diff --git a/compose/cli/main.py b/compose/cli/main.py
index ada5e495a..bfe389432 100644
--- a/compose/cli/main.py
+++ b/compose/cli/main.py
@@ -372,8 +372,14 @@ class TopLevelCommand(Command):
 
             $ docker-compose scale web=2 worker=3
 
-        Usage: scale [SERVICE=NUM...]
+        Usage: scale [options] [SERVICE=NUM...]
+
+        Options:
+          -t, --timeout TIMEOUT      Specify a shutdown timeout in seconds.
+                                     (default: 10)
         """
+        timeout = int(options.get('--timeout') or DEFAULT_TIMEOUT)
+
         for s in options['SERVICE=NUM']:
             if '=' not in s:
                 raise UserError('Arguments to scale should be in the form service=num')
@@ -383,7 +389,7 @@ class TopLevelCommand(Command):
             except ValueError:
                 raise UserError('Number of containers for service "%s" is not a '
                                 'number' % service_name)
-            project.get_service(service_name).scale(num)
+            project.get_service(service_name).scale(num, timeout=timeout)
 
     def start(self, project, options):
         """
diff --git a/compose/service.py b/compose/service.py
index 213f54fad..d10d563e4 100644
--- a/compose/service.py
+++ b/compose/service.py
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ class Service(object):
 
     # end TODO
 
-    def scale(self, desired_num):
+    def scale(self, desired_num, timeout=DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
         """
         Adjusts the number of containers to the specified number and ensures
         they are running.
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ class Service(object):
         while len(running_containers) > desired_num:
             c = running_containers.pop()
             log.info("Stopping %s..." % c.name)
-            c.stop(timeout=1)
+            c.stop(timeout=timeout)
             stopped_containers.append(c)
 
         # Start containers