Adopted dog problems with house training

Question
Robin,
We adopted a 2 year old pitbull one week ago and she has been pooping and peeing in the house. She will use the dog door to go outside when my other two dogs go out and will use the bathroom outside. Or if I ask her to go out.
What can I do to correct her the right way. It seems as if when it get darks she does not go out side. She knows how to use the dog doors any other time. Also she does not let you know that she needs to go out. When we got her from the pound they said she was house broken also one of the  people who owned her prior to us said she was house broken.
I dont want to spank her or crate her but I do need help with her.

Thank you
Lynda

Answer
Spanking won't help(it'll just make her hide it), but crating might. You want to restrict her movements when she's not supervised. If you give her a small confined area (it doesn't have to be a crate, it can be a room) to call "home" she probably won't go in that area but will try to find an outside area to go potty in. You may need to do some supportive work with her, giving her treats and praising her when she goes outside and she should be supervised in the house at all times. Every time she goes in the house she must be caught (or she learns it's okay) and given a firm "no" and personally taken outside immediately and then given praise and treats the moment she eliminates (not after she comes in the house). If you use a clicker you can click her when she goes as well. If she hesitates to go outside in the dark, you may need to physically take her before bedtime. You can also restrict her diet (don't free feed, give her her food at designated times and allow her access to it for only 15 minutes) and try to time when she'll need to go. Dogs usually need to go about 8 hours after they eat and 1/2 hour after they drink alot of water. They also usually need to go right after eating because it gets things moving. So if you know she doesn't like to go out after dark, you can set her up to only go during daylight hours by feeding her early in the morning just before you leave for work so she'll have to go right when you come home, or at bedtime so she'll have to go in the morning.