Have you considered an outdoor dog pen instead of the crate inside? We aren't gone every day, but we did use a crate for Kyla when we went out and she didn't like it at all. It was the only time she was really what I would consider "bad". We have a pen outside with a roof on it that the previous owners had used first as a chicken tractor and later as a pen for their beagles. I cleaned that up and put Kyla outside and she likes that a lot better. I hung a tennis ball from the ceiling just high enough that she can touch it but can't get a hold of it. It is one of her favorite games and she will go in her pen even when we are home to play with it. We give her other "mind" toys such as a ball with a ball in it, stuffed Kongs, etc. Now, when we get home, she does the excited greeting and then takes a nap. The mind toys and a little more room to run around are enough to keep her busy and wear her out while we are gone. The pen also gives us a place to lock up her outside toys so the hunting dogs that come through don't run off with them (they have before we started locking them up).
