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Hi Jennifer, thanks for all the great words of support! Sooo.....(warning-nerdy content to follow 🤔) yes, you are correct that it is punishment, but it's negative punishment rather than positive punishment, although to really know what it is, we need to see whether whether we are adding something or subtracting something, whether it's decreasing a behavior or increasing it, and how the dog perceives the whole situation and the ultimate driving motives. The definition of positive punishment is the addition (positive) of something to make a behavior reduce (punishment) and eventually stop. The definition of negative punishment is the removal (negative) of something to make a behavior reduce (punishment) and eventually stop. So in this case, if the dog is barking, scratching and nipping, and this is done with the intention of getting attention/interaction (something a dog may badly crave) the removal (negative) from human company should make this behavior reduce (punishment)over time *if* the timeout area is a neutral, boring place. It can also be quite aversive if the dog is a Velcro type who suffers when being left alone. However, if instead the dog is barking, scratching and biting and this is done with the intention of defense because the dog feels fearful/intimidated or maybe he's just frustrated/tired/cranky, then, when removing (negative) the dog from the situation and taking him to the timeout zone, he may feel relief, and this can make the behavior strengthen (reinforcement) and increase. This would therefore be negative reinforcement- the removal of something causing behavior to increase. Not to mention, if we remove a dog from a situation and the dog's behavior is ultimately attention-driven, the brief process of taking the dog to a timeout zone may possibly qualify as a form of attention as well, so things can get a tad bit mudded when behavior change plans should be as clear as possible. In this case we would want to do everything possible so the dog could closely chain his behavior with the temporary and brief attention he gets (as neutral and matter-of-fact as possible) with the timeout zone. On top of this, we need to evaluate the timeout zone, how does the dog perceive it? If it's a fun place to be, it can't be really a timeout zone (imagine taking the kids to Disney after misbehaving!), but if it's not fun, we risk creating negative associations with such place (which is why I am not too fond of using areas we have worked hard on creating positive associations with). On top of this, just the act of taking the dog in timeout (like by grasping the dog by collar) can cause a dog to dislike being grasped by the collar, playing hard to catch or even attempting to bite the hand. Even our frustrated/angered body language may be felt by the dog and this whole negativity may cause dogs to become reluctant to wanting to be taken to timeout. So there's a lot of evaluation to be done when carrying out a timeout, and ideally before such approach will need to be used, a behavior professional would carry out a functional analyses to determine the exact function of the behavior and craft a contingency management plan before suggesting such approach. Sure, one can suggest it and test it by tracking the behavior and objectively determining whether it increases or decreases over time, but there can be risks in the process (not working, allowing rehearsal of problematic behavior, side effects mentioned above). So this is why I am not very fond of using timeouts and why I suggest doing everything possible to prevent the dog from engaging in the problematic behavior in the first place using preclusion as much as possible (taking steps to prevent the behavior), and if not, at least at the earliest sign of the problematic behavior and putting the dog in a neutral area to chill with access to something to chew (not the formal definition of a timeout) so to prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior and as a temporary measure until the dog can be trained an alternate behavior, (therefore, more a a management option more than an actual timeout). Does this mean that timeouts are not effective? No, done correctly in a timely matter, contingent upon the exhibition of the problematic behavior, and with care to reduce side effects, it can be effective. In a daycare setting, the timely removal of a dog from the play area (using a tab leash) upon noticing the dog's play getting too rough (like mounting), often eventually leads to a reduction of the problem behavior, so timeouts have their place, but care needs to be taken to carefully evaluate their effectiveness and how they may impact the dog.

Adrienne covered it all. I'd like to lend some moral support. While our situation is a bit different than yours (ours is towards other dogs, less so humans, and certainly not us), I understand well the aggravation, irritation, desperation, helplessness, and desire to just give up. Been there, done that, have a stack of t-shirts! I want to echo Adrienne's tethering suggestion. When Esther starts acting up, we tether her to the stair railing. She spent a large portion of Saturday there, because every time we gave her an opportunity to knock it off (she kept jumping on our elderly 8-lb dog, bouncing from the couch to the floor and back again despite brain games, exercise, and a long lasting treat - some days she just can't settle), she opted instead to do the Opposite of what we asked. This is after about $3k worth of training. Our trainers ghosted us so we never got to finish up and I haven't had time to work with our primary trainer. Some dogs are simply tough nuts to crack, but with time, work, and patience they turn out to be some of the best dogs we'll meet. I have that hope for Esther. To offer a light at the end of the tunnel - most days are good enough and she's off leash most of the day now. She used to be leashed during all waking hours because she'll eat any and everything. Day-by-day it gets better, but we do still have our off days. You asked about crating and using it as punishment. If he is okay with his crate, then it's okay to put him there. It's called positive punishment (I hope I got that right - Adrienne will correct me if I didn't). Like putting a child in time out. We put Esther in her kennel when she's over threshold, which is when there is a dog on the television. Even a cartoon dog! But, we don't just toss her in there. We give her a treat or maybe a Benebone to make it a positive experience, rather than a negative one. If we know we're going to see a plethora of animals on the tv we'll put her in the kennel before starting the show, but we're often taken by surprise and then we have a barking, lunging, slavering dog losing her mind over a pretend dog. To digress - the other night we let her go to the television. She started whining and looking behind the tv, then sniffed all around. She went over to our other dog, Gertrude and sniffed her. Then looked at the television and sniffed Gertrude again. She was utterly confused and that broke the tension. Sometimes it boils down to figuring out how to address the issue, and it's not always a cut and dry solution. We're still riddling it out. You might question why you need an in-person trainer when you bought this program (many people ask). It's because there are things that Adrienne can't see that an in-person trainer will. E.g., ears, eyes, stiffness of the body, position of the tail, etc . . .. Adrienne has to rely on retellings of situations, and we often leave out pertinent information because we don't know what to look for. A trainer who can be there to take in the scene will have far more information to help than we could ever provide for Adrienne. If you have any videos, though . . . that's a big help, too. Still not as good as in person, but better than the written word. I hope y'all are able to hang in there. I understand your wife's position. The elderly dog, Abbi, is my husband's (we have 3 total) dog and she and I never bonded. She drives me up the wall with her behaviors, but she's 16 and ailing so it's not as though we can do anything other than attempt to make her comfortable. It's miserable being held captive by a dog, especially if there are health issues (I have arthritis and herniated discs), and that's compounded by not being on good terms with the dog. I struggle to help Abbi toilet - she can't walk - with my discs so there's a little resentment there when it's hurting me. It doesn't make her a bad person at all, and Adrienne would never think that (nor do I). ❤️ It's wonderful that she has a husband who is sensitive to her health and who is willing to protect her.