Is this an OK thing to do to a dog?

[Momily]

In the past few days I have put Lyle in "time out" twice. By "time out" I mean I put him in the bathroom and closed the door, counted to 20 slowly, and then opened the door and let him out.

The first time was because he kept jumping on my bed. I really don't want him sleeping there -- I just don't like the feel of dog hair when I roll over. Anyway, normally he sleeps in DS's bed (which DS loves!) but this night DS had a friend over and they were sleeping in the living room. Since I don't trust Lyle loose in the living room unsupervised, I brought him into my room, and everytime I tried to lie down to go to sleep he jumped on me. After the 3rd of 4th time I put him in the bathroom and counted to 20.

The other time he jumped on the counter and stole a big piece of cooked fish I was planning on serving for dinner. I was so surprised I just stood there with my mouth open -- by the time I figured out what to do I figured it was too late for him to make a connection so I just ignored it. Then a few hours later I left something on the counter and he jumped for it and I grabbed him and sent him to the pokey (for 20 seconds).

It seemed to work both times -- after the bed incident he curled up on his bed and went to sleep. So, is this OK?

[mamallama]

I say no. I don't think he's likely to make the connection.

How does he respond to a sharp verbal "no?" I would start there with stealing food from the counter. You mentioned timing the correction, so I assume you know that an effective correction happens just as, or in the split second before the dog acts. I would consider setting him up as a training exercise.

The bed is trickier--esp since it was an unusual circumstance. Does he have a comfy bed of his own in your bedroom? I would deal with the bed by first showing him what I expect (down/stay on his bed,) and then moving to corrections from there.

[Ola_]

I don't think the "time out" has the effect of telling him that what he did was wrong, if that's what you're after. But it certainly is fine to put him in another room if you're very upset and need a moment to compose yourself so you don't fly off the handle.

[Princess ConsuelaB]

I don't know about dogs, but we do the same with our young male cat when he gets a bit too aggressive and it does seem to do the trick. He goes in for give or take a minute (with a verbal "don't bite your people" lol) and he comes out calmed and happy. Like you mention with the fish incident, if we aren't right on it we don't bother as he wouldn't make the connection.

Animals are pretty smart and I think they do make the connection. Occasionally all we have to do is say "time out" and he ceases his carnivorous rampage and takes himself off to another venture.

Dogs are more of a pack/leader animal though so I don't know.

[greenmagick]

I think time outs can work for dogs when they are acting up by being to rough, playful, etc but I dont know how it would work for jumping on the counter or getting on the bed.

[SevenVeils]

I put my dog on "time outs" I guess, in that if he isn't listening or if he suddenly loses his head and starts doing something outrageous he gets sent to his crate for a bit. I've done the same with other dogs as well.

It works, and it's fine to do it. Some dogs won't make the connection, but some do and it's a great tool.

[Momily]

I actually do think he made the connection, in that since the bed incident he's gotten off every time I've asked and stayed off until there's a significant change (e.g. if I'm in bed alone he might jump up once but then he'll stay down. But then if DS crawls into bed with me, he might jump up again. If I get out of bed and DS stays he might try again in which case I leave him. I could care less if he's in my bed. I just don't want to sleep with him. He seems to think the rule is "only sleep with DS" as opposed to "only sleep in DS's bed", and I can totally live with that -- I think it's kind of sweet). He also hasn't jumped on the counters again, or up at the dining room table which he was doing a lot previously.

The My Smart Puppy book suggested putting him in his crate for jumping on the counter, but I had reservations for a couple reasons -- one is that logistically the crate is on a whole different floor from the kitchen. The other is that at this point we're really only using the crate to hold his water bowl, and I don't want his only association with it be negative.

So, I hoped the bathroom would work as a substitute.

As for giving me a chance to calm down -- that's really not an issue with me. I actually have this issue with my child too. I'm a special ed teacher with a specialty in kids with severe behavioral challenges. My instinct is to always stay calm. On the few instances when my kid or dog has done something "yell worthy" I have to kind of work my way up to it, because it usually pales in comparison to what I deal with on a regular basis. I don't think my "no" got his attention because it went like this -- notice Lyle on the counter, think, realize this is not a good idea, think some more, remember that the book suggested a "sharp no", bark out a no that was frankly probably pretty wimpy. I'm pretty sure he didn't connect the word and my action at all.

Finally, yes he does have a bed. He doesn't like it. He likes to lie on the cool hardwood, and he likes to be with his people so if we're on the couch or in the bed he wants to be in the bed too.

[Momily]

OK, so I have to laugh, this dog learns so fast that he loves to make a liar out of me.

I just typed that he doesn't like his bed, won't go on his bed. Well this morning I left him for a long time and gave him a sterilized bone stuffed with cream cheese and chicken. I thought -- maybe I can teach him to associate the bed with good things, so I very purposely left the bone on his bed, assuming this would be the start of a process and he'd pick it up and bring it to the floor.

Well, right after I posted that he doesn't like his bed, I went into DS's room, and Lyle followed me, climbed into bed and started chewing the (empty) bone.

[PlayaMama]

i'm so happy it's working out for you : really, i love reading your updates so much.

oh, and i don't have much to say about the time outs. i'd teach him the "off" command, basically all-four-feet-on-the-floor, and use that if necessary.

[Momily]

We're working on the "off". It's coming, but it wasn't reliable at the point those 2 things happen.

But, he learns fast. Two days ago I decided that "stay" would be a priority because I felt like he needed it. In 2 days he's gotten really good, not just in the confines of the bedroom (I do a lot of training in the bedroom where I leave him when I go to work, which works great, because know when I go up there to lock him in he runs in excitedly because he knows he'll get a chance to show off, get his ears rubbed, and eat some yummy treats before I go), but in actual contexts. Yesterday he stayed while I locked the door and everytime I bagged his poop. It was really nice to be able to just look the leash around my wrist and do both of those tasks with 2 free hands. He also spit out a chicken bone he found the other day when I told him to "out". So "off" will come, but in the mean time I'd rather he didn't eat my dinner.

OK, that was irrelevant, but I feel like I only tell you guys when I have a problem so I thought I'd throw in a little boasting about my smart puppy!