Labrador destroying Wood

Question
Hello,
I have a 8mnth lab, who has just been neutered (with hopes he calms down). He has a walk for at least 30min every morning. We live in an apartment and keep him on our terrace. Now our door frame is all chewed, as well as the door from all the scratches. We give him a treat when we leave (usually in a Kong toy) as well he has lots of toys to play with. Anytime he whines when outside or if i catch him scratching I say a firm NO and give him a light smack. What are we doing wrong and how can we stop this scratching and destroying??

Answer
What you did wrong was to get a Labrador Retriever, of potentially field lines (meaning a more active temperament, and a dog that REQUIRES a job to do), and expect him to live quietly on an apartment terrace. A thirty minute walk every morning is *NOTHING* for a dog of this type, size, and age, and he also needs much more social interaction with people and other dogs.

Get him into obedience classes and start working with him every day, and practice "Nothing in Life is Free" with him. http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm Get him out of his isolation on that terrace and bring him into your home and start giving him more attention, training, and exercise.

If you cannot do those things, then place him with someone who can, and get yourself a more suitable apartment dog.