Endless rain

[Laguiri]

I live in a country where it’s unusual to have day after day of rain, but we’re currently onto day five with at least another five to go. Neither of my dogs likes walking in the rain. My 14 year old whippet is perfectly happy to snooze his days away, but my 8-9 month old rescue understandably gets a bit whiny by the afternoon. I groom her, do short training sessions, give her peanut butter-stuffed kong toys and generally pet her, but am looking for other suggestions to keep her entertained/her mind occupied in the house. Like many rescue dogs, she is entirely uninterested in toys, even squeaky ones. All suggestions welcome.

Are there any dog-friendly garden centres you can go to and walk around, have coffee etc?

Thanks for replying Riverlee, but there’s nothing like that here. The country I live in is not very dog-friendly at all, and dogs aren’t admitted anywhere that I know of. We’ve done an extended grooming session, a bit of training, and few turns in the garden when the rain eases off, and lots of petting, and she’s pacing and whiny now (4 pm). I don’t blame her.

She may not like the rain but tbh I would take her anyway. Get a coat to keep the worst off and take her somewhere as sheltered as possible.

There's no way I'd be able to keep an 8-9 month old puppy happy and entertained indoors for days on end. They need to get out and exercise, even if the weather is shit.

Any woods you can walk in to keep the worst of the rain off? Or a beach might be distracting enough they forget about the rain!

There’s another thread running about how to deal with wet dogs. May also worth looking on there for ideas.

Start slowly. Take out treats and have a game in the garden in light rain. Make rain fun. Work up to walking slowly but keep it very positive. Work from light rain to heavier rain.

Rain can amplify noises for dogs. So bear that in mind.

Do they have coats?

How about scent work. Around the house using some of her food allowance / treats, hidden . Works great with our 9 month GSD. I also do it with favourite toys/balls. She gets her meals in snuffle mats, rolled in towels, hidden in toys then some is used teaching settle. All the above tires them mentally, just as important, if not more so, as physical exercise.

Honestly, just get wet, or take her one of of those enclosed freedom fields and let her out so she can run around and you don't have to worry about her

Thanks everyone for your ideas. The one that’s working best for us right now is going out into the garden for frequent but brief spells and making rain fun, and after that, it’ll be coats and woods I reckon. Hiding food around the house is complicated because it creates competition with my other dog. However, I have also noticed that the occasional boring day in is quite good for her. She’s a rescue from a hoarding situation and I’ve only had her a month; a boring day in seems to give her time to process everything she’s being exposed to and makes her more receptive to the next day’s challenges. Basically, it gives her a break from constant new stimulation. She’s doing really well. Thanks again.