My mixed breed

Question
I recently rescued a shepherd/collie mix from the street.  The vet guesses her age to be between 8-9 months.  She wasn't eating right to begin with and perhaps drinking dirty street water for a day or so.  I took her to a highly recommended vet here in town because I am not allowed to have dogs where I live.  After a few days I missed her terribly, and called to see how she was doing (against the advice of some), but he told me they were going to spayed her the following day, and then put her up for adoption.  I told them that I wanted to keep her and so I went back to get her a week later.  She has been in my home now for three days, and she has more spirit and play than when I took her to the vet.  It is hot now, and she isn't eating a lot, but she is on dry food (natural choice lamb/rice).  She is still a little nervous in thinking that she'll be abandoned once more.  She has never been crate trained and doesn't come to formal commands, but I am slowly teaching her to 'sit'  when I take her for her walks I keep the leash short so she has to walk next to me.  She is housebroken.   The issues I have with her are this:  She still needs to be with me at all times.  Whenever I get up to move around she is right behind me and then lays down either next to me or at least near me.  I am slowly working to get her to not bark or whine when I leave her in  the house alone.  She does bark, but I don't know for how long since I drive away, but when I return she is quiet, and has been sitting on the sofa.  I have read all the stuff about crate training and I will call the vet to see if there is a place in town that sells animal crates.  By the way I live in Ensenada, Mexico.  I currently have an 800 sq. ft. two bedroom apartment upstairs, and am looking to rent a small house for her and I.  It might be hard to find a crate her size here and so I'll have to wait until the next opportunity to travel north to buy one.  In  the interim what can I do to help with  the barking and whining when I leave her alone?  She is getting more spunk as the days wear on, and I think that she is slowly adjusting and I suspect that she'll soon want to challenge things, but overall for now she is very even tempered.  She barks when someone comes to  the door and when the neighbor comes home.   I am glad I went back for her, and hope that she and I develop a wonderful relationship.  

Thanks in advance for your time.  
Tim  

Answer
If you could find a Kong, it could be a big help.  They are made out of rubber and sort of look like a headless Michelin Man.  They are hollow and you can put peanut butter or soft cheese in them.  A dog can keep busy and quiet for hours licking it out.  Freezing it makes it last even longer.  You can find pictures of them at www.petsmart.com, www.petco.com, www.vetvax.com, etc.  I don't know if they ship to Mexico or not.