I think it differs for each dog. I am okay with leaving Finn out of his crate, but, only for a couple hours. And, even then, he doesn't have 100% freedom. I will leave him in my room with the door closed, and, will try my best to puppy proof it (with Finn, that mostly means no food anywhere, no papers, no shoes, that kind of thing). I know I've been told it's not recommended to leave a puppy alone outside of the crate, and, for a lab, that could mean a three year old. I am still not comfortable leaving Finn out of his crate for very long. The couple times I've done it have only been because his crate is still in my car from the trip to Texas. I'd say do it in increments to start with, then, just work your way up. Even if that means, 100% freedom in six months or a year. Work your way from fifteen minutes every day for a week, then adding fifteen minutes each new week or something like that. I personally wouldn't trust my lab, yet, but, it could be just Finn!