Despite what Murphy dog may think...
The command NO is the first fundamental word a puppy needs to understand. If they don't know the meaning of that word or a similar one such as STOP then you are in big doo doo for training. Although hitting with one's hand is unadvisable, taking a folded newspaper (1 small section) to the dog on its side is not unreasonable. The sound of the paper is what will get their attention. Eventually just cracking it against your hand will accomplish getting their attention.
As for house breaking, if it takes 1 year, then something wrong is being done. A puppy should be house broken (with possibly an occaisonal accident) by 5 months.
The mistake Socks has probably made is too infrequent trips outside, and not confining the dog to a crate initially. Although Murphy dog did point this out to her in a more than slightly condensending mode, of course he did not give Socks the formula to determine how long a puppy can hold its fluids and wastes.
Socks: The general rule is that you take the age in months +1, and that is the number of hours you should expect your dog to control its bowel movements inside the house. For example a 1 month old puppy might hold its puppy wee wees for 2 hours at a time. A 5 month old should be able to go 6 hours. Of course the smaller they are, the quicker after feeding you have to take them out for their doggy duties. Initially with my recent black lab puppy when he was 6 weeks, and ate some food, I had under 2 minutes to get him out the door!
Since your dog is older you should try the following:
1. If it soils in the house, totally deordorize the spot, else puppy will believe it's ok to go there in the future. Get rid of the pads, as they are worthless.
2. Plan frequent trips outside, especially after eating. Praise the dog when it goes. When it doesn't go- wait for it to go.
3. If it's deficating at night, do not feed it past 7PM.
4. Confine it during the day when you are not around. I tried the crate with my older puppy that I got at 3.5 months and she hated it. Fortunately I had an outside pen for her. My younger puppy adapted well to the crate- so age that you start does matter. If that's not available confine it to a single room in your house when you are not around. In warmer weather consider tying it outside (with shelter, water, and food of course), or confining it to a fenced in area.
Good luck with your new puppy.