Dog Training with Time Out

Using ‘Timeout’ to change dog behavior is easy and effective. To change your dog’s behavior, put him in “timeout” for 5 minutes when you catch him doing something wrong. Seems too simple to work, doesn’t it? It may be counter intuitive, but it’s extremely effective. Putting a dog in timeout allows him the time and opportunity to figure out what landed him in ‘jail’.

And it’s a good deterrent because dogs hate being separated from their people or their pack. As I explain the finer points of this technique, I think you’ll understand why timeout for dogs works so well.

Dogs Live In The Moment

You must catch your dog in the act for ‘time out’ to work. Dogs live completely in the moment and after their minds have moved on to something else, they’re unable to make a connection to what they were doing just moments earlier. This literally takes only seconds, after which they have no hope of connecting their trip to doggie time out with what they did wrong. With puppies, you have maybe 5 seconds before they’re focused on something new. So in order for your puppy to understand that he’s going to time out because he piddled on the floor, you have to actually catch him doing it. With all dogs, action and consequence must happen simultaneously for them to get it.

Drama Doesn’t Correct Your Dogs Behavior

Don’t yell at your dog, it’s best if you absolutely nothing. If you yell, your dogs attention will shift to you, and away from what he just did.  When your dog gets excited, his emotional state prevents him from being able to think clearly.

Just like us when our boss is yelling at us and suddenly we can’t think, when your dog is afraid or anxious his mental abilities plummet. Because he’s in survival mode, he can’t think and you want him to be thinking clearly. So yelling, threatening, hitting or any other distracting behavior may help you to vent, but it won’t help your dog realize what is happening and why.

Gently Take Your Dog By The Collar

Escort your puppy to time out as gently as you can. Don’t say anything. Take him by the collar, or pick him up to take him to the timeout spot. Put him into your puppy timeout spot and leave. It might be tempting, but please, don’t scowl, or physical intimidate your dog. Don’t distract him from what’s happening.

Dog Discipline

Now you can breathe and clean up the mess or retrieve what’s left of your shoes. Meanwhile, your puppy is cooling his heals in a quite spot. The best time out spots don’t have toys or chews and no view. Don’t give your dog anything to do besides figure out what got him into this predicament. I use a small powder room; it’s quiet, and windowless. If you use a bathroom, you can put the trash can on the counter if necessary, and put the toilet paper roll in a safe place if your puppy has discovered how much fun that can be. You can use whatever room is close by that will fit the bill and the fewer the distractions the better, especially for puppies.

Dogs Love Attention

Puppies and dogs don’t like isolation. In the natural world, wolves and wild dogs that are separated from their packs are open to attack and will be killed by competitors. Dogs have a very strong family attachment and strong drives to stay with the pack. Your dog won’t like being in doggie time out. It may seem like a light sentence to you while you’re cleaning up his mess, but don’t underestimate the ability of this technique. The psychological statement is much stronger than you might imagine. Ignore all cries for leniency, make sure your dog serves his entire sentence.

Dogs Have A Short Attention Span

While your puppy is in timeout, he’s trying to figure out how he got into this predicament. It’ll take a few moments for him to settle down and get over hoping that the door will open right up again. Then he’ll start thinking, but he can’t think for very long. We already know that dogs have a very short attention span, so 5 minutes in solitary will do. He won’t be able to keep up the thought processes for longer than that. After his memory of the event that got him here is lost, there is no reason to keep him there any longer. He won’t learn any better with more time. Dogs are excellent problem solvers but their memories are short, after 5 minutes they’ve exhausted both.

Release Your Dog

When you release your dog, don’t say anything, just open the door and walk away. Go back to what you were doing. The show is over and your dog doesn’t have the ability to connect his previous actions with any scolding now. A reprimand now doesn’t make any sense, he would think that he’s being scolded for being in timeout, which will sponsor fear when going there next time, and decrease the effectiveness of this technique.

Sherlock Hound I Presume?

Dogs are expert detectives. It will only take a few trips for him to realize timeout is a consequence of his behavior, and he’ll change that behavior if you’re consistent with this technique. Once your dog makes the connection his behavior changes. The quicker he makes the correct assumptions about his actions the quicker your problems are solved. If he doesn’t get it immediately don’t worry, a few more trips to timeout and he will get it.

The Perfect Dog

The more you use this method, the better it works. Your dog will figure out that timeout means he’s done something that isn’t acceptable. He’ll start thinking about what he was doing as soon as he realizes he’s on his way to the lockup. You never have to say a word, he’ll already be thinking about it and that’s the best part. You have a dog that is thinking about what you want and adjusting his behavior to please you. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Links to Puppy Class 101 articles:

• Welcome to Puppy Class
• Puppy Brain
• Vision The Dog Language
• Easy as 1, 2, 3
• Who’s the Big Dog?
• Doggie Sheriff
• Watching Your Every Move
• Doggie Math 1+1=1

Links to Helpful General Knowledge Articles:

• Dog Talk
• Play Time For Dogs
• Training Rules
• Dog Toys Are For Training