Thread: Time Outs

G'day guys,

Was just reading the Handbook of applied dog behaviour and training and came across the time out section. I have this in a word doc as I pasted it into a ferret forum so will put it at the end of my post. Anyway, at the NDTF I was taught that time outs should be at least 10-15 minutes, preferrably 30 minutes.

I don't really use time outs so never looked into it but Lindsay claims 1-2 minutes is best. Those of you who use time outs, how do you use them?

HOW TO USE TIME-OUT
Bridging
The effective use of TO requires that the be-havior modi�er adhere closely to several pro-cedural constraints. Foremost among these considerations is the need for the TO to be well timed and bridged with the occurrence of the unwanted behavior. For TO to be effective, a direct connection must be established and maintained between the occurrence of the target behavior and the T Oconsequence. This is accomplished by immediately following the unwanted behavior with a conditioned punisher (e.g., “Enough! Time-out�), seizing the leash �rmly, and posthaste hauling the dog off to the TO room. These closely connected events are necessary to form an adequate connection or bridge between the unwanted behavior and the TO consequence.

The bridging stimulus serves two complementary functions: (1) Bridging explicitly identi�es the target behavior responsible for turning on TO. (2) Bridging helps link the occurrence of the target behavior with the delayed TO outcome. The vocal conditioned punisher or bridging stimulus identi�es the exact behavior triggering the TO event. This signal is immediately followed by an abrupt upward pressure on the leash that is maintained until the dog reaches the nearby TO room or TO station. Alternatively, a loud continuous tone can be substituted as the bridging stimulus or used in conjunction with a taut leash. The continuous bridging stimulus (the taut leash or tone) helps to connect the emission of the unwanted behavior with the remote TO consequence. Without adequate bridging, the speci�c target behavior may not be adequately identi�ed and connected with the belated TO. By acting quickly and emphatically, there is a much greater chance of a functional relationship being formed between the occurrence of the unwanted behavior and the TO consequence.

Repetition
Besides timing and bridging, repetition is another vital ingredient influencing the effectiveness of TO. A dog may require several repetitions of TO before a strong connection is established between the unwanted behavior and the TO consequence. An exceptionally persistent behavior may take many repeated TOs before it is possible to reinforce an alternative substitute behavior effectively. Also, training should focus on one speci�c item at a time, with TO following the unwanted behavior whenever it occurs—at least in the beginning stages. Although TO is most effective when it is presented on a continuous basis, the suppressed target behavior is also more prone to recover (extinction) after punishment on a continuous schedule is withdrawn (Kazdin, 1989). Consequently, it is recommended that TO be initially scheduled on a continuous basis, but once an adequate level of suppression has been achieved, an intermittent schedule of TO is introduced and adjusted—as needed—to maintain low levels of responding (Clark et al., 1973; Calhoun and Lima, 1977; Lehrman et al., 1997). In addition to introducing an intermittent contingency of TO, it is important that desirable behavior be actively prompted and reinforced to facilitate the training process.

Duration
The duration of TO is also important (Kaufman and Baron, 1968). Most dogs respond to repeated 1- or 2-minute TOs, but even shorter periods of 30 seconds can be very effective. Nobbe and colleagues (1980) recommend a 3-minute TO period for punishing aggressive behavior, but this longer TO does not appear to be necessary for most nonaggressive social excesses. Polsky (1989) suggests isolating the dog in a darkened closet and then ignoring the dog for an additional 5 minutes after the TO period is over. These and similar aversive embellishments of the basic procedure (e.g., excessively long TOs lasting from 5 to 10 minutes or more) are unnecessary and should be avoided. Instead of ignoring the dog following TO, the dog should be routinely taken back to the original
situation, where an appropriate substitute behavior is prompted and reinforced; or, if the unwanted behavior occurs again, the TO can be reinstated and repeated until a sufficient level of suppression is achieved to permit reinforcement of the selected substitute behavior.