Seasons and weather
Rainy season, flooded streets and dogs in Houston
The first sunny morning after a flood is when the calls come: a dog that drank from the ditch, a dog covered in fire ants from a raft it walked through, a dog that met a water moccasin in the yard. The week after the rain is the one to be careful in.
Last reviewed September 11, 2026 · by the Best Dog University Team
The season
Street flooding several times a year, and water that is nothing like rain.
Houston's storm drains back up in any heavy rain and the flat streets hold water for hours; the National Weather Service issues flood advisories for the metro many times a year, and Ready Harris posts the road closures. The water in a flooded street is runoff: sewage from overwhelmed lines, fuel and oil from the road, fertilizer and pesticide from the lawns, and the debris of every yard it crossed. The bayous rise with it and stay high and fast for days, and Buffalo Bayou, Cypress Creek and Brays Bayou are dangerous to a dog in the water for a week after a big rain.
Two things float in it that matter to a dog: fire ant colonies, which form living rafts that latch onto anything they touch, and snakes, which the water pushes out of the ditches and into yards and garages.
- Flood advisories many times a year
- Sewage, fuel and lawn chemicals in the water
- Bayous high and fast for days after
- Fire ant rafts and displaced snakes
What it asks of your dog
To stay out of the water, to skip the walk, and to settle indoors for a few days.
A leash on every trip out, with the dog walked on the high side of the street and kept out of the puddles, the ditches and the bayou trail until the water drops. No drinking from standing water, which is a leave-it and a full bowl before the walk. A rinse of the paws and belly after any trip through wet grass, because the runoff sits in it. And an indoor routine for the days the streets are under water: place with duration, the crate, meals from puzzles, ten-minute training sessions, a chew, and a structured walk the first dry morning rather than a sprint.
Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease carried in standing water and wildlife urine, is real in Houston and has a vaccine; ask your veterinarian whether your dog should have it.
- Leash on, high side of the street, no puddles
- Leave-it for standing water, a full bowl before the walk
- Paws and belly rinsed after wet grass
- An indoor routine for the wet days
- A veterinary conversation about leptospirosis
How we prepare dogs
Indoor structure for the wet days and a leave-it that covers ditches, rafts and snakes.
Every stay in the training home builds the two things a wet week needs: an indoor routine the dog can hold for days without the walk, and a leave-it strong enough to cover a ditch, a fire ant raft and a snake. Field trips after a heavy rain move to the store aisles and the sidewalks on high ground, and the creek trails wait a week. The go-home session teaches the family the indoor routine and the leash handling for the first walks back.
Place with duration built to an hour, so a wet day indoors is a training day
The crate as the second off switch, covered, with a chew
Leave-it proofed from the sidewalk edge, then from a puddle, then from a ditch
The first walk back on a leash on the high side, past the debris, no sniffing the piles
A rinse of paws and belly after every wet walk
A fire ant check of the yard before the dog goes out after a flood
A snake check of the garage, the patio furniture and the pool equipment
Nearby and related
The storms that bring the water, the hurricanes behind them, and the hazards page.
The thunderstorm guide on this site covers the storms themselves and the fear they cause; the hurricane pages cover the version where the family has to leave. The hazards page names the fire ants, toads and snakes in detail, and the leash-laws page explains why a dog loose on a flooded street is a problem for more than one reason. The bayou and creek trail pages, Buffalo Bayou, Terry Hershey, Spring Creek and Cypress Creek, each carry the same rule: a week off after a big rain. Families in Meyerland, Bellaire and the Brays Bayou neighborhoods flood most often; families in Cypress see the creek rise and the retention ponds spill.
- Thunderstorms and hurricanes as the causes
- The hazards page for ants, toads and snakes
- A week off the bayou trails after a big rain
- Meyerland and the Brays neighborhoods flood most
The programs
Programs that build the indoor routine and the leave-it.
Gold for place, the crate and a leave-it that holds, Platinum for the dog that cannot settle at all, lessons at home for the first walks back.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this.
Can my dog walk through a flooded street?
No. The water carries sewage, fuel, lawn chemicals, fire ant rafts and snakes, and a dog that walks through it drinks it and licks it off its coat. Walk on the high side on a leash, skip the puddles, and skip the walk entirely if the street is under water.
Is it safe to let my dog swim in the bayou after a storm?
Not for at least a week. The bayous run high and fast after a big rain, the water is contaminated, and the banks are where the displaced snakes and the fire ant rafts end up. The sanctioned swimming spots in the swimming guide are the places to go, and only when the water has dropped.
What is leptospirosis and should my dog be vaccinated?
A bacterial disease carried in standing water and the urine of wildlife, present in Houston, and serious in dogs. There is a vaccine. Whether your dog should have it depends on where you walk and swim, and that is a conversation for your veterinarian.
How do I keep my dog sane during a week of rain?
Run the indoor routine: place with duration twice a day, meals from puzzles or by hand as training, ten-minute obedience or trick sessions three times a day, a chew in the crate for a nap. A dog with a job indoors does not need the walk for a few days; a dog with nothing to do destroys the couch.
Keep reading
Free consultation · 10% off this fall
Have the indoor plan before the rain.
Tell our team how your dog handles a week without the walk. The free phone consultation is a direct call, and the indoor routine is part of every stay.