s***. My children go nowhere. So don’t feed me your crap story.
    You shouldn’t ever post a story like this. Poor children love unconditionally and people already abandoned them. Why post a crap article like this. You should do an article on something educational or another subject. Don’t talk crap about children. Guessing you are a democrat and now want people to put their children down so we aren’t words of someone on our property. Well go screw yourself. Not happening.

    Your mom’s side peice | November 16, 2020 at 9:52 am
    The person who wrote this article must be stupid and bored and hates children.. you should be ashamed that your a writer..

    C. Koch | November 16, 2020 at 9:51 am
    Children are far less likely as a Covid source than arrogant “scientists” and Democrats. I wouldn’t want either in my house.

    Junell | November 16, 2020 at 8:36 am
    How dare you post this! Our kids are going to get it from us bringing it home to them! You should be ashamed for posting bogus story. Now there will be kids abandoned because of not so intelligent owners.ugggghhhh!

    • Exactly!

      Everyone is going off completely unhinged just based on their imaginations, not on anything said in the article. Calm down and then take some precautions with you dog just like you would with other members of your family.

  126. I know this is a little off the subject but have you ever noticed that we give more freedom and liberties to cats vs. dogs such as allowing to be outside. Granted every owner is different, but if you look at the big picture you can see what Im talking about. Like we are more likely to cage a dog up.

  127. The article was not very well written in terms of making inferences from the study. And that’s because the study itself did not have very intelligent elucidation of their own results. For example, ok so a dog owner goes out for a walk and dog owners go out for a walk have exposure to COVID and are likely to get COVID. THe authros state they “think” it may be because of the dog’s “unhygenic” behaviors. However, their scope of their reasoning is shallow. People pet dogs. A person who goes into the “highly infected grocery store” to pick up “highly infected products” and places them in the cart and then homw and then PETS their dog is the transference object morelike than a dog’s “unhygenic” behavior. The spreader starts with those who are not washing their hands and touching parcels,foods etc that have been infected by human carriers. The dog’s are not the speaders until a human who has touched something then touches their dog – SO WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE YOU PET YOUR DOGS. IF you let other people pet your dog – REINFORCE hand washing by insisting that everyone wash their hands before doing so. THe dog is passive – humans are not in this instance. I think the authors were really mad that kids could not play in playgrounds whilst dogs could play in dog parks and so configured a study to make dogs look like vectors but in reality – they may be but because of HUMANs NOT WASHING their hands. ergo – – the authors don’t name the “unhygenic” behavior of dogs -they speculate. Bad faith in conducting the study seems like. This study would need to be replicated by others to have any validity. Just wash your hands and face people – not matter what you touch. Bathe your dog in normal dog shampoo – don’t go all bleach and what not on your dog – USE COMMON SENSE.

    • Exactly. I have issue with this article due to the suggestive nature of the title and the cherry-picked take-aways (i.e. correlation does not equal causation). Both the study and the article fail to provide additional information about the homes with dogs – how many live in the home? how many work outside the home? Were there dog parks involved with person-to-person interactions? How many smoke? Are there underlying health conditions, etc. The study jumps from dogs have ACE receptors to dogs can have COVID, which is an assumption at best. We know from experience that even the hint of having transmission through dogs leads to dogs being killed (I remember a picture off a dog thrown off the roof of a building at the start of the pandemic). This is irresponsible reporting on a mediocre study.

  128. If dog walking is suspected, then how do you know it is the dog and not your own shoes that pick up virus?

  129. OMG why on earth would you write such an article with so many assumptions and lack of facts!! Please remove it immediately! Morons all over the world will be killing and dumping innocent animals and that blood will be on your hands!!!!

    • JESSICA please learn to read. The article was mostly FACTS and little assumptions. It’s even stated in the article “The authors emphasize that this was an epidemiological study, which neither addresses the mechanisms surrounding the virus nor establishes causal relationships. This was a descriptive study in which the selected variables were statistically associated with prevalence.”

  130. Consider the sources of the study. I’m not familiar with the organization in Spain but (sometimes) when people can’t get into medical school in the U.S. they go to medical school at the University of Granada. I’m not sure how academically strong that university is so I’m skeptical of the results.

  131. Apissedoffreader | November 17, 2020 at 12:27 pm | Reply

    I’m concerned about the virus I social distance ,where a mask avoid crowds…I have dogs in my house. I will not be giving them up because of this virus or your article. What an awful thing to publish. Now all these idiots will just dump there dogs at shelters pounds or even worse a country road somewhere.
    Wishing on you 10 broken fingers so you cannot type anymore of this bulls***.

    • No where in the article or even in the comments is it even suggested to give up your dogs. By anyone.

      Everyone stop with the nonsense and actually read the article instead of letting your fear and imagination twist you. It just recommends some simple precautions if you have dogs you take out in public. No one is suggesting you give up your dogs, harm them in any way, or do anything stupid.

