[OliviaB]

Someone please tell me I'm not the only one with a dog who refuses to potty in the rain! Gunner has been doing GREAT with housetraining! Over the weekend though, it poured almost nonstop. He REFUSED to go potty in the rain. I even took an umbrella, but that just distracted him even more. I took him out for a long time on a leash, and he just stared at me. As soon as we got back inside, he peed immediately on the carpet. Next time I put him in the crate, and he peed in the crate. Ugh! Now today it's stopped raining and he's going outside again, but we are supposed to have rain later this week. I tried just putting him outside without the leash, but he just stayed cowered by the door on the back deck. Any ideas how to fix this?? He doesn't act afraid of the rain...he just doesn't want to get wet :confused2

 

[HarvestMoon]

Welcome to the world of the wonderful melting doberman! My dobermans have both hated the rain and I remember vividly potty training my puppy in the fall two years ago and dreaded rainy days probably more than her because of this.

I also used an umbrella, would try to find parts of the yard where the eaves from the house hung over and there was less rain exposure, and treated very heavily when she did her thing. I would also try to walk her around a bit, ie in front yard or down the street to get her mind off the rain, in hopes she would do her thing.

Even to this day, my now 2 year old Dobe hates to walk on the grass after the sprinkler has been on. She tip toes on wet grass like it's poisonous or something! LOL.

Good luck with your little cutie!

p.s. I also had mine wearing doggy coats at a pretty young age. Having a dog coat on seemed to make the rain slightly more palatable as well...

 

[Julie W]

I don't know of any other way other than to stick it out and not let them back inside until they go. Teach them to go on command, praise them calmly as they are going, and then lavishly when they are finished while immediately bringing them back in as a reward. If you can stick it out they will soon figure out that the faster they go, the faster they go back inside.

 

[mmctaq]

I haven't been able to make rain wonderful or even inconsequential, but I have been able to make it tolerable. I make a big point with new puppies to go outside and PLAY in the rain... thunderstorm, even better! We tug and chase and fetch and find treats and get too excited about other stuff to notice the awefulness of the rain. Get the game started inside (tug probably works best) and then when it is in high gear, move it outside. The more time you can have the biggest best fun ever in the rain, the less horrible rain is.

 

[Adara]

I actually videotaped Flirt once because I was laughing so hard. With the puppies unfortunately you have to make sure they go, go with them or watch through a window.

It cracks me up how she keeps picking her feet up higher and higher like it's going to keep them from getting wet DURING the rain

world most pathetic doberman - YouTube

 

[Gemma Mom]

Gemma absolutely loathes the rain/getting her feet wet. But doesn't mind getting a bath outside with the hose...wwwwweirdo! I'm definitely glad she is a little older and able to hold it longer....and it's been very dry in STL. But I am not looking forward to winter with her!

 

[hjgrl]

Luci melts when it rains, its true, she told me so She picks her feet up and will hold one or two up at a time if there's just dew on the grass, let alone when its raining. You just gotta stick it out and treat and praise and praise and treat when he does his thing. Good luck

 

[o0 sHaDoWoLf 0o]

Haha thats funny that you post this today because Odin did that today. At first he was barking at the rain , I let him out and he ran back inside real fast. But I put him back outside and he managed to find a spot to go. He came back inside for his breakfeast and he was barking and eating at the same time. I think he thought that rain was real evil lol. Then I brought him to work and he goes before he comes in but didnt this time. I coulnt wait for him as I had to get to work and sure enough right when we got inside he went...D'oh >_< I live in seattle so you can only imagine what I have ahead of myself.

I still have the old rain coat from my last dobie but he wont fit into that for awhile

 

[eegreen]

Indy doesn't like the rain either, even with his rain coat on.

 

[Burns]

Red hates it to. He will hold it and hold it before he will go out in the rain. A light sprinkle is usually not an issue (since he sometimes like to run so fast around the yard, I swear he's trying to outrun the rain lol).

The only time I've ever seen him disregard a heavy downpour is when he had massive diarrhea (thank god he didn't try to hold that!)

I don't have any pointers since I tried using an umbrella too and that just didn't seem to cut it lol

 

[OliviaB]

Well, at least I'm not alone I would just walk him around forever until he goes, but I have two young kids who can't be left alone inside too long. It's funny because usually he LOVES water. He "helps" me bathe the kids every night and I swear he would climb in the bathtub with them if there was more room. Oh well....*sigh*. Looks like I'm going to have a 90 lb prissy doberman who will melt in the rain Times like this I wish those people who are scared of dobes could see what huge babies they are!

