Black Lab attitude problem?

Question
QUESTION: Dear Diane,
We have had our pure breed black lab for almost seven years now, never having any health or behavioral issues, other than the occasional "Selective Hearing Disorder".  Since last fall, our Emmitt has been pooping in the house, sometimes right in front of us.  He spends a lot of time outside, so it isn't an issue of not being able to get out enough.  We thought perhaps that it was a punishment for a while because I had gone back to work, but are now convinced it must be something else.  Any ideas?

ANSWER: What kind of food do you feed? has anything changed in his life lately? When was his last checkup? (anal glands can cause this behavior). Is he getting let out every two hours or so?
Feeding on schedule? Get him vet checked,can't hurt and might help <g>
Diane

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He is on Senior Management now and the only thing that seems to coincide with this #2 issue is that we had our carpet replaced with wood floors last fall and ever since then he's been doing this.  Today we had the sliding door open for him to come in and out for over two hours and as soon as I got home with the children I closed the slider to block the baby from the pool and within 10 minutes Emmitt went on the floor again.  He hadn't eaten in several hours either and last night he came in at 11 and slept in the laundry room until 6:30 with no problems.
Do you think anal glands or punishing us?

Answer
Dogs really don't punish people, they don't think like we do. I tend to think he's confused by the lack of carpet. He might not understand the difference. Try taking him outside only on leash and confining him to a smaller area in the house for awhile. See if that doesn't reinforce his potty training
Diane