my husband and i adopted a 1 year old boxer. her name is Madeline and she is a delight...except when we leave her. i know they don't like to be away from us but we do have to go to work! 
so, we have had her a month and in the beginning i wanted to start the kennel for when we leave the house; not for bed and not for potty training as she is already housebroken. mostly so she wouldn't destroy the house and torment the cat when we go to work. the hubby didn't like the idea at all because, i think he feels it's more of a punishment thing. plus, as he constantly reminds me, he "never kept their family dogs in kennels." neither did we but both of our moms were around during the day so it's didn't really matter.
well, what we have been doing is put her in the kitchen (which is a good size) and close all the doors. we leave her with her food and water, a nylon bone, her toys and her bed. and we proof the kitchen by moving anything that she can get to out of reach. regardless, when we get home she's knocked over her water and drenched the floor, the rug and usually her bed and scratched the doors and somethimes has managed to pull something down (she recently tore the wall phone off the wall and chewed the cords). yesterday was the final straw for me. when i got home she had turned over the metal trashcan (pryed the lid open and strewn garbage all over. we also have a counter and cabinet island thing that sits against the wall. well, apparently (or should i say, she discovered) the counter is not secured to the cabinets and she somehow managed to move it slightly; the countertop was sitting (with the small appliances on it!!) at about a 45 degree angle from the cabiniet unit.
i was furious since she could have really hurt herself if it had fallen all the way off.
so, i need help trying to either A) convince the hubby of the kennel or B) figure out a way to keep her from doing this every day and C) if we do the kennel, get advice on how to introduce it to her now (after a month without it) in a way that she doesn't think its punishment. Help!!
so, we have had her a month and in the beginning i wanted to start the kennel for when we leave the house; not for bed and not for potty training as she is already housebroken. mostly so she wouldn't destroy the house and torment the cat when we go to work. the hubby didn't like the idea at all because, i think he feels it's more of a punishment thing. plus, as he constantly reminds me, he "never kept their family dogs in kennels." neither did we but both of our moms were around during the day so it's didn't really matter.
well, what we have been doing is put her in the kitchen (which is a good size) and close all the doors. we leave her with her food and water, a nylon bone, her toys and her bed. and we proof the kitchen by moving anything that she can get to out of reach. regardless, when we get home she's knocked over her water and drenched the floor, the rug and usually her bed and scratched the doors and somethimes has managed to pull something down (she recently tore the wall phone off the wall and chewed the cords). yesterday was the final straw for me. when i got home she had turned over the metal trashcan (pryed the lid open and strewn garbage all over. we also have a counter and cabinet island thing that sits against the wall. well, apparently (or should i say, she discovered) the counter is not secured to the cabinets and she somehow managed to move it slightly; the countertop was sitting (with the small appliances on it!!) at about a 45 degree angle from the cabiniet unit.
i was furious since she could have really hurt herself if it had fallen all the way off.
so, i need help trying to either A) convince the hubby of the kennel or B) figure out a way to keep her from doing this every day and C) if we do the kennel, get advice on how to introduce it to her now (after a month without it) in a way that she doesn't think its punishment. Help!!