You’ve likely used a time-out with a disruptive toddler (or, at the very least, been put in time out when you were a disruptive toddler), but can this be just as effective with your dog as it is with a human?
A time out for a human child is used as an opportunity for that child to sit down, calm down, and think.
They’re a punishment, but they’re also a good way to teach a child (especially one that throws tantrums), that they do not get what they want simply by acting out—in fact, it teaches them that acting out is a good way to not get what they want.
This sounds like a great idea for dogs, right? Should you be using time outs with your dog? Here’s how they work and what you need to do in order for them to be an effective way to train your dog and not just a senseless punishment:
When Time Outs Don’t Work
A time out will not work on your dog if you give up on them too soon. You want your dog to understand what he did wrong and change his behavior instantly. Or, you want him to learn to be calm when others are around.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
The truth is that even the smartest dogs learn by reinforcement. They learn to do the things you want them to do by being repeatedly praised and they learn not to do the things you don’t want them to do by being repeatedly corrected.
This means that your dog probably will not be cured of bad behavior the first time he is put in a time out.
Time outs also do not work if your dog’s bad behavior is based on fear. For example, we once had a dog that feared bearded men. Who knows why?
We had her since she was a puppy, she never had a traumatic experience with a bearded man. But still, she was fearful of them, so she would bark at them. Giving her a time out when she barks at a bearded visitor would actually reinforce this behavior.
She’s afraid, she barks, she is removed from the situation, she feels safe, and now she thinks that barking is how she gets what she wants (to be removed from the situation). In any situation where what your dog wants is to be put in time out, time outs will not be effective for modifying behavior!
When Time Outs Do Work
This doesn’t mean, however, that time outs cannot be effective for your dog. There are a wide variety of behaviors that can be corrected with a properly timed time out.
For example, your dog has an issue with jumping on people, especially new visitors to your house. If you do not want her to do this, each time she does it, put her in a time out. Why is this effective?
Because she wants to be around those people. She’ll learn that if she jumps, she is immediately put in a time out.
Other behaviors that a time out can help with include:
- Mouthing or biting during play
- Snatching treats from your hand
- Barking when he is done to demand something, like a treat or a walk
- Eating from the table, getting into the garbage
- Playing too roughly with other dogs
Any behavior that can be corrected by removed your dog from the situation is a good behavior to try a time out with. This will ensure that your dog learns that that behavior gets them removed from a situation they want to be in!
