bathroom issues

Question
I have an 11mth old french/Italian mastiff Lexi. Lexi is house trained. i let her out all the time and she also let's me know if she needs to go out. The problem is if the basement door is open she will sneak down and pee and poop down there. Sometimes I've let lexi out then I'll put her down stairs if someone comes to the door or for whatever reason and she will go to the bathroom down there even though she was just outside. why is she doing this? Also Lexi stays in her crate when we are out and I'd love to be able to leave her loose in the house but i know if i do she will go to the bathroom in the house. Why can she hold it in her crate but chooses not to if left out when we are out?

Answer
Hello Amber!

I wonder if your pup has some aversion to your basement, causing her to potty there?  My best suggestion to remedy this is to keep the basement door closed, and find another place to keep her when someone comes to the door - perhaps her crate.

Check out this blog post for ideas on keeping Lexi from peeing in the house:
http://blog.gizmo2wizmo.com/2009/10/07/stop-your-dog-from-peeing-inside.aspx

Good luck!