      Use a bit of logic and common sense instead of being so emotionally unhinged.

  132. You are an absolute jack ass, this is nothing more than left wing fear mongrel tactics!

  133. Every responsible pet owner please take one for the team and adopt again if you can. We need to do some damage control as a result of this article…

  134. Bulls*** like this is going to cause people to be paranoid and abandoned animals for no reason. Stop putting fear in the people and lies.

  135. Dogs can give you coronavirus, WTF, what about cats.
    Stop picking on the dogs.
    So much talk about fake news this definitely sounds like a load of bull turd.
    Unless somebody with coronavirus comes up and sneezes directly on my dog I think this is not a concern.
    I don’t know who’s more stupid the people that believe this or the people that are writing this garbage.

  136. This article is only saying that there is a prevalence of dog owners getting covid but they do not have enough evidence that dogs are transmitting or infecting their owners. There are a million different possible reasons as to why dog owners were getting infected. This study was done at the beginning of the pandemic so human hygiene probably was not great. It does not indicate exactly where in Spain the study was done? If it was in a city environment, then most likely people lived in apartment or multi-family’s dwellings which would multiple risk factor in itself everytime they pet owners went out for a walk(opening doors, elevator buttons, even the air in the common areas of the building). Also, early on during the pandemic most people were not properly social distancing nor wearing masks. There was more possibility of social interactions with other people during walks that could have led to infection. This article, itself, if problematic in the sense that there is not enough information to even warrant an article. This is an article to create sensational “fake news”.

  137. Daniel Robert Wahlstrom | November 17, 2020 at 10:00 pm | Reply

    How stupid are these authors? SARS is a syndrome. You don’t spread syndromes, you spread viruses. You don’t suddenly “have SARS-cov-2” when you contract covid-19. You guys call yourselves a science publication?

    • What's your syndrome | November 18, 2020 at 7:47 am | Reply

      Educate yourself, then delete your comment.

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7095448/

      • Educate yourself? From an American government agency who’s science, research and findings, from its focus and direction to the design and presentation, including data published thru pharmaceutical companies privately funded studies? You mean the same government appointed officials and politicians who’s annual income are nicely padded with padded donations and who’s reelection is sometimes entirely achieved through contributions from supporters who’s connections and clout are inevitably tied to corporate profits and media endorsement. The same media which, although most refer to their news programs as factual and complete balanced opinions and hand picked statistics are motivated and reliant on profit, most of which is generated through sponsored advertising, 70 % of which is derived from pharmaceutical ad revenue? You mean the same news outlets who promote the big picture goals of globalist forces who’s resources are limitless and through the creation of United Nations and its subsidiary international power players like the world health organization and the world economic forum are collaborating with governments the world over, to fulfill the new world order agenda 21 and 2030 and who collaborated with John’s Hopkins and Bloomberg; Rockefeller and Gates and all of it with special interests and investments in vaccination programs and a subservient, obedient and frightened public?
        There is no fool proof evidence supporting the theory that viruses exist as transmittable contagions. The inventor of the PCR test himself stated that it should not be used to detect infection as it relys of finding parts of dna which are assumed to be remnants of the virus but the same particles being used as evidence of Covid-19 infection, are found within our own dna

  138. I don’t believe that a dog spread any virus! Don’t believe everything what a news say! I’m a dog owner I love my dogs!,The dogs has different system more powerful than humans.! This all dog spred virus is a big BS!

  139. Please don’t rely everything on this pandemic junk! The dogs cats never spread any virus!Its a lie!,please don’t write any more article abut that subject.

  140. Dude! Wheres my car? | November 18, 2020 at 7:50 am | Reply

    Hey everyone Zoltan (ZOLTAN!!) Erdos, loves their dog and doesn’t believe dogs spread the virus. We can pack up and quit studying the spread of COVID through pets.

  141. im not a spammer | November 18, 2020 at 8:49 am | Reply

    im not a spammer

  142. Please stop allowing this garbage to be read. I’m a veterinary diagnostic technician who works with all types of animal fluids, tissues, microbes, parasites and waste on a daily basis. All of my lab coworkers and Doctors/ staff in adjunct veterinary ER hospital are just fine. We’ve been working through this pandemic from the start and are very busy.
    Guess what? You are surrounded by microbes and have a ton living on and inside you. Its about time to take responsibility for your own health and boost your own immune systems. Dont rely on the government and its scare tactics.

  143. People talking about abandoning dogs in the comment section are idiots. The article didn’t mention that at all and I doubt the author wants you todo that. You all need to get your head out of your dogs a$$ crack and read the article with a grain of salt. Correlation does not equal causation. If you can’t smell or post anything other than sh!t it. It doesn’t mean you have Covid…It means your an idiot.

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