Dog destroys house

Question
I have moved in with a friend who has a small dog who she crates while she is out, but being that she lives in a apartment people have been complaining about the barking.  So, she has decided to free the dog while she is out.  NOW the dog eats the house!  I have a dog of my own, and I know this comes down to the fact that her dog was never properly crate trained when it comes to the barking, and since the dog is now 4 I think its little late to try and crate train her right.  Do you have any idea how we can go about training her to not eat and poop all over the house while we are gone, or do you think it is possible to train her not to bark while being crated?  Please help any info will be sooo appreciated!  thank you for your time.

Answer
Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to train a dog when no one is home to praise/correct. Dogs function on their own behavioral system of reward/extinguish. If something works in their favor (ie. getting in the garbage), they continue; if it doesn't, the behavior will extinguish.

This dog needs to eat all her meals in her crate, and she needs to be crated for brief periods when people are home so that she can be rewarded and corrected at the appropriate times.

You could try putting a citronella or a shock collar on the dog when she is crated so that she will get some sort of correction for barking. This is extremely effective for some dogs. Don't crate the dogs close together, however, because if the other dog barks, the wrong dog will get the correction.

Give the dog something to do while in the crate. Kong toys filled with treats or smeared inside with a bit of peanut butter can keep a dog busy for quite some time. Big rawhides or bones can also keep a dog busy, although those need to be supervised with heavier chewers.

Always leave a radio on while you are gone as it helps to keep the dog from hearing outside noises.

The dog should not be greeted when the owner first comes home, and departures should be quiet and very matter-of-fact. http://www.2ndchance.info/sepanxiety.htm