Help Me With Chewing Problem!!!!

Question
I have a 8 month old Pitbull terrier.  She is small only 30 lbs.  I have had her since she was 5 weeks old and never had a major problem with anything.  She has been left alone and been fine all day, left with food water and tv and toys i spoil her and never had problems until recently. My boyfriend got laid off a few months ago and has been home with her during the day.  He leaves the house occasionally and have no problems until one day she tore up my coffee table..wooden now looks like a bear attacked it.  Now she ate my brand new wooden couch.. i think she is doing it to "get back" at my boyfriend for leaving her.  Everyone tells me to cage her but since i didnt have to do this in the past i didnt want to start now.  Im concerned when my bf goes back to work next month, she will be home alone for over 8hrs a day.. i didnt see anything wrong wiht this as long as she was active ut not destructive!! besides getting rid of my baby..what should i do?

Answer
Dogs are wired differently than people.  They take comfort being in a small protected place.  It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy wants more than anything else is to be others, you, anyone else in the household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home, other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. It will do fine without even any bedding. You will come home to a safe dog and a house you can enjoy.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog.