My husband has been complaining for the last week or so when the dog comes back in from going out to her spot in the yard to do her business that she just sits and stares at him, or runs circles on the leash and then comes back and sits at his feet (her signal that she's "done").

Now, there's some history with this--Reader's Digest version of this is she was a stray found wandering at 4 months old, then went to a pound. We got her and still had our 2 old (large) Husky crates. Potty training was a chore at best. She was a small puppy in a large crate and really didn't (and sadly still DOESN'T) care if she sullied her "home". Heck, she even played in her poo.

She's had a history of diarrhea on and off due to issues outside of hers and our control--4 days after we adopted her from the shelter, she got extremely ill and had to be hospitalized for Parvo. $900 vet bill later, she was put on a bland diet for a few weeks, bounced back, and then got thin again and ended up she had whipworms. A Panacur series over several weeks later, and she started getting diarrhea again and we changed her food from Wellness Puppy to Nutro Puppy lamb and rice kibble, but still had the science diet canned puppy food in it (she hated kibble and would ONLY eat if we coated it in a little canned food). FINALLY, over the last week, after battling with soft stools for two months due to possible worms, giardia, etc I got the sneaking suspicion that she was having a food allergy/intolerance. She was itchy (and she's on flea treatment with snow on the ground-between that and the umpteen baths we've been giving her after coming home and finding her in diarrhea in her crate she'd BETTER not have fleas too!) So, I decided to do Tough Love and force her to ONLY eat the Nutro Lamb and Rice kibble with nothing else and her stools firmed right up FINALLY.

Point to the story is that both Joe and I were constantly giving each other "poo reports" after taking the dog out. And, with the difficulty of housetraining her in the beginning (post-kennel, post-stray and post-Parvo), a friend had told me to train Nut to a cue---say Pee for Pee and Poo for Poo. I've been reinforcing this for months and it's a lifesaver on a roadtrip when we stop at rest stops for her to do her business. She really has issues doing it in unfamiliar territory and gets distracted mid-poo by the smallest noise/movement.

With my back hurt and me in a walking cast, Joe took Nut out this morning. I'm normally the only one that walks her in the morning--and she DEFINITELY has to go then!! At night, I've been having to walk her more and more as Joe walks back in the house and says she didn't "go" for him. When you set her free in the house she would immediately go back to the door and ask me to take her back out. So, he took her out THREE times before we were leaving for work this morning, and all 3 times she either just sat at his feet, went to the end of the leash and started jumping up in the air to play, or pretty much just bowed and yelped at him like "what do you want me to do???" He was getting exasperated. I took the leash, put on the walking boot and went out in the yard. I said Go Pee! and she went and peed. I said Go Poo and she went and poo'd. And, of course, I praise her for each one-- Good Pee! Good Poo! as she's going...... Joe was amazed. The dog will (apparently) only "go" for me now and only "go" on command now. Just taking her to the right spot and expecting nature to take over is not enough anymore.

So, I guess she Pees like a Racehorse!!! And I guess I'm the only one to walk the dog now..... Not a surprise, really. I knew this day would come

HA! Yeah, I think most households have a designated walker. The only going for you thing is a little odd. Does he just walk outside and that's it? It usually takes my dogs about half a mile to get things moving.

Yeah, he just walks outside and hopes that the dog goes. Honestly, most of the time she actually does!

Sometimes she has to run around in circles (and it seems like a half mile distance once you're dizzy watching her streak at full speed around you)

Interesting side note--my husband's 18 y.o. son is very fond of Nut and loves taking her out for walks or to jump over the horse jumps in the backyard. I paid attention this past weekend and she goes perfectly fine for him. I wonder if it's just a "pressure" thing--like she feels rushed with Joe and he's taken her out so many times with the expectation that she won't go so she just doesn't?

Visualization is everything with animals. If you visualize/fret yourself over future bad behavior or situations the animals seem to pick up on it and give you exactly what you fear or expect.