My Chocolate Lab wont go to the bathroom alone, what to do?

Question
We adopted a 2 year old Chocolate Lab Mix three weeks ago.  I think she is mixed with a Pointer, but I'm just guessing.  She is very sweet and loving.  She has a regular diet of dog food and treats, no human food and she is not overweight, about 50 lbs.. She is recently spayed and has had her staples removed.   She is mostly and indoor dog, but we do leave her outside on the weekends for the morning to mid afternoon when I go to work.  She does have a bit of separation anxiety.  The first two weeks she was always at our feet following us from room to room whenever we went there for a long period of time or for a few minutes.  She has gotten better this past week, by staying in her current spot when we get up to go somewhere and she does not follow; but this behavior only occurs indoors.  When we are outdoors with her we are either playing with her or doing yard work and then she is off in her own little world.  Now that you have a bit of history on her, here is what we are having problems with.  We are in the process of making sure she knows to go potty outside and not inside.  She has had a few accidents in the first two weeks, which is to be expected, but she is getting much better.   Her problem is she will not go outside to go to the bathroom by herself at anytime of day or night.  I take her outside first thing in the morning and before bed to go the bathroom and numerous times through out the day.  I say "outside Bella" and try to get her excited to go outside, and she gets excited then she goes outside.  As soon as she is outside, she just stands there and looks at me. I started to shut the door the first couple times and she just stood there looked at the door until it gets opened again.  So I started to go out on the deck and encouraged her to go in the grass and then she would go potty.  I've tried going inside when she is in the middle of her business or sniffing around, and as soon as she is done or noticed I'm gone, she goes for the door and stands there till I let her in.  I let her outside when I get ready for work and that is a good 45 minutes; so in the time I have no clue if she's really gone to the bathroom.  What can I do to break her of this habit of not having to have someone outside with her when she goes to the bathroom?

Answer
Just like a puppy, it can take an adult dog that is adopted into a new family some time to feel comfortable and settle into the routine. You need to keep going out with her until she is no longer having accidents in the house, and understands that when you say "outside Bella," it means she is to go out and potty. You will know that she understands this whenever she immediately goes down in the grass and potties when you take her out. You can then gradually progress to just standing at the doorway with the door open, then to closing the door, and then you should be able to let her out to potty, take care of your business, and then let her back in.

Until a puppy or dog is housebroken, and that means that they are actively letting you know they need to go out, you should always keep them in sight while they're outside to potty, so that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they HAVE, in fact, used the bathroom while they've been out there.