house training an older dog

have rescued a 3 year old staffy bitch Mollie from a uncaring home ,I have had her now for 9 days she is adorable ,great on the lead no crying or barking -- taken out for long walks 4-5 times a day and does nothing ,I take her where other dogs go hoping she will pick up their scent and it will trigger the need to go .but nothing --when I get up 8am the kitchen floor is swimming , plus pooh ,she does it on paper so it's not that bad really , paper is put down daily but she only goes in the night or early morning ,never any other time .I have moved the paper closer to the back porch , is it normal for a dog to only wee once a day . any help advice please

Hello thank you for rescuing her! She sounds like a diamond.. My first thought is that perhaps she's too anxious to go when she's out on a walk? Or it may be that she doesn't want to go whilst on the lead. She may have also been told off by the previous owner for going to the toilet and worried to do it in front of you. It's not normal for her to only go once a day, no, must be uncomfortable bless her.

Do you have a garden? And what are you currently cleaning the floor up with? How do you react when you come downstairs to mess on the floor?

don't have a garden ,but a decking patio that runs all around the back of the bungalow .I have let her off the lead there but she just runs back inside.I don't scold her for the mess just clean it up of the flooring , then mop it with warm soapy water-- my other staffy Shay that I have had for 4 months is in a crate in the kitchen ,and Mollie sleeps in a basket ,in the dinning area ,I have to keep them apart or they growl at each other ,my hubby walks Shay who is deaf and I walk Mollie but keep them apart. both dogs are kept on the lead at all times , I was told by Mollies previous owner that she would just keep running if off the lead, and so far I have not dared to let her off.

I'd invest in a long training line, that way she can play off lead so to speak and you still have control. Try cleaning up the mess with biological washing powder that breaks down the enzymes that cause the odour in urine. My girl doesn't like to go toilets on lead so it could be the reason or that she's got into trouble from her previous owners.

Here's the 5ft training lead I use,
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/140555982900

I'm sure once Mollie has settled in more with you and has your trust she will become less anxious about toileting while out on a walk. You are doing the right thing in not reacting to her going indoors any correction from you would probably only make things worse and not be helpful.

The long training lead is a very good idea, we still use one for Rocky although he has been with us for 3 years from a rescue centre.

I would maybe crate her also as she won't want to soil her bed. I would also use a solution of biological washing owder to clean up (no bleach as this can encourage peeing). I know the weather isn't good but you could try putting paper on the decking just before you let her out in the morning and she may realise she can pee there.   

Thanks for your replies, yes will get a long leash and try that ..last night I took her around the decking at 10-30 and no nothing did not even sniff - I went to bed but was up at 1am and she had done a river--by her body language she does not seem to thinks she has done wrong ,so perhaps this is what she has always done .will try putting paper on the decking once the wind drops down .

My Alfie (had 3 months Saturday, rescued) will still not do any wees or poos while out. We were told he is too anxious being out to relax enough to do anything (was hardly walked at old home). However we are lucky that he goes in the garden no problem and is dry indoors, only a couple of accidents in the first week.
I wonder if Mollie doesn't go on the decking as she prefers to go on grass? Our old dog would not go on anything else and we had to turf part of our paved garden at our old house for her! Lol. Is there somewhere you could set up a different surface, even a dirt box of some sort?
Another thought is some dogs don't like to be watched going. This may be why she goes indoors at night when none of you are around? You could try letting her out and spying on her from inside without her seeing you.
Its still early days for you getting to know and trust each other, she may be worried about your other dog too. Good luck

Thanks everyone for your advice, Mollie now goes outside and does it on the decking , I put her soiled paper out and she went to it straight away .many thanks Audrey&Mollie