Dogs on Rainy Days
Dogs do not like rain. It is wet, cold, and yucky. Getting your Dachshund to go out in the rain is an impossible task. For most breeds rain is an inconvenience, but for Dachshunds, it is a bucket of water and they are the Wicked Witch! If it rains, it’s going to be a poop inside kind of day for sure. There are some ways you can better prepare your dog for a life a life in the rain. Here are the 8 methods that work:
- Get your dog out in the rain as early in life as possible. As soon your puppy is able to go outside, take him or her out in the rain.
- Get rain gear on your dog at a very young age. Make it fun and do not lose your patience. Clothes do not come naturally to dogs.
- Do not make the time out in the rain last too long. Go out for just enough time for the business to get done.
- Treats and affection are what dogs use for life fuel. Give tons of love and a few treats for each successful trip out the door. Do not wait for the business to be done, the accomplishment is the going out in the rain.
- Always accompany your dog outside. Never toss them outside alone as it feels to them like a punishment.
- If you have a porch or large tree, any kind of shelter from the rain, make a path to that area every time. Over several trips, your dog will know there is shelter and be less worried about the trip outside.
- Make every step out into the rain like a walk on the moon. It’s exciting, he’s going to love it out there, and each time is as exciting as the first time.
- Be calm and patient. If you lose your patience or get a dark tone in your voice, you will only upset your dog and he’ll take 100 steps back.
Dogs have the ability to love you wholly and unconditionally. Any small act of kindness from you sets the mood for their entire existence. Making things you want or even need him to do by using threats and punishments and rage will only serve to make your life, and his, miserable. The time it takes you to be kind, reassuring, and show him patience is far less than the time it will take to undo the damage from being aggressive and unkind with your dog.
Go the dollar store, stock up on umbrellas and bags of treats, (MADE IN THE USA ONLY, please!) Keep umbrellas by the back door, the front door, and in your car. so you will be prepared for unexpected rain. Believe it or not, being prepared will go as long a way with dogs as it will with humans. Especially if it is wet outside and especially if you have a Wiener Dog.
