My lab thinks he is very clever. There are certain times of the day he needs to go outside to go potty, especially first thing in the morning before he gets breakfast and right before we go to bed.

The rule is that every morning he goes outside to do his business (both) before he comes in to get fed his breakfast. He gets so excited to eat (he’s a lab, he always thinks its time to eat), that he pretends to do his business. He does this sometimes at night too.

He’ll do one thing and then look to see if I’m watching him. Because he does this often, I have to watch him, like he’s a 5 year old kid. When he sees me watching him, he’ll go behind a bush and just stand there for a moment and then come running to the door. I tell him that I know he didn’t finish and to go potty. He’ll go back out into the yard and do it again; stand behind a bush, peeking at me. Sometimes he’ll go behind a bush, see my watching and find another bush and continue that 3-4 times. All I need to do is stand at the door and point to the yard and he’ll go back to recalculate his next move, like it’s a game. Sometimes I need to go outside and wait, and then he’ll finish going potty.

It’s hilarious how clever he thinks he is.