A More Effective Dog Time Out
Let’s think of time outs from a human perspective. What if your boss said “time out” and walked out of the room immediately after reading your latest report? What does it mean? Did he not like the report or was it something you did? What could you do differently?
“Time out,” and its equivalent “no,” are easy to say, but don’t really tell you what to do instead. When teaching your dog consequences, ignoring your dog for a few seconds is considered a “time out.” Ignoring a jumping dog until she chooses to do the right behavior (e.g. “sit”) is pretty darn effective. Rewarding your dog for good behavior is lost if you leave the room or put her in a crate. You’re missing out on a learning opportunity.
Crating a Dog While at Work
While leaving dog in crate while at work is not recommended, if this must be tried, it shouldn’t be more than 8 hours. If crating a puppy while at work is not an option, dog-proof the room you’re keeping them in to ensure they can’t injure themselves while you’re away.
Then it’s absolutely vital that your dog is well exercised and given lots of attention before and after being placed in the crate, and you have somebody come and take your dog out for exercise and go to toilet half way through the day.
But personally, I’m very strongly against crating a dog while at work this way.
However, I do also realize people’s personal circumstances change, relationships break up and somebody may find themselves suddenly in a situation where they live alone with their dog and have to work all day.
If this is you, try your very best to leave your dog with a family member, hire a pet sitter or use a dog daycare service to cut the amount of time your dog must spend alone, particularly in a crate.
A sociable dog such as a Labrador cannot be left alone and isolated 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year.
This is a poor quality of life. This lack of interaction and companionship will likely end with your dog developing emotional problems, depression, anxiety and behavioral issues.
Introducing a New Puppy Into a Home With an Older Dog
You can never be quite sure how an older dog will behave with a new puppy, and a puppy can be too boisterous to be put up with kindly by an older dog, especially an elderly one.
When you can’t supervise their time together and step in if things get too much, you should crate your puppy a short while until you can give them your full attention.
Whether by road or by air, traveling in a crate is the best and safest way for your dog to travel.
It keeps them calm, offers protection for when an accident occurs and protects the driver from the distractions of a loose dog in the car.
It’s also very useful for when you stay in a hotel or take your dog places where they aren’t welcome to run about freely, allowing your dog to travel with you but keeping them out of mischief by confining them to a place they’re accustomed to and feel comfortable in.
Why, when and how should I put my dog in timeout?
A dog Time Out (TO) can be used to train your dog to stop “rude” behaviors like playing too rough, and non-fearful barking. The most important thing to remember about the TO is that it should be used sparingly. Removing your dog from his people is a punishment to him and punishments can have negative side-effects. One possible side-effect with the TO is that your dog decides that you walking towards him is a “bad thing”, because it sometimes leads to him being put in time out. This is why it is best to use the TO sparingly and put lots of effort into prevention and teaching your dog good manners using rewards.
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