I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?

I have a bit of a dilemma.

I had been to the Docs for my steroid injection in my knee just after returning from Somerset and was told to take complete rest for two to three days so was unable to walk Max due to this.
By the third day, I decided I felt OK enough and thought I could manage to walk him, we went out but I ended up actually crying with pain in the street (bit embarrassing, people were staring at me).
He is an extremely strong dog and pulls and drags a lot, he has pulled Neeza over totally (all six foot four and fifteen stone of him) before now.
I was then back to square one having to rest again for a few days.
I can't keep doing this or the injections will be a total waste of time! They are supposed to stop the pain and it should last a few months!
After I told Hubs I now couldn't cope with Max, he said he would take over and take him out every day after work and during the day at weekends, poor Max has only been taken out twice in the five days since!

Max is the type of dog that requires lots of exercise and I feel cruel having to keep him in, I know he has the run of the house and back garden but I don't think that is enough for him, he is always crying at the front door to go out for a walk.
I am sorry to say now, that I am regretting even getting him, yes I love him, but it isn't fair for him to be cooped up like this due to my circumstances nor is it fair on me to have to stay in all day, every day!
Plus... since I returned from Somerset and Hubs had told me how good Max was on the times he HAD been left on his own (I can only accept what Hubs tells me) we went out for lunch over the weekend, the first time in about seven or eight months that we have actually been out together as a family! First time I had been out of the house without Max (apart from Somerset!) since we got him in February!
When we got back, he had destroyed my new sandals and toothbrush that I had in a bag in the lounge, he had disembowelled a stuffed toy he found in Little'Uns room and eaten the inside of a pair of Hubs shoes, all the bits from everything were scattered across the carpets from the bedroom, down the stairs and all over the lounge.
Hubs then admitted Max had broken one of my ornaments (actually, smashed it to pieces!) and destroyed more of Little'Uns toys while we were away.


Last night I hobbled as fast as I could to the chip shop to get something for tea (five minutes round trip!) but he had wrecked again by the time I had got back!
How on earth do I manage to take Little'Un to and from school twice a day when she returns to school in two weeks without taking Max yet not having him wreck my house and/or contents??

Max doesn't listen! I show him what he has done and tell him off (at this point I must admit I hit him on the bum with my chewed sandal I was that annoyed and upset) but he must be totally thick! He cowered and his ears went down but within fifteen minutes, WHILE I WAS ACTUALLY SAT THERE! He went and got the exact same pair from near the bin, and blatantly sat chewing and ripping them to shreads, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! Then again Hubs doesn't help, when I scold Max over anything he does wrong, Hubs gives him cuddles and tells him he is good!!!!! How do I get out of that! I'm fighting a losing battle here!
I can't sit in 24 hours a day seven days a week for the next ten years or so!

I had promised Little'Un a day trip as a well done for winning the singing contest at school but, unless Hubs has a day off to look after Max, we can't go!
He is past the teething stage so it must just be boredom!

I can't understand? I have had dogs all my life and have been able to train each of them (is it because he is a dog dog? I've only had bitches before). Max just doesn't seem to learn, I've been trying to train him since we got him in February! I thought he was doing quite well but he seems to be deteriorating with his learning since I returned from Somerset. I praise him like mad and give him treats when he has been good and shout at him and show him what he has done wrong when he has been bad but he just can't seem to grasp the difference in why he is being praised or why he is being told off! I think I have just got myself an utterly STUPID dog! Then again it could be an utterly STUPID husband!

I feel trapped! I can't leave the house!


I have tried the 'leaving the house for a few minutes then returning to show I will come back' trick, extending the period of time bit by bit, he used to howl like a wolf and was pleased to see me when I came back in, then I thought once he stopped the howling, I had cracked it!
Unfortunately it seems to have progressed the wrong way now from howling, to being nice and quiet but wrecking within minutes of me going through the door no matter how short or long a time I am out!!!!
At this moment in time I just want to take him back to the dogs home!

I guess I will give him another chance or two and just hope he starts to change and understand. But, I can't give him too many chances, I can't afford to replace any of the things he wrecks!
I'll keep you updated with my decision and how things are going with him.

Any suggestions, training techniques or anything whatsoever would be greatly apprecieated.

Azzy