Are walks with your dog on rainy days stressful for you? To avoid this, you must prepare your four-legged friend well for going out together during inclement weather. Thanks to this, walks in the rain will no longer be unpleasant for your pet.
A walk with a dog on a rainy day should be, above all, fast. No need to spend too much time outside in the rain. Your walk may be longer the next day when the weather improves. You can also equip your dog with a raincoat.
What you will learn from this article:
- A walk on a rainy day should be quick
- Choose places and alleys that are more sheltered from the rain
- You can equip your dog with a raincoat
Walking the dog in the rain
Sometimes walking in the rain is fun. Suppose we are talking about the middle of summer and warm, not too heavy, rain. Walking in a downpour is no longer such a satisfying experience. Your pooch sees rain in a pretty similar way. What’s more, it is worth noting that in the event of rain, we reach for an umbrella to protect ourselves from drops falling from the sky. Unfortunately, your four-legged friend cannot do the same.
Therefore, I believe you need to approach a walk with a dog on a rainy day in a skilful way. Otherwise, your canine may even be discouraged by such weather and, in no case, will not want to leave the house then. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to let that happen.
Therefore, I have some valuable tips for you that will make walking your dog more accessible in the rain. Many dogs don’t like going outside in this weather, so you’re probably wondering how to help your dog.
The dog does not like water
First, it is worth considering why your four-legged friend is reluctant to go out in rainy weather. Does he dislike walking in such conditions, or is the problem more profound? Namely, if your dog is not afraid of water.
How does your dog react to a bath? He approaches it enthusiastically, or maybe he is dissatisfied and stressed. The same is true when you are near a body of water. Does your dog willingly come to dip his paws in the water, or does he try to avoid it with a wide berth?
Some dogs fear water and try to avoid it at all costs. If this is why your dog avoids walks on rainy days, then no accessories and persuasion to go out together may not fulfil their role.
If your dog’s reluctance to walk is a negative attitude towards water, then you should focus on this problem in the first place. Only when you deal with it can you move on to convince your dog that walking in the rain can be a great adventure.
I wrote a separate article on convincing your dog to the water. You can find it HERE. If your dog reacts badly to water in any form, then focusing only on walks in the rain may not bring any effect.
How to prepare your dog for a walk with your dog in the rain
If you want a walk with your dog in the rain to be more pleasant for him, it is worth preparing well for going out together. What do I mean here? All kinds of accessories will make your walk in the rainy season easier.
However, it is also worth mentioning that during the rain, your walk should primarily focus on ensuring your pooch meets his dog’s needs. My tips are here to help you do just that. My goal is not to prepare you for long walks in the rain because it makes no sense.
A long walk in the rain will not be pleasant for anyone, especially if it is not the middle of summer but the end of autumn. Therefore, if you think I will tell you how to make your canine walk in the rain for hours, unfortunately, I don’t know it myself.
Dog raincoat
If your dog belongs to the group of quadrupeds who like to wear dog clothes, wearing a raincoat is an excellent solution for bad weather outside the window. It will protect your dog from drops of water, thanks to which his coat will stay dry.
Of course, the coat will not protect your dog’s entire body. However, a significant part of it will be dry, which I consider a big success, especially when heavy rain outside the window.
If you are wondering which dog raincoat to choose, I highly recommend the STORM line from Bowl&Bone Republic. Coats are available in three colours, giving energy and freshness. My dog has a yellow model and is absolutely in love with it. I put it on him whenever we walk together on a rainy day.
When the weather outside the window is getting more and more capricious, encouraging the dog to go out for a walk is often a challenge. Falling rain, snow or blowing wind are not allies of quadrupeds. Fortunately, we have a solution – the pink STORM dog raincoat!
Waterproof, easy to put on, not restricting movement, with a hood protecting the dog’s head. Its unique design and exciting colours are additional advantages. The STORM dog raincoat will encourage your pet to be active outdoors, regardless of the weather! It will provide your quadruped with thermal comfort and security, protecting him from rain and wind.
Dog raincoat |STORM pink
Dog rain boots
There is no denying that few dogs are cheerful and willing to wear dog shoes. Therefore, it will not be an option for every dog. However, if your dog has no problem with it, you can equip it with waterproof shoes. They will prove themselves during rainy walks.
However, if your pet is a typical dog opposed to this accessory, you should not force him to do so. That can be very stressful for your dog.
Walking with the dog and an umbrella
If the rain outside the window is powerful and intense, and your dog needs to go outside to do his business at a given moment, then taking an umbrella with you is not a stupid idea.
In the event of a downpour, I always take a large umbrella with my four-legged friend for a walk. I try to hold it so that it protects my dog from the rain. Yes, it is not easy, considering the dog needs to sniff everything during walks, so he constantly changes the side he is walking on.
However, he realizes it can be embarrassing and difficult to control a large dog, especially if the dog can’t walk politely by the leg. If you would like to teach your dog to walk politely on walks, I refer you to my other post, which you can find HERE.
A good choice of place to walk the dog
If there is a hefty downpour outside, when walking with your four-legged friend, choose the routes where the area will be the least wet. As you know, there are always huge puddles after rain, and I recommend you avoid such places to save yourself and your dog additional stress when avoiding them.
In such situations, I choose more tree-covered park alleys. Paths in such places are always visibly drier and much easier to walk on. For me, wet feet from the rain are nothing friendly and pleasant.
Rainy walks with the dog
So, what should dog walks be like on stormy days? Mostly short. Let your dog settle his needs. There is no reason to force your dog to go for unpleasant walk-in conditions. When the weather is more excellent the next day, spend more time outside.
How does your dog react to walks on rainy days? Please write me your answer in the comment below.
If you have any questions or want me to touch on a topic in the next post, share it with me in the comments section.