 

[the_discowhore]

Lottie doesn't seem to mind the rain thankfully, no idea why... but Poppy was a different story! I remember once she had slept inside all night and we went to let her out in the morning and it was raining heavily, she looked out the door and trotted back to the couch... did this until at least after lunch when we decided to shove her out the door... over 12 hours of no toileting was just too silly! At our old house we had brick pavers around our lawn, Poppy would trot carefully along those and somehow contort to get all her feet on the paver and pee on the grass somehow then come back inside with dry feet haha

 

[dax0402]

No, you are not alone. All of my Dobes had "rain" problems even with rain coats on. I let Baron out and he just stands at the door under the overhang of the house and waits. I go out with him with an umbrella and he just goes back and stands by the door. Peeing usually isn't a problem. I can usually get him to pee but pooping is another story. Last Friday it poured all day in PA. He pooped early in the morning when it was just drizzling and then didn't go until the next morning and he usually goes 3 times. No amount of bribing will get him to go out and poop in the rain!

 

[Girlwithapairofdobes]

Sugar melts when it gets wet...sad fact of life. My 2 previous dobes were difficult to get to go out in any type of bad weather. As a matter of fact, my first dobe Trucker, would actually run up the stairs and hop onto our bed when I'd say "let's go outside" in the winter. We taught him to "go she she" (don't ask me where it came from, I don't know...LOL) when he was to go out and eliminate. But when "go outside" was said, I'd swear he was thinking , "Northern Mi, snow, cold...C'mon chickie, I'm a doberman...I have no hair" We got him a coat and it helped. My second dobe, Brinks, was almost as bad. Now I have Maverick and Ransom. They were both born late in the summer so they were housebreaking in the fall and winter. HUGE difference. Both dogs are completely willing to go out even during the heaviest rain. We still use "go outside" seperately from "go she she", but they don't seem to mind the weather at all. Good Luck!!

 

[StarlightDobe]

Im glad Im not alone with my melting dobes when it rains .. Nexus thankfully doesnt pee in the house but Bella is a lazy little runt and she will if you dont watch her like a hawk on rainy days. She goes to the back door, pees all over the floor then rings her potty bell to tell me what I think is she has to go out, only to find she already did it on my floor. And when I do take them out, they usually stand under the patio awning and stare out into the back yard then look at me like "you want me to do what?"
Bella will go on cement, or the patio (which are the paver blocks) so if I can get her out the door, I can get her to potty when its raining, but Nexus will not potty on anything but grass, so its harder to get her to go when its raining. I usually have to just leave her out a while, and eventually she will venture into the yard, usually running under the tree which offers a little break from the rain, and she will go there and make a mad dash back to the patio, then its hard to convince her to take the 3 steps to the back door because theres no cover there. Its quite hilarious to watch them in the rain, poor kids, and you cant help laughing at them sometimes, they are such babies when it comes to rain.

 

[Faireview]

I had to literally shove Chase out the door by his butt this morning. As soon as I got the door closed, he sat down, curled his body up, and leaned against the door with the most tortured look his face. Pathetic boy! The little dogs went potty and were allowed back in. Chase finally got the hint that he wasn't going to get back in until he went, so he painfully dragged himself away from the door and went. They sure are Dober-sissies in the rain!

 

[Beaumont67]

I tried just putting him outside without the leash, but he just stayed cowered by the door on the back deck. Any ideas how to fix this?
******************************
^^^^^^^^^^ that won't work / Mom has to get wet to...lol / sorry, that is how it is...in their world:
Amy hates getting wet and will even walk around water puddles (in the drive way), to keep her feet dry.

During a down pour...she tries to stand under the sun room footings and wait it out / but no pee.

I fixed her...call her into the center of the back yard and talk her into peeing.
- dobe feels better, if we both get completely wet / they are quite the manipulators
They will pee quick enough...only if your prepared to stand directly in the rain with them.
(don't let them hide under an eavetrough or side of building...then they are not in potty mode)
- I also say..."Amy go pee-pee"....over & over.

 

[willydobe]

If Willy gets 2 raindrops on him, he shakes like he just came out of a carwash. Raincoat
helps, but now he understands that we are going to be outside until he takes care of
business.

 

[Herb2relax]

Keep at it. When Kyrah was young she would use the rug on the back porch. I have always taken her out in the light to med rain for walks and to play. Now she will go out in the rain sometimes just to sniff around. If its really pouring I use an umbrella. She has a command to go potty so I just tell her that and we keep walking around until she does. My advice is just keep at it.

 

[Coco Loco]

I have a melter too lol. If it is raining Coco will hold it for hours and hours until it stops. Then she tiptoes outside and pees like a racehorse!! She hates baths but has no trouble jumping into a creek or a stream to play. But one raindrop creates a crisis!!:butfly: