Help in DC!

I'm not lucky enough to own a dog yet, but is it easier and faster to change the yard than the dog?  Is there dirt under the bark?  Buy a roll of sod at a garden center?  Odds are it wont survive very long, but it might be long enough for your dog to get the hint, especially if you sprinkle the bark on it or something.
 
Or get some grass clippings and mix them in with the bark.

I agree - and isn't your DH a bit harsh in his expectations for this dog?  She's probably wondering who removed the toilet!!! Ask hubby how he would feel if he came home one day and the bathroom was gone.  Dogs learn to go on the surface *you* train them on, so if you then change the surface, whose fault is that?  Give your little friend time, and do things to try to make her successful!  It might not hurt to take her for a walk, catch her urine in a cup and sprinkle *her* urine in the mulched area, or on some grass nearby.  Some dogs do not overmark other dogs' urine, and she probably still smells the prior dog's toilet.  Perhaps better to make her own little toilet area somewhere where you think she might prefer to go, or just walk her - this is not an issue to "get rid of" a dog over IMO.

I agree with Anne on this issue.

Good luck.
 

I'll be honest....my first reaction was I'd be telling DH to find another home.
 
I was married to one who was rigid like this once.....once our sons had been SHOWN where their potty chair was, he expected them to always, always use it and never have an accident.  On one occassion, he insisted that we take the oldest boy to the pediatrician (he was about 2.5) because their absolutely had to be something wrong with him that he kept wetting himself.....gee maybe the stress over the whole bathroom issue??  The poor doc tried and tried to explain things to this blockhead and finally blurted out..."I think he might have a urinary tract infection".......poor kid had a LOT of UTI's over the next several months, even tho he really didn't, cuz the doctor GOT that this jerk was rigid and a control freak.
 
I'm not saying that your hubby is as well.....but, gosh, that's the first thing that popped into MY mind.......poor dog....she hasn't a CLUE where her bathroom went!

You aren't going to take the dog on a walk until he/she potties in the yard? IMHO, thats mean.

If you only knew my DH.  We talked about it last night and we are here in this house for 4 years and he's afraid I'll get tired of taking the dog out so much.  Whatever.  Lucy finally peed in the back yard around 10pm last night and I whooped and hollered and gave her lots of treats.  She hasn't gone again since.  I hope she'll go again tonight and start to figure this out.  I'm afraid that if I take her on a walk, she think, "Oh, if I just hold out long enough, I can pee on my walk."
Thank so much for the advice.  I will try everything!  What does IMO and IMHO mean anyway?

You've gotten some great advice here.
 
Just have patience with her, and she will make you proud. Moving to a new house is hard on a dog. We just moved into our house (from a second-story apartment) three weeks ago, and we had to go through crating and potty training again. I say just be thankful that Lucy isn't going anywhere in the house, and that she's smart enough to hold it. She'll figure it out. She's just adapting to a new home (AND a new toilet). Good luck to you! The best thing for her is to NOT have people angry with her or pressuring her; her environment has changed and you need to just be you, and of course praise like heck, which you did - that's great!
 
Roxanne

IMO- in my opinion
IMHO- in my humble opinion

I live outside of DC in Maryland.  Call around or go to Home Depot, Loews, Roozens Nursey and find some sod.  It is now sold in 1 x 2' squares.  You can lay it yourself w/o hubbys help.  Just water it everyday in this intense heat.  It may be hard to find, but try.  There are sod farms too that maybe you could get a few pieces from. they only cost about $2 a square.
 
Or call a landscaper and tell him to install it for you,,shouldn't  be much.  

I have a friend who moved from a house with a yard in the country to an apartment with a rooftop balcony in the city.  Because the dogs were so used to going potty on grass she couldn't find a place close enough that would be convenient.
 
She bought one of those little plastic kiddy pools and filled it with dirt and threw in some grass seed.  She made her own mini lawn!  If you don't want to lay sod, you could do something like that.  The dogs loved it,  and it wasn't hard to take care of because it was so small.
 
Good Luck & Welcome to the Board!  Also, post a pic of her!