Hi Dixieland Dancer- You might correct about Scout not having been housebroken before. We adopted her in mid-July when she was already 3 years old. The shelter did not know anything about her, etc. because she was either a stray or was dumped at the city pound. She had also NOT been spayed at the time, and had a couple broken teeth and a few scars. She did not seem to be very happy- did not wag her tail much and all that. However, she was very responsive to attention and was very affectionate and loving with us right away. We found out after getting her home that she is an awesome ball player- catches in the air and leaps up to catch. She just lives for ball now! After about a month, she really came out of her shell. She wags her tail all the time, and does that cute 'smile' thing that dogs can do. She smiles a lot now! Obviously whoever owned her before did not take care of her at all. Poor thing.....she is sooooo sweet.
After I read your post, I took her outside and said 'go potty'. She went within a couple of minutes! She was due to go at that point, so it may have had something to do with it, but she has never gone on command before. I am hoping that because I FINALLY caught her in the act and told her NO, that she is starting to understand. Keeping my fingers crossed anyway.