Training your Fluffy 3: Methods Part 2

Training Your Fluffy: A Guide
Chapter 3 – Methods of Discipline part 2
[Remember that the goal of these methods is to punish and teach, not to abuse.]

Solitary Confinement with Temperature Change, aka “Hot Box” or “Cold Box”
Description:
>A similar setup to solitary confinement, only the placement or arrangement of the box or room is such that the tempurature with the area is either extremely hot or extremely cold. This can be accomplished by placing a heat lamp or refridgerating unit near or inside the box.
Commentary:
>Fluffies have an internal body tempurature similar to that of other warm blooded animals.
>However, they do not retain body heat very well without their fluff, which functions as a retainer keeping the heat from escaping the body.
>Without the fluff to retain body heat, a fluffy can quickly begin shivering, even at room temperature.
>Because of their warmth-containing fluff, a fluffy does not handle high temperatures very well.
>A fluffy exposed to tempuratures exceeding 35 degrees Celcius can cause a fluffy to rapidly overheat, if it does not find some way to avoid direct exposure to the source of the heat.
>A room or box with a temperature between 30 and 34 degrees Celcius can be very uncomfortable for a fluffy if left there for prolonged periods.
>Fluffies, like dogs, don't have many sweat glands, so their body heat rises quickly, and they will start panting in order to release excess heat, as well as asking for 'wawas'.
>But don't assume that their fluff grants them special resistance to cold conditions.
>Their fluff is capable of maintaining normal body temperature at or around near room temperature conditions.
>When put in an area whose temperature is lower than 13 degrees Celcius, a fluffy will begin to shiver, and attempt to curl up to keep itself warm.
>A fluffy's fluff is unable to retain its heat below this temperature without some way to help trap the escaping heat, such as a blanket or other fluffies huddled together, catching the heat the others give off, resulting in a sort of warmth cycle.
>Note that a typical refrigerator is calibrated to 1.5-3.5 degrees Celcius.
>When the temperature gets lower than 7 degrees Celcius, the fluffy's bodily functions begin slowing down.
>Heartbeat, breathing, response, motor control, even thought processes.
>Hypothermia rapidly sets in, and permanent nerve, tissue, muscle, and brain damage quickly follows.
>If the hot or cold box are to be used as punishment, the owner must ensure that the temperature set is both not dangerous and able to be maintained for the duration of the punishment.
>Previous forms of solitary confinement emphasized the need for careful time monitoring for the sake of preserving the punishment element and avoiding needless damage to the fluffy. In the case of the tempurature punishment, it is aboslutely vital that owners take extra caution not to leave the fluffy in confinement longer than necessary.
>Unlike in the other forms of solitary confinement, extended use of the temperature-controlled box can, will, and has resulted in permanent, severe damage to the fluffy at best, and, in most cases, death of the fluffy.
>Furthermore, if a fluffy begins losing its body heat to the point that all functions slow down, or gets overheated to the point of heat exhaustion or stroke, the fluffy will not remember why it was placed in the box due to brain damage. As this ruins the point of the punishment, as well as make subsequent training that much difficult (due to the aforementioned brain damage), an almost extreme level of caution must be taken when utilizing this punishment.
>The most important note regarding the use of temperature is that there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that changing the temperature of the solitary confinement area is any more effective than a solitary confinement area with normal temperature.
Conclusion:
>Not recommended. Unless you are absolutely certain that you can ensure safe conditions and a constant temperature, as well as carefully monitor the fluffy for signs of adverse reactions to the temperature, you should not use this method of punishment. And considering the natural seasonal patterns, an owner should not be making their fluffy associate changes in temperature with punishment. And most importantly, going through all the extra effort will likely be a waste of time, as there's no real proof that the hot or cold box method works any better than a regular sorry box.

