Time out

[muggsmom]

Just wondering how Time Out works on dogs. When I would put my kids in Time Out, they were to think about what they did, etc. Obviously that's not what its for with dogs. Is it used just to calm them down, or do they associate it with their behaviour.

[Flutterby]

What would you be using Time Out for? When they've done something wrong? When they're too excited?

In my opinion, putting a dog in time out for doing something wrong (like you would a child) would serve no purpose. If you're going to give a correction for an undesireable behavior, dogs need immediate correction in order for it to be effective. Say your dog chews a shoe. Is it going to be very effective to have them sit in the corner for a few minutes? No, they'll just view this "time out" as a new command you've given, and completely forget about the shoe incident. Instead, the second you catch your dog chewing your shoe, you should give a sharp "No chew!", remove the shoe, and replace with something that's appropriate for the dog to chew, and say "Chew this." This would let them know that, oh hey, maybe I'm not supposed to chew this shoe! Well, okay, on to something else, then!

That's just an example to demonstrate the effectiveness of correction versus time out, as it pertains to dog behavior.

Now, if you're using "time out" to calm your dog down when they're too excited...how do you go about doing this? I think most effective way to do this is by teaching the "Settle" command. Then, whenever your dog is too crazy, flying around the house, crashing into everything, making you go bonkers (LOL), you can get their attention and give them the "Settle" command, and keep them there until they've sufficiently calm and ready to join the household activities again.

=)

Lanie
And The Zoo
Royal Star Estates
freewebs.com/royalstarestates

[muggsmom]

I have never used Time Out. I have seen it mentioned in several posts, and was curious as to it's purpose. I didn't see how it would work as a correction, I assumed it was used as a *Settle*, but I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. I agree with you, I think a firm *Settle* is a better way to handle an excited dog. If I put Muggs in the bedroom for a Time Out, I'd go in to find the bed stripped, etc. lol

[Rivsky]

Originally Posted by Flutterby

What would you be using Time Out for? When they've done something wrong? When they're too excited?

In my opinion, putting a dog in time out for doing something wrong (like you would a child) would serve no purpose. If you're going to give a correction for an undesireable behavior, dogs need immediate correction in order for it to be effective. Say your dog chews a shoe. Is it going to be very effective to have them sit in the corner for a few minutes? No, they'll just view this "time out" as a new command you've given, and completely forget about the shoe incident. Instead, the second you catch your dog chewing your shoe, you should give a sharp "No chew!", remove the shoe, and replace with something that's appropriate for the dog to chew, and say "Chew this." This would let them know that, oh hey, maybe I'm not supposed to chew this shoe! Well, okay, on to something else, then!

That's just an example to demonstrate the effectiveness of correction versus time out, as it pertains to dog behavior.

Now, if you're using "time out" to calm your dog down when they're too excited...how do you go about doing this? I think most effective way to do this is by teaching the "Settle" command. Then, whenever your dog is too crazy, flying around the house, crashing into everything, making you go bonkers (LOL), you can get their attention and give them the "Settle" command, and keep them there until they've sufficiently calm and ready to join the household activities again.

=)

Lanie
And The Zoo
Royal Star Estates
freewebs.com/royalstarestates

From personal experience with River I beg to differ.

I've found "time out" to be a very effective way of communicating to him that certain behaviours are not on - it takes away the one thing he values most which is time with his human "pack" but does of course depend on what behaviour you are trying to stop.

I don't use it very often at all - now that he's getting a bit more mature a simple "no" is more often than not all he needs when he's getting carried away with something but as a puppy he was really over excitable and quite mouthy - pretty normal for a pup basically!! I tried the following methods to try and stop him when he got carried away with mouthing:

1. Spray bottle - worked about twice. Then he started to ignore it.

2. Yelping. Again worked about twice then lost it's effectiveness.

3. Redirection to a toy. This was a method that we did have success with 90% of the time and is what we used most often to correct him.

4. Standing up and walking away - worked sometimes but on occasion he'd just go for the legs to try and make more of a game out of it.

What we found worked 100% of the time was a quick time out. He was picked up without anything at all being said to him, put in the bathroom (from his point of view the most boring room in the house) and left there for 20 seconds. If he was quiet and not scratching at the door or carrying on he was let out. When he's let out I simply open the door without looking at or talking to him and go and sit down. It's obvious from his behaviour when he comes out that he knows what he was corrected for as he goes straight to the lounge room finds a chew toy and sits on bed with it.

The only other behaviours I have used a time out with him for are excessive barking after repeatedly being told to be quiet (a command he knows) and stealing food off the coffee table.

On all occasions he was put in time out he was caught in the act and it was an instant "correction". Now I don't expect him to be sitting in there for 20 seconds thinking about what he's done but the message that that behaviour is not acceptable in our pack gets through to him loud and clear with very little fuss.

As I said earlier this has only been my personal experience and I only use it for his more annoying behaviours and when he is just so razzed up I can't get through to him - I feel to use it for every little thing you want corrected is going to overdo it and lose its effectiveness. Like all forms of correction it's one that can only be done if you catch the dog doing whatever it is and react instantly.

Sorry for the long post but hope that clears up how I think time out can work in the right situation and with the right type of dog.

[Cherokee]

The problem with using a "Time Out" on a dog is that they live in the moment...chances are they aren't going to even know why they're in a "Time Out" if it's after the fact.

[britishbandit]

My dogs only get time outs from each other. LOL On occasion, one or the other will decide to just annoy the heck out of the other one. Where one feels like being playful or just a pest, and the other just can't be bothered. They simply get separated when this happens, and up goes the baby gate. And while saying "enough" stops it most of the time, once in a while they do need to be separated. Usually all it takes is about 10 minutes.

[Kris]

I think, like many training methods, Time Out can work for some dogs and fail utterly for others. Like River, Darby cannot stand being away from his 'people'; especially if we are engaged in something he thinks might be fun. So, a Time Out, used appropriately and of short duration, works well for us.