new 2 year old toy austrilian shephard

Question
Hi Dr. Hogan,
We have a new 2yr.old toy austrilian shephard.She is a female and is coming along great. From my understanding she was abused and then adopted out for 10 months and the family could no longer could care for her. So she is in a loving home forever now! I have a 3 year old toy Yorkie and things are good between them. He uses his pee pad thats what he knows. I've been trying everything to get the new one Sammy to use it but I have not been sucessful. She just stands there and doesn't have a clue as what she is suppose to do. Can you send me some suggestions??

Answer
First things first!  Of course the dog doesn't know what the pee pad is.  Unless it had been taught to use one it would have no idea.  Also does it lifts its leg when it pees? (all variable need to be addressed)  Unless you have absolute first hand knowledge that the dog was abused do not assume this.  Particularly in toy breed where the nervous almost obsessive behavior characteristics are very common place.   More often than not dogs that have been labeled "abused" have come about that label by unqualified judgment based on the way they act.  Labeling it as abused will not change the situation nor justify any behavior.  Is the dog house broke?  If so why would you want to teach a dog to pee inside if it is already going outside?  Quite often when people believe their dog to be pee pad trained what it actually has learned is "location urination".  In other words it has learned it is accepted to pee in the location of the pee pad which is fine as long as you keep the pad there.  This becomes obvious to some when they decide to move the pee pad to a new location.  Now if you truly want to teach the housebroke new dog to pee in its "home" and use the pad then it can be accomplished in the same manner as housebreaking by taking it to the pee pad when it has to pee and not letting it outside until it has gone on the pad.  Using a crate may help.  See my answer to this question: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Dog-Training-3333/2009/12/new-puppy-training.htm
You will need to take the dog to the pad instead of outside but other than that it would be the same protocol.  I will pre-warn you that if the dog is currently housebroke you may be in for a long hard road to get it to use the pad and you may create more problems than it is worth such as the dog assume it is ok to go anywhere in the house or anywhere there is a blanket, towel or pad of any type.  Just some things to be aware of.  However if you follow the protocol the dog will eventually understand what you want and use the pad.  Keep in mind that an adult dog can and will hold their urination for many many hours if they do not have the opportunity to urinate as they have learned growing up. Example:  I have had housebroke dogs that would not go for as much as 24 hours if not permitted to go where they have been taught and I've heard of dogs going longer than that.  So be aware of this when retraining the dog to use the pad.  If you have more information (answers to the questions I've ask) and need additional assistance please feel free to call and discuss. Dr. Hogan 509-991-0385