What is the 5 second rule for dogs?

The five-second rule Place the back of your hand on the pavement. If you can't keep it there for five seconds, it's too hot to walk your dog.

The 5 Second Rule is related to the temperature of the ground and sand that a pet walks on. Hot ground and sand can burn the pads of your pet’s paws and leave them sore, blistered and red. Check if it is a safe temperature for them to walk on by holding the back of your hand on the pavement or sand for five seconds. If it is too hot for you to hold your hand there, your pet shouldn’t be out walking on it.

The Moon Valley Canine Training Centre in Northern California suggests a simple way to check if it it too hot to walk. Simply place the back of your hand on the ground. If you cannot hold it for five seconds, it's too hot to walk your dog. As a general rule, if it's too hot for your hand, it's too hot for their paws. If you cannot hold it for five seconds, it's too hot to walk your dog.

Dogs short-term memory remembers instant consequences. Dog's short-term memories will tend to remember the last five to fifteen seconds. If you don't reward in the first five seconds, your puppy could be learning that rustling plastic bags is good. They will only associate their last five seconds of behaviour with a consequence. Misdemeanours beyond five seconds ago are best forgotten. Focus on what happened in the last five seconds. For puppies, make sure to keep it very simple and mark and reward the behaviour instantly. This can be achieved with a simple "yes" or even better with a clicker using clicker training.

My 5 second rule for dog training is a bit different. I use 5 seconds as a time limit for how long I’ll wait for my dog to offer a desired behavior in a training session. If I’m not getting anything to reinforce then I will either do a treat toss to break off for a quick reset, or end the session with a cookie scatter. Then, when I resume the session I need a better training plan. Dogs learn from successful repetitions, not from us staring at them waiting for them to do some unnamed thing they don’t understand. As an effective trainer my job is to set up the session and set criteria so my dog can easily be successful. You have to get the behavior (or an approximation of it) in order to have something to reinforce so you can move forward in a training session. Mutually frustrating sessions where you reinforce very little are damaging to your overall training relationship and your dog’s association with training. The idea of “waiting it out” is a pervasive misconception in training, particularly in shaping sessions. If I’m in a session where I expect my dog to be offering behavior and he’s not, then I’m doing something wrong.