Dog who refuses to go out when it rains

I am desperate for help about my dog's inappropriate peeing behavior. She is well houstrained except for one thing; she WILL NOT go outside to do her business when it rains. Whenever we try to coax her outside she squats and pees on the floor. We tried to put a leash on her and take her out but she still won't go. Once we get her outside sits down and refuses to walk anywhere. If she keeps this up we may have to give her back to the Humane Society, something we don't want to do obviously, but we can't continue with this every time it rains. I would be very grateful for any help at all.

Pick her up, walk outside to her potty spot (take an umbrella with you) and let her do her thing. We went through this same thing with Buddy, we got him from SPCA, he was abandoned and he HATES bad weather, so we're thinking it has something to do with when he was abandoned and in what weather conditions, etc.. Anyways, it took him a few times with us going outside with him, in the rain, for him to be okay with it. Now, he walks out on his own in the rain (Bay Area in California.. rains a lot!!)

Try that for awhile. Give her more of a chance before taking her back to the Humane Society.

Good advice from Buddy's parents. Just carry her out and don't let on that you're worried about how she'll react. Make it matter of fact...no big deal and make it like a party. LOL. Ooooooo...this is going to be fun. Take some treats out and her favorite toy and start playing with her. (even if she doesn't look too thrilled about it.) She'll come around in time. Take her out at other times when it rains...not just for going potty. Play her favorite game or try to take a walk, once she gets a little braver. Make it all fun and games and rewarding...praise/special treats.

Or you could always try this..... http://www.furlongspetsupply.com/dog_umbrellas.htm
He he he.....I know it's not funny, but laughter sometimes helps.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I had her out this morning and tried what Doberluv suggested and it worked like a charm even though we had an inch of rain the night before. I always thought it was the rain but after watching her for awile, I finally learned that it's not so much the rain she dislikes, it's the thunder and lightning. She doesn't like to get her feet wet but when she hears thunder she is too frightened to go out. I can't believe I didn't realize this earlier. THe next time we have a thunderstorm I'll try the same thing with her again because I know she never turns down a treat. Thanks so much for all your input!

lol just make sure the umbrella is plastic when you go out with her in a thunderstorm

I thought there for a minute you were describing Yukon. My solution with him was to put him in the fenced yard for the day and allow nature to take its course. He can only hold it for so long and eventually he will pee and he will take his bath at the same time.

I'm not sure I"m understanding you properly here, Yuckaduck...

Are you saying you took your puppy, who did not want to go outside in the rain, and put him outside in a fenced yard for the entire day, in the rain?

Zeus absolutely hates water, too. Here's what we did with him:

When I knew Zeus had to go, I'd put him outside and watch from the window. He'd act miserable for awhile and cry to come in, but then would eventually go potty. The minute he started to do his buisness, I'd fling open the door, praise like crazy and immediately let him inside. He learned that the faster he went potty, the faster he'd get to come inside. Now when it rains, he'll zoom outside like Speed Racer, answer nature's call, and charge back in, LoL.

I'm glad to hear things are working out for both of you. My foster dog is the same way with rain and worse with thunder and lightning. When we first got her at the age of 6 years, all she had known was a life of a puppy mill dog breeder, bred her entire life and living in a cage where she'd go potty. So it was no surprise that she wasn't found of rain, she wasn't used to it. We have a fenced in yard but I always took her out on leash and encouraged her to go potty and treated her immediately afterwards. It's been 2 months now and she still doesn't like rain (don't get much rain these days, more snow) but she does alot better on her own now. I reassure her at the door now and she's not to happy of the rain but will do her potty really fast and come back in.

Oh dear aren't they big sooks lol..In the wild they have no choice but to pee in the rain

My big boy Max is like Zeus lol. Assuming you can pick up pooch, I'd do as others have said. Pick her/him up, no messing about and straight outside. I say c'mon toilies time.

They don't want to go and have a cry, but I say you'll be right, and walk away from the door, watch them at the window and eventually they give in.

Once I think they've had sufficient time to do their buisness then they can come back in. If you don't make her/him understand, then you will be putting up with peeing inside all the time. Nip it in the bud now. Make sure though that you use a friendly happy voice. C'mon time for wee's, toilies, or whichever cue you prefer to use.

The worse that can happen to them is that they will get wet, and they will get over that Just have the towel handy to dry down

Good luck

As far as older dogs that are set in their habits, you have to force them to go in the rain. With puppies, it may be different because puppies are typically afraid of things like jumping on/off the couch. It just takes time for them to get over their own fears and may be rain/thunder/lightning is just that; a fear they'll get over with time.

Glad to hear your pup is coming along. Just be sure that when it thunders and they cower, don't make a big fuss over them and comfort them. That draws attention to their weah weah and they really get conditioned to liking to be attended to as a reward for their fear. Grab some treats and a ball when it thunders and make some extra fun time..."wooo hooo....Isn't that the coolest sound???" LOL. Don't treat if they're cowering...wait till they're sort of having fun.