How insane does the rain make your Dobe?

1168 Views 22 Replies 20 Participants Last post by RedHotDobe, Jun 5, 2007

eph94

Discussion Starter · Jun 4, 2007

Harley smashed his "I can't potty in the rain" record this morning.

This was the typical first-thing-in-the-morning potty break. As long as there is no rain, he is as regular as the tides. Three times in the past 9 months I had made the mistake of "feeling bad" and letting him back inside although he didn't make a scheduled bowel movement--and three times he thanked me with steaming piles in the house! Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. Fool me THREE times? Gosh, then I'm a genuinely certified fool. Sooooo, I figured I'd wait him out this time despite my inner protestations of "the poor thing is just melting in that rain" etc. etc.

He paced non-stop for 1 1/2 hours before I couldn't take it anymore and "intervened" a bit. I brought out to him his morning meal, to which he gobbled down in the rain. It was the hope that this would prime the juices. Well, it worked, but it took another 1/2 hour of pacing before he finally went... and boy did he go. I'm surprised he was able to hold it in for that long, especially since his last bowel movement was at 8PM the night before and I fed him a little more than usual in his prior evening meal.

The instant he finished, I praised the heck out of him and we rushed inside. I hope it is a lesson learned, since I'm not always going to have 2 free hours in the morning to wait him out in the rain!

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

Lexus

· #2 · Jun 4, 2007

LOL, your poor floors!

Lex hates the rain, and she looks totally miserable when I put her out in it... her ears are all drooped down and she holds her head down and blinks alot and walks really slow, like it is complete torture. My other two dogs could care less. I have to stand at the door, and keep telling Lexus "Go Potty", otherwise she would just stand under the overhang

Riagogogo

· #3 · Jun 4, 2007

Rudi has gotten much better. He would just stand on the front porch all cols and sad, then I caught him hiking his leg up against the house on the porch. Of course I yelled at him and hurt his feelings and after the second time he did it and I yelled at him......he now goes out to the yard, quick and to the point. If it is nice out.....he hunts and pecks for a good spot.

Luvbirds

· #4 · Jun 4, 2007

Petey had a bit of a problem all night long, the runs...so he was out in it 4 times, and then this AM....was like What? I'm not going out in that! I'm planning on running him in it later on today....nice 1 hour hike in the rain, if I don't, my family will pay dearly with DEVIL DOG!

Carol

LapDog

· #5 · Jun 4, 2007

lol what? Duchess....rain? going potty in the rain??? whats that? lol. She has a doggy door that leads into a kennel with a cement floor and a roof overhead lol so she doesnt have to worry about that lol. But if I let coco out and he doesnt want to go...ill let duchess go with him...but she is not a good role model when she cringes arches her back and trots right back in after realizing its raining after the first couple drops that hit her lol

lyngr

· #6 · Jun 4, 2007

Oh, Nike will *play* out in the rain but potty? That's another story entirely.

eph94

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 4, 2007

LapDog said:
lol what? Duchess....rain? going potty in the rain??? whats that? lol. She has a doggy door that leads into a kennel with a cement floor and a roof overhead lol so she doesnt have to worry about that lol.

SHHHHHH! If Harley ever catches wind of such an arrangement, he just may stage a coup d'etat. Gosh, having one of those would make life so much easier. What a great setup!!

lyngr said:
Oh, Nike will *play* out in the rain but potty? That's another story entirely.

This I completely don't understand. If I picked up a ball in the middle of our potty "stand-off" in the rain, Harley definitely would have played as if the rain did not exist. In the past, I tried to desensitize Harley to the rain through play, but play time is play time and potty time is potty time in his mind. One goes just fine with rain and the other simply does not.

Dobes can be so funny sometimes.

A few months back I even went so far to buy him a full rain suit from Neopaws. You guessed it, it turns out that I bought the one thing that Harley hates more than rain. He won't even move unassisted when it is on. He just stands there like a statue.

brumwolf

· #8 · Jun 4, 2007

From now on i am sending any new Dobes i have to you to housetrain,you must have the patience of a saint(2 hours !!!!!!!)

Burns

· #9 · Jun 4, 2007

Red used to refuse to go potty in the rain, but I'd stand out there with him with an umbrella, constantly repeating, "go potty, go potty, go potty" and not come in until he went.

He still won't go out willingly (sometimes I have to literally pick him up off the deck and place him in the grass), but he'll go because he's knows the sooner he goes, the sooner he can come in!

eph94

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 4, 2007

brumwolf said:
From now on i am sending any new Dobes i have to you to housetrain,you must have the patience of a saint(2 hours !!!!!!!)

