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My Dogs Refuse to Go Outside When It Rains

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6 Tips to Get Your Dog to Potty When It Rains

Potty Training a Dog
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Believe it or not, dogs refusing to go outside when it rains is a pretty common issue with all types of dogs–big or small, male or female. Boy, it can be frustrating, especially when it rains for days straight. If your dog stops in her tracks the moment she steps outside on a rainy day, give these tried and true dog training tips a try. They really work. Pssst I live with a dog that hates going outside on drizzly days. He even hates stepping on wet grass. Yes, he’s a big old male Rottweiler. 🙂

Everyone Hates Getting Rained On

If you’ve ever been caught in a rainstorm, you understand sitting in wet clothes is torture. The same applies to your dog. They don’t enjoy getting wet and having to sit around with wet fur. With that said, many dogs need to potty outside, so what should you do?

Grab Your Leash and Umbrella

By far, this is the easiest way to potty your dog during the rain. When it’s potty time, attach a leash to your dog and grab your umbrella as you both head outside in the yard. For small dogs, you can most certainly pick them up and place them on the grass to potty. For larger dogs, grab several yummy treats and lure them outside.

Once you’re outside on the grass, wait patiently while keeping yourself and your dog covered with an umbrella. Ninety-percent of dogs will usually potty using this technique. They just want to get it over with, so they can go back inside. As your dog potties, slowly praise her for doing such a good job and reward with a treat once inside. Now, you can certainly give her a treat once she’s done, but most dogs would rather head inside than chew on a treat on wet grass.

After a few rainy day practice sessions, your dog will learn to run out and potty quickly, then run like mad for the door. 

For the other 10 percent of dogs that just stand there, looking up at you with pleading eyes while holding up a foot, stand still and wait outside for 10 minutes. By standing still, you’re keeping rain off you and your dog with the umbrella. Plus, it prevents your dog from pulling you toward the backdoor. If, after 10 minutes, your dog still hasn’t gone to the bathroom, maybe you need another plan.

Set Up a Covered Potty Area

It’s all about choices, and some of us are unable or unwilling to stand outside with our dogs in pouring cold rain. That’s totally fine. Instead, try pottying your dog in a covered area indoors or outdoors.

When my older dogs needed to potty while it was pouring rain outside, I placed several potty pads under our covered backyard deck. If you don’t have a covered deck, try placing some type of tarp on the corner of your house. This prevents your senior citizen from getting soaked. For smaller dogs, place potty pads in the bathroom or laundry room on rainy days.

RELATED: Housebreaking a Puppy

Dry Your Dog Afterwards

Completely dry off your dog after he potties outside. Keep large towels next to your backdoor. Don’t only dry your dog’s body, but also wipe her wet feet and tail. On cold, rainy days, I like to quickly blow-dry my dogs, which dries their coat and immediately warms them up.

Try Rain Boots

Personally, I don’t think raincoats really help, especially if your dog has never worn sweaters or clothes before. However, booties do help. I’ve seen it happen many times. Velcro waterproof booties will keep your dog’s feet from getting in direct contact with wet and muddy grass. For Sobek, my Rottweiler, putting rain booties on his feet made all the difference. He’ll actually walk out and potty after it rains. It’s definitely worth a try.

Plan Ahead

Watch your weather forecast and bring your dog outside to potty right before it starts to rain. If it’s pouring rain, wait a few minutes for it to die down before you take your dog outside to potty. It’s not fun being outside during torrential downpours. Also, if you’re heading out for a daily walk, either postpone or reschedule. Remember, you may love walking in the rain, but your dog hates it.

Keep potty sessions extremely short. If it starts to thunder and lightning strikes, bring your dog inside and dry her off.

Use Potty Pads

If your dog is terrified of thunderstorms, I highly recommend either placing potty pads inside your home for small dogs or walking your leashed larger dog out to a covered potty area. For thunder-phobic dogs, it’s not exactly the rain that’s frightening them; it’s the thunder, lightning and changes in barometric pressure that terrifies them.

If your dog hates going outside when it’s raining, she isn’t a wimp. She just doesn’t like getting wet like some people. 🙂

Training a Boxer to Calm Down

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Boxer Behavior: Training Them to Calm Down

Boxer Behavior
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Is living with a Boxer any different than living with a German Shepherd or Pug? Yes and no. All dogs have their own breed characteristics and traits that speak so loudly of that breed, but on the other hand there are certain behaviors all dogs have. The next question is: can dog behaviors that are sometimes not considered polite to humans be trained or are they just what you have to deal with owning a Boxer? All behaviors are trainable. We just need to find what works for your Boxer.

