I understand where you're coming from. I leave Lucky free in the house because I can trust him and he won't destroy anything. He enjoys it as much as it comforts me. I don't think this is a radical proposition at all.
If you're trying to leave him with free roam, you have to do it gradually and you have to set him up for success. If he fails and destroys something, that will only reinforce his "bad" behaviors. So:
1) Babygate or otherwise block him off. Keep his "free" area restricted to a room or two.
2) Muzzle. Dog can't chew if dog is muzzled. It's for his safety, anyways. Labs certainly aren't immune to chewing on electrical wires and such.
3) Alone training. Same principles - leave for successively longer time periods.
If you don't want to muzzle, you can alternatively leave him with frozen Kongs and leave biscuits/cookies in nooks and crannies around the room to keep him occupied. This, obviously, is the riskier choice, so do what you are comfortable with.







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