Rain

Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Ella does not like rain. She avoids going out in it and, if I take her for a walk in the rain, she sulks and is keen to turn around and go home.

We actually don't get many wet days here (we might get rain but it's not that frequent and doesn't last a day) so I usually just work around the rain and get Ella out in between. Then, if we do happen to have a truly awful day where it seems to rain all day, we just don't go out. No harm done.

However, this winter seems to have hit hard and wet and I've already had a couple of days where I haven't been able to get Ella out for a walk. This really is less than ideal but I'm a little unsure of what to do.

I don't want to force her out in the rain but I also don't want her going without a walk because it's raining.

Any ideas? Do you think I could teach her to be happy in the rain?
 
Anne123

Anne123

Location
Vlaardingen, the Netherlands
We do get a lot of rain over here. Finn doesn’t like it either, but will go out for there is no other option. I suggest you teacher her that it is ok to go out in the rain by going out when it is just a drizzle. And walk her for a longer time in the drizzle. As we also don’t like rain as human beings when you have to walk in it, dogs don’t too. But eventually you will get there. We now and then walk in the woods with heavy rain. We put on our rain coats and boots and get on with it. What had helped us is that we were mantrailing with Finn in this kind of weather. He had other things to do and wasn’t aware the rain was pouring out of the sky...
 
MrChew

MrChew

Chewie doesn't like the rain either. We often just do a short walk in the rain, or in gaps between rain and then do alternate enrichment activities at home, like kibble hiding games or trick training. That seems to provide enough stimulation to get him through a couple of days of bad weather.
 
Jen

Jen

Stanley hates the rain.

I always “offer” him his walk. Once he sees the rain he turns round and runs back inside.

I don’t see the point in making him and missing a walk here and there won’t do them any harm I’m sure ☺
 
Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Jen said:
Stanley hates the rain.

I always “offer” him his walk. Once he sees the rain he turns round and runs back inside.

I don’t see the point in making him and missing a walk here and there won’t do them any harm I’m sure ☺
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This is exactly what Ella is like. But tonight, she hasn't had a walk and she's stolen one of Nathan's teddies. This indicates that she hasn't had enough exercise.

Nathan's just gone to bed so I'll play some games/training with her now before I log into work. I just worry that it's not enough.
 
Jen

Jen

Emily said:
This is exactly what Ella is like. But tonight, she hasn't had a walk and she's stolen one of Nathan's teddies. This indicates that she hasn't had enough exercise.

Nathan's just gone to bed so I'll play some games/training with her now before I log into work. I just worry that it's not enough.
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What’s Stanley’s excuse for stealing a bib? The had 2 walks yesterday 🙈AF7993EF-8332-4F74-B247-8C21D124DCA3.jpeg
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
Maisy doesn't like going out if it is raining heavily, not even in the garden for toilets. If it starts raining when we are out though she is fine.
 
HAH

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Emily said:
I'll play some games/training with her now before I log into work. I just worry that it's not enough.
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Our trainer regularly says dogs don’t need x number of walks a day, and a couple of 15 min play/training sessions will tire their brains more than any walk. We’ve not found focused training sessions as exhausting for Kipper as she says most dogs find them (!) but it does make me feel better if for any reason we miss a walk.
Apparently scent games take a high level of dog energy, so maybe a bit breakfast hunting might tide Ella over if she doesn’t fancy the rain?
 
Ashley

Ashley

Quinn also hates rain walks, especially heavy blowing rain (in which we won't stay out long anyway) and pulls back to the front door and huddles against it until we go back in. But some days, she has to go out to do her business and I don't like a day without at least some sort of exercise. Surprisingly, she likes walking under the umbrella right beside me (we have a gigantic golf umbrella) and once she gets going she usually gets over the rain and then does her usual sniff about ahead of me. The other thing is that her ball is better than rain, so we will play some ball at the field for a bit instead of walking (arrived dry under umbrella! haha).
 
Plum's mum

Plum's mum

Location
East Sussex
Plum also takes exception to the rain. She doesn’t like to go out in the garden even for a wee if it’s heavy, but will if it’s just drizzling.
If rain is forecast I’ll take her to the woods where there’s a bit of shelter.

If I open the door and it’s pouring she’ll have none of it. If the heavens open when we’re out she hates it and gets quite distressed if there’s no shelter. She stops and sits and stares at me and then fidgets and shivers. I have to coax her to carry on.

I would do as others suggest and do indoor games.
I also have a weather app that’s quite good at predicting rain and, if I can, I get out in the dryer interludes but it’s not always possible.
 
Lab_adore

Lab_adore

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Sydney, Australia
Maxx doesn't seem to mind the rain. It's still a novelty I guess as he has only been alive for 19 months and those have been very dry months where we live. It's the hooman's who don't like going out in it!
 
Granca

Granca

My two sometimes refuse to go out in the garden when it’s raining hard, but they don’t seem to notice the ‘wet from above’ if they’re out on a walk!
 
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