Your dog doing that because he wants you to bring him to my Caninie Psychology Clinic, where I will charge YOU only $500/hour to explain that he's pooping in the basement while you're working on your house because:

A) He's jealous because you're paying too much attention to fixing up the bathroom & not enough attention to HIM...

B) He thinks you need a whole NEW bathroom in the house & he's giving you a hint that it should be in the basement...

C) He's really MAD because you signed that "No outside kennel" agreement & is taking revenge on you...

D) All the above.

It will take me at least 5 one-hour sessions to get the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth out of your dog -- But after your $2500 check clears my bank, if he still refuses to come clean, I will give you one FREE consultation with my Pet Psychic associate, LOL

OK, sorry about all that, really (long day @ the office here!) -- Seriously though, crate him when you're busy doing other things <:-)

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I do not crate him at all for there has not been a reason to as he does not go in the house except when the basement door is opne.

Just to be clear. Even though he does not go in the house outside of the basement door being open, you want me to crate him when the basement door is open?

Let me try and make this as clear as possible....

Crating is not cruel or inhumane or a punishment, it's a tool, you have a problem with your car, you use the right tool to fix it, you have a plumbing issue, you use the right tool to fix it. Potty training problems are fixed with a crate, because it's a tool. Crating your dog will, in the long run, solve your problem and in the short term, stop him from pooping in the basement.

Personally, I don't care where your dog poops, the advice you're gonna get here over and over from people is to crate the dog, because that's the way it's done, there is no magical thing you can do to your basement to make him stop going there. Maybe you can correct your dog off it, but for that to happen you need to catch him red handed and have a prong collar and a drag line on the dog and correct him the second he starts squating, since this doesn't sound like it's even possible for you to do, use the crate.

Ed Frawley has a whole article written about potty training if I remember correctly. You're probably thinking "but my dog is already house trained"... obviously he has an issue with it somewhere because he's going in the house right? So go back to basics.

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I do not crate him at all for there has not been a reason to as he does not go in the house except when the basement door is opne.

That's definitely reason enough to crate him, to keep him from going in the house no matter when it is. I've learned that the dog begins to see the crate as 'his' personal space. They go in there when stressed, when tired, and just to relax. Ed has articles on here on how to introduce your dog to a crate, and when followed correctly, works great!! I have a JRT/Dachshund mix who is FULL of energy 18 hrs a day, and a crate has really helped to get her under control, and it's made a world of difference in potty training. Get your dog in a crate, he'll thank you for it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Thanks, I do appreciate the help.

This might not help (ok, it really doesn't), but you're not alone. I had a dog that would do the same thing...the same dog that would hold it for 3 days if it rained for 3 days. It's as if they don't see the basement as a real part of the house or something. It sounds like yours is finished, though. Mine wasn't, so I guess it just seemed ok. Another aspect could be that it's a place he doesn't go often, therefore he doesn't see it as his "den", and it seems ok to him. Like small dogs who only see parts of a house as their den, and will go to the bathroom all over the rest of it; a bigger dog has the entire house as his den, so this could explain why he's good except for the rare occasion he's in the basement.

Quick question,Do you own a crate for your dog?

I did for the one I'm talking about, but she really was only in it her first year or so.

Sorry Jenni that question was for mike.

Oh. It said in reply to me. I wondered what you were getting at <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />.

http://www.leerburg.com/housetrainingproblems.htm (numerous articles by Ed Frawley on this topic!)