Not So Polite Boxer Behaviors

Boxers are a fun, loving, outgoing and high-spirited breed that have a lot of energy and affection to expel. That being said, some inappropriate dog behaviors can come from all this energy and desire for attention. The most common impolite behaviors I see with Boxers are excessive jumping, pawing and muzzle punching. I’m sure anyone who has a Boxer and is reading this is thinking: “Yes ma’am. I deal with this on a constant basis!” Well, let’s talk about how we can refine your Boxer a little bit.

Jumping

Jumping is common for many dogs, especially energetic and excited dogs. Boxers kind of do this wiggle jump because they can barely contain their excitement. On the positive side of this, they’re quite happy dogs and they radiate excitement. The negative end of this excitement level is they’ll jump all over you or at least right in front of you when you’re trying to get through the door.

A great way to deal with this behavior is to teach an alternate behavior like “sit.” You will want to work on the new desired behavior in a low distraction area when you’re not coming home from being away. What do you do when you come home and your Boxer is wiggling and jumping all over the place? Every Boxer I’ve ever met is food motivated, so let’s use this to our advantage.

Keep tasty treats outside the door in a jar, grab a handful of them before you walk in and toss them on the floor when you enter the house. This distracts your dog for long enough for you to get in the house without being trampled as well as breaks the jumping routine and rewards your dog for keeping all four feet on the floor. Now that you’re inside the house and things are a little calmer, you can ask your Boxer for the “sit” behavior before giving him attention.

Pawing and Muzzle Punching

These two Boxer behaviors go hand-in-hand because your Boxer is usually doing them for the same reason: attention! As we all know, Boxers are usually very affectionate and can be attention hogs, which I love, but sometimes they become a little pushy about it. I have a great exercise that can help your Boxer build some self-control and teach him that patiently waiting for attention will get him the attention he desires.

Begin in a quiet low distraction area. Place medium grade treats in your hand and make a closed fist to present to your dog. Ignore any pawing or muzzle punching from your dog. Say “Eh-Eh” if the bad behaviors become excessive. Once your dog stops pawing or muzzle punching, open your hand full of treats and use your other hand to take a treat to give to your dog. If your dog goes toward the baited hand (hand with treats) when you open it, simply close it and begin the dog training session again.

Continue working on this exercise until you can open your baited hand and reward your dog with each piece of food one at a time, waiting three seconds in between each treat. Soon, you’ll be able to carry the “Eh-Eh” cue over to when your dog is nudging you or pawing you for attention, which should make your Boxer default into the correct patiently waiting behavior.

Dog behaviors are only considered bad if you, the owner, doesn’t like them or finds them a nuisance. Sometimes, you like the behaviors in moderation, which is why working on these exercises will help you gain a little more control in these situations.

READ NEXT: How to Choose a Sport for Your Dog

How to Stop a Dog From Eating Too Fast

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Stop Your Dog From Eating Too Fast

How to Stop a Dog From Eating Too Fast
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If your dog inhales his food like a Hover vacuum cleaner, then you know the struggle. Eating too fast can result in choking, gagging, vomiting and swallowing excessive air, which causes bloating (accumulation of gas in the stomach). So it’s important to slow down your dog’s eating habits.

For the most part, I’ve always shared my home with fast eating dogs, so I’ve gotten used to this behavior. However, just because I’m used to it doesn’t mean it’s allowed to happen. I take many precautions to stop my dogs from eating too fast, which I’ll happily share with you. 🙂

Spread Out the Goodness

By far, this is the easiest (and cheapest) way to make your dog eat slower. Take your dog’s daily meals and spread them out on a rug or smooth surface. At first, you should make it easy for your dog to eat by sprinkling food in clumps on your cement patio (weather permitting).

Once he gets really good at eating his food spread out, increase the distance between the kibble by fanning out his food in a larger smooth-surfaced area. By increasing the distance between the kibble, you’re forcing your dog to search for each kibble. To make it even harder, sprinkle his kibble on a large rug where he must hunt through the fibers for his food. This makes a great rainy day game. If you want to make it even more challenging, sprinkle his kibble in a shag rug. It could easily take 30 minutes for him to find all his food.

Refrain from tossing your dog’s kibble in the yard. It’s very difficult for your dog to find each and every piece plus it attracts ants and rodents. Tossing your dog’s meals into your yard is like tossing a free meal out, which isn’t fair to your dog. Don’t be surprised if your dog starts fighting wildlife once he learns you give out his meals on a daily basis.

