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Wet weather days
How to exercise a dog on a rainy day
Rain does not cancel a dog's need to move and think; it only takes away the easy answer of a long walk. A good rainy day mixes a little of everything indoors, keeps the outdoor trips short and sensible, and recognizes when the weather has gone on long enough to hand the energy to someone else.
Before you start
Before you start, plan the day in short blocks and clear a room that is safe to move in
Indoor exercise works best as several short blocks spread through the day rather than one long session. A young retriever might want four or five; a senior may be content with two. The AKC says exercise needs vary with age, breed and health, and that bad weather can throw a routine off, so plan around your own dog rather than a number. Write the blocks down in the morning so the afternoon does not drift into a restless dog and a guilty owner.
Then make some room. Push a chair back, roll up a slippery rug or lay a runner over a polished floor, and move breakables out of tail range. Get the towels out before the first walk, not after it. Pick your games now as well: a scent game, a strength game and a few tricks give you three different jobs, so the dog is not asked to do the same thing all day. The evening before, the National Weather Service Boston forecast tells you what kind of day to plan.
- Short blocks spread across the day
- Grip on the floor: a runner or a rug
- Towels by the door before the first walk
- Three kinds of game: nose, body and tricks
The steps
Run the rainy day in seven steps, alternating short outings with brain, body and training blocks
The order matters more than the exact games. A short outing first takes care of the bathroom and gives the nose a few minutes of fresh smells. The brain block comes next, because a sniffing, thinking dog takes the edge off the morning without racing around the house. The body block follows, then training, then a long chew on the dog's own bed, so it learns that indoor days end in a nap.
Stairs are the hardest indoor exercise most homes offer, and the AKC warns they are as strenuous for a dog as for a person, with extra care needed for long-backed, short-legged breeds. Keep it to a few slow climbs on a carpeted flight, and ask your vet first for a puppy or a stiff senior. Tug works the body as well, and the AKC says tug played properly builds muscle and the bond between you, so keep a clear start, a drop and a pause.
- 01
Take a 10 to 15 minute wet walk for the bathroom and a sniff, on leash, steering around standing puddles.
- 02
Towel the coat at the door, down to the skin on a thick coat, then dry the feet and belly.
- 03
Play ten minutes of find it or a cup game while the coat finishes drying.
- 04
Do three or four slow climbs of a carpeted staircase, or five minutes of tug with a drop on cue.
- 05
Run a five-minute trick session, such as spin, back up or take a bow, a few repetitions each.
- 06
Hand over a lick mat or a chew on the dog's bed so the block ends in a settle.
- 07
Repeat the walk in the afternoon, then one more short brain game before dinner.
Wet walks
Keep wet walks short, skip the puddles and dry the dog properly when you get home
A walk in the rain is still worth having for most dogs, even a short one. Keep it to the bathroom, a few good sniffs and home, and pick routes with pavement rather than flooded grass. The AVMA notes that leptospirosis is more common after heavy rainfall and flooding, that the eastern United States is one of the hotspots for dogs, and it advises keeping dogs from drinking or swimming in slow-moving or stagnant water. Walk around the big puddles, not through them.
Rain on Cape Ann often comes with wind off the water, and a small or short-coated dog can be chilled long before it looks soaked. Back home, a thick coat left damp at the skin is how hot spots start, so towel firmly against the grain and finish with a cool dryer or a fan; our page on drying a dog after the beach has the full routine. On a dark evening, add a light and something reflective for both of you.
- Pavement over flooded grass
- Around puddles, never through them
- Dry to the skin back home
- A light and reflective gear after dark
Mistakes we see
The rainy-day mistakes we see are one long play session, fetch down the hallway and no off switch
One marathon play session at noon tends to produce a wired dog at 4 PM rather than a tired one, and short blocks with rests between them work better. Fetch in a narrow hallway is the second trap. Sprints, skidding stops and sharp turns on a hard floor are tough on joints and on the furniture, and a ball game indoors winds many dogs up instead of wearing them out. Save the sprinting for a dry day outside.
The third mistake is forgetting the settle. A dog entertained every waking minute of a wet day learns to demand it, so each block should end with a chew or a lick mat in its own spot. The fourth is relying on brain games alone for days on end. The AKC is clear that mental stimulation complements physical exercise and does not replace it, and by the third day of a stretch of rain, your dog will make the same point.
- One marathon session instead of short blocks
- Fetch and sprints on a slippery floor
- No settle at the end of each block
- Brain games only, day after day
When to call us
Call us when the rain lasts for days, your dog needs to run, or the indoor games are not enough
Daycare is the answer when the weather outlasts your living room. Dogtown's playgroups of 7 to 10 dogs, matched by size and temperament, have indoor play floors as well as the outdoor turf yard at 210 Eastern Ave, so rain does not have to cancel play. A wet-weather daycare day costs the usual $42, or $33 for a half day. A supervised treadmill session, $10, adds steady walking, and the AKC notes that treadmills build endurance without depending on decent weather, though they do not replace a walk outside.
New dogs start with the free evaluation, on weekdays from 6:30 to 9:30 AM by appointment, so book it in the fall before the first nor'easter; FIRST15 takes 15 percent off the first daycare visit. The Pup Van picks up in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea at $10 each way. For a young dog that needs a job as much as exercise, a Dogtown Academy day, $89 full or $69 half, adds trainer time, and private training with Gabriella Pope's team starts from $94.
At Dogtown
When the rain sets in
Training for a dog that needs a job, daycare with indoor play floors, and enrichment add-ons that turn a wet day into a full one.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How much indoor exercise does my dog need on a rainy day?
Can I skip the walk when it is pouring?
Can a treadmill replace a walk?
Does Dogtown daycare run on rainy days?
What if my dog refuses to go out in the rain?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- AKC: how much exercise does a dog need
- AKC: fun indoor games to play with your dog
- AVMA: leptospirosis
- National Weather Service Boston
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Rain outside, a tired dog inside.
Ask us about training for a dog that needs a job on wet days, or book the free evaluation so daycare is ready for the next nor'easter. We reply within one hour on business days.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
