even if I only go for a min.? I adopted a 12 mo. Pointer mix last week. He's sweet, affectionate, house-broken, excellent on a leash, overall has a wonderful temperment. However, when I leave him alone for any amount of time, he becomes very destructive. I devoted all of last week to help him adjust to our house. I took time off work, arranged for someone to be with him when I wasn't home, and brought him with me everywhere else. I run nightly with him. He's getting plenty of exercise. I tested him home alone without a crate once and came back to ripped up carpet by my front door as if he tried to dig his way out. I gave him a few more days to adjust and got a crate. Yesterday, I left him home alone in the crate for one hour. Came back to bent wires on the crate, ripped up carpet near the crate, and a hole dug through my wall! I'm at my wits end now. I absolutely have to go to work tomorrow. I know I made a commitment and want to keep him, but is there any hope???
More details -- I have put treats, a peanut butter stuffed kong, bones, and chew toys in his crate. I've also been feeding his meals in there to get him used to it. I got him from a local SPCA shelter. They had no background info because he was picked up as a "stray." I've tried putting him in the crate and leaving just for a minute then coming back in -- and repeating to "desensitize" him but he howls, barks, and whines the entire time I'm gone. I am about to go buy another crate since he broke the other one but I'm afraid he'll end up hurting himself if he can't hurt the crate.