Grrrrr.  We've got the dogs 80%(?) trained to go potty in one area in our yard.  I'll see them playing and then one of them goes running around the back of the house to the side yard and SUCCESS!  If I'm anywhere near, I'll treat them, praise them etc.

But come night time (after they eat dinner around 5:00pm), if I leave them outside alone, one of them *cough* Mika *cough* poops on the fake grass.  Not the end of the world, but it always seems like it's during time when I'm not watching them so it's not like I can yell at one of them.  Going to have to crate them unless I'm outside I guess.

Just tonight, my daughter and I fed them and then played with them a little bit.  I put them back in the garage.  My daughter let them out a few minutes later and I said, "Just watch them, 'cuz I'm trying to catch whoever is pooping at night"

"Ok.."  Next I know, she's laying in her bed.  Walk outside and, sure enough, poop.

/rant

Is it dark out when this happens? My male goes through episodes where he thinks it's okay to poop on the porch. It's environmental. If it's raining or he's hungry, or it's hot or various other excuses he will basically be too lazy to go off the porch in an effort to get to come back in the house quicker out of whatever element he doesn't like. He can also get antsy for food. I tend to feed them when they would get in from going outside when I first got him. He's so food motivated that he would rush to get back in so that he could eat which meant he wouldn't actually go out into the yard because he feared he wouldn't get back in time to eat. So then I had to start changing things up.

Yes, it is dark when they do it. I'm leaning toward it being them being lazy too or they just haven't built the habit of going to the correct area ALL the time yet. And they may never be 100%.

I know what you mean about the rush to get food. In the morning, our routine is almost like clockwork. Dogs get let out and we all go over to the potty area. They both pee and then Mika SPRINTS back to the garage because she knows food is coming.

Everyone gets fed and we go back to the potty area and they both poop.

It's a combination of circumstances and laziness. Mishka did something similar for awhile, only it was peeing on the grass. My two were taught to do their business on the canyon slope, or the side yard, both being mostly dirt. They were both taught, NOT to go on the grass. Every once in awhile I'd find a brown spot on the grass and truth be told, I thought it was Kohdi (boys and their marking) but nope, it was Mishka. Turns out, if the side yard and canyon were wet, either from rain or watering, she didn't want to go there, one day after just getting home from work, I caught her. I told her "no" right away (some people don't agree with using that word but I do, anyways, it stopped.) it hasn't happened again.

Thanks Jimmy.  I don't mind using the word "no", "AH!", "WTF!" and other words along that line. ha ha.

Caught Max just before he started to pee on the grass (he didn't see me following him. He had that "look" like he was going to pee).  As soon as he started to get into position, I said, "No" started to jog toward the potty area saying "Come on Max!  Let's go Potty!".  He followed me and went in the potty area and I praised him and treated him.

If my neighbors didn't also have dogs, they'd probably think I was really odd talking to the dogs.

Not sure if I've posted this before, but one time my neighbor was outside essentially having a conversation with her dogs.  I looked at one of ours and said, "Can you believe she's actually talking to them like that".

I... talked... to... my... dog...about...my...neighbor...talking...to...her...dog...

LOLOL Mike, your post reminded me to something I posted on my Facebook a couple months ago...here it is

^ha ha ha!

Not to Hijack the thread but my 3yo Siberian has decided that my dining room is the new potty. Last night she jumped a barrier that we had put up to go and then jumped back out. Not sure how to break her of that

@sbouncer i have been asking myself the same thing for almost 4 years now i know my answer was spiders dna and my fix was when possible letting her have access outside by leaving the sliding door open. When its super cold and i cant leave ot open spider pees right infront of the crate but like i said with spider its dna and i should buy stock in resolve

Kona had issues when we first adopted him - he marked everything - EVERYTHING (the bathtub!).

Now his issue is an occasional #2 on the fireplace hearth - always when we're sleeping. I think laziness.

Kona only pees in the house to send a message. I've had wet shoes when I don't walk him sometimes, he's peed on our little dog once when it got territorial over food, and on a door to the spare room when we wouldn't let him in...there's also a bit of howling and defiance when we discipline him for it!

Squirt will revenge poop on my pillow if i leave her home with access to my bedroom. Hasnt happened in about 5 years tho because shes been banned from my bedroom for about that long. Spider used to be really bad about scat marking its under control in the house now but the concrete in the backyard way needs to get power washed come spring