destructive dog

Question
Hi my dog is a purebred akita, she is almost seven months old.  She is fully
housetrained, yet every time I have to leave her at the house she is put in her
crate and subsequently urinates (and sometimes poos) in the crate.  She eats
all her meals in the crate, and she sleeps in the crate at night.  Even when she
eliminates outside immediately before going in the crate she will have an
accident in there.  We stopped putting her in the crate when we left the house
and for a while everything was fine, she was not destructive at all, but now if
left alone she will tear the place apart (she has developed a taste for hardback
books, quite expensive tastes!).  Today she went one step farther than usual,
I locked her in the crate and put a blanket on top of it because I read that
helps, she pulled the blanket through the crate-door and collapsed the door
inward, therefore opening the crate and letting her run around and chew up
my new book!  So I guess my dilemma is this, when we leave her in the crate
she pees and poos in it (or demolishes the crate and escapes), and when we
leave her out of the crate and free to roam she rips the place apart!  This is so
frustrating, thanks for your input!

Answer
Hi,
This is a pretty common problem with dogs such as Akitas and other high energy, highly intelligent dogs that are bred to have a job.
Do you walk your dog? How much exercise does she get every day? At 7 months you can't walk her the way you would if she were an adult due to stress on her joints and growing bones. But she should get a heavy duty power walk of about twenty minutes every single day no matter what. At least three times a week she should be playing or running until her tongue hangs out. She should be in an obedience class, or learning a skill such as a dog sport that works her body and her mind. She should have toys that are only allowed in her crate that also work her teeth and her mind. Smart toys such as kongs filled with treats and they should be changed out often to prevent boredom., If you have a fenced yard she should have outside toys that also challenge her physically and mentally. A pole with rope and ball attached is one of my favorites. Different sized balls loose in the yard., tug ropes hung in different (Safe!!) areas at different heights. Change her toys in the yard out often as well. She should be learning something new every single week. A new word, a new command, a new trick. Thirty minutes working with her in the mornings and evenings with lots of positive reinforcement. Take her to the dog park a couple of times per week. Anything to get her moving. Try also moving her feeding schedule so that she has at least three hours between feeding and going into the crate. At this age, eight hours at night you can expect her to live with, but eight hours at night followed by eight hours in the day time is very nearly intolerable. Think of a four year old child being cooped up for that long. Or even a ten year old. Try doggie day care a few days a week., or try having someone come by and walk her or let her run in your yard once during the day. Hopefully playing with her at the same time. Her behavior is going to turn into something even worse if it isn't nipped in the bud very quickly.
You've made the right first move by asking for help!
Good luck
Cindi