• Just blowing off some steam so I can keep my cool today, hope you guys don't mind!

    The past four days or so has been a bit trying. It's been raining pretty much nonstop, and Paco refuses, absolutely refuses to go out in the rain, or even walk on wet ground after it has stopped raining. If I bring him outside and place him down, he spends so much time looking for a dry place to stand (there never is one) that he can't even think about going to the bathroom.

    At first, things seemed to be going good with placing his puppy pad in a litterbox; he went three days using the litterbox consecutively, me catching him in the act and treating him each time, and I was so glad that it was working since he hates going outside so much.

    But then…I guess he decided he doesn't like the litterbox all of a sudden. He's peed in the kitchen twice and once ON THE BED this morning, which he hasn't done since he was a little baby still being potty trained! Each time Chris or I caught him and immediately placed him in the litterbox, where he stands for a second and then walks out. He ignores the litterbox now unless I stand near it with treats, then he steps right in and even sits down, I guess remembering the bit of training I did with him to get him comfortable with it. He just won't pee in it.

    In addition to that, because of the rain, I haven't been able to take him on walks. Sunday it was hell to keep him from chewing on electrical cords and shoes, and trying to shred the comforter and pillows. We tried playing with him, but he was really bitey, which I attributed to him being frustrated by being so homebound for so many days. The rain stopped long enough yesterday for me to walk him, and he was a good (tired) pup all day after that, save for the kitchen floor pee at night.

    He's antsy again this morning - but it's raining steadily with no predictions of letting up. What do you guys do when you can't exercise your basenji's?


  • Doesn't seem like the best answer… but walk in the rain regardless... you will most likely be as wet as he will be....


  • We had some similar days this weekend – Simon actually managed to find and chomp (destroy) a sander! Metal! It was the rain here, too. We thought he'd lost his mind.

    Do you have stairs? We had him run up and down the stairs after treats, which helped a little. And once we just covered up as well as we could and dragged him on a walk anyway, figuring it was that or kill him 😃

    Metal!


  • @listeme:

    Metal!

    lol

    We do have stairs - but they're outside. I'd be worried about running him up and down wet stairs, even if I could get him to do it.

    Maybe I will just find myself a rain jacket and go for it. Once we got caught in the rain while walking and found a sheltered bench to wait it out in - but until we got to the bench, hey, he had to walk to it. Maybe it'll work somewhere with no shelters around, heh.

    I'm torn between picking times where I can sit outside all day waiting for him to go to the bathroom to take him out, or just keeping an eagle eye on him all day (while also trying to get work done) and trying to catch him before he needs to go to put him in the litterbox. I know that I need to pick something, now, before he starts getting any more confused as to what I want from him.


  • yeah, you pretty much have to go outside with them at this stage. Keep saying "go potty" or whatever your cue is. They will eventually get the idea that you are waiting for them to do something. And the second he goes have a party 😉 You say "YAY!!" let's go inside, and make a big deal about it. You have to be firm that neither of you get to go inside until the dog pees. And if he hides under something dry, not acceptable…roust him out. You both stand in the rain until he decides to pee. Bummer...but fast learning...


  • I know your pain - but - my advice is take him out in the rain anyway. Just keep walking until he does something. then when he finally realizes he's soaked and that's the way it's going to be, if he has to go, he will go. When that happens praise him like crazy, then say "in in in" or something like that, and run for the door. Dry him off, give him big hugs, and next time it's time for him, do the same thing. It took a few times for Shaye to realize she wasn't going in until she got her stuff done, but now she just stoically walks along, shaking off the water when it gets too much, and takes care of business when it happens. Neither of us like it, but we both know it's gonna happen…..


  • Like everyone else has said he will just have to walk in the rain, i know it's realy difficult as they hate it (can't say i blame them). Could you get him a raincoat as well as yourself ?
    Malaika wont go out into the garden to do her stuff if it's raining, in fact she wont do anything in the garden at all now as i think she sees it as an extension of the house perhaps.
    She has also peed on the bed twice so she doesn't go in there unsupervised now.
    Good luck, keep us posted.


  • We bought Dolce a rain coat and we take her on a leash in the backyard to make her go. she eventually learned that the quicker she goes the quicker she can go back in. My wife will walk in her in the rain if Dolce needs to poo. Notice I said my wife, I don't like getting my paws wet!


  • It is good to train your Bs to use a command word to go to the bathroom. I use pee-pee and poopers. Even having a fenced-in backyard does not help as I almost always have to walk out with them when it is raining or if the grass is wet. I have to get them excited, say "lets go, pee-pee and poopers, in the grass", clap my hands and run around the yard. If not, they will just stand there by the door wanting back in. I have one who will pee on the cement patio porch unless I watch her and say "pee-pee in the grass". She does not even like grass with dew on it.

    Jennifer


  • By the look on his face you can tell he is not happy about the walk we're about to take..but he doesn't get a choice :eek: walking in the rain isn't fun for either of us but he's gotten much better about! and the silly looking rain coat just makes me laugh every time!!!! :p:p:p


  • Here in Oregon, it rains a lot in the winter and spring… it's unavoidable, we walk in the rain. I don't have raincoats for the dogs but I rub them down with a towel when we get back.

