All of us can probably remember back to when our parents put us in time-out when we were kids. Whether we had to sit on the naughty step, go to our room or just stand in the corner, the ordeal was always upsetting and humiliating – even if we knew, deep down, that we’d done something wrong.

There’s not much that can be done to cheer up a kid in time-out. And, for those few minutes, that’s how it should be. Time-out not only allows a child to calm down, but also to think about their actions and realize their mistakes. It can even prevent new negative behaviour from being able to form.

But that doesn’t mean time-out is a walk in the park for parents or kids.

One little boy who knows all too well what it feels like to endure time-out is Peyton Smith.

Peyton’s mom posted a picture of her son standing facing the wall in punishment. Of course, the little boy looks upset – but what’s surprising isn’t the child himself. It’s the family dog, called Dash, who is sitting solemnly beside him.

According to Smith, Dash stayed next to Peyton throughout his whole punishment. On her Facebook post, she wrote:

“When you’re in time-out but your best pal won’t let you serve your time alone.”

While it can’t have been fun for Peyton to have to stand in time-out, there’s something undeniably funny about Smith’s post.

It may be something to do with the fact that his dog, bless him, is almost as tall as he is.

This is pretty characteristic of English bull mastiffs, which can weigh 230 pounds when they’re full grown.

But, as the picture of Peyton and his supportive friend show, pups of this breed are incredibly loyal family dogs when bought up in the right environment.

Peyton and his dog are best pals, so of course they go through everything together – even the rough times when mom isn’t happy.

Research has found that dogs can sense our emotions and read our facial expressions, so Dash probably realized that Peyton was feeling upset and came to offer him some much-needed warmth.

Apparently, Peyton’s time in the corner came from a fight he’d had with his younger sister. Smith had given the little lad a choice: go to his room or serve time in the corner. Of course, Peyton decided to go with the option that would allow him to still get to communicate with his buddy.

While this probably didn’t give him too much time to think about what he’d done wrong, we can’t blame him. Dogs are very distracting animals, after all. And if one happens to come and sit right next to you when you’re serving time-out, there’s no way you could possibly ignore it.

Being an obvious dog lover herself, Peyton’s mom found the situation too adorable to put a stop to. Speaking to The Dodo, she said:

“I couldn’t be mad long because it was just so cute how Peyton wrapped his arm around Dash.” When Peyton had to go to time-out, I think Dash knew he needed his buddy.”

And it seemed that the whole world agreed, as Smith’s Facebook post went viral. While not everyone agreed with her parenting – and when do they ever? – most people just commented on how sweet the pair looked together.

We can certainly see how time-out would pass a lot more quickly with an English bull mastiff by your side.

You can check out the original Facebook post shared by Julie below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

https://www.facebook.com/jillian.meadows.7/posts/3281658365182638

Source: Jillian Marie Smith, American Kennel Club, Newsner, The Dodo, Positive Discipline, AKC