behavior issues

Question
hello, my name is amanda. i have a 3 year old yorkiepoo, who is the love of my life. long story short... i live in canada and i broke up with my 4 year old boyfriend/fience' about 2 months ago. i moved to indiana with two of my best friends, both males. they have a 3 bedroom apartment and abby has an outside lead as well. i am having 'troubles' with her urinating on the floor. i have disapplined her and tried many types of 'training aids' suggested... but nun seem to be working. she is door trained(jumps on the door when she wants in or out) and she is puppy pad trained. i have not had any trouble with this till i moved here. i am getting frustrated and seek your help. im willing to try anything, as i love abby and it is VERY hard for me to yell or dissapline her. thanks for your time amanda

Answer
Yelling at a dog, or any form of "discipline", is counter productive.  It destroys TRUST and makes the dog more anxious, thereby causing further problems.  It is COMMON for adult dogs to become confused about house training after a move, especially when the owner is emotionally distressed (as you MUST be after what's just occurred in your life!)  Using puppy pads is never a good idea if you want the dog to be fully house trained as it encourages indoor urination.  If you're going to persist in using these pads, you must train the dog TO the pad, just as you would to an outdoor location.  TAKE the dog out every two to three hours (for the first week) to the same location (where the scent of her urine will develop), develop a cue ("Go pee"), walk in a wide circle in the area (circling often helps to develop the urge to urinate) while saying "Go pee", the moment she squats say "go pee, good girl" and when she's done pop a juicy treat into her mouth and go back indoors.  When indoors, observe her closely: if she needs to urinate (which she should not if you're taking her out often at first), you'll see her circling to squat: clap your hands, hoot, whistle, do something to interrupt (do NOT YELL "NO") without frightening her, and take her out while repeating what was described above.  When you're unable to observe her (you're out or busy) confine her to the kitchen or large, ventilated bathroom) with soft bed, water and a safe toy or two.  If you're going to persist in using the pads, choose such an area for them and take the dog TO THE PAD (rather than an outdoor location).  Never yell at the dog for urinating in the house: she will learn to not urinate in front of you, and your house training will be quite difficult.  Be patient; consistent; calm.  After the dog clearly understands the "go pee" signal and urinates outdoors every time, be certain to take her out at fair intervals (at least four times daily).  You can also use doggy diapers indoors during this training process.  Although a dog may make a "mistake" once or twice while wearing one, it will not repeat.  Dogs don't want urine close to their bodies.  Of course you can't use these if you choose to continue using pee pads (which I strongly recommend against when a dog's signals have been clearly confused.)