The first dog of my own as an adult was a retired racing Greyhound named Gunner. When I first adopted him, I did not have a fenced yard so we had to go out on leash every time – whether to take care of business or go for a walk. I lived in Minnesota at the time and it was December when I adopted him. That winter we hit a spell with the highs for the day at subzero temps. The weather did not matter, we went out no matter what. (Though some walks were far shorter than others, because you can only stay outside for so long when it’s 20 below with a windchill of 80 below!

Gunner and I walked twice a day for his entire life. Snow, cold, heat, rain, didn’t matter. The only weather he would not walk during was hailstorms. We got caught in a couple of those, and we ducked under the nearest tree or shelter. Gunner would not go out in the back yard to potty if it was raining, but two minutes later he would happily go out the front door for a walk. Apparently, rain was something to be shared with his Momma but never experienced solo.

While my other dogs never cared for heavy rain, they would tolerate pretty much whatever I asked of them. Then along came Romeo, our Vizsla. We also walk twice a day, as I have always done with my dogs. But he does not care for the rain either. In fact, it’s raining this morning, and here it is around 10 am and he still has not been out to potty yet today. Unlike my first Greyhound, he doesn’t think it’s worth going out in the rain even if Momma goes too. He much prefers to stay warm and dry.

I see lots of people who are fair weather walkers, but I have had some of my best walks in weather that others would consider less than ideal. So, I am curious. . . How much does the weather affect your dog-walking? Do you walk in any type of weather? Where do you draw the line? What about your dog? Does your dog draw the line at certain types of weather?

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