Dog Health Questions: Is this method of dog training cruel?

I have this dog and he's quite aggressive, and when he tries to bite my cat she scratches back on my dog's nose. When I catch them doing that, I roughly pull them apart because they're both small. Then I put my dog in this time-out thing for ten minutes. It's only big enough for my dog to sit but not lie comfortably. Is this cruel?

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Yes, as far as your dog is concerned when you pulled him away from the cat he knew then it was wrong. He has no earthly idea why he is being put in "time out".

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• Depending on the problem solving skills of your dog, a time out may indeed be effective. Susan Garret has a technique called "You've won the prize!" However, I do think that 10 minutes is too long.
  
  Is there any way to keep the dog and the cat separated? Dog gate or something? That will be the least stressful thing to do, because once a dog chases a cat there usually isn't any way to get the dog to stop.


• You'd probably have better luck using a positive reinforcement tactic instead of this method.
  
  Such a method could be rewarding your dog for being near the cat and not attacking it. Then try moving them closer to one another and reward again for not attacking. If any type of aggression is seen, then separate them.


• i would not call it harshly cruel just totally ineffective ... dogs do not understand time outs ... so keeping the dog uncomfortable for 10 minutes is just making the dog think you are mean ... the dog does not understand having to sit uncomfortably for 10 minutes with scraping with the cat ... it would be more effective to leave the dog out and yell hey BEFORE they go for each other ... putting the dog away is doing nothing to teach the dog not to fight the cat and the cat is fighting too but gets let off ... what is that about ... why are you not disciplining the cat too ???


• Your dog has no concept of 'time-outs'. So yes it is cruel.
  Asume you use a shock collar for bad behaivior.
  
  e.g: *dog gets out of the yard for three minnutes. You yell for her/him to come and she/he does. You shock her/him for getting out of the yard.* here's what's going on the dog's mind-- *YES! OUT AT LAST!!! [maybe no excercise aty home?] YAY!!!!!!! (run run run run) 'liiiiiiiillllyyyy!!!! COME!' (runs home and sits at owner's feet) [gets shocked] What the heck???I thought you WANTED me to come!!* in the dog's mind, she just got shocked for coming. Not for getting out. Unless you catch them IN THE MOMENT they can't connect the dots.
  I would try popping the dog on the nose and a loud firm 'no!'.


• Yes, that is cruel. Your dog is not human and has no concept of time-outs, so that is of no use to you in training, which makes the fact that you put him in this "thing" that he does not fit in that much worse. If you have no idea how to treat your dog right, maybe you should get rid of him.


• Your dog does not associate timeouts with fighting with the cat. So yes it would be cruel. You are better off to spray them with water while they are in the behavior that way they associate the behavior directly with the negative stimulus.


• it is not cruel but is it effective? Maybe have your dog's favorite toy and treat right outside it's crate. Same with the cat.


• It's inappropriate and probably ineffective.
  A water pistol or penny can will be more effective for you too.


• Okay, first, the dog is pestering the cat and she's giving him what-for-- let them sort it out--the dog will learn to back off from bugging the cat on his own.
  
  Second-- your attempt at corrective behaviour is only telling the dog that YOU are being cruel to him--he won't make the connection between being locked up (in quarters too small for him, where he could get hurt if he tried to squirm out)-- and the cat incident. You certainly don't want your dog turning on you out of fear and anger at being locked up.
  
  When it comes to disciplining a dog, firm, short commands saying "no" ought to do the trick if your usual tone with his is kind, soft and calm; dogs want to please us and respond to praise and encouragement. Simply calling your dog away from the cat ought to do it-- I know, because I have six cats --all with claws-- and two german shepherds-- (as well as having had two other dogs with the cats before)-- Don't worry about the dog getting harmed-- if he gets scratched on the nose, or even the eye, that'll teach him to stop it. Either way, the cat has "spring" in her legs that'll allow her to jump out of reach of the dog if he persists. WIth my crew, the dogs get too close, the cats hiss and if that doesn't get their attention, they smack the dogs, with nails extended. It's quite amusing to see large german shepherds scurrying away from a tiny cat chasing them down the hallway! LOL
  
  Dogs aren't children, where time-outs work--it makes no logical sense in their brains, so please stop :-). allow them to sort it out, nature's ways are the best, and as you point out-your dog is small, so it's not like with a 100 pd dog who could, if the cat were cornered, hurt the cat.
  
  All the best!