WATCH: How to Stop a Dog From Eating Too Fast

https://youtu.be/C6jR5Pawwt0

Slow Feed Dog Bowls

Slow feed dog bowls are flat on the bottom and usually contain lots of hiding places for your dog’s food. You fill these dishes with food and place them on the ground during meal times. While they’re interactive, they don’t move. They sit in place like your dog’s regular food bowl.

Lately, there’s been an explosion of dog food bowls promising to slow your dog’s eating habits, but I don’t believe these bowls work for all dogs. Most dogs that eat fast slightly suffer from an underlying anxiety, which can cause them frustration while trying to chase or lick food trapped between barriers and crevices. If they can’t get to the food fast enough, most dogs will flip over the food bowl to gain access, then it’s a feeding frenzy.

If you decide to give an interactive feeding dog bowl a whirl, make sure it’s big enough for your dog. Choosing a dog bowl too small will surely cause frustration. When introducing your dog’s new dish, make the game easy in the beginning–no one wants to keep chipping away at a new game that’s way too hard, especially when you’re hungry! Check out interactive feeding dishes here.

Interactive Dinner Toys

These dog toys are filled with your dog’s daily meals. You give them to your dog with which he can chew, paw and lick clean. For the most part, these toys promote gnawing and chewing, which is very satiating and will certainly extend dinner meals from 10 seconds to 20 minutes, depending on the chosen toy.

When introducing an interactive dinner toy, make the game easy for the first few days. Loosely sprinkle food inside and outside the toy, so your dog learns to associate food with the toy. Over the next few days, start to tightly pack food in by using peanut butter or wet food as a binder. My favorite interactive dinner toy is the Kong Wobbler. It’s really good!

Try rotating between each option to make eating even more challenging for your dog. Soon your dog will learn to enjoy eating slowly!

Training Your Dog to Give Kisses

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Get Your Dog to Give Kisses on Cue

Training Your Dog to Give Kisses
Multiart/iStock

Who doesn’t love a big wet kiss from their dog? Okay, maybe there are a lot of you out there who would rather not receive a wet one, but maybe you know someone who loves receiving kisses from her dog. Well good news! You can train your dog to give kisses on cue, allowing you to clearly communicate to your dog when he is welcome to give kisses.

What You’ll Need

• Treats – I suggest using something that can easily slather onto your hand, such as peanut butter, cream cheese or a roll on treat.
• Training Location – Begin your dog training in a quiet, distraction-free area. This will help your dog learn quickly.
• Marker – Choosing a marker is very important, as this is what informs your dog he has made the right choice and performed the desired behavior. A marker or conditioned reinforcer is a word or sound that you’ve associated with a reward, such as “good” or” yes” or clicker.

How to Teach Your Dog to Give Kisses

Once you’re all set up in your training area, start with a hungry and calm dog. The reason I say to work with your dog while he’s hungry is because you want him to be motivated to work for the food reward. You also don’t want him to be full of energy, so he can focus better.

Step One

Put a small amount of your lure (peanut butter) in the palm of your hand or on the back of your hand, and then present your hand to your dog. Once your dog shows interest in the food, give your marker word “good” and provide your dog with a secondary treat from your pocket. Most dogs will give your hand a lick when they smell the yummy lure in your hand. If this is the case, you don’t need to provide a secondary reward; just give your marker word “good” and allow the lure to be his reward.

Practice this step in small sessions multiple times a day for the next couple of days. Once your dog becomes fluent with the lure, you can move onto the next step.

Step Two

Begin to fade the lure by only using a very small amount of peanut butter on your hand. Add the cue while your dog licks your hand (kisses) and mark the behavior with “good.” The key to fading the lure and adding the cue is to only use the food lure intermittently, meaning you don’t need to reapply the peanut butter right away if your dog licks the reward off the first time. You can reward with a less valuable reward like a Charlie Bear or soft dog treat. Once your dog does the behavior without or with little food, you can move to the next step.

Step Three

Now, you’re ready to begin training your dog to give kisses on cue. Continue to practice in the same place without distractions to facilitate success, present your un-baited hand and give your cue “kisses.” When your dog performs the behavior, give your marker word “good” followed by a high value reward! Once your dog is 90 percent compliant with performing the cue on command, begin fading the reward like we discussed above.

