Yea, I think we are all sick of the cold and wet weather in Georgia! If I would’ve known we were going to get this much rain for so long I would’ve invested in better rain gear! I’m thinking positively that it will stop! Not only do I not like going out in bad weather but neither do our pets! I think we would all rather stay inside but our precious pups have to “go” outside.
Help is on the way. Here are five things you can do to help improve your dog’s “eliminate outside” outlook:
- Go outside with them. Usually our pups are more apt to brave the elements if their human is with them. Usually also if we go out with them we can keep them “on task” to eliminate and make sure they do! Mine have wasted more time running outside to “pretend” to go only to find out that I’m watching and they must go back out in the rain! Don’t whine; if they have to go out, you can go out too!
- Teach your dog to wear a coat. Here in Georgia we don’t have much use for doggie boots as our winters stay pretty mild and our summers do not burn doggie paws. If you have a short coated dog, easily frozen kind of dog (think Chihuahua), you can hardly blame them for not wanting to go out on those wet, windy, or freezing days. To teach your dog to wear a coat watch this video by Jean Donaldson conditioning her Chow, Buffy to wear a head halter. Use the same procedure with your dog’s coat: abrionline.org/videos.php. They have all sorts of coats online as well as at PetSmart or PetCo.
- Carry a large umbrella. A big golf umbrella can completely protect a small to medium-sized dog from the rain and partially protect a large one. While the thick coated Great Pyrenees and water-resistant (and water-loving!) Labrador’s ought to be able to tolerate a little inclement weather, your thin-coated Great Dane might object. You may want to teach your dog to love the umbrella by giving them treats around and under it before you actually use it for weather purposes.
- Build a covered potty area outside. Your dog will be happier to do her business outside if she has a spot that’s sheltered from wind and blowing rain. Make it as close to the house as possible, so she doesn’t have to go far to get to it. Be sure to build the shelter tall enough that you can stand under it too!
- Teach your dog to use an indoor litter box. Or put a litter box in your garage or covered porch. If you are like me and don’t like the cold this seems like the best solution! If your dog has been really well-trained to NOT potty indoors you may need to start teaching her to use her litter box outside, and when she’ll use it there, bring it indoors. At least you can do the training on warm sunny days, and use one or more of the other options to protect her outside on nasty days, until you are ready to move the box indoors.There are a few makers of these types of products:
Purina makes small litter boxes and “second nature” a litter especially for dogs (although you can also use cat litter).
Puppy “Pee Pads” are also an option for a litter box
The “Porch Potty” (Porchpotty.com) and the
“Pet a Potty” (Petapotty.com) are both boxes that accommodate the use of either real or artificial grass turf and contain any liquid runoff.
The Ugodog (ugodog.net) is a similar system that employs the use of a mesh grating instead of a grass-like surface for the dog to eliminate on. These products are expensive but may be just the thing for your fair weather dog!Happy winter and stay warm!!
Brianna Brown
Spoiled Paws, Inc
Suwanee’s Trusted Pet Sitter since 2002!
www.Spoiledpaws.com
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