    Not my favorite thing to do, but it's the only thing I can if I want them excersized and going to the bathroom outside 🙂

    We have a fenced yard, but if its raining my boy refuses to leave the deck. Go figure, my girl who will go potty in the rain is from Hawaii, and my boy who refuses to potty in the rain was born here in Oregon during a winter storm.


  • Like all good B's Cooper hates the rain.

    Like everyone knows we have our fair share of rain in the UK lol !!!! There is nothing for it but to put on our wet weather gear and get out there in it. I've bought Coop a good quality rain coat, and he waits to have it put on and quite happily will go out. As we all know a tired B is a good B !!!!.

    I think you have no option but to go out in it lol !!!!!


  • Omg, Sonny looks sooo upset! lol!

    Thank you, everyone. It definitely looks like it's raincoat time.

    Yesterday I took him out a few times, but he wouldn't go, and I didn't have the time to sit around and wait forever. I did used to say "go pee!" while training him, but haven't had to since he got in the habit of being let out, peeing, and coming back in without a hassle…that was in the sunny days. I said it a few times yesterday, but I don't think he remembers the meaning, lol.

    Last night, he peed on the kitchen floor and then pooed on the carpet. sigh Chris and I have decided that it's back to crate training for him, because he's just holding it all day so that he can do his business while we sleep. We only started letting him sleep on the bed when he was potty trained, and now he's forgetting his training, so he'll get walked before bed tonight, hopefully do his thing, and be in the crate until we're sure he gets the picture that the potty is outside, wet or not.

    If there's one thing I've learned from all this, it's that Paco can hold it for PLENTY of time, so there's no reason why he can't be trained to not use the bathroom in the house when everyone is sleeping and unavailable to open the door for him.


  • Hang in there - like others have said, as soon as he learns he has no option but to go outside when it is raining, he'll "accept" it and go.

    Like others have also said, I would never just put any of mine out in the rain and expect them to go on their own - and actually in good weather I don't trust them either. If I want them to go, I go out with them to see that they go - which I've found to be the only fool proof way.

    My oldest girl Ruby hates the rain. She will dig in her heels to not walk in it. However, I just pick her up and go out into it and set her down and she knows that if she doesn't move, she'll be standing in the rain - so, which is better…stand and get soaked or walk, poop and get it over with and get inside to the dry. Well, she is smart girl, so she walks - and I get the cold shoulder once we get home :rolleyes:. She also knows that if it is raining as soon as both she and Brando are done with their business, we can turn around and head for home.

    Brando doesn't love the rain but he is more accepting of it than Ruby.

    Liyah and Ozzy don't even seem to notice it is raining and have no issue with bad weather - unless it is a deluge. Of course, I got both of them as young pups and so they were "indoctrinated" early - Liyah is almost 2 and Ozzy is 9mo. I adopted Brando & Ruby as 3 & 2yo respectively (they are both almost 6 now), so it seems they still think they might get me to change my mind on going out in the rain...lol.

    Oh, and none of mine wear coats (their choice, not mine :rolleyes:) and we get quite a bit of rain & snow in Maine.


  • I accepted about 22 yrs ago when I had a rottie pup who thought rain would melt her that going out in the rain with them is your only only only option. I stood in a thunderstorm one for over an hour. Eventually she learned that we didn't go in til she pottied. Not fun but necessary.

    Now I have Arwen who also thinks she melts. At 8, most of the time I don't care if she goes, she can hold. But when she refuses to get off the porch for a whole day, I go out in the fence, lock the side gate so she cannot go back to the porch and there we stay til she is soaked, calls me vile names and goes potty. I have even resorted to match sticking her when she hadn't gone for 24 hours due to heavy rains.

    Cara will go in the rain as long as I am out there getting wet too. Such is the life of dog owners.


  • Lol, I'm loving these stories. I can trust Paco to go outside in good weather and take care of business himself - I'm usually hanging around at home with the door open, and he just sneaks outside when I'm not paying attention, and the next time I look out there, there's a puddle or a pile for me. When it's raining like it has been, though, the door is closed, and obviously the bringing him outside is the whole challenge here.

    We'll be working on it, though.

    Thanks everyone. 🙂


  • I bought a water proof nike rain suit and we walk and walk and walk in the rain and i have towels in the garage and i dry them off (both takes a while) but we walk REGARDLESS of the weather. we keep to the schedule…


  • Standing out in the rain in the early a.m. until the job is done just didn't work with Gossy – she'll pull, she'll fight, anything to get back int he house. Then I tried waking her up about 30-45 minutes before her normal time (I'm a light sleeper and wake up when it starts to rain) and play run-around-the-house for a bit and by then she really has to let go. Unless it's a downpour, she'll do her job pretty quickly when we finally do go outside -- it helps to hold an umbrella over her too.


  • Paco surprised us and didn't complain too much last night while he slept in the crate instead of with us on the bed. Just before our alarm was set to go off, he started pawing loudly at his crate, and Chris got up, put him straight on the leash, and too him outside to pee. Success! Then he got to join us for our last few minutes in bed, lol.

    Now today it's just a matter of watching him and trying to catch him before he has to go again.


  • Wow, all these stories sound just like what I have to put up with. I have to go first and drag Link out. Once we're out on the street he'll walk but shake off every 10 feet and look under every car we walk by (city cats are always under cars on rainy days). I don't know what's going to happen next year when I move back east. Time to buy a silly raincoat….

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