Nach dem Regen ist das Fell der Hündin noch nass.

Because nach takes the dative case in this meaning of after.

• der Regen = the rain (nominative)
• nach dem Regen = after the rain (dative)

So the article changes from der to dem.

No. Here der Hündin is genitive singular, meaning of the female dog.

So:

• das Fell der Hündin = the female dog's fur
• literally: the fur of the female dog

This can be confusing because der can mark different cases depending on gender and number. In this sentence:

• dem Regen = dative masculine
• der Hündin = genitive feminine

German normally does not use the English-style apostrophe possession pattern.

English:

• the dog's fur

German usually:

• das Fell des Hundes
• das Fell der Hündin

So German often expresses possession with the genitive case rather than with 's.

Hündin means female dog or bitch.
Hund means dog in general, or specifically a male dog depending on context.

So:

• der Hund = dog / male dog
• die Hündin = female dog

The ending -in is a common way in German to form a feminine noun for a person or animal.

Because German main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule.

The first element here is the time phrase:

• Nach dem Regen

Then the finite verb comes second:

• ist

Then the subject comes after it:

• das Fell der Hündin

So the structure is:

• Nach dem Regen | ist | das Fell der Hündin | noch nass

This is very normal in German.

Yes.

You can tell because:

• it agrees with the verb ist
• it is in the nominative case
• the sentence is saying something about it: it is still wet

So:

• das Fell = subject
• ist = verb
• noch nass = predicate/adjective part describing the subject

Because nass is used here as a predicate adjective, after the verb sein (to be).

Predicate adjectives in German do not take adjective endings:

• Das Fell ist nass.
• Der Boden ist kalt.

But when an adjective comes before a noun, it does take an ending:

• das nasse Fell
• der kalte Boden

So:

• das Fell ist noch nass ✅
• das Fell ist noch nasse ❌

Here noch means still.

So:

• noch nass = still wet

It suggests that even after some time has passed, the fur has not dried yet.

Be careful: noch can also mean other things in other contexts, such as another or else, but here it clearly means still.

German is flexible about what comes first in a main clause. The first position is often used for:

• time
• place
• emphasis
• topic

Starting with Nach dem Regen puts the time context first:

• After the rain, the female dog's fur is still wet.

You could also say:

• Das Fell der Hündin ist nach dem Regen noch nass.

That is also grammatical, but the original sentence emphasizes the time frame more naturally.

Sometimes German uses von + dative to express possession, especially in speech, but here the genitive is more standard and natural.

• das Fell der Hündin = standard, elegant
• das Fell von der Hündin = understandable, but less formal and often less preferred in careful writing

So in this sentence, der Hündin is the better choice.

Fell refers to an animal's fur/coat as a whole. It is the natural word for an animal like a dog.

• das Fell = fur, coat
• die Haare = hairs

If you say Haare, you are talking more about individual hairs or hair in a more human-like way. For a dog, Fell is the normal choice.

The ü sound does not exist in standard English, so it often needs practice.

Hündin is roughly pronounced like:

• HUEN-din, with the ü made by rounding your lips as if saying oo, while trying to say ee

A useful trick:

1. Say ee
2. Keep your tongue there
3. Round your lips

That gives you something close to ü.

Also note:

• Hund has u
• Hündin has ü

That vowel change is part of the word formation here.

Yes. Nach has several meanings depending on context, which can confuse learners.

Common meanings include:

• after → nach dem Regen
• to with many countries/cities → nach Berlin
• according to → nach meiner Meinung

In this sentence, because it is followed by a time/event noun (dem Regen), the meaning is clearly after.

Because all nouns are capitalized in German.

So in this sentence:

• Regen
• Fell
• Hündin

are all capitalized because they are nouns. This is one of the most noticeable spelling differences between German and English.