I adopted a 7 month puppy around 7 weeks ago. She hates being confined and hates being left alone. She ate through the first crate I got her which had plastic sides. I got a new one with metal bars on the sides, and she tries to eat through the metal, but can only bend the metal bars so far.
I have been able to coax her into her crate with treats for the first 7 weeks, but she is now wise to being locked in before I leave for work, and she won’t go anywhere near it when I try to coax her in.
The last two mornings, I have had to pick her up and try to force her into the crate. Then she tries to run out. Today I had to spank her and yell at her, which I hate to do, as I know the crate is supposed to the a "happy place."
In the evening, she willingly enters the crate to play with toys and chew on a bone. Just as long as the door is open and she knows she won’t be locked in, she seems to like to go into the crate.
So what can I do? I tried to leave her in the house unattended, but she became destructive, and I don’t want my house to be destroyed.
For various reasons, I cannot leave her in my back yard all day, and I don’t have a garage…
I’ve thought about "chaining" her to a heavy piece of furniture during the day when I’m at work…
If I cannot find a way to keep her and my house safe during the day when I’m at work, I’m afraid I will have to take her back to the dog pound, which I hate to do, because at this point the puppy and I are very close!