My dog Shareik knows when he is in trouble. He gives me the sad puppy dog eyes look, lowers his head in repentance with hope that I 
will not put him in "timeout". Shareik is not allowed on the carpet. Sometimes he sneaks into the living room just to lie on the carpet. When my devious little dog is caught doing something wrong, I merely give him the you're in trouble look, he then tries to look away from me. If he again repeat going on the carpet, he is sent to his carrier for a "timeout".
As a child, I always knew when I was in trouble. I would get "the eye" from my parents. You know the one that says you have or are doing something wrong. This would inevitably occurred at the dinner table because of my persnickety eating habits. I guess that was a precursor to becoming a vegetarian.
During lunch with a friend yesterday, I asked my friend how she disciplines her son. My friend said, first I give him an annoyed look, the second time I tell him what he is doing wrong, then he goes into "timeout". I was amused with her response since it's exactly how I discipline Shareik. I chuckled since after all, "timeout" is a word and action not used used when I was growing up.
Sometimes people lose your respect due to their actions and or words. As adults we have an inclination to just look away and shrug it off. When the problem perpetuates, the tendency is to put this person in a timeout situation. Unlike an animal, repetitiveness results in a loss of trust and the relationship is never the same. That individual just just placed in a mental "checkmate" position. Perhaps that's how the old adage of "keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer" was created.
As agents, we should be persistent and working towards not getting ourselves into a timeout situation. This is best accomplished by being continuously honest, open, forthright, without ridicule or condemnation and striving not to deceive.
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