Ombrophobiac

Terri pegged it.  The fear of getting rained on.  

My two don't have any qualms about getting wet.  As a matter or record, from the first day we got Grayson, he has always sought wet spots any place he can.  The wetter, the better.  Claire, always the lady, has been a bit more circumspect about getting wet.  She'll get in, but only after everyone else has done it.  

Last weekend was a bit different.  Claire actually spent more time in the pond than Grayson.  Not sure if it was all the other dogs or the warm temps or the allure of the muddy pond water.  

Just add some long hair and muddy water, mix thoroughly 

Synchronized dog swimming

Gutter dog

Mud dog

Last year's picture

Now, when it comes to rain, that is a whole other story.  When the weather turns foul, these two can sense it well before the first drop of rain or the first crack of thunder.  Grayson has the typical thunder phobia that most dogs have.  Whenever there is thunder and lightening, he will pace and try to hide.  He doesn't go all Marley crazy like some dogs do, but he ain't happy.  Claire, on the other hand, whenever there's thunder, will find a dark corner in the house and hide out.  She has hid out under the desk, tucked herself in the corner of the office, crawled under the bed (neat trick for a big dog), and burrowed in the corner of the closet.  I even found her tucked into a laundry basket at times (sort of overflows the basket).  

When it is raining out, Claire will absolutely refuse to go out.  She'll stick her nose out the door and if she feels one drop, it is back inside for her.  No matter how much I try to coax her, she refuses to come out.  Grayson will not readily go out, but if I lead him out or go out with him, he will finally go out to do his business and then come back in all wet and happy.  There has been a few early mornings I have had to stand out in the back yard getting soaked while trying to cajole the dogs to come out.  I imagine it is amusing to my neighbors to see me standing out in the side yard in the pouring rain under a golf umbrella trying to get Claire to do her business.  Grayson will relent when he has to go, but Claire is a typical stubborn redhead and seems to have the stamina of a camel and will hold it for a very long time.  It becomes a contest of wills and more than often she wins.  Our old dog, Shadow was a bit different.  He didn't like the rain any more than Grayson, but he did learn to adapt.  Whenever it was pouring, he would go out the side door alongside the garage where the roof overhung the beds.  He could stand in the ground cover and pee and not get wet.  Still not sure where he learned that trick, but I would love to teach that to the other two.      

Shadow during a thunderstorm