Shep doesn't like rain

[KJ]

Does anyone else have a dog that just doesn't want to go out in the rain? I went out to play with Shep and he fetched the ball 3-4 times, then went and stood by the door to go inside. I called him in the happy let's play voice and he just refused...

It's just drizzling! He gets weird with thunder- maybe he relates the rain with it?

 

(those of you with working dogs must be shakin' your heads)

[Dixie_Girl]

LOL well Jackson doesn't seem to act different in rain, or not. Except all of a sudden there are MUD PUDDLES!! But I did have a GSD/rough collie that I swear tip-toed though wet grass! He hated rain! Thunder would send him through the roof! I don't think it is breed specific. Just some dogs are sensitive!

[mado]

Tamyr takes one look out the door (this is Belgium like 356 days of rain) and she sniggers no thank you very much .

But if we're already out on a hike , she bears it , but like it was gonna ruin her make up you know ?

[Lindzey]

Neither of my BC's like rain OR water. My first, Not Yet (RIP), would kill for a dip in the hose or to chase the sprinkler.

 

Just personal experience, it does have somewhat to do with how they were exposed to rain/water as a pup. Sometimes, it honestly is just their personality.

 

Just a suggestion (I've never tried this, personally) but you might take your BC outback or in an enclosed area with a hose. Spray the water up into the sky and allow it to fall like rain. Maybe do something Shep enjoys while making it 'rain'.

 

Heh, good luck. Almost anything is worth a try!

 

~Lindzey

[Snorri the Priest]

My two may be of working farm stock, but they are now very accustomed to the warmth and dryness of the house. When offered the chance to go out for "business", they do check out the weather before they go! If they're forced to go out in the rain (eg before bedtime), thay come back very quickly!

 

It doesn't help that, where I live, the rain is more often horizontal than vertical!

 

One day, when I was walking Kali, it started to hail. Very carefully, he positioned himself so that I was creating a "hail-shadow" for him to walk in!

 

Snorri

[Allie Oop]

Allie likes to play in the rain and wade in water.

 

However, she shows no signs of wanting to go in rivers, lakes or ponds yet (much to our chagrin). (We do a lot of camping and fishing and had hoped she would be a "water dog".)

[AK dog doc]

I guess they're all different. I think some dogs just don't like the feel of it falling on them, or don't like to be wet. Finn, OTOH, is MAD for water. I used to have an automatic waterer but I had to get rid of it because he would dig all the water out of the bowl, watch it refill, and repeat until the reservoir was empty. (Carpets go squish squish for at least a day after this, I find, no matter how many towels you use.) Mind you, I did nothing to teach him this. He just loved water. He used to find long, deep puddles on our walks and race down the deepset part, snaking his head from side to side and snapping like an alligator at the surface of the water. This is quite hilarious to watch, I must say. One day at the BF's (we both live on lakes) I looked over and there was Finn, muzzle in the water up to his eyeballs - because evidently Dave's lake smells better than ours. After staring intently into the water for about a minute, he pulled his nose out and started digging like mad. (Luckily Dave is a dog person, or he might have been annoyed that my insane BC was flinging muddy water all over the dock and the float plane. Meanwhile, Pepper, his BC, looks on in disgust.) To this day Finn cannot leave a hose alone - he HAS to snap at the water. Apparently it's not just a good idea, it's the law.

 

Buddy, OTOH, was very fastidious and didn't like getting too wet. He'd wade, but wouldn't swim. I always thought it was because Buds was so incredibly deep and narrow in the chest that if he immersed himself, the air trapped in his giant lungs would float him up and flip him upside down, so he'd have to learn to do the backstroke to get out again. Poor Buds. The coolest, oddest dog in the world. I still miss him.

 

None of my others give a rat's a** about rain, wind or snow, though Ali The Hairless doesn't like the really deep cold. Nor does he like wearing a jacket (evidently this causes paralysis), so if it's below zero, he stays home. If it's below 20, he can only stay out for an hour (if active - 20 minutes if not.) Kenzie actually seems to revel in foul weather - kind of like me. (We're both of Scottish descent, can you tell?)

[Lunar]

LMAO dog doc, that's hilarious about Finn.

 

Oreo does NOT like standing water. Detests it, really. Baths are a form of torture. So is any kind of swimming. At the dog park she even politely skirts any large puddles, though I think that's more for my sake than hers - she doesn't mind getting her feet wet, it's anything above the paws. However, she doesn't give a fig about rain, and she ADORES the hose being sprayed on her. She loves to snap at the water and attack it. This is the only way she's gotten close to any lakes or oceans - if there's waves splashing, she attacks them. (But again, will only get her paws wet, no further into the standing body of water.)

 

I think it's an individual dog thing. And I LOVE the water, so there were many, many times that I tried to get Oreo to swim out to join me in a lake upon which we camped. No go. She'd stand on the shore and bark at me to get out, it will suck me under!!

[Zeus and Cody's mommy]

My Zeus hated the rain...I think I once posted how he needed a push off the porch when it was pee time because he dreaded it so much. I used to go off the porch with the umbrella and stand with him as he did his business, looking at me through those half opened eyes, squinting off each drop of rain. He also would go to the smallest room in the house(the bathroom)and lie there until it all passed, or sometimes just under the table, but never out in the open. I think with him, it was the fear of thunder and with rain usually comes thunder so he "felt" the weather and reacted accordingly. As far as standing water, he liked that, he loved the snow...but ran was a scarey monster to him. God rest his soul, amazing how everyday, I am reminded of him somehow, he will ALWAYS be in my heart. Now Cody, he'd walk through fire-he aint scared of nuttin!!! He actually makes it a challenge in the rain to find the muddiest, wettest spot to walk through and do his little bounce down barks at it, only to come in for baby wipe footsie baths(which he hates) before entering the living room with the carpet. Of course he would love to run in and wipe himself on the couch, or anything he can find dry and soft, but mommy doesnt allow it to happen, hence thebabywipes at the door!!!

[mado]

they feel different about rain than any other water ;Tamyr loves snow , loves to swim , she dives in any place with water , but she was just whining at the door now and that's because it's started to rain ...

[Tiga's_mom]

Tiga's never been bothered by the rain. At first he was scared of swimming, but he got over that pretty quick. He doesn't have a lot of choice though because we swim a lot in the summer. Now Tiga's best friend on the other hand is a 120 lb Rottie and she HATES rain and swimming. She'll hold her pee as long as possible to avoid going out in the rain.