Enjoying Your Dog’s Kisses

Once your dog becomes fluent with this new behavior, you can really use it in any capacity you’d like: as a fun trick to show your guests, a normal greeting routine for you and your pup, a way to tell your dog you’ve had enough kisses or even a way to wake your family members up when they won’t get out of bed!

READ NEXT: How to Help Hand Shy Dogs

Excessive Licking in Dogs May Point to Health Issues

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Excessive Licking in Dogs: It May Be a Health Issue

Excessive Licking in Dogs
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Dogs lick and some more than others, both of which are completely normal. Then there are some dogs that lick excessively and lick everything including furniture, flooring, toys, animals, themselves and people. While some people find it annoying, I actually become concerned when dog owners inform me of excessive licking during consultations. Excessive licking in dogs is a symptom caused by a behavioral or medical issue.

Never ignore excessive licking. Your dog is trying to tell you something is wrong.

When Does Licking Become Excessive?

All dogs are different, so with that said, there are a few telltale signs. When a dog licks a specific spot so much he causes a wet spot, that’s excessive licking. When touching the area, you instantly know it’s saturated with saliva.

Some dogs lick themselves so often, they will cause a lick granuloma. Lick granulomas are caused when a dog has licked a sore into his skin. Battling lick granulomas is like riding a roller coaster; there’s some ups and many downs, and it can take weeks to heal the area.

RELATED: Hot Spots on Dogs: Causes and Treatments

Causes of Excessive Licking

Digestive Issues

Yes, dogs have digestive issues just like people, and it’s actually pretty common. Dogs will lick flooring, themselves or furniture because their stomach hurts or burns (they’re trying to stop the pain).

When we have heartburn, we drink water to help relieve the burning sensation whereas dogs either drink or lick excessively. Dogs are susceptible to GERD (chronic heartburn), especially if they take NSAIDs on a regular basis. Remember, NSAIDs can cause gastric ulcers and inflammation. It’s best to never dismiss excessive licking, especially if your dog takes or has taken NSAIDs.

Solution

With GERD, sometimes over-the-counter antacids can help tremendously. If you give your dog Pepcid, you’ll notice your dog stops licking within 20 minutes after ingesting and his licking will cease until another flareup causes burning again. Keep in mind antacids are not a quick fix. Too much antacid consumption can reduce your dog’s stomach acid, which results in indigestion of his food. I know, it’s a vicious cycle, so always consult with your vet when giving antacids.

Self-Soothe

Licking to self-soothe was discussed in a previous article, but it’s another reason some dogs lick excessively. Some dogs learn licking someone, furniture, flooring or himself is very soothing. You’ll likely notice it when your dog is preparing for a nap.

Sobek, my Rottweiler, learned this behavior after battling a hot spot. It feels good for dogs to lick something. When Sobek started self-soothing himself by licking, I notice he would curl up in his favorite spot and start slowly licking his leg. When I called his name, he would jump–almost like he was in a trance. It was so spooky.

Many years ago, my mother had a feisty Lhasa Apso named Trixie. She was a little pistol, but she learned to self-soothe herself by licking my mother’s leg non-stop. Sometimes, she would lick for an hour. After she was done licking, she usually fell right to sleep. It became a ritual. If my mother wore long pants and Trixie was unable to lick, she would become very frustrated. If no one were available to lick, she would lick a pillow until she fell asleep.

Solution

Self-soothing licking needs to be addressed quickly. Redirect your dog with a food stuffed toy or a quick game of “touch” (i.e. dog walks over and touches his nose to your hand). Punishment will make it worse. You’re increasing stress levels, which is the main reason dogs learn to self-soothe lick in the first place. Teach your dog others ways to self-soothe and try calming supplements and products. They can most definitely help you over the hump.

Let Your Vet Know Too

Inform your vet of your dog’s excessive licking during your next appointment. If excessive licking becomes an issue, ask for a referral to a veterinary behaviorist or a seasoned dog trainer. Again, find a dog trainer who uses positive reinforcement methods only. Remember, punishment will make it much worse. Many times, a combination of health and behavior consults will do the trick. If not, keep pushing forward, ask questions and, by all means, let me know if I can help too. 🙂

Many of us give our dogs over-the-counter products and supplements when there’s a problem, but please do research on those products beforehand. Many human medications are deadly to dogs. Always consult with your veterinarian. She needs to know all medications your dog is taking even OTC versions.

Never ignore excessive licking. If you’re uncertain whether your dog’s licking is excessive, a positive reinforcement dog trainer can certainly troubleshoot!

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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