# Dog won't go outside when it's wet



## silellak (Feb 21, 2007)

Hey all,

I have a year and 4 month old mutt. She has some Corgi and some Border Collie but we don't know what else. At this point she's very well potty-trained, except when it's raining or after it's trained or, apparently, even when there's just dew on the ground. The back yard is mostly rocks, so it's not that it's muddy - just damp.

She hates water, so when the ground outside is wet she won't go outside to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, this means she'll gladly use the nice, warm, dry carpet. Even if I take her out there on a leash she won't go. If I go out there and call her to me, she will come, but only reluctantly, and will quickly go back to the 'safety' of the cement porch. 

Does anyone have any ideas? I don't want to have to keep cleaning up after her, and I don't want to keep her outside as the weather gets colder and colder. I'm worried that even if I get her to tolerate water she still won't like to go on the wet ground.

Has anyone else solved a similar problem? Thanks in advance!


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## Annamarie (Oct 14, 2007)

maybe it's too slippery for her? maybe you could make her a non rocky potty area


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

I have a golden that will hold it as long as possible to keep from going out in the rain. My setter mix will gladly go out int he rain, but won't venture off the sidewalk. Like you, I can put her on a leash and walk out into the yard, and she just stands there. I would also like to know how to solve this, other than paving the backyard.


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## darlin (Jun 18, 2007)

I'm going to join the list of people who need that question answered. This is the first time it rained since I found myself the owner of four dogs. None of them will go out in the rain. I now have to rip out the indoor-outdoor carpet on my patio and one of them hates the damp so she goes on anything that resembles grass ie;carpet, rugs, mats. If the outside is too wet, they go on my tile which has to be mopped. I'm losing my mind.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

My dog hates to go out in the rain, the cold, if there's dew on the grass ect. I found that you just have to out wait them. Kuma stays outside until he goes, period. In the worst cases, I brought him in, crated him for 10 minutes, and then put him out again. He quickly learned that the faster he went, the faster he could come in. Problem solved.


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## Gates1026 (Mar 14, 2007)

My dogs both hate the rain. The first time it rained and I took them both outside together, my old pup stood between my legs to use me as a shield. As soon as the little guy witnessed this, he stood underneath of my older pup to avoid the rain. It was quite interesting, I was a giant umbrella to them.


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## Guest (Dec 14, 2007)

our puppy was like that for the longest time. Best thing to do is to wait them out and PRAISE them the second they start to go potty when its raining. Since they already know its good in the good weather, praise them in the bad weather. Our puppy eventually learned the second she got done we would go back inside and praise her and snuggle/warm her back up again


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## cascabel (Sep 25, 2007)

Kuma'sMom said:


> My dog hates to go out in the rain, the cold, if there's dew on the grass ect. I found that you just have to out wait them. Kuma stays outside until he goes, period. In the worst cases, I brought him in, crated him for 10 minutes, and then put him out again. He quickly learned that the faster he went, the faster he could come in. Problem solved.


Yep. Ditto this method. My pup now goes faster than ever in the rain because she knows that she isn't going back in until she's done. It was a major pain waiting her out the first couple of times, but it has definitely paid off in the long term!


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

This is fairly common (my female will not put her prissy feet on grass wet with dew, so will go to the end of the patio and swing her royal hiney around and over the edge to potty, yet will go out in the rain!), so you just have to put them out and close the door.


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## Alpha (Aug 24, 2006)

I'm with Kuma.

Roxy is a rain hater as well, she stands there for a moment, as if to make absolutely sure that I'm going to force her to leave the covered area of the porch than slinks into the rain as if she's being beaten. She's never refused to go outside than peed/pooped inside, but I would correct her if she did.

I do what Kuma posted, I stand outside and I "command" her to go pee or poop, as I always do. If she tries to find a dry spot to stand and glare at me from, I command her again and she goes. 

Most of the time she goes as Hades is finishing and running full steam ahead back in the house as I verbally praise him. I think it really pushes her buttons that he gets to come inside, so she goes  LMAO!


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

Alpha said:


> I do what Kuma posted, I stand outside and I "command" her to go pee or poop, as I always do. If she tries to find a dry spot to stand and glare at me from, I command her again and she goes.


There's no waiting Chewy out on this one (unless you're talking hours). I stood in the rain Wednesday morning for twenty minutes (had to go to work), put her on a leash and stoodf in the yard with her.....nothin. We used to just leave her out until she went, then she found out that she could jump the fence from a stand still. If we tie her out, she sits on the steps because the door has a little roof over it. Funny thing is, it was snowing and sleeting yesterday, and they can't wait to go out in that.


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## clbreb (Dec 14, 2007)

I try to take mine in between rain , she goes really quick.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

> There's no waiting Chewy out on this one (unless you're talking hours)


Yep. It once took 3 hours before Kuma finally went! That was the biggest hurdle. He rarely takes more than 10 minutes out there now, no matter what the weather.


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

Kuma'sMom said:


> Yep. It once took 3 hours before Kuma finally went! That was the biggest hurdle. He rarely takes more than 10 minutes out there now, no matter what the weather.


I don't think my boss would take too kindly to me being 2 and a half hours late for work, because 30 minutes wasn't enough time for little miss princess to decide she can got in the rain.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

Well, during that time, I was getting up extra early to give me enough time. I just left him outside while I got ready, and kept checking up on him. What I would do, is put him out while I got ready, and if he hadn't gone by the time I had to leave, he went into his crate and he had to wait until I got home. Only happened once, lol.


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## snowman81 (Dec 26, 2007)

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and have found some interesting reading so far. We just got a 7 week old Morkie (Maltese/Yorkie). His name is Rudy. I am having a similar problem as some of the members here. When I take Rudy out in the rain or cold, he just hides between my feet and shakes (shivering I guess). But the problem is, as soon as I bring him in the house, he goes. We are still working on house breaking him, but this is getting to be such a pain. From what I am reading, I should wait him out and I think from now on I won't set him down on the carpet, he'll go straight to his kennel if he has not gone outside. One of my big concerns though is Rudy getting sick since he is so young still. Any suggestions or am I pretty much on the right track?


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