Basenjis and Rain
-
When Zak was a puppy I made sure to take him out a lot in the rain and tried to make it seem like a fun thing to do. Although he doesn't love it, he will go out.
-
My first two beasties hated going outside in the rain - I usually had to go out in the yard with them and hold an umbrella :(; eventually the spruces grew big enough to provide cover. My current pup doesn't seem to mind it - but she hasn't experienced a hard rain yet either.
-
When it rains I normally have to pull colbey out of the doory, once he gets outside he quickly does his business so he can get back inside faster. Once back inside he promptly licks himself dry. Over the past year he's gotten more comfortable with water and its less of a struggle to get him outside in the rain. He even voluntarily gets his front feet wet in the pond (usually when he is trying to figure out what our mutt is doing wading in the pond).
-
@Shaye's:
I read somewhere that Basenjis do not like water, and was perfectly prepared to accept my puppy would not like getting her feet wet in the morning dew, and probably would never swim. But, it sprinkled out there the other evening, and she tried biting at the raindrops, kept putting her paws over her head one at a time to get it off of her head, and this brought a question to mind. Soon we will be having the long long rainy season in Florida. Do you think I am going to have a real problem taking her out to do her potty duties and get her exercise? Thanks for any info and anecdotes you may have.:cool:
Do not fear, I am here to tell you that Basenji's can swim just fine. I made sure that I put mine in the water with a life jacket and a long lead from the time he was a puppy just to make sure. I am not saying he is in love with the water but since he likes to go in my sailboat with me, I had to make sure he got comfortable in it and would be able to survive and take care of himself should anything happen while we were sailing.
As far as taking them out in the rain. Once our dog learned that we were going out in the rain whether he liked it or not I usually do not have a problem. Of course we still occasionally still have to push him off the porch when its raining, but once he is out there he gets over it. We have also been taking him walking in the park daily since he was a puppy. This is rain, shine, sleet, or snow. Even yesterday, we walked three miles in the park while it was raining. We have started putting a coat on him when it is raining to keep his body warm and dry, but it does not cover his head. He seems perfectly comfortable with that and will cry to get out of the car and go walk even if its raining. The most helpful thing I can tell you here if take command of your dog, even if you have to pick them up and place them in the wet grass. Do this enough times they will understand that this is what they are expected to do.
ComicDom1
Jason -
Yep Zoe hates to get wet whether its being rained on or walking through wet grass (she has to stop and lick her feet dry every time we hit concrete again). So instead of looking like "The Jerk" dragging some dog behind me on leash I get her out as much as I can before the rain. When its just a quick trip for bathroom I just let her go off the porch under the overhang in the roses but even then I have to plop her down a few times before she will finally go.
When I was a kid we had a male who hated to get his feet wet. Being the rotten kid that I was I made it a goal in life to get that dog to run through puddles but the only one running through them was me you wouldnt believe how far the dog could jump lol.
