Can dogs be trained to detect COVID-19?

COVID-19 detection dogs (Photo by Bryan Thomas/Getty Images)
COVID-19 detection dogs (Photo by Bryan Thomas/Getty Images)

For centuries, our four-legged pals have come to our rescue! Now, there’s talk about training doggos to sniff out the coronavirus as COVID-19 detection dogs.

There doesn’t seem to be a problem an adorable pup can’t help us out with. Loneliness? Check! Security? Check! Just a best friend to talk to? Double check! But during these difficult times, researchers in a school in the UK have come up with an interesting idea. Can we train dogs to detect COVID-19 detection dogs?

Scientists and doctors are doing all they can to come up with ways to slow the spread of COVID-19 and send it packing all together. According to The Bark, something that could work is training dogs to sniff the illness.

It’s no secret that dogs have a capacity to smell we will never reach. Dogs are even able to sniff out malaria, so why not COVID-19? The source shares that, dogs can begin training to do exactly this!

Apparently, it’s not a complicated process and dogs can be trained and ready in a matter of six to eight weeks. This sounds like an amazing idea. For one, it provides faster results than having to wait up to three days when an individual is tested.

There’s also the fact that it’s not invasive like the current COVID-19 test is. Quick, easy, what are we waiting for? Let’s be patient, everyone involved is working as fast as they can. Not to mention, this isn’t anything we want to rush if it’s to be done right.

Watch a video that explains it all, below: 

The situation is improving, but we are not out of the water just yet! In fact, a dog in North Carolina recently tested positive for coronavirus. The pug is the first canine case in the United States. Rest assured, he has since recovered!

For more information on the coronavirus, see the websites of the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control for the latest information and guidelines.