Seriously, though, what were my options? I was facing a Sophie's Choice.

Fifteen minutes passed in what seemed like a blink of an eye. I just couldn't believe how ridiculous it was for Harley to pace and pace and pace in the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry. Then by the thirty minute mark, I began to fail to see the humor of the situation. By one hour, I think I hit the point of no return. If it packed it in at that point, then I just wasted a miserable hour for nothing. At an hour and a half, desperation began set in, which is why I decided to go in and prepare his morning meal to prime the pump. Imagine if you will my surprise when as soon as he finished his food he started pacing all over again. I really, really wanted to give up at that point, but I looked at the facts staring coldly at me:

* This was a regularly scheduled potty break.
* He hadn't had a bowel movement since 8PM the prior night.
* Last night's meal was larger that usual.
* And to top it off, I just fed him again.

I was certainly courting disaster if I brought him in, even if I put him in his crate. Plus, what sort of message would I be sending him if I allowed him to *not* go potty after I said "go potty" over a hundred times? And finally, a huge teaching/learning opportunity awaited. If I could be there the moment he finished going potty then I could lavish him with perfectly timed "Good potty!" praise.

I know I could have left him out there for a couple of hours by himself, but then he would have just gone into his dog house and I would have no idea if he relieved himself or not when I let him back in.

Thank you guys and gals for letting me rant and get this off my chest! It definitely made me feel better.

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Acooper

· #11 · Jun 4, 2007

Hahaha, Orson will hold it for as long as Doggily possible to avoid going in the rain............

DreamDoby

· #12 · Jun 4, 2007

Burns said:
Red used to refuse to go potty in the rain, but I'd stand out there with him with an umbrella, constantly repeating, "go potty, go potty, go potty" and not come in until he went.

I used to do that. Then they learned what the umbrella was for and that they could stand under it also and not get wet. I got tired of me getting wet and holding it for them so they would go.

They suffer now. They run for the shelter of the apple tree when I shove them out the door. Not that they will potty there. Noooo. That is the standing spot. They will take quick sprints out in the rain and do a quick business here and back under the tree. It takes forever for them to do the whole thing.

JavasMom

· #13 · Jun 4, 2007 (Edited)

Java gets past the eaves and then turns and gives me a look, ears back, that says 'Ahhhhh Mooooooooooooommmm!'. Then she scoots along the wall and pees just off the back stoop - fastest pee in history - and zooms back in. This from the Dobergirl who can't get enough of a lawn sprinkler - any sprinkler. A muzzle full of shooting water is pure bliss, but a few drops of rain? They might as well be acid.....

TracyJo

· #14 · Jun 4, 2007

Both of mine think they're made of sugar and act as if rain is acid falling from the sky if I just open the back door and expect them to go out. However, they have no problem if I take them for a walk. Since we don't have a fenced yard, we're pretty much in the habit of walking for most of our potty breaks anyway. Next time, grab his leash and a umbrella and I bet he goes in a matter of minutes rather than hours!

MandysBlackRoses

· #15 · Jun 5, 2007

I wish I had thought to wait to name Rayna. She HATES the rain. She acts really nervous when she hears it, and will NOT go out in it. We have to force her to go outside to pee.

Rowen on the other hand could care less, and always finds the biggest puddle to get mucky in.

Raven will go out if she absolutly has to go. Other then that she will hold it rather then get wet.

Jenny

· #16 · Jun 5, 2007

Isabelle will hold it as long as she possibly can - luckily we live in Phx so rain is not common place

She too love the sprinklers and her doggy pool but rain - nope.

dragonman

· #17 · Jun 5, 2007

Drago's pretty good - but Magnum (rest his soul) would hold it until the cows came home..

StarlaineK9

· #18 · Jun 5, 2007

I have a whippet like that....Callie. Callie the Cactus! She holds it forever!

TomAndKing

· #19 · Jun 5, 2007

King would consistently take an hour or more to go potty when it was raining. It was rather annoying since half the year it rains here. He loved the snow though.

Patches Mom

· #20 · Jun 5, 2007

Buddy goes out in the rain he has no choice, on the Doxie forum I belong too one of the owners of a Doxie Princess has a really neat set up. She has one of those covered shade type things in her yard so the Doxie will not get wet.Not sure of what they are called ususally people use them to cover picnic tables, or just to have shade the ones with the 4 poles and heavy plastic over the top. I'm just brain dead tonight.
Patches Mom

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