I also put one of my t-shirts in the crate (after I'd worn it all day) so it would smell like me and Mugzy could be - a little - comforted that way. Did you ever try a Kong ball? It's one of those toys that is hollow - with a very small opening - that you could fill with his food and cover the opening with peanut butter. It kept my Molly busy forever
(she's a Malamute/Coonhound mix). I don't know if it might make him have to poop though after he's gotten all the food out.
