Letting 8 months dog out of the fence

Hello,

I have 8 months old dog (puppy), Mixed medium+ size, he has good behavior when I'm in the apartment and never try to harm the apartment.

since he is 2 moths he is in a big fence in the living room when I'm not home.

Last 2 days I let him out of the apartment when I'm gone for few hours.
First 2 times were ok, but last time he reached papers and destroyed them and ate the corners of the walls that are made of wood

He has never tried to do those things when I was there so I never told him "no" for that.

What to do now? try to do that again few months later and meanwhile keep him in the fence again?

Thank You

He is reacting to being left on his own for even a few hours. He is not being naughty, at 8 months he is approaching adulthood, is finding his feet and he is displaying very natural and understandable stress behaviours. He is telling you that he does not like to be separated from you - to him, this is a punishment. Wolves are pack animals, and as their direct descendents dogs have maintained their pack instincts ... you are now your dog's "pack", and by leaving him for a few hours every day, to him you are the alpha female casting him out of the pack!

Rather than constricting him to a fenced area, have you considered a crate? Some dogs do settle a lot better in a confined area like a crate - it mimics the wolf den that they were born and raised in, and where they were always safe - and it may be better for him than access to a larger, confined area. This may not be your dog's preference, and if he has always been perfectly happy in the confined area, then that's fine.

I hope this helps x gnasher x

How much exercise, training and stimulation does your dog get before you leave him? How long is he left for? Do you leave legitimate chew toys and things to occupy him while you are gone?

Also telling him "no" when you come home to destruction is a total waste of your time and will confuse your puppy. If you see him chewing something that he shouldn't be doing while you are there, call his name and distract him then redirect him on to one of his own toys.

He's still a puppy and maybe he's not ready for that kind of freedom. A couple things:

1. How much exercise does he get before you leave? If he's still wound up he's more likely to get into things.

2. Do you leave him with something to DO? When we transitioned our dog (young adult, but very stressed and chewed on things), we ALWAYS made sure he had either something to chew on or a frozen Kong (Kong was stuffed with canned food mixed with kibble, topped with peanut butter and then frozen overnight). That gave him plenty to do.

Maybe start with shorter times out as well. We first decided to leave him free when we ran out to the store for less than a half hour. Then worked our way up. At now 3ish years old he has the run of the house with our other dog and there has been no trouble.