Timeouts

Timeouts for dogs? Yes. Timeouts can be a very effective (though sometimes tedious) way of getting your dog to stop bad behavior. Timeouts are great for barking, attention-seeking behaviors, counter surfing, biting and many other behaviors.

For behaviors you don’t mind seeing a little of: for example, I don’t mind dogs barking when someone is at the door, to be let out or when they want me to pet them. I do however, want them to stop once I’ve heard them. In these cases, you’ll issue your dog a warning and it looks like this:

Doorbell rings and the barking starts, when he’s barked enough (i.e. three times, yes, be that specific) then issue a warning, “that’s enough.” If your dog stops barking, praise him, “good job, thank you.” If he continues barking, he’s just earned himself a timeout and you will tell him by saying, “too bad.”

Put him in his timeout place like in his crate or in the bathroom, any close place that doesn’t allow him access to the thing he wanted. If he was trying to get your attention by pawing or whining, you can also choose to leave the room yourself. If he was barking to get the tennis ball, put it on the refrigerator.

Timeouts last for 10 seconds. That seems like a short amount of time but they start to lose their meaning if they last much longer so no matter how severe the crime, keep it to ten seconds. Then let him out for another chance.

For behaviors your never want to see: in my house that includes adult dogs putting their teeth on me or counter surfing, you’re just going to skip the warning and go straight for the timeout cue, “too bad” when the behavior happens. As soon as your dog’s paws hit the counter, give him the cue, and put him in his timeout area.

IMPORTANT! It will take several timeouts for your dog to figure out what’s going on. This is a new concept for him. Eventually he will understand, when his paws his the counter, that’s when you put him in his timeout. That’s when you’ll start to see the behavior decrease. Be patient and always be consistent. If you only deliver timeouts some of the time, he will gamble and continue the behavior because sometimes it works!

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Frequently Asked Questions - Timeouts

If I timeout my dog in his crate, will he start to hate his crate because it’s a punishment?

Dogs don’t build a negative association with their crate during timeouts. He’s upset you took away what he wanted, not how you took it away. He will only be wondering why you’re not playing with him, he won’t wonder why he’s in his crate. Children don’t come to hate their bedrooms because they were grounded there.

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Green Paws Training Options

We absolutely love puppies, mostly because they're cute but also because we have the opportunity to prevent bad dog behavior from ever happening with them.   How wonderful!  To accomplish this we offer Puppy Manners Class, Puppy Playgroups, New Owner Consultations and Free Puppy Seminars every other week.  We also offer our premium Green Puppy Academy!  

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Books and Tools

Before and After Getting Your Puppy By Ian Dunbar

Crate Padding and Blankets at www.petdreams.com

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