Coronavirus in Ballarat: Pets playing crucial role during isolation

Dog trainer at Southern Cross K9 Jamie Huggett said that he believes pets, especially dogs, have played a huge part in helping people through the pandemic so far.

"From a mental health standpoint there is pretty clear-cut science that having a dog and interacting with them lowers blood pressure and reduces stress levels," he said.

"I think just looking at it from a general standpoint, having a companion at home that you can spend time with and get unconditional affection from is pretty great."

Physically, he said dogs encourage physical activity, as seen by the amount of people around Ballarat outside walking their dogs. Mr Huggett said this is great both for owners and for the dogs.

"Physically, during this time a lot of the outlets people use to get out and exercise are unavailable.

"I think having a dog really encourages people to get out of the house and exercise and interact with their dogs.

"It's great for people and great for dogs because it's giving them lots of mental stimulation which can only be a positive thing."

Mr Hugget added while now may seem like a good time to adopt a dog because people have so much extra time available at home, challenges with socialising the pet will pose an issue for puppies.

"A lot of people have asked "is this the right time to adopt a dog?" because they're spending so much time at home.

"There can be a lot of positives to that but there are challenges, especially with puppies as it's going to be very hard to socialise them, which may lead to issues as they get older."

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