New member in the UK

[Frankie_paws]

Hello everyone. I'm a new member and wondered if people have experienced the same problem as me. I have a beautiful 4 month old smooth haired mini daxy girl. Our problem is rain!! She hates it and will not toilet outside in the rain. She's getting better with wees but poo in the rain she is not willing to do. Any ideas gratefully received xx

 

[Penny]

Hi and welcome!

I'm in Canada and our winters are brutal. I have a plastic sheet down with newspaper on top and my 3 pee on that. During the summer they are happy to potty outdoors but those papers are a great back up. I've had dogs get diarrhea and run to the papers and saved me a very ugly clean up. It is inconvenient in one sense, that I have papers to pick up, but in the other way, I don't have to worry if I'm not home in time to let them out. When it's -30c outside, we are all happy.

 

[foxycharlotte]

I have a 7 year old smooth long hair mini dachshund.

I have some questions. Does she have a sanitary clip (hair trimmed around her bottom and underside)? Have you tried using treats as an incentive? Have you tried using an umbrella to help her get used to it?

 

[Frankie_paws]

Thank you for your replies.

Penny, your winters sound pretty awful. I should be grateful of just rain! We have puppy pads here (not sure if they are a Canadian thing also). I have put those down but I think she is very confused and doesn't understand she can urinate and defecate on them having never used them before.

Foxycharlotte I have tried umberella but not made any difference, have tried a little rain coat but she point blank refuses to toilet in it and hardly even walks with it on. I have never heard of the trim you talk about that sounds so very wrong! Maybe my stiff upper lip English way. But she is not trimmed in anyway. Poor puppy.

Today it has rained all day and we have managd ok. With a lot of perseverance. I do like the idea of an alternative indoor toilet are. I think I will work on that next

Again, thank you for your suggestions xx

 

[foxycharlotte]

It just helps them keep those sensitive areas cleaner. They don't shave the area just trim the hair shorter. My long hair won't go potty in the rain if her hair is trimmed there because it gets wet and is very uncomfortable for her. Any groomer can explain it better than I can.

On another note, I would love to see picture of your doxie.

 

[Penny]

Breeders that I know of typically use a kennel with an enclosed area that has papers and pee pads down. When a puppy goes home with their new family they are used to sleeping in a kennel (that's a very good thing) and peeing on papers and puppy pads.

A side note, please keep her used to sleeping in a kennel. If she ever has a back issue later on, or any health concern, being comfortable sleeping in a kennel will help tremendously in their recovery. Even having the door open for her to go in and out will benefit her down the road.

 

[CaseyKC]

You use the umbrella. Make her do her business, but stand there under the umbrella until she does. It may be unpleasant at first, but she will learn that if she wants to go back indoors, she will have to do her business first. I went through this with my Libby years ago, stood there making encouraging statements until she was dripping wet but finally did her thing. Then we both raced to the house. Now when it rains, she is very efficient and skips the sniffing around for the perfect spot. She knows that the sooner she does what needs to be done, the sooner she can go back into the house. (And, this is a dog who loves to jump into the ocean and will even dunk her head under the water in a tide pool.)