Hey all!

I'm new to the community and I have a problem that I hope someone can help me out with. I have a WONDERFUL WONDERFUL dog named Indy that I rescued at a shelter when I was in college. Fate determined our meeting as I found him shot and lying on the side of the street. I knew I had to help him--I got him vet care and now he's my very best friend.

SO...i need the most help I can possibly get in dealing with this problem.
I recently landed a job in NYC. I'm not living in the city itself but very closeby. The area i live in is great--it's very dog friendly with a dog park that's very very close to my apartment complex.
However my actual apartment is kind of small. It's a studio apartment that is around 600 square feet. I plan on decorating it so that there is plenty of space to walk around in for me and my dog.
Indy is half german shepard, half husky. I'm not sure what he has more of in him since he's loyal but constantly wanting to be near me.
Ok so here's the thing---

I'm working a job that goes from around 9-5 (maybe at most 7PM). I can't crate him no matter how much i've tried to get him used to it. He goes CRAZY barking and just rattling the door trying to get out. Eventually he'll succeed and escape the crate (he's a magnificent escape artist). I feel like even gating off a section of the apartment is out of the question.
As for barking, i have a no-bark collar that is pretty effective. He's usually very good and doesn't often bark but he may occasionally from hearing a loud noise.

I just don't want to sound like i'm being cruel to my dog. I love him SO much and have talked to others that own dogs and work as well. Many keep their dogs crated for 10-12 hours and their dogs are perfectly happy. However, I was hoping to keep my dog out and NOT come home to torn up furniture and feathers from my ripped up pillows everywhere!

The only solution i can think of is to make sure he goes to the bathroom before i go to work and then leave a lot of toys/chew toys around so that he chews those instead of the furniture. Anybody think this will work? I can't afford a dogwalker or doggy daycare so i need some serious answers!

If anybody has some good suggestions to help me out I'd appreciate it!