После дождя у собаки мокрая шерсть, поэтому она не хочет долго гулять.

Because после requires the genitive case.

• дождь = rain
• Genitive singular: дождя

So:

• после дождя = after the rain

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после работы = after work
• после обеда = after lunch

So the learner should remember: после + genitive.

Russian often expresses possession with the structure:

у + genitive + noun

Literally, у собаки мокрая шерсть means something like by the dog, the fur is wet, but in natural English it means:

The dog has wet fur.

Breakdown:

• у = at/by
• собаки = of the dog (genitive)
• мокрая шерсть = wet fur

This у + genitive structure is extremely common for having something:

• У меня есть книга. = I have a book.
• У кошки длинный хвост. = The cat has a long tail.

So here Russian is using a normal possession pattern, not a direct equivalent of English has.

Because у here requires the genitive case.

The dictionary form is:

• собака = dog

Its genitive singular form is:

• собаки

So:

• у собаки = of the dog / the dog has

This is part of the possession structure:

у + genitive

Compare:

• у брата = my brother has / at my brother’s
• у мамы = my mom has / at my mom’s
• у собаки = the dog has

Because it agrees with шерсть, which is a feminine noun.

• шерсть = fur, coat
• It is feminine

• Therefore the adjective must also be feminine:

  • masculine: мокрый
  • feminine: мокрая
  • neuter: мокрое
  • plural: мокрые

So:

• мокрая шерсть = wet fur

The adjective agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Шерсть is the normal word for an animal’s fur, coat, or wool-like covering.

So for a dog, cat, sheep, etc., Russian usually uses:

• шерсть = fur / coat

By contrast:

• волосы = hair on a human head
• волос = a single hair

So for a dog, мокрая шерсть is exactly the natural Russian phrase.

Поэтому means therefore, that’s why, or so.

It connects the two parts logically:

• После дождя у собаки мокрая шерсть = After the rain, the dog has wet fur
• поэтому она не хочет долго гулять = therefore / so she doesn’t want to walk for long

It introduces a result or consequence.

Compare:

• Я устал, поэтому я иду домой. = I’m tired, so I’m going home.
• Было холодно, поэтому мы не вышли. = It was cold, so we didn’t go out.

Not necessarily. This is a very common point of confusion.

The pronoun она agrees with the grammatical gender of собака, which is a feminine noun in Russian.

So even if the dog’s biological sex is unknown, Russian can still refer back to собака as:

• она = she

This is grammatical agreement, not always biological sex.

Compare:

• стол is masculine, so you would refer back to it as он
• книга is feminine, so you would refer back to it as она

So in this sentence, она refers to собака because собака is grammatically feminine.

Yes, but the meaning and tone would shift slightly.

• собака = dog (general word)
• пёс = male dog, or sometimes simply dog in a more specific or vivid way

If the sentence used пёс, then the pronoun would normally be:

• он

For example:

• После дождя у пса мокрая шерсть, поэтому он не хочет долго гулять.

So the original sentence uses она because the noun chosen is собака.

Because гулять means to walk, to go for a walk, or to be out walking, especially as an activity.

That matches the idea of a dog being taken out for a walk.

• гулять = to walk, stroll, spend time walking outside
• идти = to go, to be going in one direction

So:

• не хочет долго гулять = doesn’t want to walk for a long time

This sounds natural for a dog walk.

Compare:

• Мы гуляем в парке. = We’re walking in the park.
• Я иду в парк. = I’m going to the park.

The first focuses on the activity; the second focuses on movement toward a destination.

Because after хотеть (to want), Russian usually uses an infinitive.

Structure:

хотеть + infinitive

So:

• она не хочет гулять = she doesn’t want to walk
• я хочу спать = I want to sleep
• мы хотим есть = we want to eat

In this sentence:

• не хочет долго гулять = doesn’t want to walk for long

This is a very basic and common Russian pattern.

Долго means for a long time or long in the sense of duration.

So:

• долго гулять = to walk for a long time

It is an adverb, so it modifies the verb гулять.

Compare:

• долго ждать = to wait a long time
• долго спать = to sleep for a long time
• долго работать = to work for a long time

Here it tells us how long the dog does not want to walk.

In the present tense, Russian usually does not use a word for is/am/are.

So:

• У собаки мокрая шерсть. Literally: At the dog wet fur. Natural English: The dog has wet fur. / The dog’s fur is wet.

This is normal Russian grammar. The present-tense to be is usually omitted.

Compare:

• Он дома. = He is at home.
• Книга интересная. = The book is interesting.
• Она врач. = She is a doctor.

So the absence of is is completely normal.

The word order is natural, but Russian word order is more flexible than English.

The original sentence:

После дождя у собаки мокрая шерсть, поэтому она не хочет долго гулять.

is a neutral, natural way to say it.

But some variation is possible for emphasis, for example:

• У собаки после дождя мокрая шерсть...
• После дождя мокрая шерсть у собаки...

These alternatives may sound more marked or place emphasis differently, but they are still understandable.

Russian often uses word order to manage focus and emphasis, not just grammar. The original version is a good standard model.

Because the sentence is talking about the general activity of walking, not a single completed action.

• гулять = imperfective
• It describes an ongoing activity or general process

Here the meaning is:

• the dog doesn’t want to be out walking for a long time

That calls for the imperfective.

A perfective verb would suggest a more bounded, completed action, which does not fit as well here. With хотеть, Russian very often uses an imperfective infinitive when talking about general activities:

• хочу читать = I want to read
• не хочет спать = doesn’t want to sleep
• любим гулять = we like to walk

So гулять is exactly what you would expect.

Yes, in context it can naturally be understood as after the rain or after it rains / after raining.

Russian often uses a noun where English might prefer a clause or gerund-like expression.

So после дождя can correspond to English phrases such as:

• after the rain
• after it rains
• after raining

The exact English wording depends on context, but the Russian expression itself is perfectly standard and compact.

Yes. It sounds natural and idiomatic.

Key natural features include:

• после + genitive → после дождя
• possession with у + genitive → у собаки мокрая шерсть
• result with поэтому
• activity with гулять

A Russian speaker might also phrase the idea in other natural ways, such as:

• После дождя шерсть у собаки мокрая, поэтому она не хочет долго гулять.
• После дождя собака не хочет долго гулять, потому что у неё мокрая шерсть.

But the original sentence is fully natural and good Russian.