Won't toilet in the yard

Our new addition, Sam, is a real odd bod. At my mum's he learnt to use a dogflap, and took himself out into the garden for toileting. Absolutely fine, no problem.

We also have a large dogflap, for Amber, and although Sam will quite happily come IN through the flap from the garden, he won't go OUT . My mum said that he was charging in and out of it over the weekend, while she pet-sat for us, but since we've been home he just won't do it.

He also won't do his business out there at all, and we have to let him out of the backdoor and then go and unlock the gate to let him into the alley at the back of the house before he will go. I just don't understand Our garden is very little (a postage stamp compared to my mum's old garden), but it is kept clear of dog muck, etc, as we try to always pick it up after they've gone, and one of us goes and checks the garden last thing on the evening and first thing in the morning for any that we've missed, or haven't been home for.

He's quite happy to go to the toilet out on walks as well. Why won't he do the easy thing and go in and out via the dogflap, as Amber does, and do his business in the yard? I'm worried that if we go out on an evening or something that he's just going to cross his legs until we get back, even though the garden is completely accessible!

My girls refuse to go in the garden so I actually have to take them out several times a day, in addition to their walks, so they can go. I just think some dogs are very very clean and want to go as far away from the house as possible!
Becky

I have the opposite problem , lady will not go anywhere but our garden , no matter how far from home we are she will ,insist on pulling me all the way home just to toilet in our back yard , they have very strange ways of doing things which we will probably never understand , but we love them non the less and try to accomodate there every need xxdk

My Sam who is a springer used to be like that and would not go in the garden, anybody's garden! He does now though but he is still quite particular. He has to have grass under his bottie never concrete! Your Sam may grow out of this foible too.