Solitary Confinement with Olfactory Element, aka “Smelly Box”
Description:
A similar setup to solitary confinement, with the additional element of an odor considered unpleasant by the fluffy. This can be achieved either by placing an object which emits the stench (such as feces, air fresheners, scented candles, etc.) into the box or area, or by the area of solitary confinement naturally producing such an odor (like an old musty room or the same room as an open garbage can).
Commentary:
>Fluffies have a very sensitive sense of smell. Not sensitive the way a dog or cat's is, but rather, they respond strongly to powerful smells.
>Rotting garbage, feces, spices, even cigarette smoke is enough to elicit a response of “No smeww pwetty.”
>The idea behind the Smelly Box is that making the area of solitary confinement smell unpleasant to a fluffy, the punishment will be reinforced.
>This method is fairly harmless, as long as the smell is contained to the area of solitary confinement.
>The benefit of this method is that, of all the ways to enhance solitary confinement, it is the one that presents the lowest risk of permanent damage.
>Improperly used, a Loud Box can damage hearing, a Bad Fluffy Box can damage muscles, A Hot or Cold Box can cause heat exhaustion or hypothermia.
>Everyone has experienced severely unpleasant smells before. After leaving the area where the smell originated, the nose quickly regains its normal faculties.
>The same applies to fluffies, and after a short time out of solitary confinement, the traces of the smell in the fluffies' nostrils will have dissipated.
>The issue with the Smelly Box is not so much the method itself, which has been shown to have a noteworthy effect on fluffy behavior.
>The issue lies with how one goes about setting up a Smelly Box.
>Extra care should be taken to ensure that the fluffy cannot directly access the source of the smell.
>The reason to keep a fluffy away from scented candles, or any open flame, is self-explanatory.
>A fluffy, left long enough in solitary confinement with decomposing food, may become hungry and try to eat the food, rotten though it may be.
>This is hardly its own fault. A fluffy left in solitary confinement rarely has any concept of how much time has past. If it is hungry enough, it may reason that the rotting food is the only food it will have access to for as much time as it can envision.
>How one would fill a Sorry Box with the smell of spices is best left up to the individual, but keep in mind that fluffies have almost no tolerance for strong flavors.
>If a fluffy gets spice in its mouth, eyes, or other orifices, it will be in considerable pain (spice used directly as a method of punishment to be addressed later).
>The goal of the Sorry Box methods are to be non-violent, and a fluffy panicking with habanero sauce on its tongue is not conducive to the nature of solitary confinement.
>Placing feces, usually the fluffy's own, inside a Sorry Box is a common act, especially when housetraining a new and/or young fluffy.
>Fluffies are repelled by the smell of their own feces, instinctually staying away from it.
>They can hardly be blamed, as though fluffy feces is an astoundingly effective fertilizer, its smell is significantly stronger than other domestic animal feces.
>Due to the relative lack of microbes and bacteria in a fluffy's digestive system compared to other animals, coupled with the fluffy's entirely herbivorous diet, the risk of spreading disease via fluffy feces is very low.
>Nevertheless, the Smelly Box should not be so small as to force the fluffy to be in direct contact with the feces.
>Besides, you'll be the one who has to clean it afterwards if you let that happen.
>Feces used in a Smelly Box should be cleaned out after every use.
>Basic standards of hygiene
>Though it seems like an easy option, do not simply upend a cardboard box over a fluffy in its litterbox and call it a Smelly Box.
>Making its litterbox the same place as its area of punishment gives mixed signals to a fluffy.
>Even if it wants to use the litterbox out of obedience, it will be resistant to reenter the punishment area willingly.
>When using the Smelly Box, it is very important to ensure that there is a decent airflow.
>There have been several documented cases where lack of airflow resulted in the fluffy's death.
>One case in particular concerned an owner who had put his fluffy in an airtight box with a lit patchouli-scented candle.
>The owner left the fluffy in the box long enough for the candle to burn up all the oxygen in the box.
>Because the airtight nature of the box was due to the box being soundproofed, the owner could not hear the fluffy's desparate cries for help as it suffocated.
>Use smells not normally found around the house, for obvious reasons. If you use scented candles often, use one with a very unique smell exclusively for the Sorry Box.
>Same rules apply to the Smelly Box as do apply to most solitary confinement methods.
>Keep track of time to make sure you don't leave the fluffy in the Smelly Box for an excessive amount of time.
>Be sure to tell the fluffy at the beginning and end of the punishment why it was being punished.
>If you are housetraining your fluffy, having to wallow in the stench of its own droppings will be a potent reminder.
Conclusion:
>Recommended. The Smelly Box is an especially popular punishment when housetraining a fluffy. An owner who has had his or her fluffy for awhile will know what sort of smells their fluffy does not like, and can exploit this accordingly.